Ira Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science and public administration at Hebrew University.
His books, which are available on Amazon, include:
*Alternative federal solutions to the problem of the administered territories
*Ambiguity, Coping, and Governance: Israeli Experiences in Politics, Religion, and Policymaking
*Ancient and Modern Israel: An Exploration of Political Parallels
*Coping with Terror: An Israeli Perspective
* Governing Israel: Chosen People, Promised Land and Prophetic Tradition
*Governing Jerusalem: Again on the World’s Agenda
* Israel and its Bible: A Political Analysis
* Maligned States: policy accomplishments, problems and opportunities
* Policy Analysis in Political Science
* Policy and Politics in American Governments
* Policy Making in Israel: Routines for Simple Problems and Coping with the Complex
* Politics and Planning in the Holy City
* Politics and Policymaking in Search of Simplicity
* Public Administration: Agencies, Policies, and Politics
* Public Administration Policy Making in Government Agencies
* Public Administration (2nd Edition): Policy Making in Government Agencies
* Regionalism in American Politics
* Rituals of Conflict: Religion, Politics, and Public Policy in Israel
* Spending in the American States
* The Policy Predicament: Making and Implementing Public Policy
* The Political Economy of Israel
* The Politics of Religion and the Religion of Politics
*The Politics of Taxing and Spending
* The Routines of Politics
* The United States: A Study of a Developing Country
* The United States Revisited: A Study of a Still Developing Country
* Urban Politics and Public Policy [Robert Lineberry]
* What Makes Israel Tick: How Domestic Policy-Makers Cope with Restraints
* Wither the State: Politics and Public Enterprise in Three Countries
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israel has been wracked by violence, conscience, and not a little hypocrisy in recent days. Assailants, widely thought to be extremist Jews, firebombed a Palestinian home in a West Bank village, killing a year-old child and severely injuring other family members. An ultra-Orthodox Jew, recently released from prison for a similar […]
2 Jewish terror attacks roil Israel, U.N. Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Wisdom and justice are elusive topics, with numerous issues on their borders. Israel presents the topics of settlements and Jonathan Pollard. Settlement is either the curse of post-1967 Israel, the fulfillment of God’s promise, an appropriate response to Arab rejections, and/or a way to get more of contested real estate. Americans have
Weighing the morality of settlements, Pollard case Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA
SAN DIEGO (SDJW) – During the month of July, San Diego Jewish World was privileged to publish works by the following writers and photographers. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and publicly express our appreciation. To access works by these contributors on San Diego Jewish World, type or copy their name
SDJW thanks its July 2015 contributors Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eric George Tauber, Eva Trieger, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Lloyd Levy, Mark D. Zimmerman, Michael Ordman, Mimi Pollack, Natasha Josefowitz, Sheryl Rowling, Shor M. Masori, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — This oldie from the Kingston Trio (“They’re rioting in Africa . . . “) is an appropriate theme for today, even though we have to look beyond its details. The general point remains. There’s chaos in lots of places, and we must hope that somebody doesn’t make it a lot
On Africa, U.S. and the Middle East Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — He’s done it again. The nice man who happens to be the US President has called for an end to homophobia in Africa. May he have more success than his call for equality and democracy in Cairo. The best he, Tom Friedman and others could do about that earlier aspiration
Obama’s gay appeal in Kenya unlikely to be productive Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–A few columns ago I sought to tease some lessons about politics from the similarities between Benyamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama (“Political twins,” July 10). Here I’ll try my luck with a comparison between Barack Obama and Woodrow Wilson. The focus is Wilson’s participation in the Paris Peace Conference and efforts to create
Barack Obama compared to Woodrow Wilson Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The headline has been slurred to account for the sensitivities I hear whenever I write like I speak. How else can we describe the deal with Iran? Take your pick The requirement of 24 days notice for inspections of sensitive locales Evading Iran’s support of terror and revolt against established regimes Evading Iran’s
Covering your backside Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It’s the essence of healthy politics. The status of balance derives from the ever presence of competition. There have always been individuals, groups, political parties, and governmental entities (nations, localities, governmental agencies) that want more at the expense of someone else. If it’s always been, it’s likely to always be.
Balancing games occur the world over Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Village councils in the West Bank, and Sharon’s alliance with the Christians of Lebanon represented Israeli efforts to play in the politics of neighbors. One was a failure, and the other a disaster. Israel sought to create village councils in the West Bank during the 1970s and 1980s as its
Is ‘alliance’ brewing among Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It’s been a few days, and the dust hasn’t settled. Israeli shrill, in Hebrew and other languages, has been prominent in the media here and elsewhere, along with efforts at varying hues to calm our fears. Headlines in Israel Hayom about as expected An agreement to shame the world It doesn’t obligate
Weighing the reactions to the N- deal Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It’s simple as pie to criticize politicians for what they do, and what they don’t do. It’s just as easy to declare what they must do, and what they must not do. What’s tough is to explain what they can do, and what they cannot do. There is no shortage
Criticism is easy; doing is tough Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Where are the heroes? There aren’t any in the realms of politics or public policy, except in the books written for children, or childish adults. The world is too complex. We know too much to be heroic. There may be heroes on the field of battle, some of who survive
Evil is only vanquished in juvenile fiction Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — We may find some limits in connection with two Israeli young men who have gone missing in recent months. Both have been described as mentally impaired or mentally disturbed, and both made their way to Gaza. One is an Ethiopian, and one a Bedouin. An IDF spotter posted in front
Civilian captives in Gaza roil Israel’s politics Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–We couldn’t desire better lessons on the nature of the politics than we obtain from the simultaneous and competitive appearances of the Bibi and Barack twins at the heads of their governments. They are similar if not identical in their style, skills, limitations, and their reception by their own, one another’s, and
Bibi and Barack are political twins Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA