By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Years ago, one could hear Israelis say that they lived in a poor country but the citizens were doing well. They were referring to the dependence on German reparations, foreign aid and, not least, the support of Jewish communities from around the world. Nowadays, it seems to be the other way […]
As wealth gap increases, Orthodox Jews protest economy Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Haredim are putting my liberalism to the test – and I’m not doing well. Of late I’ve been watching a young ultra-Orthodox man coming out of one of the wings of our building; he seems to live there. I’m getting into a panic: if he brings his friends and relatives to
How Haredi theology inconveniences the majority Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Two issues were prominent on Friday’s agenda. Both were either large or small, depending on perspective and how they developed. Both combined local and international considerations. Most immediate was Land Day. Mar ch 30 is one of the prominent items on the protest calendar of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. It
Planned anti-Israel protests seem to fizzle Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The Marker is the business section of Ha’aretz. It’s presented in tabloid form almost as a newspaper in its own right. It’s well written with a lot of photographs and charts. I read most of it every day but understand very little. The little I do understand tells me that last
High food prices, government salaries prompt talk of new protests Read More »
Middle EastBy Evelyn Gordon WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israel has allowed the world to think rocket fire from Gaza isn’t so terrible. Undoing that misperception is a crucial first step toward taking effective action to protect its population. The most chilling comment I’ve seen on the mid-March surge of violence from Gaza, when terrorists fired 300 rockets
Israel must make Gaza pay a price for rocket attacks Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Oscar Wilde once said: “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it… I can resist everything but temptation.” There’s a lot of truth to Wilde’s temptation. As human beings we often give in to many temptations without
ZAKA reportedly in financial disarray Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–What most Israelis anticipated has now been confirmed: Tsipi Livni has been replaced by Shaul Mofaz as the Head of Kadima and thus also the Leader of the Opposition in the Knesset. Less than 40 percent of the party members bothered to vote; Mofaz got the support of over 60 percent
Mofaz replaces Livni as Kadima chief Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Recently I wrote about Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal. Now it is time to think about Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Before you accuse me of going literary, note that my metaphor gets us back to politics and the Middle East. What brings forth Alice in Wonderland, its fantasy
Skepticism in Israel over reports of Syria ceasefire Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM – Ha’aretz has long had a reputation as Israel’s most distinguished newspaper, read by the economic, political, and intellectual elites. Its language and the lack of a sensationalist front page are among the factors that make it the secular Hebrew language daily with the smallest circulation. It is also the most
Imagine if Israel followed Ha’aretz’s foreign policy Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — In order to avoid a bloody showdown with the settlers, the Government of Israel tried to work out something that looked like a compromise, even though it wasn’t. It sort-of abided by the decision of Israel’s Supreme Court that had ordered the dismantling of the illegal settlement of Migron by
Settlement giving Israel a big ‘migron headache’ Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — What we’ve surmised for a long time is now official: though the monies collected in the United States for Israel have doubled in the last 20 years (now about $2.1 billion annually), the traditional recipients (the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, the World Zionist Organization, etc.) have decreased
Americans increasingly picking their own charities in Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There are some among my readers who will view my ‘modest proposal’ as the same kind of ungodly satire as an earlier effort by that name. Almost 400 years ago Jonathan Swift published his Modest Proposal to deal with the problem of overcrowding and starvation among the Irish according to
Present lines, not those of 1967, should be basis of negotiations Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Chava Sandler JERUSALEM — My heart is broken. I am unable to speak. There are no ways for me to be able to express the great and all-consuming pain resulting from the murder of my dear husband Rabbi Jonathan and our sons, Aryeh and Gavriel, and of Miriam Monsonego, daughter of the dedicated principal
Widow and mother of Toulouse victims speaks out Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The tragedy inToulouse has received much attention throughout the world. As carefully as thoughtful observers may read the expressions of sympathy and support, especially by French politicians, they’re also aware that what’s being said and written must be understood in the context of the forthcoming presidential elections inFrance. That’s
Murders in Toulouse prompts debate over safety in Diaspora Read More »
Middle East