By Jeremy Ben Ami WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of State John Kerry is back in the Middle East this week for his fourth visit in three months. And J Street’s Leadership is back in the United States after a 9-day, 8-night mission to Israel and the Palestinian territory. We met Israeli and Palestinian political and […]
J Street chief detects new energy in Mideast peace process Read More »
Middle East
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — History is back and so are the Russians. After an interregnum of twenty years, during which the communist Soviet Union was demolished and a crony capitalist, Russian kleptocracy turned inward to establish firm control of journalists (oh wait, that might have been the Obama Administration), civil society practitioners including
U.S. misunderstands Russian goals in Syria Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USA
IDF fired on from Syria for third straight day (JNS.org) An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) jeep in the central Golan Heights was hit by gunfire from across the Syrian border on Tuesday, marking the third straight day the Israeli army was fired on from Syria, the IDF said in a statement. IDF artillery units “returned
JNS news briefs: May 21, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Arkady Mamaysky TARRYTOWN, New York — Earlier this year on San Diego Jewish World, I presented some thoughts about how to forge closer bonds between Jews in Israel and the Diaspora to ensure that we remain a single people, rather than just coreligionists. The op-ed assumed that Israel is important, and now I would
Some reasons why the world needs Israel Read More »
Arkady Mamaysky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Newspaper estimates of the numbers taking part in recent demonstrations tell us something about the ranking of items on the agendas of various sectors. What is impressive is not the precision of such numbers, but great differences in their magnitude. On Thursday evening of last week, it was estimated that
Lapid backpedals on secular education for Haredim Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Palestinian village hangs large Swastika flag on electric line (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces Civil Administration on Monday ordered the Palestinian Electrical Company to remove a Swastika flag that had been hung on one of its electric wires in the Palestinian village of Beit Ummar. A photograph of the Swastika flag
JNS news briefs: May 20, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Remember the Cold War? And the crises focused on Berlin and missiles in Cuba? Could we be on the cusp of a comparable crisis focused on Syria? Among the unanswered questions is the relative weight of Israel in the thinking and threatening being done by the US and Russia. This,
Is Syria heating up the old U.S.-Russian cold war? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastIsrael considering new anti-missile strikes (JNS.org) U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that another round of Israeli airstrikes could target a new Russian transfer of advanced anti-ship missiles in the near future. Israeli and Western intelligence services believe the Yakhont missiles, which have been sold by Russia to Syria in recent years,
JNS news briefs: May 17, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –The holiday of Shavuot provided a pleasant respite from the excessive excitement of this country. Instead of the usual drone of disaster and dispute in the media, there were tasty festivities heavy on cheese filled casseroles topped off with cheese cake. The relative quiet, for everything but my aging arteries, was
And now a return to regular Middle East news Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Lloyd Levy EILAT, Israel — It never ceases to amaze me how Israel almost manages to be a proverbial island of tranquility in a sea of complete turmoil. The preoccupation in Israel at the moment is the perceived extravagance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu and his wife. Apparently they had a special bed built on
Neutrality is Israel’s wisest policy in Syria Read More »
Lloyd Levy, Middle EastRussian missile launchers reportedly transferred to Syria (JNS.org) Advanced Russian missile launchers that Israel was trying to prevent from falling into Syrian hands have been transferred to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper of London reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Russia on Tuesday in an attempt to convince President Vladimir
JNS news briefs: May 14, 2013 Read More »
International
By Norman Greene SAN DIEGO — I’ll admit to it. I’m a “Broadway Baby.” Ever since seeing The Pajama Game, directed by Abe Burrows and Jerome Robbins on the Great White Way, at the age of ten, the Broadway musical theater has been a passion of mine. However, aside from the glamour, the music, the
If you love Broadway musicals Read More »
Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USANewseum cancels honor for Hamas (JNS.org) The Newseum, a non-profit museum of news and journalism in Washington, DC, has reversed its controversial decision to commemorate Hussam Salama and Mahmoud al-Kumi, two cameramen who worked for the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza, after considerable outrage from leading Jewish organizations. “Serious questions have been raised as
JNS news briefs: May 13, 2013 Read More »
International
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM — In a ceremony celebrating its 150th anniversary which was named “My Honor is My Freedom,” the International Red Cross together with the Palestinian Red Crescent planted 150 trees in Jenin bearing the names of “veteran prisoners.” According to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) the Palestinian Authority uses the term “veteran
IRC reportedly joins ceremony honoring terrorists Read More »
Middle East