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Howard Blas

Howard Blas

Howard Blas is a social worker and special-education teacher by training. He teaches Jewish studies and prepares students with a range of disabilities for b’nai mitzvah. He regularly leads Birthright Israel “classic” and service trips for people with disabilities. His publications can be viewed here.

Members of the Purple Vest Mission team take shelter during a siren in a shelter in Kfar Saba, March 2026. Credit: Access Israel.
Features
Support ramps up for disabled and elderly Israelis facing missile threats
Home Front Command and “purple” initiatives help vulnerable populations access shelters, information and essential services.
Mar. 19, 2026
Howard Blas
A view of the destruction in Dr. Amir Shahar's home in Tel Aviv, March 2026. Credit: Clalit Yoseftal Medical Center.
Israel News
Healing others while their own homes are hit by Iranian missiles
Mar. 16, 2026
Howard Blas
Masa fellows pose for a photograph at the Dead Sea, March 6, 2026. Credit: Masa.
Features
Masa fellows volunteer and recharge while war pauses programs
Mar. 11, 2026
Howard Blas
Israel’s U20 National played against Auburn University Tigers Men’s basketball team at Jerusalem’s Malha Arena on Aug. 2., 2022. Credit: Courtesy.
Culture and Society
NCAA’s Auburn Tigers win first game on ‘Birthright for College Basketball’ tour
“Our kids also come from a perspective culturally and educationally that they will return to the U.S. as allies and friends of the State of Israel,” said head coach Bruce Pearl.
Aug. 3, 2022
Howard Blas
Eric Reyzelman. Photo by Chris Parent/Courtesy of Louisiana State University Athletics.
Culture and Society
Plucked by New York Yankees, Eric Reyzelman is off to play ball
A 6-foot-2 right-hander from California currently pitching for Louisiana State University, he was the 160th overall pick in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball draft.
Jul. 27, 2022
Howard Blas
The Uruguay soccer team defeated the United States by 3-2 at the stadium on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on July 24, 2022. Photo by Howard Blas.
Jewish Life
Wrap-up on the wrap-down: Israel comes up big on much more than medals
Maccabiah educator Jennifer Brodsky says “there is an opportunity to think about Jewish identity and to add context that can often be as impactful” as the sports competitions themselves.
Jul. 25, 2022
Howard Blas
Dr. Leeber Cohen, 65, an ophthalmology from Teaneck, N.J., has been involved in martial arts since he was 12 and now teaches it as well. Credit: Courtesy.
Culture and Society
Never too late (or too old) to be in the Maccabiah games
“The training and working out for hours and hours has been so exhilarating,” says 65-year-old martial-arts expert Dr. Leeber Cohen, who has lost 10 or 15 pounds in the process.
Jul. 21, 2022
Howard Blas
The Maccabiah serves as a way to show athletes and the world the State of Israel in all its glory. Credit: Konstantin Goldenberg/Shutterstock.
Israel News
Maccabiah and Israel: A sporting event of ‘a Jewish nature’
“It is important for us that the Jews of the world know that we are not just praying and fighting here,” says Yaniv Poria, a professor in the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management in the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at Ben-Gurion University.
Jul. 21, 2022
Howard Blas
The “Leveling the Playing Field” sports-equipment donation program started in 2013 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Courtesy.
Features
‘Leveling the Playing Field’ does just that, spreading the sports wealth among others
Max Levitt recalls being heartbroken at the sight of usable equipment being thrown away, saying “it really bothered me. It stuck in my head.”
Jul. 19, 2022
Howard Blas
Post-COVID, the Dogiz company has launched an updated app, website and business plan. Credit: Pixabay.
Features
Going to the dogs (and why that’s a good thing!)
The coronavirus provided an opportunity for the founders of Dogiz to rethink their business.
Jul. 15, 2022
Howard Blas
Michele Kupfer 1980 Olympics Boycotted in Europe
Features
Into the deep end: American-Israeli swimmer dives into Maccabiah history
A historical film in the making by Michele Kupfer shows the connection “of all of us—Jewish people from Israel and the Diaspora—as part of a big nation with a long tradition.”
Jul. 7, 2022
Howard Blas
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