Finding my voice (Part II)
Photo by Robby Tohar

Finding my voice (Part II)

This list is continued from Part I and is comprised of my blogs which appeared under the Atlanta Jewish Times banner on the Times of Israel site.


November 18, 2019: Taking root

Last night I had the privilege of attending “A Painful Hope – A Rabbi and A Palestinian Talk Peace,” an event that I wish more could see. Speakers from an...

November 11, 2019: Digging into data to better understand hate

This past Friday, I was privileged to present a paper at a graduate student panel at the Georgia Political Science Association’s annual meeting, alongside two other...

November 4, 2019: Time to do better than what history and human nature has shown us

This week I read an?article ?about false accusations of dual loyalty against Lt. Colonel Vindman, the top expert on Ukraine who advises the National Security...

October 28, 2019: Yalla

I recently joined a Facebook discussion group for people who speak more than one language. Endlessly fascinating, discussions surrounding how words as well as...

October 21, 2019: How we achieve genius

This past week, my husband and I watched a few episodes of the Netflix series?Abstract: The Art of Design , in which each focuses on a particular designer...

October 14: 2019: Counting our days

Yesterday would have been the birthday of Judy, my closest friend when I lived in Jerusalem. When I traveled to Israel last summer, we were able to get together...

October 7, 2019: As Yom Kippur approaches

Every week, I sit down to write this blog. There are times when I’ve been thinking all week about the topic I want to hit on, like politics or how bias and “othering”...

September 30, 2019: The call of the shofar

It is interesting that though the prayers we recite on the High Holidays themselves are collective prayers, where we as a community stand before G-D and ask for...

September 23, 2019: If crowdsourcing were applied to post-election horse-trading

As Israeli politics fill my newsfeeds, I liken the headlines to a drama, and as a result, my social media platforms have become somewhat addictive. What... ?

September 17: What's like got to do with it?

“Do I like you?” “Are you believable?” During a conference call, this was posited as what really matters to prospects when those positioning themselves as advisors in...

September 9, 2019: Stopping anti-Semitism

In this week’s news,?Jewish students were hospitalized following an attack ?by Arab youth in Poland,?Barcelona’s largest synagogue was vandalized ?with the...

September 2, 2019: A time to learn

Learning and growing are important to me. I’ve gone back to school. I just applied for a leadership institute and this year, for the first time, I dipped my toe into...

August 26, 2019: When vacation is good for the soul

This weekend I went away with a few girlfriends to celebrate one friend’s milestone birthday. There we were, a group of Jewish women in the Smoky Mountains in...

August 20, 2019: What was and what could’ve been – Rashida Tlaib and choices made

The last few days have been a roller coaster of action and reaction, of poor choices and escalating consequences, each of which have driven attention and energy...

August 13, 2019: How good and how pleasant

This past weekend, my husband and I and our random children (his two sons and my three sons and daughter-in-law) took a break from the world around us. For...

August 5, 2019: The paths to peace

Recently, I’ve seen a number of suggestions for how both sides could end the current situation. Each of these paths to peaceful coexistence offers milestones...

July 29, 2019: A surmountable problem

Why is Zionism equated by some with racism? Why is anti-Zionism anti-Semitic in nature? I contend part of this has to do with mistaken definitions. A friend of mine...

July 23, 2019: How to welcome Congresswomen Omar and Tlaib to Israel

Earlier last week, Congresswomen Ihlan Omar and Rashida Tlaib announced their plan to go to Israel. A flurry of headlines followed; the country might not let them...

July 16, 2019: Why my answer to IfNotNow is Not Now

IfNotNow, a Jewish group of activists, has its eyes on targets outside of the Jewish world. Whereas once their primary focus was to disrupt Birthright tours and...

July 8, 2019: The Democratic Party: A growing divide

It’s one thing for a country not to unite to find common ground. It’s quite another for a single political party to publicly take a path to splitting. In the case of the...

July 1, 2019: Why anti-Semitism in America warrants attention

Anti-Jewish incidents make up more than 59 percent of all reported religiously biased hate crimes in the United States. Stated simply, there are too many. And...

June 24, 2019: Bahrain and then what?

Following an overview on the White House’s dedicated?Peace to Prosperity website , the site offers the administration’s vision for a three pronged economic...

June 17, 2019: Words and letters

A few years ago, I put together a LinkedIn article called “How to prepare to do anything .” Its first step, I thought, was often overlooked, and I wanted to remedy...

June 10, 2019: Pride and discrimination

Lexico, powered by Oxford, has this as its second?definition of the word Pride : “Confidence and self-respect as expressed by members of a group, typically one...

June 3, 2019: Thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate

I think people conflate pro-Palestinian with anti-Israeli. But it is not a zero-sum game. You don’t have to have a loser in order to have a winner. We can want a...

May 27, 2019: Israeli politics – never a dull moment

In the days after Israel’s elections, my social media feed filled with exclamations of doom and gloom because Likud had secured the most votes and Benyamin... ?

May 20, 2019: When care and support are needed

What literally started as a pain in the shoulder, arm and neck turned months later into rotator cuff surgery. While the outpatient procedure itself required treating...

May 13, 2019: Tlaib, Democrats’ silence and why the Deal of the Century should be a referendum

This week, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was interviewed for the?podcast Skullduggery ?(start at about minute 27:00). Her comment, “‘There’s always?kind...

May 7, 2019: What American politicians can learn from the Gaza News Agency

When American politicians use misinformation about what happened in Gaza to stoke the flames, we have a problem. Let’s start with what happened. Over 600...

April 29, 2019: Hate

A synagogue in Poway, a mosque in Christchurch, churches in Sri Lanka were only the latest in a growing global trend of deadly attacks on houses of worship...

April 22, 2019: If only hate would pass over our world, it would be enough

While some of us enjoyed our seders at home with our families, others did not. In?Nepal, where the world’s largest seder takes place , it was a festive scene for...

April 15, 2019: Post-election doomsayers: Just stop, please

When all the ballots were finally counted, my Facebook feed filled with exclamations of depression. A bit melodramatic, I thought. I also wondered how...

April 8, 2019: To be Jewish on a college campus

This past week, some students at Emory University found mock eviction notices on their doors. Distributed by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), this wasn’t the...

April 1, 2019: Life is precious

This past week has been a difficult one. The heat rising in Gaza?between Hamas and Israel ?can only hurt prospects for there ever to be a resolution. Georgia’s...

March 25, 2019: Hamas

Hamas. They’ve been in the news a hell of a lot lately. In the last few weeks, we’ve twice seen rockets “accidentally” get shot towards Tel Aviv. The?most recent ... ?

March 19, 2019: Where can we go from here?

This has been a very difficult week. 50 massacred in their mosque in New Zealand,?none of whom ?went to pray on Friday with the thought that this would...

March 11, 2019: Maps matter

This past week Autrey Middle School in Alpharetta hosted its annual Multicultural Night. A map of Israel with Palestine written in large letters in its place was...

March 4, 2019: Rocky times not a reason to not think about peace

How will Israelis and Palestinians ever achieve a resolution, I honestly don’t know. As the April 9 Israeli elections approach, we can only see what we see. And it’s...

February 25, 2019: Stories in the sky and on the screen

In the beginning on the first day, G-D created heaven and earth. And one day this past week, Israel’s first moon-bound spacecraft, Beresheet (i.e., “in the beginning”...

February 19, 2019: Oh my, Omar: Anti-Semitic tweets, lobbying, AIPAC and everything in between

The arguments I’ve seen online this week trying to untangle anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, anti-lobbies and anti-AIPAC have sometimes hit the mark and other times...

February 11, 2019: Savlanut

In a recent Facebook exchange with a friend, I explained my issue with the word “tolerance.” To me, the concept is problematic. Much as I would like for our world...

February 4, 2019: Progressive, Zionist and trying to make it work

I know I am not the only one – Zionistic and progressive – who sits in my niche, recognizing that all people need to be equally treated and that Israel is the...

January 28, 2019: Rethinking how history is taught

Yesterday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. When the United Nations created this day, it called on countries to develop curricula that would not...

January 21, 2019: What women need instead of Women’s March Inc.

Women’s March Inc. has lost relevance. I see many headlines about Linda Sarsour, who is willing to renounce Farrakhan but will not allow a place for Zionists in her...

January 15, 2019: Learning and life

With my second semester back at school kicking off (I am enrolled in a dual Master of Public Administration/Master of Integrated Global Communications program)...

January 7, 2019: Coexistence

Coexistence. It’s a word often used in a political context, as we are all well aware. Today, though, I am thinking about it in an even broader way, and it actually...

December 31, 2018: Wrapping it up, starting again…and asking for your help

If you could pick one word to describe your 2018, what would it be? For me, I think “change” best characterizes mine. If you’ve been reading weekly, you may have... ?

December 24, 2018: Tick Tock

As we go through life, many of us hit certain milestones. And while the overwhelming majority of us may have similar first tooth and first day of school... ?

December 17, 2018: This heartbreakingly dangerous world for children

As a parent, I found this week to be a particularly difficult one. In the aftermath of the terrorist shooting at a bus stop in Ofra, nine people were shot, including a...

December 10, 2018: Four keys to creative problem solving

In the most recent episode of Madame Secretary, “Winter Garden,” Blake Moran, newly promoted from personal assistant to a policy advisor, wrestles with getting...

December 3, 1028: What we should be saying in place of “End the occupation”

This is what I think: deciding the outcome of the territories has to be decided by negotiation between the two parties. Not by protesters. Not by BDSers. Not by...

November 26, 2018: It’s not Farrakhan that is the issue

I think too many are missing the point with Linda Sarsour, the Women’s March and its anti-Semitism. And as I shared with friends on Facebook recently, here’s why...

November 19, 2018: Weddings, family, and friends

On the morning of our recent wedding, my then fiancé and I attended shul for our?aufruf, where we were called up to the Torah. That day, we had the honor of...

November 12, 2018: A change in the air?

What a difference a week makes! Not only in my personal life (I just got married over the weekend and am about to leave for my honeymoon in a few hours – and...

November 5, 2018: Ice cream as a point of contention

When Ben and Jerry’s?announced ?its new flavor?(Pecan Resist) and its intent to donate proceeds to four organizations,?Color of Change ,?Honor the Earth ,?Neta ...

October 29, 2018: The big picture

This week ?has been difficult beyond belief. The Pittsburgh?shooter yelled ?“All Jews must die” and proceeded to kill. Another shooter in Kentucky earlier in the week...

October 22, 2018: Perspective

The topic of how we see things has come up lately. In one class I am taking, we’ve shifted from learning about quantitative to qualitative research. In...

October 15, 2018: Life changes

In the midst of a season of moving, going back to school, taking on a new role at work and preparing to get married, all life-changing activities, I’ve been watching...

October 8, 2018: News

Day in and day out, I follow the news. I don’t just read it, I sometimes share stories on social media. I sometimes react to or comment on others’ posts too. And...

October 1, 2018: Bullying behavior

I’ve?written in the past ?about how I can’t stomach the position of judgmental vehemence we are seeing more and more of lately, especially online. The sheer...

September 23, 2018: Sukkot past, present and future

This year, like almost every other, I did not build a sukkah. I’ve long wanted to, but it just never happened. Now that I am in a new home, perhaps next year we could...

September 17, 2018: New beginnings

Tomorrow is moving day. Tomorrow I say goodbye to the house my three sons and I called home for over 13 years, though two of them now live in other states. My...

September 10, 2018: UGA did it again

In?2016, UGA’s homecoming concert ?was on Yom Kippur. It was the only day the stadium was available. Not considerate, but not the end of the world. In 2017, the... ?

September 3, 2018: Hate, love, food for the body, food for the soul

In a world embracing hate, it’s important to find example of alternatives, of better ways. This week brought a sampling of each; here we begin with hate in the south...

August 27, 2018: My bashert

Life takes you to places you might never had envisioned when you were younger. At least, for me, I know that is true. As a child, I thought when I would grow up, I’d...

August 20, 2018: What if...?

What if…??begs for creativity. It is an invitation to ask more questions and to envision possibilities. And in doing so, it allows us all to reframe current reality....

August 13, 2018: When one plus one plus one equals far far more

This week, I was captivated by a story I saw on Facebook, one which fit the mindset I like to promote: we are all individuals, and the best way to recognize that this is so...

August 6, 2018: Transitions

This past week students in my county returned to school. And as?I wrote last week , I registered for classes as well, as I head back to a classroom after a number of...

July 30, 2018: Going back to school

This week I registered for my first two classes as I head back to school, for the first time in decades. Though I still don’t know how I will work a Master in Public...

July 23, 2018: Israeli politics and the quest for a good story

This week, I’ve seen Israel in the news in far too many unflattering ways. The outcry against the Basic Law, the Conservative rabbi arrested, the LGBT protest for...

July 16, 2018: Good guys, bad guys

If you read the news or go online, you’ve seen how politicians, celebrities, athletes, policemen and everyday people caught on video are often described as bad or as...

July 9, 2018: Jerusalem — Past, Present, Future

As I sat in one airport after another on my three-legged trip back to Atlanta, I thought a bit about how I spent this past week, living and breathing in Jerusalem....

July 2, 2018: When my soul comes home

Last Sunday I traveled to Israel for the first time since I moved back to the United States in 2003, accompanied by my fiancé who had never visited before. For me, it...

June 25, 2018: Why we should care about others

In the aftermath of the discovery of what our administration is doing to families as they come through our borders, I have seen a number of disturbing reactions.?One...

June 18, 2018: Children need their parents

Children need stability and predictability in their lives.?Two-thousand children ?have just had the most stable and predictable part of their lives — their...

June 11, 2018: How can I do better

The thought behind creating this blog in the first place was to be able to take the?multiple perspectives?I think I bring to any given situation and use them to...

June 4, 2018: What do you know?

What I know is that I don’t know enough. I’ve written about it too. In one?LinkedIn article ?I posted, aptly titled “How to prepare to do anything ,” I advise how to...

May 28, 2018: A lesson in kindness and the giving of oneself

I am finding that this world has become a judgmental and harsh place. Online and off, there are too many examples of people ranting, raving, judging, hurting... ?

May 21, 2018: How does Israel move forward now?

Recent events have driven home how far apart the two sides are. There were times in the past when Israeli and Palestinian negotiators spoke, when talks resulted in...

May 14, 2018: Toys, divas and confidence

The last time Israel won the Eurovision song content, I was living in Jerusalem, and like many others, watched as?Dana International , the competition’s first openly...

May 7, 2018: Loneliness, community and how to bridge the two

This week, Cigna revealed the results of a study showing that loneliness, especially but not only among young people 18-22, was alarmingly high. In its coverage...

April 30, 2018: Israel in Atlanta

Yesterday’s?Israel@70 celebration ?at Park Tavern was one of the special kinds of events that has the potential to bring together two related but disconnected...

April 23, 2018: When the National Socialist Movement came to Georgia

Every year, on the weekend of Hitler’s birthday, members of the?National Socialist Movement ?hold their Annual Meeting and Banquet. This year, it was held at the...

April 16, 2018: Holocaust, history, hate and hope

We’ve all seen the?headlines . A significant number of millennials don’t recall hearing of the Holocaust. Over 40% of them (and over 30% of all asked) thought...

April 9, 2018: Iraqi Jewish history and how much we ought to learn about Jews in the Diaspora

Yesterday, I visited?The Breman Museum. ?Its current exhibit, running through the end of the month,?Discovery and Recovery: Preserving Iraqi Jewish Heritage , is...

April 2, 2018: Gazans, Palestinians and the future of Israel

When I first read about the then upcoming March of Return, I knew. I knew this was something that wouldn’t end well. How could it? The purpose of the march was to...

March 26, 2018: Marching forward

This weekend, liked many others in cities across America and the globe, I marched in the March for Our Lives. And in marching forward, I couldn’t help but think about...

March 19, 2018: The beginning of a journey

On a Sunday afternoon, in a community room in a suburban Whole Foods, a group of Jewish and Muslim women got together. This, of itself, may or may not be...

March 12, 2018: Dayenu

Passover is approaching. And though I thought about what it could provide in the matter of topics — the similarity in its Hebrew name,?Pesach, to the Aramaic and...

March 5, 2018: When is a bris not a bris?

This past week, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend my new nephew’s?brit milah, ???? ????. The baby cried well before the ritual was to begin, as if he knew...

February 26, 2018: A night with minorities in the IDF

Tonight, I attended a presentation sponsored by?AJC Access Atlanta , the young professionals program of the regional branch of AJC, Global Jewish...

February 19, 2018: How to make our society safer — and better

In the aftermath of this latest mass shooting, I shared a?Slate?piece, “How to Stop Violence “ on Facebook and it sparked a conversation. Subtitled “Mentally ill...

February 12, 2018: Shalom bayit, peace in the home

Today, I taught second-graders all about?shalom bayit. We talked about getting along with siblings and about helping around the house, and I showed them...

February 6, 2018: What I know and what I don’t

I know what I know and I don’t know what I don’t know. It’s both a simple truth and a powerful thought. In social discourse and in everyday work world, we... ?

January 28, 2018: When diversity and inclusion really isn’t

When you focus on specific populations, you are bound to exclude others. Many companies have employees or committees whose function is to promote...

January 22, 2018: Supper club

Every day I read news stories. Most of it pretty depressing. Government shut down. Children found shackled, chained and starved. Olympic gymnasts...

January 15, 2018: Visa denied; please let him in

I first heard Amir Benayoun’s music when I lived in Israel in the 1990s. His voice and his music spoke to me. When I hear “When you are sad ,” the depths of the...

January 8, 2018: The best laid plans

In the mid/late 1990s, I was a mother of two young sons living in an apartment on the outer edge of the?Givat Mordechai ?neighborhood in Jerusalem with my...

January 1, 2018: Going up

At the end of each secular year, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics?publishes statistics ?regarding the population in the country. This year, for instance, it...

December 25: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Some people are fortunate enough to know what they want to do long before they enter the working world. Others spend their lives not ever figuring it out....

December 18, 2017: Drive out the dark

As we wind down the last few days of Chanukah, two thoughts float around in my mind. A bit disjointed, but please join me for the ride. First. Something I...

December 11, 2017: O Jerusalem

What does it mean to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital? What are the repercussions of announcing the US Embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to...

December 4, 2017: Words

I've spent the better part of my life trying to improve how messages are communicated. An English major back in school, I’ve worked in trade... ?

November 27, 2017: Seeking unity

A lot of the pain I am witnessing these days is connected to hurt feelings. People taking umbrage at being categorized and people categorizing. Be it?Tsipi ?...

November 20, 2017: Community in the ATL – and in the world

I've been writing a bit about community and our need for it, so it is no surprise that when I read two recent pieces (one by my Rabbi and another in the...

November 13, 2017: Breaking bread and breaking down barriers: When Jewish and Muslim (and other!) moms meet

Tonight, I had the pleasure of hosting a dairy and pareve potluck dinner with 13 other women. Billed as a Jewish-Muslim event and part of a monthly series, it...

November 6, 2017: Guns, guns, guns – Part II

Last week , I wrote about how cries for addressing “mental health” will not solve America’s crisis, promising that this week I would outline several specific...

October 30, 2017: Guns, guns, guns – Part I

When horrific shootings occur by apparently unbalanced people and gun control is brought up, we hear cries of “But wait. Mental health.” Not only does...

October 23, 2017: It is not enough to make noise

This past week, the internet overflowed with stories of #metoo. And for those men who “got it,” they were impacted by how prevalent this objectification and...

October 16, 2017: Finding peace of mind when it is hard to find

How does one find peace of mind when the issues of the day are so – unruly? Natural catastrophes, political discord, -isms up the wazoo? Or on a more...

October 9, 2017: Local schools have something to learn

What a week for Georgia schools. I’m still trying to wrap my head around a number of classroom lessons gone awry. In one incident in a Gwinnett County...

October 2, 2017: Judge everyone favorably

In her blog, “Yes, I’m judging you ” Yocheved Davidowitz makes a case for why it is okay to judge others. Beyond the fact that it is human nature, she notes that...

September 24, 2017: Between a rock and a hard place

If you are like me, an American Jew who believes people should be able to live life free of bias and that every person is truly entitled to the pursuit of life...

September 17, 2017: What companies —?and politicians — could learn from Rosh Hashana

"This week, we usher in the Jewish New Year,” began an?article that I posted on LinkedIn three years ago . I called it, “What companies could learn from Rosh...

September 11, 2017: There but for the grace of God go I

During the week, I work with brokers, mostly responding to requests for proposals for reinsurance services, and with my division’s marketing and...

September 4, 2017: It ain't so simple

There are very few things I hate, very few. Currently, getting hot flashes is up there. But of wider relevance these days is my abhorrence of two (somewhat...

August 28, 2017: We're all in this together

Communities can come from anywhere people have close contact and an opportunity to get to know — and care — about each other on a regular basis....

August 21, 2017: Us vs them

People tend to associate with those who are similar. At the same time, the more you get to know about each person you meet, the more similarities you can....

August 14, 2017: I read the news. And my heart hurts.

I read the news. And my heart hurts. I have a theory about hate. Nothing too original, I’m sure. But please hear me out. People are insecure. And they don’t...

***

Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, Wendy lived in Jerusalem for over a decade submerged in Israeli culture. Since returning to the U.S. in 2003; she has been soaked in Southern life in metro Atlanta. An Ashkenazi mom to Mizrahi sons born in Israel and the US, MIL to a French Mizrahi DIL and an Israeli DIL whose parents are also an interesting mix, and a step mom to sons born in the South, she celebrates trying to see from multiple perspectives and hopes this comes out in her blogs. While working in Jewish and Zionist education and advocacy, Wendy's interests also have her digging deep into genealogy and bringing distant family together. All of this is to say, Wendy's life has brought her to the widened framework she uses for her blogs: there are many ways to see and understand.


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