International

More so than politicians, technocrats get things done in Middle East

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Politics has been the curse of this corner in the Middle East. Proclamations and grand intentions coming from those claiming to be leaders of Palestine, Israel, the United States and other great powers who say they are pursuing peace are actually paving the road to nowhere. Neither Palestinian nor Israeli […]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Knesset backbenchers seek to limit foreign contributions to NGOs

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Two proposals endorsed by a Knesset committee would be a reason for side-splitting laughter, if their authors were not speaking so proudly of their accomplishments.   One proposal, authored by one of the lesser lights in the Likud delegation, would ban foreign governments or international organizations, such as the UN, from donating

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Middle East

U.S. declines to identify Jerusalem as part of Israel–not even on passports

By Daniel Halper WASHINGTON, D.C. — Where is Jerusalem located? What seems like a simple matter of geography is actually a thorny diplomatic issue, one the U.S. State Department has aggressively avoided answering on official U.S. forms since the early 1990s. On passports and birth certificates, Americans born in Jerusalem are prohibited from adding “Israel”

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Middle East

Civil Rights Museum in Memphis celebrates its 20th anniversary

By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — This weekend, while most Americans are continuing to shake their heads over the terminally drooping economy, the decidedly uninspiring race for the Republican presidential nomination, and the hard-to-discern frenzy about the Eurozone, something is happening in Memphis, Tennessee, that is worthy of our attention. The National Civil Rights

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USA

If no one believes Netanyahu’s credibility, who’ll heed his advice on Iran threat?

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Widely reported was this conversation at the G-20 summit in Cannes, not meant to be heard but for a slip-up of the great men close to an open microphone. Nicolas Sarkozy, “I cannot bear Netanyahu, he’s a liar.” Barack Obama, “You may be sick of him, but me, I have

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Commentary: Germany successful in third effort to take over Europe

By Lloyd Levy LONDON– Europe is being convulsed by  the most remarkable and unwelcome events. The elected legitimate Prime Ministers of both Greece and Italy have been forced to resign.  They have been forced out effectively by diktat from the Germans, with France hanging on to the German coat tails in an attempt to retain some

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International, Lloyd Levy