By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –The holiday of Shavuot provided a pleasant respite from the excessive excitement of this country. Instead of the usual drone of disaster and dispute in the media, there were tasty festivities heavy on cheese filled casseroles topped off with cheese cake. The relative quiet, for everything but my aging arteries, was […]
And now a return to regular Middle East news Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Lloyd Levy EILAT, Israel — It never ceases to amaze me how Israel almost manages to be a proverbial island of tranquility in a sea of complete turmoil. The preoccupation in Israel at the moment is the perceived extravagance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu and his wife. Apparently they had a special bed built on
Neutrality is Israel’s wisest policy in Syria Read More »
Lloyd Levy, Middle East
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM — In a ceremony celebrating its 150th anniversary which was named “My Honor is My Freedom,” the International Red Cross together with the Palestinian Red Crescent planted 150 trees in Jenin bearing the names of “veteran prisoners.” According to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) the Palestinian Authority uses the term “veteran
IRC reportedly joins ceremony honoring terrorists Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The latest numbers about the two year old Syrian civil war are 80,000 deaths, one million refugees over the borders in Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon, and a total of four million displaced Syrians either over the borders or away from their homes in Syria. As always, we must be suspicious
As Syrians kill each other, U.S., Turkey, Israel watch Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–Although I was not in Jerusalem for Jerusalem Day this year, having been called away to fulfill grandparental duties, it was very much in my thoughts. I still have a very clear memory of those six days in June, just 46 years ago, when I was only dimly able to
Israel Museum provides Christian tours for volunteers Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin called Prime Minister Netanyahu during Mr. Netanyahu’s visit to China, surely a diplomatic oddity. (Chinese Premier Li Kegiang answers the hotline in Beijing and says, “Oh, sure. Hey, Bibi, it’s for you.”) President Obama called him there as well, making Netanyahu appear to be the
Anti-Israel violence is ongoing warfare, not ‘retaliation’ Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israel’s current discussion is providing its lessons in the politics of economics and the economics of politics. Political economy is the name of the game. It is not really a discussion we are having. It’s more like simultanteous complaints, expressed as close to the top of one’s voice as appropriate
Middle Class, Haredim angered by Lapid budget Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Sahar Raz PETAH TIKVA, Israel — It is not altogether common to see a 33-year-old man walking through the streets with large quantities of children’s toys, much less one wearing a military officer’s uniform. Yet when the IDF Website met with Maj. Maor Cohen, the officer was carrying boxes of Legos – those popular
IDF ‘Lego Man’ helps ailing Israeli children Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — On Sunday the vast bulk of Israel’s media was about Syria. By Tuesday, it had shifted to the budget that Finance Minister Yair Lapid would present to the government. The background was a sizable deficit in the budgets of recent years, and a greater deficit projected for the present year
Lapid’s budget draws fire and disappointment Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM–Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held the weekly government meeting at Mount Herzl on Sunday in honor of Jerusalem Day which is to be celebrated on Wednesday (May 8). Israel will celebrate the 46th anniversary of the unification of its capital. Netanyahu stated during the special session that the liberation of
Jerusalem most populous and most visited Israeli city Read More »
Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C.–The announcement by Secretary of Defense Hagel that the United States will “rethink all options” including arming Syrian rebel groups, was carefully hedged. “It doesn’t mean… you will” (choose any particular path). The statement however moves the U.S. closer to picking sides in a war with no good options and no
Sunni-Shia clash in Syria part of their global war Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Those who saw the promotional video, Israel: Seeing is Believing, might want to balance it with a BBC production, Israel: Facing the Future. It will take an hour of your time, but is worth it on several dimensions. It is as good as anything I’ve seen for displaying the variety
BBC portrait of Israel close to the mark Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Not every day is as filled with such sharp contrasts as those of a recent 24 hours. One item is a video that came to my mailbox with the title, Israel: Seeing is Believing. It looks like something from the Ministry of Tourism, and would send me to the nearest airport if
The Israel of tourists and the one of soldiers Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Anav Silverman YITZHAR, Israel — In the recent media coverage of Evyatar Borovsky’s murder, the 31-year-old father of five young children was described in several international reports as a “hardline settler.” Borovsky, who hailed from the community of Yitzhar, was on his way to a theater rehearsal when he was stabbed to death
Murdered Israeli settler was part of acting troupe Read More »
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