We were doomed from the start. We had started our work day too early to eat breakfast… spent all morning outside in the cold… and as the hours passed the temperature dropped and the precipitation arrived. By lunch time we were cold, shivering, and starving. The standard advice is to never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach — but … Read More
The Economic Impact of War: An Empty Restaurant in Ramallah
The restaurant is gorgeous. Modern, impeccably designed and decorated, with attention paid to natural light, greenery, and conviviality… and yet, Darna Restaurant is nearly empty. Here in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, this local institution has pared back their midday staffing from 8 servers to just three, and a cavernous room full of long family-style seating… is an echo … Read More
Svitlo Cafe & Bar: Betting Big on Dnipro despite the War
In the center of Dnipro, on “Executive Committee” Street, stands a building that was constructed in 1867. For decades it contained several floors of meeting rooms, a synogogue, and a basement apartment for the rabbi. When the Germans attacked the Soviet Union in the Second World War, Nazis bombed this building… but the rabbi had gathered members of the congregation … Read More
Open arms and hot soup in Eastern Ukraine
In the city of Zaporizhzhia – the first major stop for refugees fleeing Mariupol and other war-torn towns in southeastern Ukraine – we met Nella, who became a local guide, bringing us to refugee centers and hospitals, opening doors around town. On our second visit, she greeted us with homemade Ukrainian perishke, savory donuts stuffed with mashed potatoes, that she … Read More
Breakfast with the Batallion
We headed out in the early hours to visit one of the newly liberated towns surrounding Kyiv. The area was one of the first targets of Russian forces in late February and early March as they tried to encircle the capital and take hold of some air fields. That advance was largely unsuccessful, and Ukrainian forces are now clawing back … Read More