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 — A functioning State of Palestine is the aspiration of most members of the United Nations. They’ve been dreaming about it ever since 1967, when Israel took control of Judea and Samaria from Jordan, which had occupied the region since Israel’s War of Independence in 1948. It sounds great […]
The P.A. does not want a two- state solution Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer
By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE — The ESRA organization for English speakers (esra.org.il) had a beautiful hike in Ramat (hills of) Menashe during the intermediate days of Passover. This is one of the two regions of the Land of Israel in which the ancient tribe of Menashe resided. (The other area is located in the
Hiking in Ramat Menashe Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — To facilitate the current round of Syrian peace talks, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to support the return of the Golan Heights to Syria. The two presidents gave their top diplomats, Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the green light to
The case for the Israeli Golan Heights Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer
By Steve Kramer NETANYA, Israel — We recently attended a lecture sponsored by AACI Netanya. The lecturer was American-Israeli Hank Citron, who divides his time between Manhattan and Netanya. A former history professor in New Jersey, Hank is a colorful character who, among other things, grew up in a Zionist household, the son of European
Jabotinsky left an impressive legacy Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, Steve KramerSAN DIEGO — San Diego Jewish World expresses its appreciation to the byliners and staff photographers whose works appeared in March 2016 editions. They included: David Amos Eitan Arom Judy Lash Balint Kenneth Bandler Laurie Baron Amber Bartlett Jeremy Ben-Ami Boaz Bismuth Ronnie Blair Dan Bloom Shoshana Bryen Stephen Bryen Cynthia Citron Richard L. Cravatts Jack Forman
SDJW thanks its March 2016 contributors Read More »
Barry Shaw, Cynthia Citron, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eric George Tauber, Eva Trieger, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Melanie Rubin, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Michael Ordman, Natasha Josefowitz, Sheryl Rowling, Shor M. Masori, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — “You will never hear me say, ‘The IDF is the most moral army in the world,’” declares Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Danny Efroni. “I think that our army has good values, but some of this has to do with the fact that it investigates and examines suspected
Prone terrorist’s killing may be justified Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer HERZLIYA, Israel –I recently attended an excellent lecture by Dr. Mordechai Kedar on the history of Jerusalem, presented by “The Jewish Narrative” Thursday English Lecture series in Herzliya. In many ways this lecture was similar to another I had attended several years ago by Emeritus Professor Moshe Sharon of Hebrew University. Both
Religious doctrine shapes contest for Jerusalem Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — The words we use are important, especially when explaining a situation or making an argument. Evidently, Israelis haven’t read Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass.” It was Humpty Dumpty who said, “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor
Why the world should say ‘Judea’ and ‘Samaria’ Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Zion is a synonym for Jerusalem and for Israel. Zionism is the belief that Jews should have their own nation in their ancestral homeland dating back 4,000 years. Zionists don’t limit their aspirations to living only in Jerusalem; they want to live throughout the Land of Israel and
Friends of Zion Museum tells story of Israel Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerSAN DIEGO — This publication would like to thank and express appreciation to the writers and photographers whose works appeared during February 2016 in San Diego Jewish World. They include: Judy Lash Balint Kenneth Bandler Laurie Baron Boaz Bismuth Dan Bloom Shoshana Bryen Stephen Bryen Cynthia Citron Richard L. Cravtts Jack Forman Donald H. Harrison
SDJW thanks its February 2016 contributors Read More »
Barry Shaw, Cynthia Citron, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eric George Tauber, Eva Trieger, Fred Reiss, EdD, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Melanie Rubin, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Mimi Pollack, Natasha Josefowitz, San Diego County, Sheryl Rowling, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — The plateau called the Golan Heights is Israel’s northern most region, bordering Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Its area, 440 square miles, is slightly smaller than New York City. The West insists the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights is “occupied territory” which must be returned to Syria. This
Whither the Golan Heights? Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Iran, according to the United Nations Security Council resolution (7/20/15) endorsing the Iran nuclear deal, is “called upon” to refrain, for up to eight years, from working on ballistic missiles which are designed to deliver nuclear weapons. Existing sanctions imposed on Iran’s missile program were NOT ended. But
Israel prepares for rocket war with Iran Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerSAN DIEGO (SDJW) — San Diego Jewish World expresses its appreciation to the 43 writers and photographers whose works appeared during January 2016. These individuals included: David Amos Eitan Arom Kenneth Bandler Laurie Baron Amber Bartlett Ronnie Blair Dan Bloom Shoshana Bryen Stephen Bryen Cynthia Citron Richard L. Cravatts Judy Friedel Michael Freund Donald H. Harrison Natasha
SDJW thanks 43 whose works appeared in January Read More »
Barry Shaw, Cynthia Citron, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eva Trieger, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Mimi Pollack, Natasha Josefowitz, Sheryl Rowling, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Iran’s President Rouhani was feted in Italy on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, of all days. (It’s sickening how many Europeans don’t even mention Jews when speechifying on the Holocaust.) Classic, “erotic” artwork in Rouhani’s line of sight was hidden, wine was eschewed at banquets, and Rouhani was invited
A political tour of the Middle East Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer