Ira Sharkansky

Ira Sharansky

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

Adelson is a major right-wing factor in U.S., Israeli politics

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The New York Times describes Sheldon Adelson as a poor boy who made himself rich, not especially attracted to Jewish affairs or Israel until middle age, now a major contributor to things Jewish, American, and Israeli.   His most recent prominence comes from $10 million contributed by him and his […]

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Ira Sharkansky, USA

PM’s administrator accused of harrassing woman on staff

By Ira Sharkansky  JERUSALEM–The headlines are about a couple of issues roiling close to the Prime Minister. They do not concern the big stuff that will attract people around the world who look to Israel for the excitement of threat, promise, personal or collective salvation. Insofar as the Prime Minister is the Prime Minister, however,

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

The lessons to be drawn from Middle East interventions

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Hopefully, Iraq and Afghanistan will be the Lebanon War of the United States.   Israel learned from the massive invasion and long occupation of Lebanon (1982-2000) that too much force is frustrating, does not accomplish announced goals, and may be self-defeating. Its second Lebanon war of July-August, 2006 demonstrated the lesson: only

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Religion, not land-use politics, at heart of Mideast dispute

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSAELM–We are never far from a reminder that the Israel-Palestinian conflict has a strong element of religious animosity. Those who aspire to solve this with a simple agreement about lines on a map will be better off refereeing a football match (American or European). The Middle East is not for them.  

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Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion

Jerusalems Above

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Note the plural in  the headline. It is not an error, but the theme of this column.   Designations of Jerusalem above and Jerusalem below have been around for a long time. They have been adopted by Jews, but may have been introduced in their explicit form by the New

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Tension escalates between Israel and U.S. over Iran

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– It’s not easy being an Israeli. It is even harder being an Israeli policymaker, especially at the top with responsibility for things domestic and foreign. Last week the problems were local, in the form of thousands of Israelis of Ethipian origin, one unhappy Israeli of Iraqi origin, and lots of angry Israeli Arabs,

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Pre-School ‘guarantee’ adopted by Israeli Cabinet; Yair Lapid gathers momentum

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Once again Prime Minister Netanyahu demonstrated his skills as a magician.   In the morning, his ministers expressed wall to wall opposition to giving up four percent of their budgets for the sake of free pre-school education from the age of three. The government meeting was nastier than usual, with

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Never a dull moment: Israel debates schools, courts and burials

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Several of the items in today’s news are not of the world shaking variety that will provoke unrest in the Middle East, Washington, or even among the American Jewish community, but each contributes their increment to understanding this country.   First is the proposal of the Prime Minister to move

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Do insincere ‘peace talks’ do more harm than good?

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israeli and Palestinian officials have met for the first time in months, exchanged documents, and plan to meet again.   The meeting came after prolonged pressure from the “Quartet” of US, European Union, UN, and Russia. The location in Amman shows Jordanian interest.   We have nothing more than unsubstantiated

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Israel’s democracy nourished by biblical arguments

 By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The commotion over the place of women in buses and on sidewalks reminds us that religion plays a central role in Israeli politics. There is no formal separation of religion and politics. Moreover, Judaism is a religion that gives a central role to political history, political criticism, and political maneuvering.

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Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion