In Israel, nothing says independence like family, a park and the smell of spicy kebabs, chicken hearts and skewers of marinated beef cooking on a mangal barbecue.

From three continents and four generations, we gathered in Gilo. The pilgrimage to this particular apartment in Jerusalem had begun with a family named Markiewicz

The Israeli film that I would have chosen for an Academy Award nomination in this, the 60th year of the sovereign Jewish state, is Noodle.

As Israel celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence, consider how much life, identity and security have changed for Jews around the world because a