By 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 East
By 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 »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–A country’s politics is a product of big things and little things. The big things have been around for a long time, and are unlikely to go away soon. They include place (i.e., geography and its implications), the good or bad luck of having or lacking natural resources, and elements of culture
Big things, little things in U.S., Israel politics Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Aryeh Savir Much is said about life in Israel; the challenges are counted, the fear of the various regional threats are often talked about, the unique difficulties entailed with living in Israel are recounted time and again, yet a recently published poll by the Central Bureau of Statistics which tracked the social trends in
Poll finds Israelis are content with lives Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Israel is currently greatly benefiting from not having a foreign minister. Avigdor Lieberman, who helped Prime Minister Netanyahu to do badly in the last general election by joining forces with him, is currently otherwise engaged as a defendant in a criminal case. Netanyahu seemingly bound to keep the job open for
Israel awash in speculation over foreign policy Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– There is a lot of tantalizing stuff buzzing around our ears and in front of our eyes, depending on whether we are hearing or reading what might be called the “news.” The problems are that some of the news may be disinformation coming from official sources, some comes from unreliable internet
Mideast mix: a peace initiative here, talk of war there Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Barack Obama has said that Syrian use of chemical weapons is a “game changer.” According to the lead paragraphs in a New York Times article, the President said “he would respond “prudently” and “deliberately” to evidence that Syria had used chemical weapons, tamping down any expectations that he would take
U.S., Israel backing down on ‘red line’ rhetoric? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — After several days of stuttering about a lack of proof and not wanting to rely on the intelligence of a foreign country, the US Secretary of Defense has admitted that it appears Syria has used a few chemical weapons. Thus the US comes into line with Israeli and European intelligence
World will watch U.S. action on Syria’s chemical use Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Aryeh Savir UNITED NATIONS, New York — Ambassador Ron Prosor, Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, spoke Wednesday, April 24, during the UN Security Council’s monthly debate on the Middle East. During his statement he noted that: “Earlier this month, the Iranian delegate…had the audacity to say the following ‘the transfer of arms to
Just how hypocritical is Iran’s government? Read More »
Middle EastBy Roz Rothstein and Roberta Seid Anti-Israel activists spin tales about alleged Israeli human rights abuses to instill hostility against the Jewish state. They have had an impact, but not one desired by most fair-minded people. The false allegations have served as a decoy, distracting the UN, NGOs, churches, students and the wider public from the
Women, gays, other religions persecuted in Middle East Read More »
Middle East