By 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 »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The officials are warning not to expect too much of the announced visit to Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan by President Barack Obama, probably next month. In view of the failures of his predecessors, notably Bill Clinton, to push Israelis and Palestinians into making peace, it’s a reasonable
Would release of Marwan Barghouti further Mideast peace? Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — I went to bed after a limited time with the news focused on the ceremonial swearing in of Knesset Members, and what seemed like the circular going-nowhere blather about what kind of coalition Benyamin Netanyahu can assemble. Already well known are the problems. Yair Lapid and his second-largest party (There
Speculation intense about Obama’s forthcoming visit to Israel Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy James Colbert WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, the Israeli Air Force reportedly attacked two different targets in Syria. One is said to have been a convoy ferrying advanced anti-aircraft missiles to the Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah, the other, a large compound reported to contain training camps and research facilities housing Russian technicians as well
Need for U.S.-Israel cooperation increases amid Syria chaos Read More »
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