By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–To mark the latest heated exchanges about Jerusalem between the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and the Prime Minister of Israel Binyamin Netanyahu, I decided to make my first trip on the city’s new light railway (streetcar). It took me to the Arab villages – now Jerusalem suburbs – […]
Jerusalem railway strengthens Israel’s ‘united city’ claims Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansksy JERUSALEM –The leap of Barack Obama from the academic and political provinces to the White House, and now Rick Santoram knocking at his door highlights a significant weakness of American democracy. Democratic it is, but too much so when individuals with no experience in foreign policy can think of themselves in
Would world be better off if U.S. had parliamentary system? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSAELM — The latest nonsense to come out of the summit of American government is that there is “no hard evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb.” By some reports, American analysts are talking about “absolute certainty” as a standard for concluding that Iran is intent on nuclear weapons.
U.S. need for ‘hard evidence’ on Iran is political nonsense Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USA
By Rabbi Michael Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –Last Halloween, two atheists decided to poke some adolescent fun at the expense of Catholicism and Islam. One person dressed up as “Zombie Pope” and the other dressed up as “Zombie Mohammed.” Their behavior was outrageous. This is what happened afterwards. A Muslim man named Talaag Elbayomy
Free speech vs. religious sensibility at issue in Pennsylvania case Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
By James Colbert WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israel, the United States, and Europe share grave concern over the Iranian theocracy’s politics and its serial use of violence in pursuit of its goals. The Islamic Republic formally declared war on the west and is the major state sponsor, funder, and trainer of terrorism, including plotting terror in
Israel, U.S. must find common ground on Iran’s nuclear threat Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Shimon Peres is one of the greatest presidents Israel has ever had. Even the Israeli public that so mistrusted him in his long career as a politician has come to appreciate the dignity he bestows on the many ceremonial events he attends and the good image of Israel he projects abroad.
What is Shimon Peres’ real view about Iran? Read More »
Middle East
By David Bedein JERUSALEM — Flashback to 1976. I was then escorted with a delegation of social work professionals to visit UNRWA facilities in Gaza. There, Dr. Eli Lasch,then the head of the Israel Civil Administration’s Gaza health department, explained that his life’s mission was to eradicate infant mortality in the teeming UNRWA Gaza facilities
UNRWA sacrifices life, truth, to anti-Israel political goals Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –The notes I receive from overseas emphasize the threats to Israel from Iran and its friends, and the threat to the peace of the region and elsewhere if Israel preempts and seeks to destroy Iran’s nuclear capacity. Here, in contrast, political energies are concentrating on the implications of a Supreme Court
IDF unenthusiastic about drafting Haredim Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM –Unfortunately, it’s not as exciting as it’s being presented in the media.Israel’s Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision may have made an historic ruling when it refused to allow the extension of the law that exempts ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Jews from military service. However, in order not to
Netanyahu likely to circumvent court ruling on military exemptions for haredim Read More »
Middle East
By David Brin ENCINITAS, California –Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is truly on a roll. Feeling his oats, he has been laying down a hardcore line. And if this one week is any sample, we are in for one heckuva ride. He started by impugning President Ombama’s religious faith as “phony theology.” This is red
The stunning sincerity of Rick ‘Nehemiah’ Santorum Read More »
USAJERUSALEM (WJC)–The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that a law that exempts Jewish religious students from the mandatory military service is unconstitutional and can therefore not be extended after it expires next August. With six justices in favor and three against, the controversial law, called ‘Deferral of Service for Yeshiva Students for whom Torah is
High court strikes down yeshiva students’ military exemption Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The current uncertainty is profound, but presents opportunities as well as threats. Most of the attention is on Iran, widely assumed to be moving toward nuclear weapons, against the background of its leaders’ obsession with the destruction of Israel, raising the possibility of an Israel attack meant to avoid
Interpreters of Iran-Israel nuclear confrontation in many analytical camps Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Yaakov Lappin WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senior officials from the Obama administration have begun descending on Israel once again to ensure that Jerusalem holds off on an attack on Iran. That, at least, is the message the White House is seeking to generate. “The national security advisor [Tom Donilon] and the American intelligence head [James
Calls to Israel to delay attacking Iran a ‘good cop’ p-r ploy? Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–When the founders of modern Zionism hoped that having a country of their own would make Jews like all other nations, they didn’t think that the Jews would adopt any of the despicable traits of the anti-Semites among whom they lived in dispersion. The aim of Zionism was not only to