By Maxine Dovere/JNS.org NEW YORK—Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai recently came to New York City to talk about his city of sun, sand, skyscrapers, and start-ups. With “just two minutes” on a winter afternoon to introduce the city and its entrepreneurs, he began his presentation with a weather report. Noting the damp, cold conditions, Huldai […]
Huldai: Start up city now city of start ups Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Turkey’s response to Israel’s apology over the Mavi Marmara incident some three years ago was swift and remarkably enthusiastic. Israel is likely to be less pleased, but apparently Prime Minister Netanyahu realized that President Obama deserved a parting gift, and so he made the call to Prime Minister Erdogan.
Turkey and Israel effect a rapprochement Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — For most of Jewish history, we have been getting what we did not deserve. The people who gave the world the God-concept and the scriptural tradition, which inspired old tribes to cease sacrificing human beings in order to gratify their spooky deities, have been reviled. The Jews, who
President Obama’s intellectual visit to Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama’s visit to Israel, and particularly his speech to 500 university students, was a winner at many levels including one he probably had not even considered. In how many countries can the President of the United States call forth the passions of the local people and have confidence
President Obama’s call for peaceful protest in Israel Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — What would be the relationship between Israel and the Palestinian Authority today, had Obama made the speech he now made in Jerusalem at the beginning of his first four-year term as president rather than at the beginning of the second? Not only would much of the allegedly toxic atmosphere
If Obama’s speech had come four years ago Read More »
Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The visit to Israel of US President Obama caused great excitement for a variety of reasons. The first was why had he come? Was it to reach an agreement regarding dealing with Iran’s steady progress towards a nuclear bomb or to exert pressure towards a solution of the
Some impressions of Obama’s Israel visit Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastHere is the text of President Barack Obama‘s address Thursday at the Jerusalem Convention Center, as prepared for delivery (and below that are his comments in Ramalah, Palestine Authority, with PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Remarks of President Barack Obama To the People of Israel Jerusalem Convention Center March 21, 2013 Shalom. It is an honor
Obama urges Israelis to put themselves in Palestinians’ shoes Read More »
Middle EastBy Yaakov Lappin JINSA Visiting Fellow U.S. President Barack Obama is in Israel today on for his first state visit here. He will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss three core strategic security issues. The first issue will undoubtedly be Iran’s nuclear program, an issue that dwarfs all others in terms of
Iran will dominate Obama-Netanyahu talks Read More »
Middle EastBy Gary Rotto SAN DIEGO — President Obama is only the fifth sitting US President to visit Israel and like his predecessor, George W. Bush, waited until after the first term to make such a visit. Major diplomatic announcements or breakthroughs are not expected in any of the stops – to Israel, the West Bank or Jordan.
Friendship, not breakthroughs, object of Obama visit Read More »
Middle EastThe Sons of Pigs and Apes: Muslim Antisemitism and the Conspiracy of Silence by Neil J. Kressel, Potomac Books, Washington, D.C.; ISBN 978-1-59797-702-9 ©2012, $29.95, p. 206, plus addenda and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — The word “anti-Semitism” is a relatively new word to the English language, being coined sometime after 1860.
Book examines Muslim anti-Semitism Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The day after the swearing in of Israel’s new government and the day before the arrival of President Obama, a symposium was held in Jerusalem under the title, “Israeli-Palestinian Conflict – Where to?” on the occasion of the publication of The Routledge Handbook on the Israeli Palestinian Conflict, edited by Joel
Is Israeli-Palestinian accord even possible now? Read More »
Middle EastBy David A. Harris WASHINGTON, D.C. –To know why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has proved so intractable, it’s worth reading the two op-eds published by The New York Times on March 13th, in advance of President Barack Obama’s much-anticipated visit to the region. The first, placed at the top of the page, was by Rashid Khalidi,
Op-Ed shows difficulty of negotiating with Palestinians Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Politics does not operate like a Swiss watch. The image is outdated, but remains useful. The overwhelming majority of watches are electronic, run by batteries and tiny programs rather than by springs and cog wheels made and assembled by skilled craftsmen (or craftspeople) in Swiss villages. Word is that
The tangled reality of government coalitions Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Signs are not auspicious for Barack Obama’s coming visit. The front page of Friday’s Ma’ariv headlined a poll showing more Israel’s viewing him as antagonistic to Israel (38%) than as supportive of Israel (33%), and substantially more Israelis opposing a gesture toward the Palestinians in connection with the visit (51%) than
Plurality believes President Obama antagonistic to Israelis Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East