Shalom friends. “Shalom” means peace, and we still can reasonably wish for it. Flaws can be analyzed and discussed, which is busily done by many peace-wishers. For your benefit, I’ll join them. [Ithamar Perath]
OpEd: Israel Beset by ‘The Four Horsemen’ Read More »
Middle East
The Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego has issued an advisory on ways San Diegans may help Israel in the midst of the latest flareup of violence. The Foundation’s recommendations follow: [Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego]
How to Donate to Israel in This Crisis Read More »
Middle East, San Diego County
This week we begin the fourth of the five books of the Torah, the book of BaMidbar. BaMidbar means ‘In the Desert.’ It is also called Sefer HaPikudim, which translates as the Book of Numbers. The portion has the same name as the book itself. It is telling that this portion is read before the holiday of Shavuot, which comes out this year Sunday night through Tuesday night. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
A Word of Torah: Standing Together Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will never be settled through violence. Both sides must wake up and decide whether to chart a new path leading to a mutually gratifying peace or continue a self-consuming conflict that leaves nothing but equally shattered people living in constant horror and fear. [Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D]
Compromise Required to Settle Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Read More »
Alon Ben-Meir, Middle East, USA
Published by Reuters By Rami Ayyub ACRE, Israel (Reuters) – In the mixed Arab and Jewish city of Acre, the holiday festival of Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of Ramadan would normally see families mingling freely and taking their children to fairs and on boat rides along the coast. But fear and mistrust pervaded
Fear stalks streets of Israeli city where Jews and Arabs mixed freely Read More »
Middle East
Published by DPA Dozens of people have died as the violence between Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel escalated to new levels on Thursday. According to an army spokesman, seven people have been killed by shelling in Israel so far. In Gaza, more than 100 people have died, according to the Health Ministry there. People
Mideast violence spirals as death toll passes 100 in Gaza Read More »
Middle East
Published by The Philadelphia Inquirer PHILADELPHIA – I spent Monday between rage and a sense of loss. I watched the Israeli government and security forces make one decision after another to escalate an already bloody situation. My family’s WhatsApp text thread pinged again and again: – They are talking about red alert alarms and sirens
“Here we go again!” That was the heading of a post I wrote a few weeks ago about the general election, but heck, it works just as well for what I’m writing about today, the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza.
The first time I realized that things were getting serious was when I was in my German lesson at the community centre near my house in Mevasseret Zion. “What’s that noise?” I asked the lady sitting next to me. “It’s the siren,” she said, whereupon we and the other participants (all elderly ladies like myself) got up and moved to the shelter, which happened also to house the toilets. We heard (and saw) fire trucks and ambulances racing past, and after hanging around for a while, we all packed up our things and went home to watch the news on TV. A rocket fired from Gaza had landed on a nearby hill, causing very little damage and no injuries, thank goodness. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Frightening sectarian violence within Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East
If this book’s title, Out of the Many, One sounds familiar, it is the English translation of the Latin expression E pluribus unum, the unofficial motto of the United States, which can be found on the back of the $1 bill above the wings of the eagle. Former President George W. Bush decided to include 43 portraits within this book, a number that was not happenstance. He was the 43rd President of the United States. [Donald H. Harrison]
George W. Bush’s Warm Embrace for Immigrants to U.S. Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA
Published by DPA Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday that his country was ready to build close relations with its regional rival Saudi Arabia. Zarif was speaking after meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. The Syrian state news agency Sana quoted Zarif as saying that Iran had made contacts with Saudi
Iran’s foreign minister hopes for better ties with Saudi Arabia Read More »
Middle East
Things tend to run together in the Middle East. Right now, Sheikh Jarrah, Palestinian elections, the Hamas-Fatah civil war, the Abraham Accords, U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Iran sanctions, Jerusalem Day, the Meron tragedy, Israel’s electoral issues and American money and diplomacy are all tangled. [Shoshana Bryen]
Miscalculations by Hamas, Fatah Lead to Their Disaster Read More »
Middle East, USA
Published by Reuters MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that a meeting of four international mediators for resolving the intensifying Israeli-Palestinian conflict is urgently required. Israel said it killed 16 members of the Hamas armed wing in Gaza in a barrage on Wednesday. At least 56 people have been killed
Russia urges ‘quartet’ meet on Israeli-Palestinian conflict Read More »
International, Middle East
Whenever trouble erupted in Israel during the 1980s, “colleagues” in my newsroom in central Pennsylvania would gaze at me suspiciously. At a laundromat in the same small town, a Democratic city councilman complained about Israel’s oppression of the poor Palestinians and an Israeli gunboat raid on the Liberty, an American intelligence vessel discovered off the Egyptian coast during the 1967 war. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Israeli Right-Wingers Exacerbate Hostilities with Palestinians Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East
Here’s a quick response to those of you who are concerned about what’s going on in Israel right now. Among a number of emails/messages regarding the current warfare in Israel, we received this one from our friend Ann in Arizona. {Steve Kramer]
Israel v Hamas – Again Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer