Steve Kramer

Steve Kramer

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.

Touring Israeli Historical Places With ESRA

By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — Michal and I recently enjoyed a day trip organized by ESRA, the English Speaking Residents Association. ESRA provides numerous social activities for Israelis who are comfortable speaking English while funding diverse charitable projects for all Israelis. While not my usual hike with ESRA, this tour, nicely coordinated by […]

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Middle East, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food

Natural Gas Adds to Israel’s International Acceptance

Israel’s significance as a Middle Eastern powerhouse has reached new levels with the help of two seminal events: the discovery of natural gas in Eastern Mediterranean waters and the success of the Abraham Accords between Israel and some Muslim Arab neighbors. Before, Israel was knocking on the door of the Arab and European countries; now, many of those countries have opened the door or soon will. Israel has what they want. (Steve Kramer)

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Business & Finance, International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

Forget the Two State Solution Already!

By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — On May 18, The Jerusalem Post published an editorial entitled “Israel cannot abandon the two state solution.” The subtitle of the editorial is: It is time for Israel to strengthen its ties with moderate Palestinians [actually, Palestinian Arabs] and keep cooperating with pragmatic Israeli-Arabs. Unfortunately there are few

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Middle East, Opinion, Steve Kramer

Traveling Around Israel in the Run-Up to Israel’s Independence Day

By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — Israel recently commemorated its 74th year of independence, preceded by the memorial day for military and terrorist casualties. To celebrate Israel’s birthday, which follows Passover by two weeks, we visited a number of places around our small country. All of these jaunts were a half-day or more, with

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Middle East, Opinion, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food

Jerusalem’s Temple Mount: The Epicenter of Violence

By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — There’s been a lot of mayhem lately at the Temple Mount (the summit of Mount Moriah) in Jerusalem, which is a magnet for religious Jews, especially during Passover. Because this year Passover, Easter, and the Muslim holiday of Ramadan coincided, more violence than usual has resulted. The current

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Middle East, Opinion, Steve Kramer

Whither the United States in the Middle East — and Israel?   

By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — In the period following WW2, the U.S. became the undisputed leader of the Western democracies. It was challenged in its position as world leader only by the USSR, whose rule extended to poor, Third World countries, and those European countries seized at the end of WW2. By 1991,

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International, Middle East, Opinion, Steve Kramer, USA

Two Peoples, Two Problems for Israel

By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — Israel is faced by two dangerous peoples, each presenting Israelis with an implacable enemy which strives for Israel’s destruction. The rulers of Iran are Persian Shi’ite religious fanatics whose aim is to lead a resurgent worldwide Islamic Caliphate. (Persians, who ruthlessly control the many minorities in Iran, are

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International, Middle East, Opinion, Steve Kramer, USA

A Trip to Tiberias on the Kinneret’s Western Shore

With about 45,000 residents, Tiberias is a relatively small town located on the western side of Lake Kinneret. The lake is one of Israel’s most popular holiday destinations, for tourists and Israelis alike. Named for the Roman Emperor Tiberius, the city is famed for the legendary rabbis who resided there, for its hot springs, and for Tiberias’ colorful lakeside promenade. [Steve Kramer]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food