By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Neither Benny Gantz nor Yair Lapid – the leaders of the Blue and White party in Israel who have agreed to take turns as prime minister should they come to power – are likely to be more competent politicians than Binyamin Netanyahu. And no successor, whoever s/he may be, […]
OpEd: Israel would be better off with the Blue and White Read More »
Middle EastBy Steve Kramer KFAR SAVA, Israel — The Jerusalem Post has reported that ten progressive Jewish groups sent a letter calling on the US House of Representatives leadership to vote on House Resolution 326, which supports the two-state solution. The resolution, which was introduced in April, is cosponsored by 132 House Democrats. The resolution
‘Two- state solution’ an impractical dream Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Barry Shaw NETANYA, Israel — As a first step in the new initiative to facilitate the divorce between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the U.S. Administration and Bahrain announced that they would host an economic workshop entitled “Peace to Prosperity” in the Bahraini capital of Manama on June 25 and 26, 2019. This is
P.A.’s rejection of Bahrain hurts own people Read More »
Jewish History, Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D. C –For Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, the world must start fresh every day. That would explain her ignorance on Iran. “None of this [tension] would be happening if Trump didn’t back out of the Iran nuclear deal,” Omar said on Twitter. “America’s response should be to return to the table
No Rep. Omar, Iran troubles didn’t start with Trump Read More »
International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA
By Robbie Strazynski CardPlayerLifeStyle.com LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Last year, while walking through the hallowed hallways at the Rio during the World Series of Poker, I noticed a vendor with an interesting product I had never seen before, a Digital Poker Table. The vendor, Ariel Shefer, told me all about his product and how
Israeli native invents Digital Poker Table Read More »
Middle East, Sports & Competitions, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C –U.S. policy toward the Middle East swings substantially depending upon the occupant of the Oval Office, but some hoary myths persist year after year. One concerns the legal status of the territories. U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told The New York Times that, “Under certain circumstances, I think Israel
‘Illegal occupation’ by Israel is a myth Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israel is not a typical country. Its prominence includes a rise in population over its 70 years of history, from less than 800,000 to more than 9,000,000. There have been wars in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1969, 1973, 1982, and 2006, several prominent military operations in response to West Bank intifadas
Politics, religion, geography make Israel atypical Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Nitsana Darshan-Leitner RAMAT GAN, Israel –Shurat HaDin is continuing its battle against the racist BDS movement. This past week, we filed an amicus curiae or “friend of the court” brief with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the State of Arkansas’ Anti-BDS law, exposing the insidious discriminatory origins and tactics of
Shurat HaDin battles BDS in Arkansas case Read More »
Middle East, USA
By David Cumin, PhD AUCKLAND, New Zealand — In the second century, the Romans renamed Judea as “Palaestina” in an attempt to minimize the Jewish indigenous ties to the land of Israel. The New Zealand government recently published a similar insult, labeling a map of the State of Israel as “Palestine” in an official Immigration
New Zealand briefly replaces Israel with ‘Palestine’ Read More »
International, Middle EastBy H. Applebaum SAN DIEGO — It was June, 27, 1976, forty three years ago. The Palestine Liberation Organization and radical left-wing Germans hijacked an Air France flight in Athens, refueled in Libya, and landed at Entebbe airport in Uganda. There, the syphilitic president, Idi Amin,
The legacy of Entebbe Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — One of the Facebook groups I belong to is called ‘Brits Whingeing in Israel’ (motto: ‘Lose some, whinge some’), having split off from ‘Brits Laughing in Israel,’ which in turn split off from ‘Brits Living in Israel.’ The politics behind the various groups and sub-groups is not clear
Cell phones cause whingeing at concert venues Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — Rabea Ali, president of the Muslim Students Association at Manhattan College, wasted no time challenging U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel’s advocacy in a campus speech for Israel when she asked, “And how do you find it in your humanity to support Israel when it is actively committing human rights
Abrasive questions on Israel asked of Engel Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — This is an early and partial (i.e. neither complete nor impartial) attempt to comment on the second election in Israel this year, due next September. The immediate inspiration comes from a cartoon in Ha’aretz that shows the quartet that leads the main opposition Blue and White Party. Three of
Is Blue and White doing nothing on purpose? Read More »
Middle East
By Zev Bar-Lev SAN DIEGO – A student, let’s call her Ida, says: “I find the Hebrew language completely opaque, as if hidden from me by a thick curtain. I’ve memorized the whole alphabet, all the shapes & their sounds, but I can’t make much out of words, much less sentences—even with a bunch of
The hidden meanings of the Hebrew alphabet Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education