By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Who really broke the deal? Granted, Israel’s conditions for a peace settlement appear to be a sure deal-breaker. Israeli negotiators notified their Arab counterparts on Wednesday, Jan. 25, that as a guiding principle existing settlement blocs must become part of Israel in a two-state solution, The New York Times […]
No peace deal? Arabs, more than Israelis, are to blame Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–I think of Ofer Eini, the Head ofIsrael’s Histadrut Labour Federation, as one of the most seasoned and balanced public figures inIsrael. I was, therefore, at first surprised by his recent display of seeming uncompromising militancy on behalf of employees of contractors to whom government and other work is often outsourced.
Two views of Ofer Eini and the general strike Read More »
Middle East
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C — Having to choose between siding with the Obama administration and siding with the ACLU is tough — but the ACLU wins this one. The ACLU sued the CIA for information about the deaths of Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son, and Samir Khan in CIA/JSOC drone strikes in Pakistan. The
ACLU right to challenge U.S. targeting of American citizens overseas Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–On the face of it, the latest agreement between Hamas and Fatah, signed in Qatar by Khaled Mashaal (who left Damascus presumably because of what’s going on in Syria and announced his impending retirement as the leader of Hamas) and Mahmoud Abbas (the President of the Palestinian Authority) could be a
Latest peace agreement between P.A. and Hamas worrisome for Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Members of the Knesset are discovering America, Jewish America to be precise. Prompted by Jay Ruderman of the Ruderman Family Foundation a dozen or so Israeli parliamentarians came together recently to form the Israel-American Jewish Knesset Caucus. The visit was preceded by a comprehensive US visit by six MKs
Caucus formed to teach Knesset members about American Jews Read More »
Middle East
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Despite rumors to the contrary, Israel is a normal country at least as far as retail therapy is concerned. Shopping malls are popping up with ever-increasing frequency wherever one looks. They incorporate many advantages for both vendors and shoppers, and the ambience in them varies from quiet
Normal Arab-Jewish coexistence in Israel goes unreported by media Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The website of the British tabloid the Daily Mirror shows a detailed diagram of how Israel would attack Iran using sophisticated fighter planes, drones and missiles from its five ultra-modern submarines. It also predicts when: not later than April. The why is there, too:Iran could make four nuclear bombs within a
For Israel, anti-Iran sanctions far better than attacking Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — I was born in Israel just a few years after its inception in 1948. My father and mother were there, however, as the British withdrew on May 14 of that year, lowering the Union Jack over the port of Haifa, and raising the stakes considerably for the
Dream of two peaceful states, side by side, still lives Read More »
Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –The current round of Israeli-Palestinian meetings in Jordan ended with a Palestinian decision to leave. “The Israelis brought nothing new in these meetings,” said one official, without bothering to note the obvious — neither did the Palestinians. The talks were the result of a Quartet plan to have Israelis and
World should accept impossibility of ‘peace process’ in Middle East Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
By James Colbert WASHINGTON, D.C. –At the United Nations, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an international response to the crisis in Syria, warning that if the UN fails to act it should consider itself complicit with the brutal regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. And there are certainly steps that the United States
U.S. must plan for contingencies as fractured opposition fights Syrian regime Read More »
InternationalBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The staunchly pro-Israel statements that Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made during his recent visit to Israel is a wholesome reminder that the Jewish state has many friends in the world and that such friendship at its best doesn’t have ulterior motives but is founded on the new understanding for,
Canada’s Foreign Minister is staunchly pro-Israel Read More »
Middle East
By Judy Lash Balint JERUSALEM–As the center of the Jewish religious world, you would think that Jerusalem would have hosted a kosher wine festival before–but no, the first Jerusalem Kosher Wine Exhibit took place just this week at the Binyanei HaUma convention center. With a steep entry price of 70NIS per person (my press card
Jerusalem hosts its first kosher wine exhibit Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The New York Times describes Sheldon Adelson as a poor boy who made himself rich, not especially attracted to Jewish affairs or Israel until middle age, now a major contributor to things Jewish, American, and Israeli. His most recent prominence comes from $10 million contributed by him and his
Adelson is a major right-wing factor in U.S., Israeli politics Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USA
By Bruce Kesler ENCINITAS — The mandate by the Obama administration that contraception must be provided by religious hospitals even if contrary to their religious doctrine may influence the Supreme Court’s decisions on ObamaCare. On a fundamental level, the mandate exhibits the intrusiveness of Obamacare into aspects of private belief, its practice, and freedom
Mandatory contraception provision may upend national health care law Read More »
USA