TEL AVIV (WJC)–Sonia Peres, wife of Israel’s President Shimon Peres, died in Tel Aviv on Thursday morning at the age of 87. Sonia Gelman was born in Poland in 1923 and went to Palestine with her parents in 1927. There, she met her future husband at school. In 1942, she enlisted in the British Army, […]
Israel’s First Lady, Sonia Peres, dies at 87 Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The IDF is the central icon of Israeli culture. It stands for security and dedication to nationhood, personal sacrifice, and morality. It often makes room for handicapped individuals who do not meet its physical demands, but wish to serve in order to affiliate with the popular ethos. Individuals who evade
Tarnishing icons in Israel Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — Following the introduction of a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement expansion, J Street released a new policy statement: J Street shares the growing global frustration at the lack of progress toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and at the Israeli government’s continued expansion of settlements beyond the Green Line.
J Street opposes U.S. veto of U.N. resolution on Israel settlements Read More »
Middle East
By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Some short takes on the Middle East: 1. Undeterred by international pressures and internal opposition, the Iranian government is cutting subsidies to essential goods that have cost a lot and eaten up capital that might have been used for investment and development. Remarks: So President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems to
Some short takes on the Middle East Read More »
Middle East, USAWASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging the administration to oppose a U.N. resolution that is being drafted by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in an effort to unilaterally dictate terms to Israel, enabling the PA to
Senators ask Clinton to oppose Palestininan resolution at U.N. on negotiations Read More »
Middle EastBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel (Press Release)–How incredibly bad is media coverage of Israel-Palestinian issues and of the Middle East in general? Here’s an example. CNN has just run a report on how wonderfully moderate the Palestinian Authority (PA) is. They are firing imams of West Bank mosques who are spewing out incitement against
How Palestinian Authority manipulates Western news media to carry its propaganda Read More »
Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — In a recent column I put tongue in cheek and described Israel as an island of quiet in a region roiled by violence and potentially worse. Now I must take the tongue out of my cheek and ponder the implications of our own roiling. It comes not from the guns of January
Barak maneuverings seen as strengthening Avigdor Lieberman Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBoycott Israel Ad On Palestinian TV Backed By Spain * NEW YORK (Press Release)–The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is supporting the call of Israel’s Minister of National Infrastructure, Uzi Landau, for a review of past Israeli agreements signed with Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) as a result of recent PA efforts promoting foreign economic
ZOA endorses economic sanctions against Palestinian Authority Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — He compared himself to Ben Gurion and Sharon, both of whom left the parties they were in charge of to form new ones, Ben Gurion formed Rafi (of blessed memory) and Sharon created Kadima, which still is the most likely mainstay of a new coalition. Peres and the
The end or a new beginning for Israel’s Labour party Read More »
Middle EastJERUSALEM (WJC)–In a surprise move, Israel’s Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Barak, 68, has left the Labor Party, which he had led until now, and has formed his own faction in the Knesset, the nation’s parliament. Four of the 17 Labor members in the Knesset, including three other ministers, will join Barak in
Barak leaves Labor, forms Independent party Read More »
Middle EastJERUSALEM — One reason why I didn’t go to Tel Aviv on Saturday night to attend the rally in support of Israeli democracy was because I attended the celebration of 25th anniversary of the founding of Kol Haneshama, our congregation in Jerusalem. Kol Haneshama was born in the home of its spiritual leader Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman
An unexpected lesson from Kol Haneshama Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–Wednesday night Judy, Margalit, and I watched The Secret Life of Bees. The movie, produced in 2008, is based on the book by the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. The story takes place in Southern Carolina in 1964 in the midst of racial turmoil. The Civil Rights Act had
Remembering the Exodus and the American Civil Rights struggle Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM –The only reason that takes me to the shrine of the Western Wall is the company of tourists and the occasional Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Unlike some Jews who profess piety, the place doesn’t move me to prayer. In fact, the ostensibly religious hustlers who exploit it for blatantly irreligious, even discriminatory,
Thoughts on seeing a grandson sworn into the IDF at the Kotel Read More »
Middle East