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Avi Rockoff

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Jul 4, 2018, 7:44 PM

I can see their faces

Children and residents of Kibbutz Nir Am release balloons carrying candy towards the Gaza Strip on June 15, 2018. (Screen capture: Hadashot TV News)

For American Jews to grasp what's at stake for Israelis, they have to be able to picture those at risk of harm

Jan 18, 2018, 9:57 AM

But Trump is good for the Jews!

Haitians line the sidewalks as President Donald Trump's motorcade returns to Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida, on January 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Orthodox Jews support the US president despite his flouting all the values they want to instill in their children

Feb 8, 2017, 9:49 PM

Fake News Is Old News

Fake news is in the news. People apply this term to many things, ranging from any news they don’t like to strange tales spun by young men on the make in Tbilisi or zealots out to smash political enemies. Of...

Jun 22, 2016, 7:22 AM

Seeing Absences

My wife likes to point out how non-visual I am. If she repainted our dining room purple, I probably wouldn’t notice. I mark my calendar with the days she has her hair done. That way I won’t forget to...

May 22, 2016, 5:36 PM

I like Hillary!

Those in the Orthodox camp are far too ready to demonize the Democrats, no matter how much they hate Obamacare

May 6, 2016, 7:53 AM

Putting Away Pesach

With the holiday over and the guests gone, my wife and I put away our Pesach things for storage. The plastic bins we keep them in are easy to carry and stack. Each is clearly marked: Fleischig, Pareve, and...

Apr 4, 2016, 10:44 AM

On that moment when an Orthodox Jew meets somebody who checks the ingredients to be sure there's no pork

Feb 23, 2016, 4:21 AM

Praying with Protection

Shortly after last November’s terror attack in Paris, our shul started to post a policeman outside the front entrance every Shabbat morning. Some local synagogues have had security details for a while: policemen, or shul members with uniforms and...

Dec 27, 2015, 1:20 PM

Celery Tonic Goes Flat

Doctor Brown’s Cel-Ray can lose its fizz. I went over to pick up my Christmas Eve take-out. Countermen at the kosher deli are Hispanic now, but there’s still Morris, the old Jewish deli guy who takes pride in checking my...

Dec 13, 2015, 10:44 PM

The Nation That May Not Be Named

In Foxboro, Massachusetts last month, the New England Patriots football team held a moment of silence for Ezra Schwartz, who lived in the nearby town of Sharon and was murdered in Gush Etzion. The public address announcer said: “…we also...

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About Me

Avi Rockoff lives in Newton, Massachusetts