Steve Kramer grew up in Atlantic City, graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1967, adopted the hippie lifestyle until 1973, then joined the family business for 15 years. Steve moved to Israel from Margate, NJ in 1991 with his family. He has written more than 1100 articles about Israel and Jews since making Aliyah. Steve and his wife Michal live in Kfar Saba.
By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Divisions between Jews are wide, as are divisions between many other groups of people all over the globe. In Israel, among the Jews there are four basic groupings: secular, traditional, religious, haredi (ultra-Orthodox). There is friction among them, especially between the Reform and Conservative movements and the haredi political […]
Support for Israel dropping in the U.S. Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — According to Wikipedia, “Eurabia” is a concept used to describe a “conspiracy theory” of globalist elements, coined by author Bat Ye’or in the early 2000s and described in her 2005 book titled “Eurabia: The Euro‐Arab Axis.” Unfortunately, it’s fact, not a conspiracy theory. France and the other EEC
Op-Ed: Europe is committing suicide Read More »
International, Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — On July 7, UNESCO declared the old city in Hebron as a Palestinian world heritage site, outraging Israelis who say the move attempts to erase the deep Jewish ties to the biblical town and its ancient shrine. So, is Hebron no longer incredibly significant to the Jews because
Speakers inaugurate an Israel Victory Project Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Following is an open letter to David Horowitz, editor in chief of The Times of Israel, concerning political nomenclature. Dear David, I enjoy reading your online newspaper, The Times of Israel – I’m even one of the paper’s many bloggers. But there are a few editorial decisions about terminology
News outlet urged to review Middle East names Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — The Middle East would require a bold American leader to jumpstart peace negotiations in Jerusalem, if such a process is even possible. Since the mid-1970s, many presidents have tried but all have failed. The only way to ensure that the Palestinian Arab leadership gets serious about negotiations is
Waiting for Washington to move its Israeli embassy Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — June 5–10, 1967, (earlier this year according to the Hebrew calendar) is the most consequential period in the history of modern Israel except for May 14, 1948, when David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence. In the midst of this six-day period, Jerusalem Day marks the 50th anniversary of the
Jerusalem Day Celebrates Israel’s Sovereignty Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Steve Kramer
By Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — Spring is the perfect time to travel to the north in Israel: the temperatures are generally ideal, the hillsides and fields are green after the winter rains, and the streams are flowing with a respectable amount of water. So, not long after Passover, Michal and I and some
By Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — One hundred years ago a bomb shell was dropped on the international community by the British government. It was the Balfour Declaration, a public “letter” which would have greatly cheered Theodor Herzl, the great proponent and leader of the Zionist movement, had he not succumbed to a heart
The importance of the Balfour Declaration Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — For thousands of years the Jewish people remembered Zion and God’s promise that that they would eventually return to their homeland there (Genesis 15:18). Whether one believes the Bible or not, it is an uncontested fact that Jews have prayed for the return to Jerusalem for millennia: By
Judea and Samaria: A promise fulfilled Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — I have heard the following platitude ad nauseam: “It is presumed that Israel will retain high Jewish population centers in the West Bank, known as the blocs, in any final status agreement for a two-state solution with the Palestinians.” Who says this? Nearly every Western diplomat, wire service,
Israel has no credible peace partner Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — All the reports that I read about the dwindling support for Israel by liberal Jews, and other Westerners, stress one thing: ignorance on the part of those who have taken an adversarial stance towards Israel. Of course, readers of my articles are very well acquainted with the facts
Israel test for American readers Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — As we approach the Passover holiday, when helping others is customary, it’s instructive to see how a few volunteers are having a considerable impact on Netanya’s Ethiopian Israeli community… The Forgotten People Fund (FPF), a strictly volunteer organization in Netanya, Israel, was founded in 1998 by two couples, Anne
Computers for Ethiopian Israeli students Read More »
International, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — The Lies They Tell is the second Tuvia Tenenbom book that I’ve read, following the enlightening Catch the Jew!, which penetrates the bubble surrounding many Israelis and journalists. Tuvia (his irreverent style breeds a strange familiarity) is an expat Israeli who has lived in the United States, Germany
‘The Lies They Tell’ excoriates U.S. society Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — Israelis had been waiting with bated breath for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s initial meeting with President Donald Trump on February 15. All sorts of fantasies were dreamed up by “Land of Israel” (right wing) advocates, as if the new president were an ultra-Zionist. Left wing “peace” advocates, on the other