Steve Kramer grew up in Atlantic City, graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1967, adopted the hippie lifestyle until 1973, then joined the family business for 15 years. Steve moved to Israel from Margate, NJ in 1991 with his family. He has written more than 1100 articles about Israel and Jews since making Aliyah. Steve and his wife Michal live in Kfar Saba.
By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Israel just celebrated its 67th birthday, according to the Hebrew calendar. What’s the prognosis for our nation and its people? By one announcement, Israelis are thriving. That report is the World Happiness Report, a measure of happiness published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Which countries are […]
Israel high on world happiness list Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer
By Steve Kramer TEL AVIV — In the first part of this series, we toured Jerusalem with my brother Charles, who was visiting from America. Next, we traveled with him to Tel Aviv. What was very special about Charles’ trip was the timing. As we entered Tel Aviv in the early afternoon, we were
Eating and touring in Israel, Part 2 Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food
By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel– How can a visitor experience the real Israel in seven days? If you’re my brother Charles, all you need do is hang out with us Kramers for a week. That just happened when my brother came to help Michal and me celebrate my birthday. Charles arrived on a Friday,
Eating and touring in Israel: Part 1 Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, Travel and FoodBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Passover is one of the three pilgrimage festivals of Judaism. In ancient times, during the seven days of the holiday, Jews came to the Holy Temple to make sacrifices. Today, there is no Holy Temple, but Israelis and Jews from the Diaspora fill the city with thousands of
Fighting organized anti- Semitism on campuses Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Bibi Netanyahu’s Likud party has won Israel’s 20th Knesset election and almost certainly he will soon begin his fourth term as prime minister. Many questioned Bibi’s judgment late last year when he dissolved the 19th Knesset after only 18 months. His reasoning was that the coalition was unworkable
Bibi supporters can thank President Obama Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — On March 17, the citizens of Israel will return to the polls less than two years after the previous election. Voting for the 20th Knesset in Israel’s short, 67-year history, Israelis hope that the new government will last the full four-year term, unlike most of its predecessors. Israel, like
Why this writer will vote for Likud Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Emeritus Professor Moshe Sharon of the Hebrew University famously lectured on negotiations in the Middle East. He wrote: “To achieve their goal, the Arabs took to the battlefield and to bazaar diplomacy. The most important rule in the bazaar is that if the vendor knows that you desire
Rules of the bazaar inform Iran’s bargaining Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Many Israelis and others are worried that Prime Minister Netanyahu has created a crisis in relations with the American president, and by extension, with the United States. But disagreements between Israel and its chief ally have been common ever since Israel declared its independence in 1948. It can
Netanyahu – Obama feud will blow over Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — We recently enjoyed the new exhibit at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem, across from the Israel Museum. Entitled “By the Rivers of Babylon,” the exhibit displays: “original artifacts dating to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Exile [586 BCE], including clay tablets [over 100 cuneiform tablets that
Tales of ancient Jewish exiles Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Barack Obama burst upon the American political scene in 2004, when he gave the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, just four months after unexpectedly being elected the junior senator from Illinois. Less than five years later, in his first inaugural speech, President Obama intoned, “We will
Obama’s likely legacy? Iranian hegemony Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Amos Oz, the famous Israeli writer of worldwide acclaim, is also involved with film. While he occasionally defends Israel, Oz always remains true to his left wing ideology and ends up undercutting Israel’s reputation and status. Censored Voices, the new version of Oz’s previously unreleased documentary on the
Amos Oz provides more fodder for Israel haters Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — The New York Times editorialized that the recently scheduled, third speech by Prime Minister Netanyahu to Congress will harm US-Israel ties. The Times of Israel quoted a White House spokesman that “Netanyahu spat in our face.” What’s the furor about? After all, Netanyahu is not the first foreign statesman
Why Mr. Netanyahu goes to Washington Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — On the day that we watched scenes from the funeral in Jerusalem of four French Jews who were murdered at a kosher market in Paris for being Jewish, I received my copy of the Johns Hopkins Magazine, an excellent publication from my alma mater. As I leafed through it,
Anti- Semitism makes a comeback in the West Read More »
International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — What’s a factoid? According to one definition, it’s a questionable or spurious (unverified, false, or fabricated) statement presented as a fact, but without supporting evidence. (Wikipedia) Factoids are what passes for knowledge among Westerners who vilify Israel and describe it as apartheid, neo-Nazi, warmongering, and more. Advocates for
Setting straight the factoid crowd Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer