By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — A headline in Monday’s Ha’aretz sums it up: “Netanyahu to American Jews: Drop Dead.” Though I mailed my previous reflections just before the official announcement about the prime minister caving in to his ultra-Orthodox colleagues, I anticipated the outcome. That’s what I wrote: The present wave of Orthodox pressure […]
Kotel decision will turn young Americans off to Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There are attractions in the Jewish State, but also problems. Given its location and population, no surprise that they are the problems of living with Jews, and Arabs. They aren’t the same problems, and it isn’t obvious which are the most serious, or threatening. Arab citizens are some 20 percent of
Israel’s diverse population yields many factions Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion, Middle EastSince vote to add Tomb of the Patriarchs to list of endangered sites seems like a foregone conclusion, Jerusalem says expert commission a waste of time By Raphael Ahren A Jewish settler sits outside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron (Kobi Gideon/Flash90) Israel on Friday denied a fact-finding mission
Ahead of UNESCO vote on Hebron, Israel bars fact-finding mission from city Read More »
Middle EastCasino magnate’s wife Miriam also to be questioned Monday on PM’s alleged ties to couple’s Israel Hayom daily By Alexander Fulbright and Sue Surkes American billionaire businessman Sheldon Adelson (R) and his wife Miriam meet Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu, at the International Conference Centre in Jerusalem, May 13, 2008. (Anna Kaplan /FLASH90/
Adelson said set to testify again in Netanyahu corruption probe Read More »
Middle EastWhen the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, was invited to speak at San Francisco State University (SFSU) in the spring of 2016, few could have predicted that his visit—at the request of SF Hillel, a group for Jewish college students in the city—would result in a lawsuit being filed a year later. The mayor’s trip
Middle East Conflict Comes to U.S. Campuses Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USATel Aviv (dpa) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended Israeli attacks on Syrian military targets the day before amid reports of new Israeli airstrikes. Netanyahu said his country would respond forcefully to any projectiles that land on its territory. The Israeli military said its air force on Saturday launched strikes inside Syria after
Netanyahu defends Israeli attacks on Syrian military targets Read More »
Middle EastA U.S. official denied reports that Trump was considering pulling out of peace negotiations between Israel and Palestinians after a rift opened up in the first meeting between Trump aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat reported Saturday that the meeting between Kushner and Abbas had been
Will Trump Pull Out of Middle East Peace Talks? Read More »
Middle East, USATurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that he backs Qatar’s dismissal of the ultimatum sent by Saudi Arabia and its allies. The 13 conditions to end the diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar go “too far”, Erdogan told reporters after morning prayers at an Istanbul mosque. He asserted that the demands are “against international
TURKEY – QATAR – Why Turkey is backing Qatar in Gulf diplomatic crisis Read More »
Middle EastEducation minister says Breaking the Silence spokesman admitted publicly to committing crime, so a trial is justified By Stuart Winer Education Minister and Jewish Home party leader, Naftali Bennett, leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, June 19, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday gave his full backing to a police probe
Bennett backs probe of leftist NGO activist who claimed he beat Palestinian Read More »
Middle EastEditor’s Note: Rabbi Marmur wrote the following column just before the Israeli government decided to freeze implementation of egalitarian worship at the Western Wall. By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — I’m a member of the organization of Reform rabbis in Israel, and, together with my wife I belong to two Reform congregations in Jerusalem. I’m,
The fight over religious pluralism in Israel Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastThe U.S.-led coalition’s strikes against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in two Syrian provinces killed 472 civilians in the last month, according to a monitor. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a U.K.-based monitoring group that has an extensive network of contacts on the ground in Syria, said the toll was more than
U.S. Coalition Killed 472 Civilians Last Month in Syria Read More »
International, Middle East, USARiyadh (dpa) – Saudi security forces late Friday said they had foiled a “imminent terrorist plot” targeting the Grand Mosque that houses Islam’s holiest site in the city of Mecca. The attack against the Grand Mosque was being planned by three terrorist groups: two based in Mecca and a third in the nearby city of
Saudi Arabia says it foiled attack targeting Islam’s holiest mosque Read More »
Middle EastTribute to ‘martyr’ Khaled Nazzal in Jenin had been removed earlier in week after intense pressure from PM Netanyahu By Times of Israel staff A monument to “martyr” Khaled Nazzal in a Jenin square named after him. Nazzal was the mastermind of the 1974 Maalot massacre in which Palestinian terrorists murdered 22 school children and
Palestinians reportedly return monument to Maalot terrorist Read More »
Middle EastA drama about three young women trying to figure it all out in Tel Aviv, director Maysaloun Hamoud’s ‘In Between’ is a charming jab at the patriarchy By Jordan Hoffman NEW YORK — The cinema cognoscenti got a peek at something special at New York’s Museum of the Moving Image. While Maysaloun Hamoud’s “In Between”
This unexpected indie Israeli film inspired the first Palestinian fatwa in decades Read More »
Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast