WASHINGTON, D.C. –Following is the text of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on Monday, March 3, to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as provided by the U.S. State Department: * SECRETARY KERRY: Norm, thank you. Thank you very, very much. Thank you all, 14,000 strong or more. (Applause.) Howard, Howard Friedman […]
Text of John Kerry’s AIPAC speech Read More »
Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The primary purpose of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state is probably to make sure that, after they get their state, they cease to make claims on Israel, as their present ideology may prompt them to do. At a symposium held last Monday in
How should Israel respond to influx of African refugees? Read More »
Middle East
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — State Department Spokesman Jen Psaki issued the following statement Monday, March 3, on the situation in Syria: “The United States deplores continued threats against Christians and other minorities in Syria, who are increasingly targeted by extremists. Last week in Raqqa, the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant (ISIL) announced it
U.S. deplores threats against Syria’s minorities Read More »
Middle East, USA
WASHINGTON, D.C — U.S. President Barack Obama and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House on Monday, March 3, to discuss a wide range of topics including the civil war in Syria, the efforts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, turmoil in Egypt, and the ongoing U.S.-brokered discussions between Israel
Obama, Netanyahu discuss range of Mideast issues Read More »
Middle East, USA
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM – After experiencing a record breaking snow storm in December and an extremely dry winter after that, Israel is now experiencing more unusual weather – a sand and dust storm from the Sahara has descended on the country, creating a grimy and eerie atmosphere. Such storms are not uncommon for this
Sand and dust blanket Israel Read More »
Middle East
By Anav Silverman JERUSALEM–Among the hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews that gathered to protest the government’s proposed military draft law yesterday, there were countless women and children. Police estimated that about half a million Haredim gathered on Sunday afternoon at the nation’s capital, with 2,000 busses bringing in demonstrators from outside, in a united
Haredi women express their views on draft Read More »
Middle East
Editor’s Note: Following is a response to “Muslims, Jews See the World Differently,” a column by Professor Ira Sharkansky that ran on San Diego Jewish World on February 24, 2014: By Jacob Bender PHILADELPHIA — The essence of xenophobia is to extend to an entire group the actions of the few. Based upon the financial
Muslims, Jews not a case of “us versus them” Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Last December, Jerusalem was under siege because of the snowstorm; today Sunday, March 2, it’s under siege because of the half-a-million or more ultra-Orthodox haredim due to come out to demonstrate against the proposed conscription law that would not only compel their young men to serve in the army
Mass Haredi protest expected in Jerusalem Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Guess what? There is another proposal for solving Israel’s problem with the Palestinians. Michael Oren, recently Israeli Ambassador to the US, has proposed that Israel recognize the impossibility of reaching a deal with the Palestinians, define its borders, withdraw from the rest of the West Bank, and hope for the
Oren the latest with an impractical idea Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
NEW YORK (Press Release) –AJC (American Jewish Committee) sharply criticized Amnesty International for its new report on Israeli military activities in the West Bank. “Sadly but tellingly, starting with the title, this Amnesty International report has all the hallmarks of those groups that excel in lambasting, with what can only be described as calculated bias,
AJC calls Amnesty Int’l report ‘calculated bias’ Read More »
Middle EastEditor’s Note: Here are the sections about human rights in Israel and the Territories that were part of a larger report issued on Thursday, Feb. 27, by the U.S State Department evaluating human rights issues around the world. * Israel Israel is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Although it has no constitution, the parliament, the unicameral
State Dept. report on human rights in Israel, territories Read More »
Middle East, USAEditor’s Note: San Diego Jewish World printed a brief obituary notice about the death of Barry Rubin, whose columns we had the privilege of carrying from time to time. In this article, his colleague, Jonathan Spyer, looks back over Rubin’s career and assesses the contributions he made to Middle Eastern studies. By Jonathan Spyer HERZLIYA
In memory of Barry Rubin, scholar and journalist Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Settlers and the ultra-Orthodox are important minorities in Israeli politics. Both are somewhere on the fringe of key decision-makers, but must be taken into consideration even if not part of the A-team. There is no precise measure of either group. “Settlers” are both more and less than the people living in post-1967
Settlers, Haredim both important blocs in Israel politics Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister has worked hard to forge an alliance with the king of Jordan. One of the results is said to be Israel supplying water for the million Syrian refugees currently in the kingdom without which they couldn’t survive. Another is the sale of half-a-billion dollars’ worth of
Feiglin’s folly: Knesset debate on Temple Mount Read More »
Middle East