By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Among the themes apparent in the responses to my columns are the following. With a little effort, it’s possible to find a solution for the misery of the Palestinians and their failure to agree on the details of two states. Israel should try harder. Several of my correspondents have offered their […]
Letter writers have five typical themes about Israel Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Daniel Sokatch NEW YORK — Like so many of you, I remember exactly where I was that November day when I heard the news. I got two phone calls, one after the other, from a friend. The first: “Rabin’s been shot.” The second, minutes later: “He’s dead.” I had returned to the US to
New Israel Fund CEO recalls Rabin murder Read More »
Middle EastIberia Airlines pilot announces: ‘we will be landing soon in Palestine’ (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Iberia Airlines Flight 3316 from Madrid was approaching Ben-Gurion International Airport on Wednesday afternoon when passengers were shocked to hear the captain says in Spanish, “Dear passengers, we will be landing soon in Palestine.” In his subsequent announcement in English,
Middle East Roundup: October 29, 2015 Read More »
Middle EastPope Francis condemns anti-Semitism ROME (Press Release) – Pope Francis welcomed more than 100 leaders of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Wednesday and issued a strong condemnation of anti-Semitism. At a private audience with WJC President Ronald S. Lauder in the morning, the pontiff made it clear that outright attacks against Israel’s existence are
Never Again: Holocaust news for October 28, 2015 Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryBy Richard L. Cravatts, PhD BOSTON — In what is yet more evidence that universities have become, at least where campus free speech is concerned, “islands of repression in a sea of freedom,” as Chester E. Finn Jr., a former Assistant Secretary of Education has described them, the Wesleyan University community has been undergoing collective
Free speech at Wesleyan for those with ‘proper’ ideas Read More »
Richard L. Cravatts, Science, Medicine, & Education, USAArab MK violates Temple Mount visitation ban, PM says move inflames tension (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Arab Member of Knesset Basel Ghattas (Joint Arab List) decided to visit the Temple Mount on Wednesday, violating a ban on visitation for Israeli lawmakers and declaring that “neither [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu nor the powers of the occupation
Middle East Roundup: October 28, 2015 Read More »
Middle EastBy J. Zel Lurie DELRAY BEACH, Florida — The quarter million Palestinians in the current boundaries of East Jerusalem cannot vote in the national elections, because they are not the citizens of the state of Israel. They are permanent residents of Jerusalem who have the right to vote in the Jerusalem municipal elections. The majority
Votes, not knives, answer to Jerusalem Arabs’ problems Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Reuven H. Taff SACRAMENTO, California — On Sunday morning October 18th I went to Church. I know, a bit unusual for a rabbi to attend church services on a Sunday. But since my wife Judy and I were visiting my youngest son Ari who relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, I was drawn to
Rabbi prays at stricken South Carolina church Read More »
Jewish Religion, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was murdered twenty years ago not by a fanatical Palestinian foe but by an ostensibly pious and patriotic Jew. Though it’s not possible to speculate about what Israel would be today had Rabin stayed alive, it is possible to suggest that the murderer, Yigal Amir, changed the
Israelis remember Rabin, but forget what he stood for Read More »
Middle EastAmerican-Israeli victim of Jerusalem bus attack succumbs to his wounds (JNS.org) An American-Israeli man who was critically wounded in a Jerusalem terrorist attack two weeks ago died Tuesday morning. Richard Lakin, 76, is the third victim of the attack, in which two Arab terrorists boarded a bus traveling between the capital’s Jewish neighborhood of Armon
Middle East Roundup: October 27, 2015 Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — We are seeing in recent events the advantages of a state, as well as reasons to doubt the wisdom of creating a Palestinian state. It’s not a simple issue. A state can discipline its people, via decisions of a government, police, and courts. However, Palestinians speak and act in numerous ways,
Statehood for Palestine? There are pros and cons Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastArgument over Hitler and the Mufti is a distraction By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, set off a firestorm on October 21 by saying that the Mufti of Jerusalem had actually planted the idea of exterminating the Jews in Hitler’s mind; that Hitler would have simply ousted them from Europe.
Never Again: Holocaust news for October 26, 2015 Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Shoshana BryenMorgan Freeman visits Western Wall for National Geographic’s ‘Story of God’ (JNS.org) Beloved Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman arrived in Israel for a surprise visit this week as part of a television series he is filming for National Geographic. The Oscar winner visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, escorted by Western
Middle East Roundup: October 26, 2015 Read More »
Middle EastBy Barry Shaw NETANYA, Israel — When all strands of Palestinian political society came together in a deadly incitement based on religion radiating out from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem it left many dead on both sides of the religious divide – Jewish Israelis who were the prime target of Islam-motivated Palestinians. Although the Islamic Movement
Jordan’s delicate, pivotal role on the Temple Mount Read More »
Barry Shaw, Middle East