By J. Zel Lurie DELRAY BEACH, Florida –A few years ago a veteran Labor member of the Knesset, who had lost her seat in the debacle of Labor in the ’09 elections, told me: “Netanyahu can’t make any peace moves so long as his father is alive.” I thought she was jesting until last week. Perhaps […]
Finally, an Israeli unity government Read More »
Middle East
By David Bedein JERUSALEM — On Holocaust Remembrance Day, people in Israel stand in silence to recall the victims murdered by the Nazis and their allies. Tragically, the Palestinian Authority’s curriculum and media still carry the legacy of Haj Amin Al Husseini, the former Mufti of Jerusalem and leader of the Palestinian Arab community, who forged
PA textbooks incorporate Mufti’s & Hitler’s genocidal visions Read More »
Middle East
(From the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs) By Joel Fishman I The Delegitimization Process and the Boycott: Background and Context The purpose of delegitimization on the international level is to isolate an intended victim from the community of nations as a prelude to bringing about its downfall or even destruction. This process denies the victim
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The country once riled (and still so in some localities) on the subject of alcohol and which has pursued a war against drugs since the 1970s is now beginning a presidential campaign with same-sex marriages as a central issue. Its difficult to decide between ridicule and laughter, sadness and tears
Obama’s support for same-sex marriages ripples through Israel Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Gabriel Max Scheinmann WASHINGTON, D.C– After initially omitting funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system from its budget request, the Obama administration is now backing Congressional efforts to vastly increase funding for the successful system. The House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee has voted to allocate $680 million, which would allow Israel to
Israel and U.S. should become partners in Iron Dome Read More »
Middle East
By Isaac Yetiv, PhD LA JOLLA, California — There are different kinds of “leaks.” There are inadvertent leaks such as the US President’s “microphone malfunctions” in Paris with former President Sarkozy, and in Moscow with former President Medvedev, and there are deliberate leaks intended to achieve a political result, which sometimes backfire. In military intelligence parlance,
Why the very strange leaks from Secretary of Defense Panetta? Read More »
Middle East
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rarely do politics in a democratic country wrap up as neatly as they did for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. Having scheduled new parliamentary elections that he was assuredly going to win, today he announced that the coalition was expanded and reconstituted, and will last until September
New coalition is a big win for Netanyahu Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The affiliation of Kadima to the Likud-led coalition came in the middle of the night, at the 11th hour before a Knesset vote to dissolve and begin the onset of an election campaign. It triggered not only the surprise and wonder of commentators, but shrill criticism of Shaul Mofaz for
Sudden Likud-Kadima coalition prompts protests Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israelis went to bed expecting the Knesset to finalize arrangements to dissolve itself and declare a national election for September 4th. We woke to the news that Benyamin Netanyahu and Shaul Mofaz (who recently defeated Tzipi Livni in a party election to be the leader of Kadima) had agreed
Kadima joins Likud in a surprise super-coalition Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ankie Spitzer WEST NYACK, N.Y. — At the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, eleven members of the Israeli team were murdered. For forty years their families have asked the International Olympic Committee to observe a minute of silence, in their memory. Please help us by signing our petition. I am the wife of Andrei
IOC urged to schedule minute of silence for slain Israeli athletes Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Benyamin Netanyahu is sitting pretty with Israeli voters. Recent polls make him a sure bet to repeat as prime minister. Not so simple is his standing within his own party. While his leadership is likely to be secure, there are enough signs of right-wing opposition to provide some worry. They
Netanyahu feels sting of right-wing and religious opponents in Likud Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Years ago, at the beginning of my career as a political scientist, I learned about incrementalism. That describes the gradual changes that generally occur in government. I made my contribution to the subject by examining government spending. I found that governments that spent more or less, and were more or less
Change in Middle East, like the U.S., comes incrementally Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Evelyn Gordon WASHINGTON, D.C. –“Credible experts,” wrote New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof in March, “overwhelmingly” view an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities as “a catastrophically bad idea,” deeming the benefits uncertain and the consequences dire: An effective strike would require multiple “sorties over many days,” and an attack on that scale could
Israeli attack on Iran nuclear facilities would be lower profile than one by U.S. Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israeli voters appear ready to renew the lease of Benyamin Netanyahu on the Prime Minister’s Office. A poll reported in Ha’aretz shows a near majority (48 percent) favoring him as Prime Minister. The aggregate support of his three nearest competitors do not match him: 15 percent prefer Shelli Yehemovich of Labor,
Netanyahu seems assured to retain prime minister’s office Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East