American-Israeli victim of Jerusalem bus attack succumbs to his wounds (JNS.org) An American-Israeli man who was critically wounded in a Jerusalem terrorist attack two weeks ago died Tuesday morning. Richard Lakin, 76, is the third victim of the attack, in which two Arab terrorists boarded a bus traveling between the capital’s Jewish neighborhood of Armon
Middle East Roundup: October 27, 2015 Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — We are seeing in recent events the advantages of a state, as well as reasons to doubt the wisdom of creating a Palestinian state. It’s not a simple issue. A state can discipline its people, via decisions of a government, police, and courts. However, Palestinians speak and act in numerous ways,
Statehood for Palestine? There are pros and cons Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastArgument over Hitler and the Mufti is a distraction By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, set off a firestorm on October 21 by saying that the Mufti of Jerusalem had actually planted the idea of exterminating the Jews in Hitler’s mind; that Hitler would have simply ousted them from Europe.
Never Again: Holocaust news for October 26, 2015 Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Shoshana BryenMorgan Freeman visits Western Wall for National Geographic’s ‘Story of God’ (JNS.org) Beloved Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman arrived in Israel for a surprise visit this week as part of a television series he is filming for National Geographic. The Oscar winner visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, escorted by Western
Middle East Roundup: October 26, 2015 Read More »
Middle EastBy Barry Shaw NETANYA, Israel — When all strands of Palestinian political society came together in a deadly incitement based on religion radiating out from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem it left many dead on both sides of the religious divide – Jewish Israelis who were the prime target of Islam-motivated Palestinians. Although the Islamic Movement
Jordan’s delicate, pivotal role on the Temple Mount Read More »
Barry Shaw, Middle EastBy Richard L. Cravatts, PhD BOSTON — Perhaps when literary critic C.S. Lewis despaired of “omnipotent moral busybodies . . . who torment us for our own good,” he was speaking about those well-meaning, but naïve college students who “torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” Lewis’s observation
SJP wants ‘free speech’ for itself, not for others Read More »
Middle East, Richard L. Cravatts, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Friday afternoons are times of high tension. Tens of thousands leave the mosques, where some of the preachers have urged death to the Jews. My last column included a link to one such sermon. The translation is provided by Memri, a respected institution that provides material from Persian and Arabic in Hebrew,
Jerusalem intifada seems to be quieting Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The good news is that Jews won’t be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. Cameras will be installed to check up on them and to provide evidence as to who causes the troubles there. That seems to be the outcome of Kerry’s conversations with Netanyahu, Abu Mazen
By Barry Shaw NETANYA, Israel — The old argument used to be that Palestinians were fighting and demonstrating to achieve a state of their own, and that it was Israeli obstinacy that was fermenting Arab violence against Jews. On top of that, a misinterpretation by much of the media positioned Palestinian rage being caused by
Jew hatred and media bias team up against Israel Read More »
Barry Shaw, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Take your pick: which national leader has spoken his way to more damage than benefit? First consider the Palestinians. By all apparent measures, they have been both clumsy intellectually, and damaging to their people. To be sure, we must be wary of explaining Palestinian actions. The cultural divide between us
Foolish statements? Netanyahu and Abbas compete Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastMahmoud Abbas’s brother-in-law undergoes life-saving surgery in Israel (JNS.org) Amid ongoing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, a brother-in-law of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas underwent life-saving cardiac surgery at the Assuta Medical Center in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Israel Hayom reported. The Palestinian leader’s relative is still hospitalized and is under heavy guard. An
Middle East Roundup: October 23, 2015 Read More »
Middle East
JERUSALEM (WJC) — A delegation of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR) met with Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaitė in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning, Oct. 21, to discuss a number of issues. The meeting was also attended by the Baltic country’s foreign minister, Linas Linkevičius. Grybauskaitė told the WJC-ICFR
Never Again: Holocaust news for October 22, 2015 Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — No end of composers have been inspired by nature, and have gone on to inspire countless audiences in turn. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, and the French nineteenth century composers are just a few examples of this. But the composer whose music is above all the embodiment of
Mahler’s love of nature inspires Jerusalem Symphony Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsIsraeli hurt in Beit Shemesh stabbing; 1 perpetrator a known Hamas operative (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) An Israeli man was lightly to moderately wounded in a stabbing attack in Beit Shemesh on Thursday morning—an attack that could have been worse had it not been for the quick response of the Israeli security forces and vigilant
Middle East Roundup: October 22, 2015 Read More »
Middle East