Pro-BDS Jews exemplify different U.S., Israeli cultures

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Among the unpleasantness that Israeli Jews experience is the awareness that Jews along with Arabs and others are demonstrating against Israel. Noam Chomsky’s involvement in persuading Stephen Hawking to cancel his appearance at an Israeli conference was a prominent example, consistent with Chomsky’s record and perhaps reinforced by his own

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

JNS news briefs: June 7, 2013

Kerry authorizes $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt (JNS.org) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry authorized $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid to Egypt last month despite writing himself in a memo that the U.S. is “not satisfied with the extent of Egypt’s progress” on its democracy, Reuters reported Thursday. The Secretary of State,

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International

U.S. leak of Israeli missile site was deliberate

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, June 5,  it was revealed that that the current US (“I’ve got Israel’s back”) administration leaked to the media the specifications for the heretofore-secret US-Israel installation for Israel’s Arrow 3 missiles. It was quickly called just another leak from an administration already reeling from leaks; someone apologized.

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Middle East, Shoshana Bryen

JNS news briefs: June 6, 2013

Samantha Power nominated as U.S. ambassador to U.N. (JNS.org) Samantha Power, President Barack Obama’s replacement for Susan Rice as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, has a history of controversial comments about Israel. Power from January 2009 to March 2013 held positions including special assistant to the president, senior director for multilateral affairs and human

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International

In a world without human secrets, God gains in appeal

By Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — In between the endless stream of loud commercials attacking incontinence, leaking, psoriasis, erectile dysfunction, bad cholesterol, mood disorder, computer romance, toilet stains, and bankruptcy, American television programming is clearly narrowing its themes to the basic, divine two: Sex and Death. These two categories are the bookends of the

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Jewish Religion

Immigrants must be better vetted for terrorist links

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Parties on various sides of the immigration debate in the United State have focused mainly on issues surrounding Hispanic immigrants because there are a lot of them and numbers get attention. Human Rights Watch, for example, created a handy-dandy checklist for the Senate version of the immigration bill, including

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Shoshana Bryen, USA

JNS news briefs: June 5, 2013

Daily Palestinian stone-throwing attacks on Jews (JNS.org) Palestinian stone-throwing attacks on Jews in eastern Jerusalem have become a daily occurrence and have recently escalated to include Molotov cocktails, Israel Hayom reported. Israel Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Kobi Dudian of the Jerusalem District Police told the Knesset’s Internal Affairs and Environment Committee on Wednesday that 207

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International

Political theatre: Kerry trips, Palestinian and Israeli responses

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Some years ago I published Rituals of Conflict. It described the repeated ceremonies by which the ultra-Orthodox and Israeli authorities deal with disputes that erupt periodically whenever a rabbi wants to make an issue about the violation of Sabbath, ancient graves unearthed in the course of construction, or whatever else could make a

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East