Ira Sharkansky

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The head of the U.S, Joint Chiefs of Staff caused a mini-row in Israel by remarks about Israel’s capacity to deal with Iran’s nuclear program. According to one view on a prominent Israeli web site. “Once every few years Israel needs a slap in the face to remember where it […]

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –We can imagine a conversation, not too far from here, among people more important than us, about an Israeli attack on Iran and the American presidential election. Among the questions likely to be debated Will the attack lead Obama and Romney to compete in what they offer to Israel, with the

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–“Anybody but Peres” was the slogan in the Knesset when the Members were choosing between presidential candidates Shimon Peres and Moshe Katzav in 2000. Katzav received 63 votes to Peres’ 57. Some MKs who had promised their support to Peres voted for Katzav. Seven years later, it was clear that “Anybody but

By Ira Sharkansky BERGEN, Norway — Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to file away last month’s report by a committee headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, which endorsed an Israeli view of international law that Yehuda and Samaria (the West Bank) are not “occupied territories,” insofar as they never were the possession of

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Israeli politics is currently more a muddle than usual. Leaving aside the knotty problem of defining the “left,” two newspapers identified with the Israeli and American Jewish left have published reports that define the problem of the left. Ha’aretz headlined a survey of Israelis finding that about half the adult population identify

By Ira Sharkansky OSLO, Norway — This city is one of Europe’s historic cities, having begun about the time William sailed to England. And a cool and damp respite from Jerusalem’s summer, where midday is only for mad dogs and Englishmen. This trip is part of my on-going project to compare other old cities with

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Others can accuse Israel of bringing the world to the edge of disaster over Iran, but not for doing it without discussion. It’s been going on sporadically for several years, and may be reaching a crescendo.   Israel Hayom dedicated its weekend supplement to the subject, and gave it the headline “Before

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Mitt Romney and his crew were not at their best during the campaign trip outside of the United States. The candidate insulted the British in London, raised hackles of Palestinians and the politically correct everywhere with comments about the superiority of Jewish culture in Israel, and his press secretary lost

By Ira Sharkansky SAN DIEGO — Americans who identify with Israel, and who are looking for another reason to vote against Barack Obama, can find it in Monday’s headlines. “The White House: Romney must explain why he said that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.” Palestinians responded even more forcefully. Not only did they object

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — A popular song that we have heard from time to time for at least 20 years says that the Messiah has not come. And he has not even telephoned. The Messiah didn’t come this week. He may have telephoned, but there was no great impact. Romney arrived on Sunday, and

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — One of the responses received to my recent columns (Some ideas for my American friends) deserves a column of its own. “I am still trying to understand why it is that Americans and Israelis both seem to believe that the US is responsible for Israel’s future (isn’t Israel a sovereign