By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The Arab village of Beit Safafa is more than 400 years old. Over time it has grown from a few hundred residents as late as a century ago to 12,000 today, according to the locals. Nevertheless, it has tried to retain something of its old character and still elects […]
Highway would divide Israeli Arab village Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — We’ve had a few days rest from coalition negotiations. Media and political personalities have been busy with Prisoner X, i.e., Ben Zygier. For all that has cost Israel in embarrassment (due to a prisoner who committed suicide while he was supposed to be under 24-hour supervision two years
Israel’s political infighting and coalition building Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastJewish groups ask for further review of Hagel before confirmation vote (JNS.org) Jewish groups are seconding the call of Senate Republicans for further review of defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel before a vote is held on his confirmation. A 58-40 Senate vote on Feb. 14 delayed a final yes or no vote on the former
JNS news briefs: February 18, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy David P. Goldman The possibility of state failure in Egypt is now widely discussed in the foreign policy community. Largely ignored by major media for most of the past two years, Egypt’s economic crisis now commands the attention of foreign policy analysts. I have argued that the structural deficiencies of Egypt’s economy are so
How should the United States respond to state failure in Egypt? Read More »
Middle EastIsraeli Justice official: ‘Prisoner X’ agreed to take on pseudonym (JNS.org) The the controversial Prisoner X, who has dominated the headlines in Israel and Australia in recent days, was “imprisoned under another name not just to protect state security, but also to protect the prisoner himself,” an Israeli Justice Ministry official told Israel Hayom Thursday.
JNS news briefs: February 15, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Yaakov Lappin On January 30, just before dawn, according to international media reports, the Israel Air Force struck a target (or targets) in Syria. While many details of this attack remain shrouded in mystery, since then a number of facts have come into focus. The strike followed months of warnings from Jerusalem that Israel
The message Israel sent to Iran via Syria Read More »
Middle EastZOA’s Klein says Jewish leaders called him to stop opposing Hagel (JNS.org) American Jewish leaders have pressed the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) to stop publicly opposing the nomination of Chuck Hagel for defense secretary because making that a “Jewish issue” is “bad for the Jews,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “I was called by
JNS news briefs: February 14, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Currently we are reading a lot, but not everything about Ben Zygier, or Ben Alon, or Ben Allen. We are pretty sure that he was an Australian Jew who migrated to Israel, served in the IDF, was recruited to Mossad, and died in Ayalon prison in 2010. We hear that he
Suspected spy died mysteriously in an Israeli prison Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — I’ve come to realize why the political parties, especially those that hoped to be in the next government, didn’t have much to say about the peace process during the election campaign. They may have realized that every proposed solution is bound to be too difficult for the voters to
Visit to West Bank reinforces pessimism about peace’s chances Read More »
Middle EastBy Joel A. Moskowitz, MD LA JOLLA, California — The father of JFK and Bobby and Ted Kennedy was intimately involved in the world events leading up to World War II. And David Nasaw’s book The Patriarch: The remarkable life and turbulent times of Joseph Patrick Kennedy tells it all. Published by Penguin Press this
Biography examines Joe Kennedy’s attitudes toward Jews Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, USALOS ANGELES (Press Release) – Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Wednesday, Feb. 13, provided an update on the success of the Department of Insurance’s Iran Divestment Program. Jones announced that only eight insurance companies, of the 1300 insurers licensed to do business in California, continue to decline to divest from holdings in the energy, military,
8 insurance companies continue to aid Iran Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California –The first thing to understand is that this annual rite —a source of pride and curriculum opportunities for a lot of folks—is not confined to this country. It is also observed in Canada and the United Kingdom and it is ultimately about commemorating edifying milestones, events, and icons of
Why is Black History Month so controversial in the U.S.? Read More »
USAWife says Pollard’s health unstable; plans for Obama’s visit (JNS.org) Esther Pollard, the wife of imprisoned Jewish spy Jonathan Pollard, said after visiting her husband that his medical condition was not stable. On Wednesday, Esther returned home to Israel after visiting Jonathan at a federal prison in North Carolina. She now plans to meet
JNS news briefs: February 13, 2013 Read More »
InternationalBy J. Zel Lurie DELRAY BEACH, Florida — Readers of the New York Times, who, like myself, buy the paper chiefly for its extensive coverage of Israel, might be forgiven if they believed that the question of what to do about Iran’s nuclear ambitions played a major role in Israel’s recent elections. Iran was hardly
Filtering Israel through the New York Times Read More »
Middle East