By Michael Ordman NETANYA, Israel –Israelis know that the Jewish State cannot afford to lose a single war or conflict. In fact prevention of any loss of innocent life is paramount to Israelis. And a determined “refusal to give up” is almost a national character trait that can be seen in many other aspects of […]
Roundup of good news from Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM (TNA)–The Palestinian Authority announced last weekthat it will be giving an additional $46 million a year to released prisoners, including hundreds of murderers of civilians, this according to a report by the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). This new funding is an addition to the tens of millions the PA already gives in
Op-Ed: P.A. continues to pay, glorify terrorists Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–They may hear, but they don’t listen. Almost any TV panel of politicians will illustrate it. Before a panelist has an opportunity to say what s/he has been asked to talk about, there’ll be frequent interruptions from other panelists. Sometimes, even a moderator or an interviewer, having asked the question, interrupts
Incivility in the Knesset is inexcusable Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–There is a long tradition, no less prominent in Judaism than in other cultures, of voluntary service and donations collected for the benefit of the needy or some other public purpose. There is also a long list of eleemosynary organizations that have gone bad, with leaders using the resources collected for their
Caution urged for contributors to Israeli charities Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
TEL AVIV (Press Release) — Prof. Irad Malkin, an expert in Classics at Tel Aviv University’s Department of History, has been awarded the 2014 Israel Prize in the field of General History. The prize will be awarded in Jerusalem on the eve of Israel’s Independence Day in May 2014. In awarding the prize, the Israel
Classics scholar Irad Malkin wins Israel Prize Read More »
Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — It has been said that Jordan is the only Arab country in which Palestinians have “full citizenship.” That is less than a complete truth. As Secretary of State John Kerry pursues his plan for a “two state solution,” the insecurity of Palestinian legal status in Jordan is emerging. Israel’s
Why Jordanians want IDF at their boundary Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM — As thousands of the Ultra-Orthodox community protested violently at various cities across Israel against a government bill that may bring to their draft into the IDF, 170 soldiers of the Ultra Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion were sworn in on Thursday, Feb. 6. Hundreds of family members from Jerusalem who
Haredi IDF unit enlists 170 new recruits Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– The people of Israel of have survived worse than the threats currently being made by Palestinians, John Kerry and Thomas Friedman. The betting is that Israel and Palestine will agree to continue talking for another year, if only to avoid a frontal insult to the American administration. Kerry and Friedman do
Israel’s controversies to prompt incremental responses Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel–Avi Shavit is a native-born Israeli Zionist and peace activist. He is also a respected columnist for Ha’aretz newspaper, Israel’s most left wing newspaper. A leading Israeli author, Shavit published his best-selling My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel in 2013. It has become a bestseller. Here’s an
‘My Promised Land,’ well written but uneven Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer
NEW YORK (Press Release)– AJC is challenging the Presbyterian Church (USA) commitment to Israeli-Palestinian peace, following the publication of Zionism Unsettled: A Congregational Study Guide. This study guide, billed by the church as an educational resource, was produced by the Israel Palestine Mission Network (IPMN), one of the church’s educational arms. “It is a devastating distortion
Jewish groups hit Presbyterian study guide on Israel Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East
By Rafael Medoff/JNS.org Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated that he won’t recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and he’s claiming support for that position from an unlikely quarter: former U.S. president Harry Truman. But a closer look reveals that Truman’s words are being misrepresented. In a Feb. 3 interview with the New York
Abbas gets Truman episode all wrong Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — A sage cited in the Ethics of the Fathers taught that the world is founded on three things: Torah (sacred study), Avodah (worship, which is also the word for “work”) and G’millut Chassadim (acts of loving-kindness). Law professor Aviad Hacohen, writing in the daily Yisrael Hayom, offers a haredi
Court sets deadline for Haredi conscription Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Are they or aren’t they threatening Israel? The US Secretary of State and the EU Representative in Israel both said, within days of one another, that the failure of the Israel-Palestine peace talks will increase the economic pressure on Israel. Israeli officials responded to both with counter threats that such language has
Are Kerry and EU threatening Israel, or not? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Wednesday, Feb. 5, decried comments about Reform Judaism attributed to Israeli parliament member David Rotem as “inappropriate, offensive and unjustified,” and called on the Knesset member to retract his statements “quickly and unequivocally” and apologize to the Reform Movement. According to news reports, Mr. Rotem,
Israeli MK dismissive of Reform Judaism Read More »
Middle East