By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Currently we are reading a lot, but not everything about Ben Zygier, or Ben Alon, or Ben Allen. We are pretty sure that he was an Australian Jew who migrated to Israel, served in the IDF, was recruited to Mossad, and died in Ayalon prison in 2010. We hear that he […]
Suspected spy died mysteriously in an Israeli prison Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — I’ve come to realize why the political parties, especially those that hoped to be in the next government, didn’t have much to say about the peace process during the election campaign. They may have realized that every proposed solution is bound to be too difficult for the voters to
Visit to West Bank reinforces pessimism about peace’s chances Read More »
Middle EastLOS ANGELES (Press Release) – Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Wednesday, Feb. 13, provided an update on the success of the Department of Insurance’s Iran Divestment Program. Jones announced that only eight insurance companies, of the 1300 insurers licensed to do business in California, continue to decline to divest from holdings in the energy, military,
8 insurance companies continue to aid Iran Read More »
Middle EastBy J. Zel Lurie DELRAY BEACH, Florida — Readers of the New York Times, who, like myself, buy the paper chiefly for its extensive coverage of Israel, might be forgiven if they believed that the question of what to do about Iran’s nuclear ambitions played a major role in Israel’s recent elections. Iran was hardly
Filtering Israel through the New York Times Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — North Korea’s nuclear test has cast a shadow over Barack Obama’s visit to Israel. Speculation was that a key item on the agenda would be Obama’s pressure that Israel forget about its own attack on Iran. We’re hearing that Israel might have been planning such a thing in the
North Korean nuclear test shows how little can be done about Iran Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Gabriel Scheinmann WASHINGTON, D.C. — Depending on what one believes, a week-and-a-half ago Israeli fighter jets struck either an arms convoy in Lebanon, the Assad regime’s nerve center for biological and chemical weapons research in Damascus, or an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) headquarters, in an attempt to contain the spillover from the Syrian
Israel becoming more proactive in Middle East Read More »
Middle EastBy Alan Elsner WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israel may be one of the United States’ closest allies but a review of State of the Union speeches for the past 20 years finds that more often than not the issue of Middle East peace and/or Israel have not been mentioned at all. What stands out from this
State of Union messages often ignore Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Sean Savage (JNS.org)As a presidential candidate in Iran, Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi believes the Islamic Republic should prioritize allaying its tension with Israel and the United States—not the kind of approach the world has been accustomed to seeing lately from a country whose leaders repeatedly vow to wipe the Jewish state off the map.
Iranian presidential candidate wants better U.S., Israel relations Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Last Sunday evening my wife and I went to Teddy Stadium, the main sports arena in Jerusalem, not to play soccer or even watch the game, but to demonstrate. The reason was the outrageous racism of some fans of the local soccer team Betar. A significant number of
Anti-Muslim bigotry infects Israeli soccer Read More »
Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Anyone who is at all familiar with the procedure customary in the various Houses of Representatives around the civilized world knows that these are governed by rules and regulations that are often very old, their roots lost in tradition. For instance, the Speaker of England’s parliament (the House of
Installation of new Knesset a sentimental occasion Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — In all the blather from politicians and media personalities following Israel’s indecisive election, it is possible to see two ideas that might provide a map to the country’s future. One is the equalizing of the burdens between the Haredim and the rest of us. Prominent in the explanation of Yair
Israel’s fluid post-election coalition prospects Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — How important is Sara Netanyahu? She is prominent in the realm of politics as theater, presented by the media as a public spectacle. She is a frequent subject of the cartoonist for Ha’aretz, who depicts her like a creature that would remove the certificate of kashrut from Israel’s
Sara Netanyahu, the media figure Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Alan Elsner WASHINGTON, D.C– President Obama’s decision to visit the Middle East this spring has focused new attention on how hard he intends to work and how much time and political capital he might expend on trying to bring about peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Obama will certainly receive a warm welcome both in
Obama’s Mideast Choice: To Engage or not to Engage Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM –It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’re signs, albeit faint, that the in-your-face bravado announcements about settlement expansion by the Likud Beiteinu Party Leader Binyamin Netanyahu before the elections last month were different from what we seem to hear from the office of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu after the
Leaks indicate Netanyahu may withdraw support for settlements Read More »
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