Middle East

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Two items are front and center in the Israeli media. One is American and one Israeli. Both are important in their own right, and may spill over to what had been the principal issue of the peace process.  Palestinians should be worrying that Americans are concerned with their dirty laundry,

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Two questions come to mind on reading about the latest release of secret material by WikiLeaks:  Will this provide the same push to anti-war activists as the Pentagon Papers in 1971? and will anyone notice that the ugliness associated with the Americans and their allies dwarfs the charges levied against

By Ira Sharkansky Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Is the sky falling? Or only part of that over the Jewish community of the United States? The signs appear in one New York Times article that takes seriously the prospect of a Palestinian state declared unilaterally, with the support of prominent international bodies and maybe even the acquiescence of

By Ira Sharkansky Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Due to the co-existence of Hebrew and secular calendars, Israelis can celebrate events twice. The vast majority  operate according to the secular calendar, but events close to a religious holiday tend to be remembered as such. Varda was born on hay b’Tishri, (five days after Rosh Hashana), so

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–I’ve been urging Kaddish for the idea of the Palestinian state ever since the sound of exploding buses replaced  enthusiasm for the Oslo Accords. That puts me against many people who consider themselves right thinking, and perhaps a large majority of those who are leaders of their countries. On the other hand,