Hi Reader We're in the Three Weeks now, the stretch of the Jewish calendar when we remember destruction. And honestly? Look at this week's stories. A baby born to a a man who rebuilt his life. A synagogue opening where there's never been one. Teenagers digging up 2,000-year-old history. We remember destruction, and then we go build. That's who we are. From The Ground Here's something the headlines won't tell you: while missiles were flying this week in the Middle East, the planes to Israel...
9 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader This week we passed 1,000 days since October 7th. I'd been dreading that number for weeks, because reaching it means admitting how long we've all been carrying this. A thousand days of a war that reshaped everything, of antisemitism climbing to levels none of us have seen in our lifetimes, of watching the news with our stomachs in knots. And then last night, right on the heels of it, this happened. Sasha Trufanov and Sapir Cohen got married. Both survived Hamas captivity in Gaza....
17 days ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, I'm getting back to a Monday rhythm here, so let's just dive in. đź’™ This week I spent packing for camp in New York, like I do every summer. We've gone back every year we've lived in Israel, and for years before that too. It's where I actually made aliyah from, four years ago, straight off camp and onto a plane with no looking back. Last summer the war pushed our flight, we landed and went straight there, no stop at home first. This year feels almost normal by comparison, which after...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, Sunday night the alerts started. Schools closed Monday morning. The safe room got reset — windows shut, chairs moved, snacks, water, chargers, tissues. You know the drill. We've done this before. And yet. Monday night, a close friend of mine got married. The wedding went off perfectly. Music, dancing, joy — all of it. Because that's what we do here. We don't cancel the life. We hold both things at once and we choose to show up for the good ones. By Tuesday, a new ceasefire. Life...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, It's June 1st, and summer is officially knocking. Youth groups are wrapping up, the school year is winding down, and people are heading to the beach. The kids in my neighborhood threw a full carnival this week — noise, games, the whole thing. And yet, the north is still getting hit with missiles and drones around the clock. Trump and Netanyahu are deep in negotiations with Iran. Last summer, war broke out right around this time. School trips got canceled. Plans evaporated...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, I just got back from 4 days on the ground in Israel with an incredible organization called Daily Giving — and I'm still processing everything I saw. I want to share it all with you. Because this is exactly why IGNO exists. Not to look away from the hard things — but to make sure the extraordinary things don't get buried under them. What I kept noticing, at every single stop, was this: behind every organization was one person. One person who saw a need, refused to accept it, and...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, This week in Israel we are between holidays - Lag B'Omer, Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) and Shavuot. With the ceasefire still holding for now, activities, school days and end of year school trips are happening as usual. Each day we breathe a sigh of relief and unclench a bit more than the day before. For the first time in a while, people are talking about "what I did last night." Concerts, comedy shows and festivals are getting people out of their homes and back into normal...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, If you're in Israel, you are feeling a slow roll of readjusting, rebuilding and re-centering. While there is always something somewhere brewing, we live in the space of - what is happening this moment that needs my energy? At the moment, our energy is focused on moving forward, one foot in front of the other. The Olympics are in full swing and that has been fun to watch - all the snow and ice looks nice, while sitting in my sunglasses at an outdoor cafe in Tel Aviv. And the cafe...
5 months ago • 8 min read
Hi Reader, Happy February, and Happy Tu B’Shvat. If you’re new here—welcome to the Israel Good News Only Newsletter. And if you’ve been here from the start, I’m really glad you’re still with me. Over the past year, I’ve crisscrossed Israel—from the Gaza Envelope to the Galilee—meeting families forever changed by this war, and witnessing both unbearable loss and extraordinary kindness. I loved Israel before October 7, but since then, my connection to this land has deepened beyond words—and I...
6 months ago • 6 min read