News and Analysis
Amir Tibon, author of the The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands, has won the $100,000 2026 non-fiction Sami Rohr award for outstanding work by an emerging writer. Here is an interview with Tibon conducted by Bonnie Ellinger and article.
Music Review
By Bonnie Ellinger On June 11, 2025, the Institute for Tolerance Studies organized a celebratory concert of Jewish composers for its 20th anniversary at the CCA Munoz Waxman Gallery in Santa Fe. The Institute was established by Ron Duncan Hart and Gloria Abella Ballen for the purpose of addressing antisemitism,
Personal Essay
By Bonnie Ellinger One of the very appealing kibbutz customs is the assigning of a “family” to newcomers. The families are usually long-time kibbutz members who volunteer to be welcoming insiders to facilitate the absorption into the kibbutz of new arrivals. My Zionist youth group friends and I, on
Journalistic Interview
NMJJ felt this extraordinary interview with Israeli Oct. 7th survivor, border kibbutz resident, Haaretz journalist and "Gates of Gaza" author Amir Tibon deserved to be transcribed and published here. This insightful and informed interview conducted by Bonnie Ellinger answers many questions we all have had. The interview on
News
February 23, 2025 By Bonnie Ellinger In the aftermath of October 7th, one place that symbolizes the agony, grief and torment of the massacre is Kibbutz Nir Oz. Twenty-five percent of its 400 members/residents were either brutally murdered or taken hostage, and much of the kibbutz was burned