Ira Sharkansky

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Politics being what it is, not every day is a time for celebration. Not even in the Promised Land. A lower court has concluded its work on the files of Ehud Olmert and several of his cohorts in one cluster of the charges pending against the former Prime Minister. There

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — In the blame game that follows the suspension or failure of the Kerry peace process, one often hears of Israel’s satisfaction with, and commitment to the status quo. No doubt many Israelis really do not want to accept the development of a Palestinian state, even though public opinion polls show

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Palestinians of Hamas Gaza and Fatah West Bank have announced the end of their dispute. They claim it gives them added strength to deal with Israel Bibi is claiming that it provides the exit from the peace process At least temporarily, the US is siding with Israel in accepting a

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–A highlight of my day six and a half decades ago, before television reached Fall River, late afternoons Monday through Friday, was the opening blare of the William Tell Overture and then another radio episode of the Lone Ranger and his sidekick Tonto. Tonto was what politically aware Native Americans call a

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Let’s call it what it is. The US has used its muscle to get Israelis and Palestinians to discussions that neither of them wanted. Both sides speak and deal with one another all the time. It’s part of living side by side, with pockets of one inside the other, and

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israeli politics is straining under the pressure of the US, and those led by the US to keep conversations with the Palestinians going, and the counter pressure from coalition members who are tired of the charade, and resist paying the price of prisoner releases. The potential for this conflict has

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–There’s another New York Times Op-Ed on Israel. This one praises Iran’s move away from theocracy and toward secularism, while describing Israel is moving in the opposite direction. It seems a bit premature to applaud any sign of reasonable activity from the mullah’s of Iran, I am even less certain that the authors (one Iranian

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Politics is the civilized way of dealing with disputes. Campaigns, voting, and the routine displacement of the losers by the winners is the way of enlightened government. Making policy and managing programs are more complicated than election campaigns. They require professional expertise in the myriad of fields that government touches.