Carin M. Smilk Archives - JNS.org

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Carin M. Smilk

Carin M. Smilk is the managing editor of JNS.

El Al plane at Ben-Gurion International Airport. Photo by Carin M. Smilk.

‘I am an Israeli … I can’t be anywhere else’

All of a sudden, the airport came into view. I almost wanted the cab ride to last a little longer.

August 25, 2023

Camilla Maas of Rochester, N.Y., checks medical supplies on an Israel Defense Forces base as part of Sar-El, or the “Volunteers for Israel” program. Credit: Courtesy.

A 92-year-old makes military bases her first stop in Israel … 16 times

“It’s not about what you do but why you are doing it. You are there to relieve a soldier or army personnel,” says Camilla Mass of Rochester, N.Y.

May 12, 2023

David Wisner and his grandson, Avi Wisnia, at a panel discussion as part of the International Conference on Education About Auschwitz and the Holocaust, Oct. 26-29, 2015. Photo courtesy of Avi Wisnia.

How music led to a cantor’s survival story, and how it lives on in his grandson

PBS will air “How Saba Kept Singing,” a documentary on the familial and musical relationship between Polish Holocaust survivor David Wisnia and his grandson, Avi.

April 17, 2023

Award-winning documentary film director and writer Richard Trank in Eastern Europe with his crew on the set of “Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and Legacy of Shimon Peres” by Moriah Films, a division of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, to be released on Netflix on July 13, 2022. Credit: Moriah Films.

Always the optimist: Netflix film on Shimon Peres spotlights political, emotional resilience

“People said that I’m a dreamer,” said the Israeli statesman, who lived to 93. “It’s true. But ask me this: What’s wrong? Who said people who don’t dream are right?”

July 12, 2022

Kiyor Studio in Nachlaot steps away from the bustling Machane Yehuda outdoor market. Photo by Pascale Harris.

The art of making art, using Israel as a model

“I have learned that even if something, including me, is broken, it can be repaired, and although it may have scars, it can still be useful and beautiful—‘perfectly imperfect,’ ” says Chaya Esther Ort of Kiyor Studio in Jerusalem.

April 5, 2022

Back to school, fall 2020. Credit: Pixabay.

Day 35: The end of the wash, rinse, repeat cycle

Wishing all good health, a sense of normalcy, and for many, a peaceful 5781!

September 11, 2020

Fern (tracheophyta). Credit: Pixabay.

Day 34: Fathers full-circle

They are the chess pieces in our lives; we couldn’t move without them.

June 19, 2020

Credit: Pixabay.

Day 33: Exit, stage yellow …

We’re all different after this three-month, newly masked experience—hopefully, for the better.

June 5, 2020

Rabbi Jonathan Kligler of Woodstock Jewish Congregation in Woodstock, N.Y. Credit: Courtesy.

‘Turn It and Turn It, for Everything Is in It’: A Torah commentary for the times

A rabbi on the global coronavirus pandemic, the holiday of Shavuot, the sacred cycle of the Jewish calendar and a core (at least one) truth.

May 28, 2020