• A wildfire of art in Tel Aviv

     A wildfire of art in Tel Aviv The Jerusalem Post, September 18, 2009 It’s a Thursday night in Tel Aviv and the sparks are literally flying—outside the Engel Gallery on Gordon Street, artist Jack Jano is using a blow-torch to put the finishing touches on his installation, soferstam (torah scribe). Art enthusiasts mill about, sipping …

  • The Missing Mizrahim

       The Missing Mizrahim: review of Rachel Shabi’s Not the Enemy: Israel’s Jews from Arab Lands, and Q & A with the author Zeek, August 31, 2009 Some critics have faulted Rachel Shabi’s Not the Enemy: Israel’s Jews from Arab Lands as one-sided. Shabi neglects the animosity that existed between Jews and Muslims long before …

  • After the ‘non-revolution’

      After the ‘non-revolution’ The Jerusalem Post, August 21, 2009 I’ve tucked away my guidebook and happily stumbled upon an unmarked bar on a low-key street in Budapest. The scene is relaxed—simple blue jeans on casually crossed legs, uncomplicated drinks like beer and wine on plain wooden tables. The bright lighting, high ceilings, and a …

  • Clothes like days

     Clothes like days The Jerusalem Post, July 17, 2009 “It’s a kind of a dance,” says Michal Bassad. The designer is perched on a table next to her sewing machine. Her studio, which also serves as her store, has only a few racks of clothing, reflective of her artistic approach to fashion. Though the space …