By Bruce Kesler ENCINITAS, California — With the enlargement of federal powers and intrusions into individual’s lives, the 9th Amendment to the US Constitution, part of our Bill Of Rights, may well gain more judicial attention. The 9th Amendment should be elevated to central prominence, as it was intended, in applying judgment of all federal […]
By Isaac Yetiv, PhD LA JOLLA, California — There are different kinds of “leaks.” There are inadvertent leaks such as the US President’s “microphone malfunctions” in Paris with former President Sarkozy, and in Moscow with former President Medvedev, and there are deliberate leaks intended to achieve a political result, which sometimes backfire. In military intelligence parlance,
Why the very strange leaks from Secretary of Defense Panetta? Read More »
Middle East
By Adi Mahler BARCELONA, Spain — This is a city rich with Jewish history dating back over 1,700 years. When exactly the first Jews arrived in Spain is hard to say. There are some legends about two sons of the Queen of Sheba (King Solomon’s wife) having founded two cities in Spain. Also, there’s
Jewish Travel: The old quarter of Barcelona Read More »
International
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rarely do politics in a democratic country wrap up as neatly as they did for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. Having scheduled new parliamentary elections that he was assuredly going to win, today he announced that the coalition was expanded and reconstituted, and will last until September
New coalition is a big win for Netanyahu Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The affiliation of Kadima to the Likud-led coalition came in the middle of the night, at the 11th hour before a Knesset vote to dissolve and begin the onset of an election campaign. It triggered not only the surprise and wonder of commentators, but shrill criticism of Shaul Mofaz for
Sudden Likud-Kadima coalition prompts protests Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By David Amos SAN DIEGO — Together with Sharlene and David Berman, my wife Lee and I occasionally schedule visits to a different part of the Americas, and look for points of exploration, leisure, entertainment, edification, and encounters with distant friends. This was the case two weeks ago, when we flew to New York City,
On tour in New York and Pennsylvania Read More »
USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israelis went to bed expecting the Knesset to finalize arrangements to dissolve itself and declare a national election for September 4th. We woke to the news that Benyamin Netanyahu and Shaul Mofaz (who recently defeated Tzipi Livni in a party election to be the leader of Kadima) had agreed
Kadima joins Likud in a surprise super-coalition Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ankie Spitzer WEST NYACK, N.Y. — At the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, eleven members of the Israeli team were murdered. For forty years their families have asked the International Olympic Committee to observe a minute of silence, in their memory. Please help us by signing our petition. I am the wife of Andrei
IOC urged to schedule minute of silence for slain Israeli athletes Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, delivered on an icy-cold, blue-skied January morning in 1961, is best-remembered for its iconic declaration: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Yet the final phrase uttered by the young leader
As JFK put it, U.S. has ‘God’s work’ to do Read More »
USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Benyamin Netanyahu is sitting pretty with Israeli voters. Recent polls make him a sure bet to repeat as prime minister. Not so simple is his standing within his own party. While his leadership is likely to be secure, there are enough signs of right-wing opposition to provide some worry. They
Netanyahu feels sting of right-wing and religious opponents in Likud Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Years ago, at the beginning of my career as a political scientist, I learned about incrementalism. That describes the gradual changes that generally occur in government. I made my contribution to the subject by examining government spending. I found that governments that spent more or less, and were more or less
Change in Middle East, like the U.S., comes incrementally Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — The violent, churning, musical, rebellious, and ultimately frightening 1960s came to a shocking and bloody coda 42 years ago today, May 4, 1970. In what remain cloaked and mysterious details, armed Ohio National Guardsmen suddenly opened fire, in the open air and under sunny skies, upon a
Thoughts on the anniversary of the Kent State massacre Read More »
USABy Evelyn Gordon WASHINGTON, D.C. –“Credible experts,” wrote New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof in March, “overwhelmingly” view an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities as “a catastrophically bad idea,” deeming the benefits uncertain and the consequences dire: An effective strike would require multiple “sorties over many days,” and an attack on that scale could
Israeli attack on Iran nuclear facilities would be lower profile than one by U.S. Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israeli voters appear ready to renew the lease of Benyamin Netanyahu on the Prime Minister’s Office. A poll reported in Ha’aretz shows a near majority (48 percent) favoring him as Prime Minister. The aggregate support of his three nearest competitors do not match him: 15 percent prefer Shelli Yehemovich of Labor,
Netanyahu seems assured to retain prime minister’s office Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East