By Doron Krakow Yehuda Amichai | יהודה עמיחי was one of Israel and the Jewish world’s foremost poets. Born Ludwig Pfeuffer in Würzburg, Germany, in 1924, he and his family immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1935, during Hitler’s rise to power, eventually settling in Jerusalem. He chose the surname Amichai | My People’s Lives to express his patriotic […]
The Diameter of the Bomb Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USABy Doron Krakow It didn’t take long. I was back in Israel for perhaps 45 minutes when, during the drive from the airport to Tel Aviv, Janet, my wife, and I were jarred by the blare of the Tzeva Adom, the Red Alert siren, several of them, in fact. We pulled over to the side of
Our Strength Comes From Our Unity Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, USA
By Doron Krakow What to make of a week? What to make of this one? It began with the grudging release of hostages from the clutches of Hamas. Slowly they emerged. Wide-eyed. Traumatized. Haunted. Nearly all of them women and children. They’d been released knowing that others, many from their own families, remained behind. Only
Of Heroes and Leaders Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, USA
By Doron Krakow Kibbutz Nir Oz (Meadow of Strength) was founded in 1955, becoming part of the left-wing Zionist youth movement Hashomer Hatzair. In the hands of its roughly 70 founders, a formerly arid and bleak 5,000 or so acres of Israel’s frontier were gradually transformed into an idyllic setting, green and lush, and in
One Out of Four is Gone Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, USA
By Doron Krakow A remarkable event took place in Malibu, California, this past Sunday. The Shalom Institute, one of the extraordinary JCCs of North America, broke ground ahead of its anticipated return to a campsite ravaged in the Woolsey Fire five years ago. That season’s devastating wildfires wreaked havoc across California and tore through the
Fortitude and Resilience Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, USABy Doron Krakow Saturday, October 28, will be three weeks. Three weeks since the horrific, savage slaughter of innocents—children in front of parents, whole families burned alive, concertgoers mowed down by the hundreds—the images provided by the butchers themselves are now etched into our minds and hearts. The death toll continues to climb, as does
The War Comes Home Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, USABy Doron Krakow JCC Association’s board convened in New York this week, and our meetings opened on September 11. Beth Mann, a remarkable member of the professional team, reflected on that devastating morning 22 years ago when our nation and world were rocked to their very core. Back then, Beth was the executive director of
When Tomorrow Comes Read More »
Doron Krakow, Jewish Religion, Opinion, USABy Doron Krakow The setting was an estate on Long Island—a one-time family home now an elegant retreat center about an hour from midtown Manhattan. The topic was talent and the professional pipeline of the organized Jewish community, and along the way I found myself in a meeting with the heads of the major denominations
By Doron Krakow Over the past few days, a series of remarkable gatherings took place across the continent—gatherings of hundreds of Jewish Community Center professionals from dozens of JCCs, centers, and camps representing different regions of our movement. Programs and settings varied, but each one focused on skill-building while addressing emerging challenges around programs, operations,
Strength in Adversity Read More »
Doron Krakow, Lifestyles, Opinion, USA
By Doron Krakow What is it about those group experiences? How is it that so many of the people most important in our lives are the same ones with whom we briefly shared something special that became something lasting, something transformative? For many of us, it’s the people with whom we went to camp, those
By Doron Krakow Something remarkable happened at the Oshman Family JCC (OFJCC) in Palo Alto, Calif., this past Sunday. Eight hundred people gathered to discuss, debate, and deliberate over the current state of relations between Israel and Jews living in the Diaspora—in particular, the North American Diaspora. Israel—the miraculous fulfillment of the modern Zionist movement
Unity, Not Uniformity Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, USA
By Doron Krakow A common question among JCC leaders is: “Are we a movement?” The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of a movement is: “a series of organized activities working toward an objective; also: an organized effort to promote or attain an end.” As a product of Young Judaea, the Zionist youth movement, I was inured from
A Week in the Life of a Movement Read More »
Doron Krakow, Lifestyles, Opinion, USA
By Doron Krakow SAN DIEGO — This week saw the return of the JCC Maccabi Games®. In this, its 40th year, the Games drew 1,600 Jewish teen athletes from 57 delegations and 67 JCCs across Canada and the U.S., as well as delegations from Bulgaria, Mexico, and Israel, to San Diego for a week of
At JCC Maccabi Games in San Diego, Pioneers Open Our Eyes to Remarkable Possibilities Read More »
Doron Krakow, Opinion, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, USABy Doron Krakow Of late, I find myself thinking back on the meaningful ways I have marked America’s Independence Day over the years. At camp, barbecues and carnivals captured the spirit of America—while special pride was taken in the shared anniversary of Israel’s heroic rescue of the hostages taken aboard the hijacked Air France jet