By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — What was supposed to be a routine ceremony in the official residence of the President of Israel turned out to be a spirited rebuttal in the current debate about the relationship between Israel’s Supreme Court and the Knesset. It has been flamed by a new proposal by Minister of […]
Peres and Grunis oppose letting Knesset override Supreme Court Read More »
Middle East
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — The weekend report of a German-owned, Ukrainian-chartered ship carrying weapons to Syria should raise questions and alarm bells. Der Spiegel reported that the Atlantic Cruiser, owned by the German company Bockstiegel, had been chartered by the Ukrainian White Whale company to pick up Iranian-origin cargo in Djibouti. White Whale
Is Syria running out of ammo? Read More »
International, Shoshana BryenBy Judy Lash Balint JERUSALEM — A few days ago, within a week of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, my mother’s youngest brother passed away. His passing made me reflect on the long tentacles of the Shoah that leaves its mark on lives until today. Isi was the youngest of five children, born in 1926
Kindertransport child felt uprooted the rest of his life Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israel and the United States are at another hiccup, or maybe something more. Catherine Ashton, serving as the European Union’s foreign minister and the chair of a meeting in Istanbul between Iran and representatives of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the United States and China, is upbeat after the first
Tension increases between U.S. and Israel over Iran Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM –I surmise that most of the media in the Diaspora that report on Israel will describe the way the Government of Israel handled the “flytilla” earlier this week to have been not only successful but also prudent. That’s not the only impression I get here. To recap: Several hundred activists
How did Israel handle ‘flytilla?’ Depends on whom you ask Read More »
Middle EastDear Chancellor Reed, Over two months ago, 1,800 members and supporters of the California Jewish community — including hundreds of CSU students, parents, alumni, and donors — signed a letter to you expressing their outrage over the University-hosted web pages of CSU Northridge Mathematics professor David Klein, which include anti-Semitic material promoting the economic, cultural and academic boycott of the Jewish
AMCHA’s open letter to CSU Chancellor Reed Read More »
USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — A lick of historicism would serve the Obama administration well in its much-too-friendly relationship with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and other manifestations of the Arab uprising. There is a political space between going to war with countries that do not share our democratic norms and principles, and embracing them
U.S. should oppose Islamic dictatorships as it did Soviet ones Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USA
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Only a 15-minute walk from our home in French Hill is Mt Scopus. That is the site of the Social Science Faculty and several other units of the Hebrew University. A half-hour walk around the perimeter of Mt Scopus–outside the campus–is a good way to spend a cool morning.
A walking tour of Jerusalem with Ira Sharkansky Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Isaac Yetiv LA JOLLA, California–Years ago we were regaled with a “wardrobe incident” on TV : a female performer “inadvertently” uncovered her breast. Days ago, a similar kind of incident occurred. It was a “mike incident” (microphone kept on while speakers thought it was off) , showing the president of the United States whispering to the president
Obama made cynical anti-missile promise to Medvedev Read More »
USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM– I’ve believed for a long time that the greatest danger that the Jewish state is currently facing doesn’t come from the outer threat of Iranian nukes but from within, particularly from the continued expansion of the settlements. I thought I saw ample evidence of it when my wife and I spent
Palestinian Jew-hatred a major threat to peace Read More »
Middle East
By David Brin ENCINITAS, California–The brilliance of Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, Prince Waleed and their clade really impresses me. Twenty years ago, they were subsidizing Rush Limbaugh and the neoconservatives to spread what’s become the core notion of today’s right. (Though it also crops up on the far-left!) The notion that assertions can trump facts.
Right-wing assertions drive you bonkers? Offer to bet! Read More »
USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Wednesday morning, a day before Kofi Annan’s cease fire was scheduled to reach its final implementation in Syria, and a day after Syrian forces were supposed to withdraw from major population centers, I read on BBC’s Internet site that “Kofi Annan, says he has received assurances from Damascus that it
Chronicle of a Syrian ‘cease fire’ Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky
By Danny Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan– As everyone knows, Mike Wallace, son of Friedan Wallik, he of the Old Country, was a mensch. He was also a tough-talking TV reporter and an investigative sleuth who never gave up until he found what he wanted. The Brookline, Massachusetts boy who made good in America, died recently
No proof Coors uttered famous quote about Mike Wallace Read More »
USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –My column on Jonathan Pollard has produced a larger number and more varied responses than is usual. Most support his release. Several accuse me of being hard hearted and distorting the record. One doubts the wisdom of relying on Wikipedia. One from a Jewish friend of long standing reports that there had
Pollard column produces flurry of letters pro and con Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USA