Orit Arfa Archives - JNS.org

Follow us

© 2023 JNS, All Rights Reserved Concept, design & development by RGB Media. Powered by Salamandra

Orit Arfa

Orit Arfa is an author and journalist based in Berlin. Her first of two novels, The Settler, follows the aftermath of the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza. Her work can be found at: www.oritarfa.net.

Deborah Feldman in Berlin in 2017. Credit: Amrei-Marie via Wikimedia Commons.

Deborah Feldman, extremist

Perhaps she hopes that she’ll be given a reprieve from Jew-hatred by becoming the darling of activists who loathe the idea of Israel fighting back. It’s as if she pleads: “I’m not one of those ‘blood-sucking’ occupiers!”

November 21, 2023

Jewish homes in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif. Credit: Yakov Ben-Avraham via Wikimedia Commons.

Globalize Gush Katif

What is left of Gaza must include Israeli forces and residential communities on both sides of the “border.”

October 31, 2023

Israeli and German flags flying from the historic city hall in Bremen, Germany. Credit: Harald Schmidt/Shutterstock.

Don’t cry over us Jews, Germany

Why is the “chosen people” always depending on permission from “The World” to fight for our lives, to save them, to give a damn?

October 24, 2023

In response to Hamas attacks on Israel, about 350 people gathered in front of the Fraenkelufer Synagogue in Berlin to show solidarity with Jews and hold a vigil on Oct. 13, 2023. Credit: Mo Photography Berlin/Shutterstock.

Jewish Berliners teeter between fear, defiance

“The atmosphere is very tense and scary,” a Jewish mother told JNS. “I don’t feel safe. It’s really heartbreaking.”

October 17, 2023

A pro-Israel rally in Berlin on Oct. 8, 2023. Photo by Orit Arfa.

German taxpayer funding for Palestinians focal point of pro-Israel rally in Berlin

“It is imperative that all funding from the German Foreign Office and the Ministry of Development be put to the test,” said German politician Christoph Meyer. “An immediate halt to German funding of E.U. and U.N. programs for Palestine must also not be taboo.”

October 9, 2023

A seasonal sukkah on view at the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center in Or-Yehuda, Israel. Credit: Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center.

This Sukkot, Sarah Sassoon will celebrate in an Iraqi sukkah, with Czech candlesticks

The Israeli writer, who comes from a prominent Iraqi family, is working on two new books about Jews of Babylonian ancestry.

September 21, 2023

The pink carpet premiere of “Barbie” at the Pitt Street Mall in Sydney on June 30, 2023. Credit: Eva Rinaldi of Abbotsford, Australia, via Wikimedia Commons.

Is Barbie liberal or ‘Kenservative’?

It’s woke and not woke, it’s true and false, it’s politically correct and politically incorrect, it’s feminist and unfeminist …

August 10, 2023

Israeli fashion designer Elie Tahari. Credit: Courtesy.

‘Israel is the center of my life,’ affirms renowned fashion designer Elie Tahari

The son of Iranian immigrants, who personally dressed Hillary Clinton and is the subject of a newly released documentary, has adapted his business to a post-pandemic world.

July 19, 2023

Rabbi Avraham Radbil in Germany. Credit: Courtesy.

In Germany, expat Ukrainian and Russian Jews are mostly careful not to talk politics

One synagogue banned discussions about the war on its WhatsApp group.

February 21, 2023