By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–On the face of it, the latest agreement between Hamas and Fatah, signed in Qatar by Khaled Mashaal (who left Damascus presumably because of what’s going on in Syria and announced his impending retirement as the leader of Hamas) and Mahmoud Abbas (the President of the Palestinian Authority) could be a […]
Latest peace agreement between P.A. and Hamas worrisome for Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Members of the Knesset are discovering America, Jewish America to be precise. Prompted by Jay Ruderman of the Ruderman Family Foundation a dozen or so Israeli parliamentarians came together recently to form the Israel-American Jewish Knesset Caucus. The visit was preceded by a comprehensive US visit by six MKs
Caucus formed to teach Knesset members about American Jews Read More »
Middle East
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Despite rumors to the contrary, Israel is a normal country at least as far as retail therapy is concerned. Shopping malls are popping up with ever-increasing frequency wherever one looks. They incorporate many advantages for both vendors and shoppers, and the ambience in them varies from quiet
Normal Arab-Jewish coexistence in Israel goes unreported by media Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The website of the British tabloid the Daily Mirror shows a detailed diagram of how Israel would attack Iran using sophisticated fighter planes, drones and missiles from its five ultra-modern submarines. It also predicts when: not later than April. The why is there, too:Iran could make four nuclear bombs within a
For Israel, anti-Iran sanctions far better than attacking Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — I was born in Israel just a few years after its inception in 1948. My father and mother were there, however, as the British withdrew on May 14 of that year, lowering the Union Jack over the port of Haifa, and raising the stakes considerably for the
Dream of two peaceful states, side by side, still lives Read More »
Middle East
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –The current round of Israeli-Palestinian meetings in Jordan ended with a Palestinian decision to leave. “The Israelis brought nothing new in these meetings,” said one official, without bothering to note the obvious — neither did the Palestinians. The talks were the result of a Quartet plan to have Israelis and
World should accept impossibility of ‘peace process’ in Middle East Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The staunchly pro-Israel statements that Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made during his recent visit to Israel is a wholesome reminder that the Jewish state has many friends in the world and that such friendship at its best doesn’t have ulterior motives but is founded on the new understanding for,
Canada’s Foreign Minister is staunchly pro-Israel Read More »
Middle East
By Judy Lash Balint JERUSALEM–As the center of the Jewish religious world, you would think that Jerusalem would have hosted a kosher wine festival before–but no, the first Jerusalem Kosher Wine Exhibit took place just this week at the Binyanei HaUma convention center. With a steep entry price of 70NIS per person (my press card
Jerusalem hosts its first kosher wine exhibit Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–In this week’s Likud party primaries Binyamin Netanyahu got some 75% of the votes cast by card-carrying members. The rest went to Moshe Feiglin, an extremist with considerable nuisance value but, mercifully, not much political clout. Even though more credible contenders and reputed critics within the party didn’t stand against him,
Netanyahu’s continuation as Likud’s leader may lead to increasing isolation for Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Evelyn Gordon WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last month, Victor Davis Hanson published a fascinating article on why Iran might nevertheless decide to start a war it can’t win. In it, he analyzed several cases in which countries did exactly that, including the Korean War in 1950, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1982 Falklands War and
Are Egypt’s domestic problems so bad that war with Israel will be a welcome distraction? Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The usual complaints about the inadequacy of democratic governance are about the majority that disenfranchises a minority. InIsrael, it seems to be the other way around. Often it’s relatively small groups that hold the rest to ransom – democratically. Today’s examples: two minority groups, the settlers (probably around 5%
Is Israel giving up its right to be called democratic? Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The headlines are about a couple of issues roiling close to the Prime Minister. They do not concern the big stuff that will attract people around the world who look to Israel for the excitement of threat, promise, personal or collective salvation. Insofar as the Prime Minister is the Prime Minister, however,
PM’s administrator accused of harrassing woman on staff Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By J. Zel Lurie DELRAY BEACH, Florida– My father, Jacob “Yankel” Lurie and my mother, Ida “Hayele” Lurie, made aliya from Brooklyn to Haifa in 1929 a few months before the crash on Wall Street. My father, the owner of several ready-to-wear women’s fashion stores, was 54. My mother at 50 had brought up six sons and
Agudat Israel and the yeshiva that was never built Read More »
Jewish History, Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –The kerfuffle over the postponement of the highly touted “Austere Challenge 12” joint US-Israel military exercise is over. Officials in both countries are now on the same page: it was a “joint decision” having nothing to do with finances, Iran or politics, just “technical issues.” Regardless of the lid they’ve
Israel, U.S. differ over strategy for stopping Iran’s nuclearization Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen