By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The Druze are part of the religious/ethnic/cultural mosaic that makes the Middle East a fascinating and dangerous place. There ought to be a sign wherever outsiders may enter the region. One line should read, Enter at your risk. Another line should read, Enter at our risk. Several American Presidents have […]
Israeli Druze plead for Israel to help Syrian brethren Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USAKing David-era inscription pieced together from broken jug (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A rare inscription dating back to the 10th century BCE, the estimated time of Jewish Kings David and Solomon, has recently been pieced together from fragments of a 3,000-year-old broken jar that were discovered near Israel’s Elah Valley. Letters in an ancient Canaanite
Jewish news briefs: June 17, 2015 Read More »
Middle East, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — “Strategy” is the summer watchword in Washington — strategy for handling ISIS, strategy for Syria, strategy for Middle East peace. The President says, “We don’t have, yet, a complete strategy” for ISIS, but presumably one will emerge. In this atmosphere, the debate over sending more American troops to Iraq, and
Obama helps Iran control Iraq, Syria, Lebanon Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USACypriot and Israeli leaders emphasize common threats in Jerusalem meetings (JNS.org) Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Israeli leaders emphasized their nations’ shared challenges while holding meetings in Jerusalem. “Israel and Cyprus are both small countries, and share common threats in the shape of radical Islam, Iran, and the ongoing conflict in Syria, to name but
Jewish news briefs: June 16, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — Rachel A. Dolezal, the now discredited president of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has a few problems. Her issues, however, are not greater than those shared by all of us who have jumped on the bandwagon of our own
Dolezal case points up racial hypocrisy in U.S. Read More »
USANearly half of Palestinians killed in Gaza war were armed, Israeli report finds (JNS.org) A new Israeli Foreign Ministry report on last summer’s Operation Protective Edge found that nearly half (44 percent) of the 2,125 Palestinians killed were confirmed to have been armed members of Hamas or other terrorist organizations. The 277-page report, titled “The
Jewish news briefs: June 15, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
By Mimi Pollack LA MESA, California — This is not a political story, but rather a human interest one. It is my recollections of the weekend I spent with Jeb and Columba Bush, and why he impressed me. In October 1981, my ex-husband, Carlos, and I traveled from Mexico City to Miami. We were with
My weekend with Jeb and Columba Bush Read More »
Mimi Pollack, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Now it’s almost official, having become the subject of a detailed article in The Economist. Barack Obama has produced a New Middle East, but it ain’t the one he intended. Democracy has not blossomed as called for in his Cairo speech of 2009. The new Egyptian government that the American President
Saudi- Israel relations warm as Iran threat looms Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — The Supreme Court has struck down as unconstitutional a congressional effort that would allow Americans born in Jerusalem to list Israel as their birthplace on passports. This ruling also upholds the principle that the president alone has the power to recognize foreign nations. Mr. President, if you would
Jerusalem, Mr. President, is Israel’s capital Read More »
Middle East, USABy Shoshana Bryen and Stephen Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –While most people were watching the debate over the NSA’s “metadata” collection program, a potentially more serious event occurred. Under the rules of metadata, personal information, including the contents of phone calls, is inaccessible; only the general outlines of phone numbers and duration are available. That, one
At the very least, U.S. should encrypt sensitive data Read More »
International, Shoshana Bryen, Stephen D. Bryen, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–This column is not about the great stuff circulating around Israel. It’s not relevant to the unhappiness of Jews with Israeli morality, or the more widespread animosity of goyim who qualify for contemporary conceptions of anti-Semitism. It’s about one of the littlest pischers in Israeli politics. The youngest Knesset Member who barely squeaked
Bulgarian prostitutes, drugs, and MK Hazan Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USAU.S. Jews feel more warmly about Netanyahu than Obama, poll finds (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) American Jews feel more warmly about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than U.S. President Barack Obama, a new poll says. In the poll, commissioned by the left-wing J Street lobby, respondents were asked to quantify their feelings about the two
Jewish news briefs: June 12, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABirthright names 500,000th participant, launches ‘Tel Aviv Urban Experience’ (JNS.org) The Taglit-Birthright Israel program, which takes Jews ages 18-26 on free 10-day trips to Israel, on Wednesday named its 500,000th participant. During an event at Tel Aviv’s Wohl Amphitheater on Wednesday, Birthright’s founders, philanthropists Michael Steinhardt and Charles Bronfman, met the milestone trip participant, 24-year-old
Jewish news briefs: June 11, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sometimes, if you smash two stories together, you end up with something interesting; sometimes you get something worrisome. This is one of the latter. The first story is about France, a member of the P5+1 negotiating a deal with Iran on nuclear capabilities. The French government has expressed increasing
France, U.S. horse- trading over Israel’s security? Read More »
International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA