By Roz Rothstein LOS ANGELES — The StandWithUs community is outraged and heartbroken by the coordinated terrorist attacks near Eilat in southern Israel on Thursday. At least seven people are reported dead and an estimated 25 injured in a three-stage terrorist attack along Israel’s border with Egypt on Thursday. Two children, a four-year-old and a six-year-old, […]
Eilat attacks should be denounced worldwide Read More »
Middle EastWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)–The following statement was issued Tuesday by the Middle East Quartet (United Nations, Russian Federation, United States, and European Union): The Quartet is greatly concerned by Israel’s recent announcements to advance planning for new housing units in Ariel and East Jerusalem, and reiterates its position in this regard, in particular its statement
Quartet “greatly concerned” by Israeli plans to build in Ariel, East Jerusalem Read More »
Middle East
By Shoshana Bryen Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –The President of Honduras has indicated that his government will support a vote in favor of “Palestine” in the United Nations General Assembly in September. Honduras, of all countries, should know better; not about Israel, but about importance of truth. When Manuel Zelaya, then President of Honduras, subverted the
Honduras should know better Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Some time ago, a Texas friend wrote to ask how Glenn Beck’s pending mission to Israel was being received here. My response: it wasn’t. A few days ago, I wrote to him again with the news that Israel Today, the most conservative of the daily papers, had a story about Beck’s upcoming visit
Glenn Beck want to protect Israel but doesn’t understand it Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Susan B. Tuchman, Esq. NEW YORK — The United States Supreme Court in Washington D.C. will be hearing an important case this fall that could affect the right of U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, to formally identify with their birthplace in the State of Israel. In 2002, Congress passed legislation permitting American
America’s passport battle over Jerusalem Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It would be an extreme rejection of what is politically correct to claim that the Palestinians are not a people. Palestinian intellectuals expressed a sense of nationhood about a century ago. Most governments of the world are willing to grant them statehood. Doubters may point to the incomplete process of
Palestinians just don’t get the essence of politics Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Lillian Faderman SAN DIEGO — Americans have every reason to envy Israel’s enlightened policies toward their LGBT citizens. So it puzzles me deeply when I hear of LGBT groups lending their sympathy to opponents of Israel. The rights we have been fighting for and still have not fully achieved in the United States, LGBT
LGBT community should be natural ally for Israel Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — It is not as dramatic a phenomenon in Israel as, say, the bold, treacherous discord ongoing in the Arab world. And certainly the thousands upon thousands of Israeli youth (and many older citizens) already have the freedom of assembly that their counterparts in Syria, Libya, Egypt and
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –There is no doubting the success of those who organized demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and elsewhere in behalf of social justice. Activists and their friends in the media are reporting that more than 300,000 participated. Police estimates are 200,000. Whatever the accuracy of one or another, the pictures were impressive.
Israeli demonstrations a media success, but will they change anything? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Israel’s summer of discontent is maturing. Last week we reached the peak of romantic anticipation of upheaval from below. Young reporters on the popular news and commentary programs were ecstatic in reporting the daily expansion of tents, marches, and proclamations. Older commentators expressed their own sense of the injustices involved in high prices
Protests impressive but are they effective? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — It should be hard to pick on Norwegians and their government this week, but it is impossible to overlook Svein Sevje, Norway’s ambassador to Israel. Trying to “outline the similarity and the difference in the two cases” (mass murder of Norwegians by a Norwegian and mass murder of
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — A friend sent me a link to a New York Times Op-Ed piece entitled “Israel’s Identity Crisis.” The points were Who is a Jew? and Why is Netanyahu confounding the peace process by insisting that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish State? It is not difficult to understand why the New York Times would
‘Who’s a Jew’ issue not really germane to Palestinian negotiations Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –One of the elementary lessons in civics is that government does the job of sorting through various demands and deciding priorities, or Who Gets What. The key to the ongoing exercise is politics. In a democratic regime, votes bring to office the officials who make those decisions. If enough citizens find
The summer of Israelis’ economic discontent Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — One might say that this is a hell of a way to run a government, and then argue whether the reference is to Israel or the United States. Here the quarrel is whether the problem is housing, medicine or the government. There it is the the stubbornness of Republicans
U.S.’s and Israel’s focus on economic disquiet puts Palestinian issue on back burner Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East