By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM-The late Abba Eban’s oft-quoted description of the Arabs as never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity can also be applied to the government of Israel. The now public interaction between Richard Goldstone, who’s in the news again, and Israel’s Minister of the Interior Eli Yishai, who seems to want […]
Yishai squanders Israel’s Goldstone opportunity Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — A cartoon in the April 5 issue of Ha’aretz anticipated the meeting the same day between President Peres and President Obama by seating them as equals on comfortable chairs in the Oval Office. Next to Peres stands a little boy who looks very much like Bibi Netanyahu. It’s a
Peres prepares the way for a new peace effort Read More »
Middle East
By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Everything has been so predictable. Designated “moderate” and U.S.-backed Egyptian leader Muhammad ElBaradei has made a profoundly shocking statement that should change U.S. policy overnight, show how disastrous Obama Administration policy was, and mark the beginning of the coming electoral defeat for the president. But presumably nothing will change. ElBaradei,
Obama-backed Egyptian candidate threatens war on Israel Read More »
Middle East, USA
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –Richard Goldstone wants us to believe that if only Israel had cooperated with the cabal investigating Operation Cast Lead, the result would have been different. What then has he to say about the new IDF report that Hezbollah has been digging under hundreds of villages in southern Lebanon, hiding
World should know: Hezbollah is planning next war against Israel Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The term ‘apartheid’ is being bandied about with increasing frequency with regard to Israel. The crime of apartheid is defined by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as ‘inhumane acts of a character similar to other crimes against humanity committed in the context of
The ‘apartheid’ calumny against Israel Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Some bad things are heading in our direction. The organizers of some 20 ships are planning to sail toward Gaza in May. They will bring back the Mavi Marmara in its second attempt to get through the Israeli Navy. A campaign is building to have the United Nations General Assembly
Blockades, independence votes, and Goldstone Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastLawrence puts his hand in the flame of a match after lighting a cigarette. POTTER: Ow! It damn well hurts. LAWRENCE: Certainly, it hurts! POTTER: Well, what’s the trick then? LAWRENCE: The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts. –“Lawrence of Arabia,” the film. By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel –Engaging in Middle East
How The Bizarre World of Middle East Studies Messes Up U.S. Foreign Policy Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –“If I knew then what I know now…” So goes Goldstone’s lament in The Washington Post. Openly blaming Israel for his lack of understanding that the IDF is a moral military force and the Government of Israel a civilized government (1), Goldstone insists that, “The purpose of the Goldstone Report
Goldstone mea culpa: too little too late? Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Binyamin Netanyahu has been prominent since his service as Ambassador to the United Nations in the 1980s. I’ve compared him to Barack Obama on account of his fluency. He might also be compared to Richard Nixon (Tricky Dick) due to his reputation as a slippery politician, and his capacity to
Israel debates whether Netanyahu family lives too high Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel –As of today, one can say that the revolution in Syria must be taken seriously. Not only were the demonstrations large but also they had spread to additional parts of the country and involved different religious and ethnic communities. Of course, there is a big difference between Egypt and Syria.
Syrian Revolution Takes Off. Where is American Support? Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The recent resumption of rocket attacks from Gaza deep into the Negev was bound to get a forceful Israeli response, including targeted killings. The first of these has just cost the lives of three Hamas terrorists. Hamas acknowledges that they were members but denies that they were planning an
Former Mossad chief favors Israel talks with Hamas Read More »
Middle EastBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Now that the New York Times tells us that the Muslim Brotherhood is really strong, organized, widely supported by the army, and capable of taking over Egypt–all the things I wrote at the time and the mass media denied–the Washington Post confirms every point I made during the revolution
U.S. media catching up on Egypt’s drift toward Islamism Read More »
Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — One of the many surprises that awaited me when I came to serve as a rabbi in Canada was that at Kol Nidre, the holiest night of the Jewish calendar, I was expected to dispense investment advice to the worshipping congregation. It was called the Israel Bonds Appeal. The
Is it time to abolish Israel Bonds? Read More »
Middle East
By Bruce Kesler ENCINITAS, California — The New York Times reports that the Palestinian Center for Human Rights “took the unusual step this week of condemning the building and storage of anti-Israel rockets in densely populated areas, a practice that has led to injuries and deaths of civilians.” “Unusual” isn’t quite the word for it. The
Condemning Gaza rocket storage not the same as condemning attacks on Israel Read More »
Middle East