By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — How many times have we heard it before? Haredi rabbis are going to great lengths to prove a point. They have no intention of giving up their Torah study to serve in the Israeli army. Tens of thousands of Israelis protested and demand that the […]
Should the Haredi serve in the military or stay in a yeshiva? Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle EastBy Gabriel Max Scheinmann WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israelis understandably feel imperiled by the misnamed “Arab Spring.” Their country’s three-decade peace treaty with Egypt is under assault, its strategic alliance with Turkey has dissolved, and its closest regional ally, Jordan, is withering from domestic protests. The breakdown in political authority has flooded Israel’s borders with
Israel grows stronger as neighbors unravel Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — The new president of Egypt has himself acknowledged that the military tyranny is still in charge, even as the good people of Egypt swallow the bitter truth of their brief, vanishing dream. Libya teeters; the Palestinians still smolder with the Hamas-Fatah blood conflict; Syria kills its own children
Don’t confuse Civil Rights Movement with Arab uprising Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Some years ago, my friend Malcolm Feeley published The Process is the Punishment. It deals with criminal charges against individuals at the lower end of America’s urban communities, widely viewed as guilty, but who manage to be judged not guilty or to have their cases thrown out of court. The
Olmert’s real punishment is the process Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Elan Ezrachi JERUSALEM — Cities most essentially belong to their residents. The residents shape the character of cities in which they dwell. The cities, in return, provide them shelter, employment, community and identity. Jerusalem defies this traditional model. While 800,000 individuals can be labeled “residents,” there are literally millions of additional far-flung stakeholders around
Yeru-Shalem Coalition seeks to harmonize Jerusalem and Diaspora Read More »
Middle EastBy Samara Greenberg WASHINGTON, D.C. — On June 20, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal were scheduled to meet in Cairo to choose cabinet members for the Palestinian interim government that would oversee elections. That meeting never came to fruition, however, and senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan later said that
Gaza watch: Palestinian reconciliation on hold Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansksy JERUSALEM– Israelis are fortunate to have a large and active diaspora of Jews. Israelis are also unfortunate in having a large and active diaspora of Jews. The benefits are well known: a bit of money to top off the much larger sums that we provide for ourselves, political support where
Diaspora Jews are a blessing and a curse for Israelis Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Yasir Arafat is still dead. True, he was once alive. I sat across from him in his Gaza office, for example. And he even had a copy of my history of the PLO on his bookshelf so he must have been of sound mind at the time. It’s not
Arafat allegations one more attempt to dehumanize Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Lots of politics, brought about by the high intensity squabbles over what to do about the ultra-Orthodox (Haredim), and to some extent the Arabs. Animosity toward the Haredim and a somewhat different concern about Arabs is always present, along with whatever else is happening. Feelings about the Haredim peaked some
Compulsory service for Arabs, haredi continues to simmer Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Zachary Fisher WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to a report released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch, Jordan recently turned away Syrians of Palestinian heritage seeking refuge in the Hashemite Kingdom, while threatening to deport Syrian Palestinians who arrived within the past year. Meanwhile, Jordan has laudably admitted 140,000 Syrian refugees into its country and given
Jordan bars Syrian refugees of Palestinian descent Read More »
Middle East
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Living alongside Isaweea is an adventure that provides insights into larger issues about Israel and the Middle East. We’ve been here for 20 years, and have never visited the neighborhood 200 meters to the east. Arab friends have urged us to stay away, for our own good. Twice
Tensions between Jewish and Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — I had occasion to host the just deceased-Yitzhak Shamir, the diminutive and fiery former prime minister of Israel, along with the foreign minister at the time, the late Abba Eban. It was 1983, Shamir was in office, and the two rivals were both featured speakers at the International
Yitzhak Shamir, z”l, took his politics personally Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–There are some general lessons about politics in the current maneuverings of Israeli politicians around the issues of drafting ultra-Orthodox and Arabs. In Hebrew, the terms rhyme — חרדים וערבים– Haredim and Aravim. The issues differ more than they overlap. Lesson #1 is the distance between politics and policy, or between politics
Integrating ultra-Orthodox and Arabs into the Israeli mainstream Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By David Bedein JERUSALEM–Covering the 1988 elections on special contract for the New York Times,Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, all three bureau chiefs would ask at the end of each day for a report of what Shamir said each day on the campaign trail. There was never much to report, because Shamir’s messages were
Yitzhak Shamir, 96, was man of few words Read More »
Middle East