Yair Lapid has a few days left in his mandate. Possibilities exist, commentators bet against him a few days ago. Now not so sure.. Naftali Bennett has decided against Netanyahu, and Bibi has responded with a vicious attack. It isn’t done until it’s done, but now it looks like the end of Bibi. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]
Even Without Bibi, Israeli Politics Will Be Muddled Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Highlights of Good News from Israel for the May 30, 2011 edition include:
–Israeli wound treatment uses patients’ own blood to save their lives.
–Israeli-invented pill camera to be given to 11,000 UK patients.
–Media reports of Israel’s civil war are fake news.
–Israeli technology is out of this world.
–20 Israeli companies have partnered to make Israel’s roads safer.
–Almost every week there’s a new Israeli billion-dollar company.
–Israelis smash swimming and singing records at Euro events.
–Birthright has resumed free Israel tours for American Jews.
[Michael Ordman]
Good News from Israel (May 30, 2021) Read More »
Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA
The Middle East is a part of the world drenched in sadness, pain and violence. Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, once said that in Israel the trauma is layered like an archaeological dig, where each level of destruction is piled one on top of the other, with no space between them. Since 2000 it has been one long war; a new kind of warfare called “asymmetrical war.” Asymmetrical warfare attempts to erase two basic features of war: the front and the uniform. It has no defined place and is waged by unidentified murderers. The goal is to create, in the words of the Israeli moral philosopher, Moshe Halbertal, “a war of all, against all, and everywhere.” Everyone is a potential enemy and nowhere is safe. And one of the results of this kind of warfare is more fatalities in Gaza than in Israel. [Rabbi Michael Berk]
Mideast Ceasefire May Be Holding, But Israel Is Still Under Attack Read More »
Middle East
After their meeting in Jerusalem on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made what were supposed to be “soft” public statements. The politely worded remarks deliberately slid past serious policy differences, but those differences cannot and should not be hidden. Moreover, they should form the basis of conversation between the two allies in the future. [Shoshana Bryen]
Netanyahu, Blinken Paper Over Differences During Jerusalem Meeting Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA
Published by DPA Dubai’s Crossroads of Civilizations Museum has opened what curators say is the Arabian Peninsula’s first-ever exhibition on the Holocaust, set to become a permanent fixture of the museum, focussing on the history of regional cultures. “It is very important to us that we focus on educating people about the tragedies of the
Dubai opens first Holocaust exhibition on Arabian Peninsula Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East
As part of our JWB Jewish Chaplains Council® National Jewish Community Observance of Memorial Day, on Thursday, we were honored to visit the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Nathan Bruckenthal, while the ship was in port in New York City. The USCGC Nathan Bruckenthal is named for the first Jewish Coast Guardsman killed in combat since the Vietnam War. Petty Officer Bruckenthal, described to us by the ship’s captain as “a nice Jewish kid from Long Island,” served his country as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was killed during a successful attempt to thwart a seaborne IED (improvised explosive device) attack on a major installation in the Arabian Gulf. He sacrificed himself to protect others [Rabbi Irving A. Elson and Doron Krakow]
A Memorial Day Weekend Tale of Two Jewish American Military Heroes Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, USA
Published by Al-Araby The Hamas military chief in besieged Gaza declared “victory” over Israel on Wednesday and threatened to fire more rockets into Israel if they “disturb the sanctuary on Al-Aqsa Mosque.” “What has happened is but a drill for what will come if Israel violates the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The occupiers must be aware that
Hamas Gaza chief says only fiv percent of tunnels damaged in attacks Read More »
Middle East
Published by Reuters By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) -The United Nations Human Rights Council agreed on Thursday to launch an international investigation into alleged crimes committed during the 11-day conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza. The independent investigation will have a broad mandate to look into all alleged violations, not just
U.N. launches investigation into whether Israel, Hamas committed crimes Read More »
Middle East
This small book, subtitled (in German) “I want to be a compatriot of the Jewish people,” describes the life of the man who rebelled against the bourgeois and orthodox way of life of his family in early twentieth-century Hamburg, and embarked on a life of almost unceasing adventures and escapades in Europe and the Middle East. Although the book is short, the content is amazingly dense and Sealtiel’s life was so eventful that this review will inevitably be long. What an astonishing life this man had! [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Biography of David Sealtiel Tells Struggles of Pre-State Israel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East
In the context of the 21 st century, Arafat’s rejection of a reasonable peace plan is the root cause of the May deaths of 12 Israelis and more than 230 Gazans, tit-for-tat bombardments, destruction of apartment buildings in Gaza, attempted evictions of Palestinians in east Jerusalem and police raids on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Arafat’s Refusal to Accept an Independent State Led to Subsequent Warfare Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East
Our staff is in regular contact with our partner region, Sha’ar HaNegev, whose residents are once again demonstrating their resilience. Your contribution to our annual campaign provides direct support for our friends in the region. We have identified three critical needs for residents of Sha’ar HaNegev where Federation support is urgently needed, and your contribution today will help to meet these needs in the weeks and months to come. [Heidi Gantwerk]
Federation’s Interim CEO Appeals for Help for Sha’ar Hanegev Read More »
Middle East, San Diego County
By Max Levin LOS ANGELES — As I started cleaning my gun, shouts of “Hakpatzah! Hakpatzah!” came from one of the boys from Team 20 as he ran through the camp. This was what our commanders would yell during training when there was an emergency, but we’d been through over a year of training and
Serving in the IDF: An American-Israeli Soldier’s Perspective Read More »
Middle East, USA
By Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D NEW YORK — Now that a third Israeli-Hamas war has ended as inconclusively as the two previous wars, will both sides prepare for the next one, or let sanity sink in and chart a dramatically new course that will end the vicious cycle from which neither side can ever escape? Righting
A Third Israeli-Hamas War—What’s Next Read More »
Alon Ben-Meir, Middle East, USA
Published by Reuters By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Maha El Dahan AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad voted on Wednesday in an election certain to extend his rule over a country ruined by war, casting his ballot in the former rebel stronghold of Douma where a suspected chemical weapons attack in 2018 prompted Western air
Syria’s Assad votes in former rebel town, site of chemical attack Read More »
Middle East