Middle East

Orthodox out- maneuver Reform in Israeli politics

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The collusion between secular Israelis and extreme Orthodoxy has a long and ignominious history. The mixture of cynical indifference and a seemingly visceral belief that authentic Judaism must be Orthodox continues to dominate the political realm in the land. To repeat the old adage: Many Israelis insist that the synagogue […]

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

Positive and negative opinion abounds in Israel

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Writing in the New York Times (June 20) Ross Douthat distinguishes between dynamists and catastrophists. Dynamists, he writes, “see 21st-century modernity as a basically successful civilization advancing toward a future that’s better than the past.” Catastrophists, on the other hand, “see a global civilization that for all its achievements

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Middle East

Jewish news briefs: July 3, 2015

Netanyahu tours Be’er Sheva with Steve Forbes, hails city’s tech ‘revolution’ (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—joined by billionaire Steve Forbes, owner of the Forbes magazine—on Thursday toured Be’er Sheva and the southern Israeli city’s Advanced Technologies Park at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). Netanyahu discussed the area’s potential in the field

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International, Middle East, USA

Israelis wonder what’s behind violence uptick

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Israelis are accustomed to not knowing what’s happening. With the most thoroughgoing security arrangements in western democracies, there is a lot they don’t tell us. The military experience most have had provides its own lessons on the workings of a high compartmentalized organization, and realizing that there are things we do not

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Jewish news briefs: July 2, 2015

Israel’s Shin Bet uncovers extensive Hamas terror network in Nablus (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) More than 40 Palestinians suspected of being Hamas operatives seeking to establish terrorist infrastructures in Judea and Samaria have been arrested over the past few months, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency revealed Wednesday. The suspects were tasked with creating a wide

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International, Middle East

BDS gains church advocates

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — J Street and the Catholic Church proceeded on the same day, last Friday, to press for Israeli and Arab action to end the so-called occupation of Israel’s territories, and they were joined by a large Protestant denomination four days later. Ira Stup, a senior consultant to the J Street

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Middle East, USA

The brouhaha over Israeli gas

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM –They didn’t teach economics in my Rabbinic School. Though I’ve learned one or two new things since my ordination, understanding money hasn’t been one of them, even though fund raising has become an important, perhaps essential, component of being a rabbi. I’m grateful to the congregations I served for judging

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Middle East

Jewish news briefs: July 1, 2015

Obama admin. won’t enforce anti-BDS trade provision in Judea and Samaria (JNS.org) After President Barack Obama signed a trade bill that takes a stand against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, his administration said the U.S. would not use the legislation to protect Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. The Trans-Pacific Partnership bill,

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International, Middle East, USA