By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Commentators have long noted that Israel is a western outpost in the Muslim Middle East, and suffers accordingly. This column accepts such a designation, but begins with a slightly different perspective, and seeks to learn what is relevant for the here and now. The Middle East is not only Muslim, or nearly
Middle East is a Third World region Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Raviv Drucker, commentator on Israel’s TV Channel 10 and a columnist in Ha’aretz, seems to me to be the best informed and most incisive commentator on Israeli politics. Speaking on the eve of Netanyahu’s appeal to American Jewry to help him defeat the Iran deal, Drucker suggested that we
Netanyahu hurts Israel with anti N- pact campaign Read More »
Middle East, USANetanyahu lobbies against Iran deal in webcast with 10,000 Jewish leaders (JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told North American Jewish leaders on Tuesday that the alternative to the Iran nuclear deal is “still no deal or a better deal—not war,” and that the “claim Israel wants war is not only wrong—it is outrageous.” “We
Jewish news briefs: August 5, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USAWASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (D-New York) on Tuesday, August 4, announced her opposition to the P5+1 agreement with Iran in the following statement: “Preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon is an essential national security imperative. Since the nuclear agreement was reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries, I have reviewed its
Lowey, a Jewish Democrat, will oppose Iran N- deal Read More »
Middle East, USAPoll: 57% of Americans oppose Iran deal, 28% support it (JNS.org) A new poll conducted by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut found that 57 percent of American voters oppose the Iran nuclear deal, while 28 percent support it. According to the poll, which was published Monday, 58 percent of respondents believe the nuclear pact will make
Jewish news briefs: August 4, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East
By Jonah Naghi JERUSALEM–Dr. Jeff Halper is an American-Israeli anthropologist who is a co-founder and the director of ICAHD (the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions). In an interview he discussed how the approach to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs to be reframed. Some of the topics he discussed were the current situation in Gaza, his experience
Israeli leftist calls for binational state Read More »
Middle East, USADemocratic leaders believe Iran deal secure in Congress (JNS.org) Democratic leaders in Congress believe that the Iran nuclear deal is secure despite nearly unanimous Republican opposition and intense lobbying efforts to defeat it. “More and more [House Democrats] have confirmed to me that they will be there to sustain the veto,” said House of Representatives
Jewish news briefs: August 3, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — In 1985, while Jonathan Pollard was working as a civilian analyst for the Navy, he removed classified material from his workplace. Recognizing that he might be caught, Pollard had set up a secret code with his wife Anne to signal her to remove the classified information from their home if
Jewish trivia: Jonathan Pollard Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle East, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — I’m still among those who don’t know if the Iran deal is as bad as many in Israel say it is or better than its alternatives, which retired big-wigs in the Israeli defense establishment seem to suggest. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s campaign against the
Netanyahu must combat the ayatollahs within Read More »
Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It’s not right and fair to engage in ‘old-timer’ nostalgia at any time, I know, but in view of recent events I can’t help comparing Israel as it was fifty years ago, when I first came to live here, and today. Israel today is, if anything, even more vibrant, productive
Bitter division among Jews threatens Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israel has been wracked by violence, conscience, and not a little hypocrisy in recent days. Assailants, widely thought to be extremist Jews, firebombed a Palestinian home in a West Bank village, killing a year-old child and severely injuring other family members. An ultra-Orthodox Jew, recently released from prison for a similar
2 Jewish terror attacks roil Israel, U.N. Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — I’d like to take back everything negative that I’ve written about President Reuven Rivlin. Though I had repeatedly expressed my admiration for his pronouncements since he became president on behalf of Israel’s Arab citizens, I was distressed by his seeming discrimination against exponents of non-Orthodox Judaism. He seems to
Rivlin, in wake of deaths, urges soul- searching Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Wisdom and justice are elusive topics, with numerous issues on their borders. Israel presents the topics of settlements and Jonathan Pollard. Settlement is either the curse of post-1967 Israel, the fulfillment of God’s promise, an appropriate response to Arab rejections, and/or a way to get more of contested real estate. Americans have
Weighing the morality of settlements, Pollard case Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Shoshana Bryen and Stephen Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Both Iran and North Korea were part of the A.Q. Kahn proliferation network, and bilateral trade in oil and weapons has continued despite UN resolutions designed to stop it. Ballistic missile cooperation is documented, and nuclear cooperation has been an unspoken theme in Washington. Pyongyang helped
Is Iran building its bombs in North Korea? Read More »
International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, Stephen D. Bryen, USA