International

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — A friend sent me a link to a New York Times Op-Ed piece entitled “Israel’s Identity Crisis.” The points were Who is a Jew? and Why is Netanyahu confounding the peace process by insisting that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish State?  It is not difficult to understand why the New York Times would […]

By Ira Sharkansky   JERUSALEM –One of the elementary lessons in civics is that government does the job of sorting through various demands and deciding priorities, or Who Gets What. The key to the ongoing exercise is politics. In a democratic regime, votes bring to office the officials who make those decisions. If enough citizens find

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM  — One might say that this is a hell of a way to run a government, and then argue whether the reference is to Israel or the United States.   Here the quarrel is whether the problem is housing, medicine or the government. There it is the the stubbornness of Republicans

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It is instructive to compare the experiences of African-Americans and Palestinians. We can find differences, similarities, and lessons for one and the other in their histories, social statistics, cultures, and politics. While some may see Israeli paternalism in what follows, my intentions are the admirable ones of seeking insights that

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israelis have good reasons to complain. In that trait, they resemble the residents of 192 other member states of the United Nations, plus Palestinians and others who want into the club. Currently the problems have gone beyond the price of cottage cheese and housing, and have spread to the plight

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It’s mid-summer. Lots of people in Israel and other countries are on holiday. Leaders of most Arab countries are either dealing with domestic problems or worrying when the unrest will land on them. The recent humor was news that the Syrian government has joined the ranks of those recognizing Palestine