By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel –Awell-organized, well-equipped group of terrorists has attacked Israel from Egyptian territory Monday morning, possibly the second such Egyptian-assisted assault in a week. An armed squad of two men—said to be Hamas, though this is not confirmed—crossed the border after travelling 30 miles from the Gaza Strip through Egyptian territory. They […]
Terror incident near Israel-Egypt border Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israeli media has put on one of its circuses of prolonged discussions following the publication of the State Comptroller’s Report on the incident invovling the Turkish ship Marmara carrying protesters toward Gaza in May, 2010. The essence of this report is that Prime Minister Netanyahu did not carry out all of
Comptroller’s report reignites Marmura debate Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — The Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court has just invalidated the parliamentary election there. The parliament, 75 percent of whose members were Islamists, is being dissolved. The military junta has taken over total authority. The presidential election is still scheduled to proceed. In short, everything is confused and everything is a
A military coup in Egypt Read More »
Middle EastBy Evelyn Gordon WASHINGTON, D.C. — On May 10, the official Israel Defense Forces blog posted an article titled “The 2012 Terror Attacks Against Israel You Never Heard About.” The title is somewhat misleading, since in fact, none of these attacks actually took place: They were thwarted by the IDF’s unsung but daily
Still plenty of terror threats coming from PA territory Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — This past week marked the 45th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, June 7, 1967—an event not planned by Israel, but sparked by Jordanian shelling into the western side of the city during the Six Day War. I was there within weeks: a 14 year-old Israeli-American visitor, welcomed
Jerusalem, a city of contrasts, transcends the arguments about it Read More »
Middle East
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –Amid the Arab upheaval of past 18 months, a question has crept among the speeches, demonstrations, riots, elections, battles and massacres – Is Israel better off, or worse off, for the revolution among its neighbors? Certainly Wael Ghonim of Google, and the positive nature of the short-lived “Arab Spring” raised
The bitter fruits of the Arab Spring Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The New York Times has discovered racism in Israel. An Israeli response to such a revelation is “Mazal tov. You’ve discovered America.” The meaning does not deal with racism in America, which has been there since Columbus. In modern Hebrew, “You’ve discovered America” means you have said the obvious. What we
Perspectives on Israeli immigration Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Spain 1936. An army revolt against the democratically elected government sets off a civil war. On one side are the Fascists, led by General Francisco Franco. On the other side is a coalition of democrats both social democratic and liberal; communal nationalists; anarchists, Communists, and independent Marxists. The Western
Syrian conflict is this century’s Spanish Civil War Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — You have heard of of the Lyndon Johnson-Robert Kennedy feud, and Watergate. Those cases were separate, involving two clusters of individuals in different political parties, with four years intervening between the end of one and the onset of the second, and another two years until Watergate produced the resignation of President
Skullduggery in the IDF’s top echelons? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Bruce Kesler ENCINITAS, California — international media usually seeks out and features negative news about Israel or exaggerates it or treats it in a biased manner. So, too, on the issue of African immigrants to Israel. There is a natural, and commendable, empathy for peoples in dire straits or whose experience, by large stretches
Some facts about Israel’s illegal immigration problems Read More »
Middle EastBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says that his regime is short of funds. And meanwhile a reader asks me: “Can you please explain to me why 20 years after Oslo and billions in dollars in foreign aid, the Palestinian Authority (PA) still has not built modern hospitals? Or rather, why
Graft and corruption in the Palestinian Authority Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The Supreme Court ruled that Israel has until July 1 to abandon a row of apartment buildings constructed on land owned by Palestinians in the neighborhood of Ulpana on the fringe of the sizable settlement Beit El. Several members of Netanyahu’s government and more back benchers of Likud said they
Netanyahu wins Ulpana settlement victory, for now Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Crisis Group defines itself as an “independent, non-partisan, [sic] source of analysis … on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict.” While presidents and secretaries of state have relied upon it for analysis in places as disparate as Sudan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and Burundi, it proves to be one-sided
‘International Crisis Group’ proves itself no neutral Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Justice Micha Lindenstrauss is nearing the end of a 7-year term as State Comptroller. The Knesset has already selected his successor, and commentators have summed up what has been described as Lindenstrauss’ “tumultuous” term, comparing it to the activities of his predecessors, and contemplating what he has meant for Israel’s
Forum weighs outspokenness of Israel’s State Comptroller Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East