By 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 East
By 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 EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–It’s being said that Facebook and its siblings are changing the world by giving vox populi a new meaning. The Arab Spring, the calls for social reforms in Israel last year, the Occupy Movement soon thereafter are cited as examples. The latest is an initiative by an Israeli couple that put
Facebook diplomacy seeks Israel-Iran friendship Read More »
Middle East
By Judy Lash Balint JERUSALEM — The funerals in Jerusalem on Wednesday for the four latest Jewish victims of Muslim terror were heart-wrenching. The unbridled pain of Miriam Monsonego’s brother; the wailing of the friends and relatives and the sobbing eulogy of Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar were hard to take, but tragically, not a
Funeral for French school victims heart-wrenching Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Silence is the policy of Israeli authorities with respect to the rebellion in Syria. Figuring out what is happening, and what is likely to happen is like deciphering reports and comments about Iran. Currently there seems to be a standoff, bloody in the extreme, between the regime and its opponents.
Israeli authorities officially mum on Syria Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Earlier this week, Israeli media headlined that “’Mossad, CIA agree Iran has yet to decide to build nuclear weapon.” The story went on to say that “New York Times report quotes senior American officials who believe there is little disagreement between Israeli and U.S. intelligence over Iran’s nuclear program, despite
Confused about Iran’s nuclear program? Everybody else is too Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Yaakov Lappin ASHDOD, Israel — I had just parked my car in the Southern Israeli city of Ashdod, near where a Palestinian rocket had earlier smashed into a main street, when the air raid siren went off again. No matter how many times one has heard it, when the siren goes off
Living through a Red Alert in Ashdod Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Saul Singer is the author, together with his brother-in-law Dan Senor, of the widely acclaimed, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. I’m pretty sure that he hasn’t read of my book, Beyond Survival or even heard of it. Nevertheless, he almost quotes from it. Hence these reflections.
Another kind of Holocaust denial: denying that it’s over Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — In a speech before the Knesset, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu compared himself to David Ben Gurion, who declared Israel’s independence in 1948 against the urging of foreign governments, and to Menachem Begin, who decided to attack the Iraqi nuclear facility in 1981, against the advice of the United States. To
Netanyahu’s speech hints attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East