By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Though the news, leaks, speculations and spins about the efforts to cobble together a coalition before time runs out in another week or so dominate the public discourse in Israel, the volatile situation on its borders isn’t being ignored either. As so often in Israel, professors are frequently […]
Arab Spring devolves into tribal anarchy Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The fighters who seized a patrol of UN Peacekeepers across the border on the Golan Heights explained their actions by the assertion that the UN as well as Bashar al-Assad and his soldiers are agents of Israel. In the eyes of some, made important at least momentarily by their weapons and putting
Seizure of U.N. peacekeepers demonstrates Mideast perils Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Two separate issues are telling us something about the status of Israel in international perspective. One is the visit of President Barack Obama, which has triggered hopes and fears of what he will do when he gets here, up to and including a timetable for the withdrawal of a half
International images at odds with Israeli reality Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that Sheli Yachimovitch isn’t taking my advice that Labor should join the Netanyahu government. But can she survive as party leader having turned down the Shas guru, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who is said to have even been prepared to call on her
Better a government with Haredim than with settlers Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — In the course of the election campaign last January, Yair Lapid, the leader of the new party Yesh Atid, declared that he very much wanted to be part of the next Netanyahu government. Naftali Bennet, the head of the Zionist, settler-nationalist, largely Orthodox party Habayit Hayehudi had election posters
A brief for Labour joining Bibi’s government Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Bibi has finished the four weeks provided by the President to create a government, and has received the two-week extension allowed by law to the President’s discretion. Prospects are not good, with the two contentious camps of the Haredim and anti-Haredim cursing and threatening one another. Bibi says that he
Pros and cons of Haredim in Israel’s government Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama’s plans in the Middle East include three and a half hours in Ramallah to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The president’s hope is to find a mechanism for advancing Israeli-Palestinian “peace.” The appearance of the President of the United States in “Palestine” is calculated to provide
Obama’s upcoming visit to Ramallah Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Maariv is one of Israel’s two centrist Hebrew dailies, along with Yedioth Aharonoth. They are between Haaretz to the left and Israel Hayom to the right. While no editorial board may be free of subtle or not so subtle intentions, one doesn’t read Maariv prepared for the most obvious of
Ma’ariv headlines make for worrisome Shabbat Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Yehuda Bauer is one of Israel’s internationally recognized historians. His special fields of research include the Holocaust, genocide and anti-Semitism. His latest book is a collection of popular essays which he’s said to be currently translating into English, probably under the title, The Impossible People. In an essay that
Differentiating anti-Semitism from loving self-criticism Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — In the westerns that I saw as a kid, at a cost of $0.25 on Saturday afternoons, the meaning of “speaking with forked tongues” was clear. White man lied to the Indian. The Hebrew equivalent is כפל לשון (keffel lashon), double tongue. The Palestinian leadership is speaking in כפל לשון.
The deceitful words of international politics Read More »
Middle EastBy Evelyn Gordon When massive protests forced Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon in 2005, it seemed that Lebanon had finally been liberated from foreign domination. But the liberation proved illusory: The country remained in thrall to Hezbollah, which took its orders from Iran and Syria. Hezbollah’s dominance was dramatically demonstrated in
Putting an end to Hezbollah Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Netanyahu and his supporters received an unexpected gift from Hollywood: neither of the two Israeli documentaries got an Oscar. Both are highly critical of Israeli government policies as the films testify to the country’s commitment to democracy that allows such open and explicit criticism of its government
The growing cost of Mideast stalemate Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Palestinian unrest is competing with domestic unrest about the Haredim as the principal items in Israel’s media. Has the third intifada already started? Is it only a matter of time? It appears that the Palestinian leadership on the West Bank has no desire for a full blown rebellion. They know
The recipe for Palestinian violence Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM –Purim is in the air and with it countless opportunities for Purim-shpiels of one kind or another. The most watched spectacle at the moment in Israel is the effort to form a new government. The humor is particularly biting because we still remember the promises the various parties made before
Coalition building one big Purim shpiel Read More »
Middle East