Explosion at Iran’s underground nuclear site? (JNS.org) Conflicting reports have emerged over news of an explosion at Iran’s underground nuclear site at Fordow last week. The news website WND first reported the alleged blast, quoting a defected Iranian intelligence officer who claimed a massive explosion occurred at the facility at 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 21, […]
JNS news briefs: January 28, 2013 Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Israel’s voters have done their job, and now can wait through a month or more while party politicians and media commentators fill the air with their talk of what is possible, what they want, and what they do not want. Depending on what is between one’s ears or in back of one’s
Election over, insiders’ electioneering begins Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –The results of Israel’s general election were not as depressing as expected, although not as good as might have been hoped. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is still firmly in the saddle, but the composition of his coalition government may be radically different from the outgoing one. At this stage,
Are young and rich Lapid and Bennet agents of change? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Perhaps only Rabbi Meir Azari, the spiritual leader of Tel Aviv’s Reform Beit Daniel congregation, would describe Yair Lapid, the new powerhouse of Israeli politics, as a Reform Jew. That’s not how Lapid seems to see himself. In an article in the English Ha’aretz of January 24, he’s quoted
Lapid’s success should encourage Reform Jews Read More »
Middle EastBy Evelyn Gordon When the Palestinian Authority (PA) obtained UN recognition as a nonmember observer state in November, many Israelis feared the consequences for Israel: After all, PA President Mahmoud Abbas stated openly that he sought recognition primarily “to pursue claims against Israel” in international forums. Those fears may yet prove justified.
PA near financial collapse Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Though the two ultra-Orthodox political parties, Shas and Yahadut Hatorah, held their own or did better in the Israeli elections earlier this week, their grip on key issues in the country may be loosening, not because they’ve embraced liberalism and moderation but as a result of the character of
Election may prompt religious reform Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — One should never say never, but it appears that the Palestinians have shut the door against the idea of a state. Too often they have done what Abba Eban placed in the handbook of political aphorisms, missing yet another opportunity to miss an opportunity. One can produce numerous explanations of
World increasingly fatigued by Palestinian intractability Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israel had a party on Election Day. The weather was beautiful and people went to the beach and the parks by the tens of thousands. They were in a very good mood. And why not? For all the gloom and doom about Israel, its neighbors and its neighborhood, Israel
Youth and females emerge from Israel’s election Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Thirty four parties were officially in the running. Polls indicated that 11 were certain of winning enough votes to enter the Knesset, two others were close to the minimum required, and four of the others attracted my attention as curiosities. It will be another day before the ballots of Israelis
‘No’ to Palestinians among trends in Israel election Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — I’m pleased that I was wrong about the expected meteoric ascendance of Naftali Bennet and his party Habayit Hayehudi; my pessimism got the better of me. But I still see Bennet as Netanyahu’s natural successor. He and his party are most likely to be in the government as
Netanyahu may need parties on left for his coalition Read More »
Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — For days now, the twittersphere and even the mainstream media have been agog at the anti-Semitism spewing in a now-viral video by Mohammed Morsi in 2010 when he was head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He called President Obama a liar as well, but the administration is doing
Morsi an unrepentant Jew-hater Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen(JNS.org) JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Beytenu list won 31 Knesset mandates, followed by Yesh Atid at 19, exit polls broadcast by Israel’s three leading television stations showed on Tuesday night. Final results will be published by the Central Elections Commission Wednesday. At 22:17 Israeli time, Netanyahu declared victory with a message on his
Netanyahu triumphs in election Read More »
Middle EastBy Yaakov Lappin The past two months have seen a sharp rise in the number of violent disturbances in the West Bank. Flashpoints have included Hebron, and multiple locations in the northern West Bank. The upsurge has included fire-bomb attacks, rock throwing at Israeli vehicles and IDF positions, and sporadic shootings. The Shin Bet,
Is another intifada already in the works? Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — There are at least three ways of getting it wrong on Israel’s election day. One: Israel rightly prides itself on its democratic structure. As the country isn’t divided into ridings where the first past the post candidate is elected, in theory every vote counts. That’s why today, election day,
3 ways to get it wrong on election day Read More »
Middle East