Steve Kramer

By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — It’s not just the Arabs, Iran, the United Nations and the EU which present Israel with problems. There are internal ones as well. I’m not talking about a lack of democracy or sidelining of minorities or the shrinking middle class. Israel is one of the most vibrant democracies

By Steve Kramer KIBBUTZ KETURA, Israel — Michal and I, together with our friends, recently spent a long weekend on this kibbutz in the Negev Desert. The trip was sponsored by their beit knesset, the Masorti (Conservative) Congregation of Ra’anana. A quote from its website: “The membership of Ra’anana Masorti is a successful mixture of

-Second of two part series- By Steven Kramer It’s pretty obvious that President Obama has led the American retreat from its lofty status as the world’s only superpower to an attitude of non-participation in any situation which may endanger American soldiers. However, isn’t it the army’s role to protect the homeland from dangers abroad and

First of two articles By Steve Kramer The recent negotiations between Iran and the five UN Security Council permanent members + Germany were concluded successfully, according to the American government. “Obama said that the deal allows world powers to continue to apply ‘the toughest sanctions,’ but refrains from imposing new sanctions. The White House said

By Steve Kramer Eyal Zisser is Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and the Yona and Dina Ettinger Chair of Contemporary Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University (TAU). Professor Zisser recently spoke to the English Speaking Friends of TAU at their monthly lecture on the present situation in the Middle East, particularly in Syria.

By Steve Kramer Delegitimization efforts against Israel continue to be a major problem. Alone among the democracies, Israel’s sovereignty is singled out and questioned. Ian Lustick’s front page, above-the-fold NY Times Sunday Review article (September 15) is a particularly nasty example. Lustick, a political science professor at Penn, has made a career out of bashing

By Stephen Kramer In Part 1, our trip north to Galilee with friends, enjoying a wonderful hike through a stream near Lake Kinneret. Our destination was Safed (Zefat), one of Judaism’s four holy cities. Bet Hameiri (Hameiri House), a fascinating recreation of local history, concentrating on Safed during the 19-20th centuries. Entered via one of

  By Steve Kramer SAFED, Israel — When school is out during the summer, Israel’s vacation spots are crowded and expensive, especially on the weekends. We managed to find the perfect weekend, between the first few days of the new school year and Rosh Hashana, the new year holiday. We located a reasonably priced boutique

By Steve Kramer JERUSALEM — Jerusalem is the unique capital of the Jewish state.  Palestinian demands to proclaim Jerusalem their capital, entirely or partly, are spurious. I believe that the only reason that Palestinians insist on this is to delegitimize Jewish rights to our 3,000 year old capital and our country. My argument: the Palestinians