In one of my earliest and fondest memories, I am a small child lying in bed listening to the comforting click of mah-jongg tiles in the living room, as my mother and her friends play, gossip and serve pastry and coffee at their weekly mah-jongg game. My sisters and I thought it hilarious that those old ladies (as they seemed to us then, although th...
How many times have you watched an English language news program and despaired at the way in which Israel's case was being presented by the country's spokesperson? And how often do you feel utterly fed up with the shenanigans of our politicians, and pessimistic about the future? Israel's inadequate hasbara (public advocacy) was particularly evident...
IDC & ESRA - Enriching your Israel experience As one IDC student put it, "it's given me a connection into Israeli society." So what's it all about? IDC invited ESRA on to its campus to offer students volunteering opportunities that get them uniquely involved in life in Israel. Why ESRA? ESRA is Israel's largest English speaking network an...
A personal thank you to ESRA volunteers To: ESRA – English Speaking Residents Association Re: Letter of Gratitude and Recognition About a year and a half ago, absolutely out of the blue, our world was shattered with the discovery of our son's cancer. Life has been on hold ever since. We became involved in a crowded schedule of long hospitaliz...
NEW for Olim: ESRA & Gvahim – Your go-to support in Israel! A one-stop-shop offering community life, entrepreneurship and career options, volunteering opportunities, and personal support. Day-to-day practical challenges and cultural differences make it difficult for English-speaking new olim to feel at home in Israel. The emotional challe...
It has been my aim to keep ESRAmagazine readers updated through this column, by reviewing current goings on in the organization, new developments, and any recent achievements you may not have heard about. As I write, preparations are underway for ESRA's 2020 Annual Report to be published. It will be available on our website at about the same time y...
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020) was an outstanding global religious leader, philosopher and moral voice for our time. He was the author of 36 books. He served as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. This article was originally published as a Covenant & Conversation essay o...
The theme of the competition is Nature in Israel - in all its forms Here are all the details -
Once again a miracle has happened! We have gotten together our 208th ESRA Magazine thanks to you, our writers, our editorial board members, our proofreaders, Neville who handles the adverts, and our totally involved graphic designers, Liora and Nitzan. Esoteric it is, but that is its uniqueness and charm. So what's special in 208? An inspiring Pesa...
FINLAND AND THE JEWS DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR Over 80 years has passed since the outbreak of WW2 and there are still many things we do not know. We have learned about ghettos, concentration camps, partisans, and lately more about the collaboration of the local population. We know less about what happened in the Nordic countries: Denmark an...
