By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–You have heard the story of the nail that was lost, that hampered the horse, lost the battle and the empire. In both countries that I follow there is danger of a lost nail. Where they impact is too early to know, but they are cause for worry, or maybe only amusement. […]
The nails that may cause the undoing of Netanyahu and Obama Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Despite his occasional strong-man bluster, or perhaps because of it, there’s much to suggest that Binyamin Netanyahu – Bibi to friends and foes alike – is a weak Prime Minister. Two current issues in the news imply it. First, the Turkey fiasco reminds us again that Netanyahu isn’t really in charge
The Cabinet and marital influences shape Bibi's policy Read More »
Middle EastJERUSALEM (Press Release)– Shaare Zedek Medical Center announced that four of its senior medical personnel have been dispatched to Haiti as part of the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s search and rescue mission to the earthquake ravaged region. Dr. Ofer Merin, recently named Deputy Director General at Shaare Zedek and Director of the hospital’s Emergency Preparedness and Response
Shaare Zedek medical team in Haiti Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Israel’s precarious relations with its neighbours have forced it to be always prepared for war. Having had to fight several of them, its army has gained great experience in dealing with and preparing for emergencies. That’s why Israel has been able to respond so swiftly, and apparently so efficiently, to the
Israel brings hope and healing to Haiti Read More »
Middle EastWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Friday completed cooperative training exercises in Morocco at the National Center for Nuclear Energy, Science and Technologies (CNESTEN) in Rabat. The four day effort included training in plume modeling, emergency operations center development and infrastructure, training and demonstration on specific radiation detection equipment,
U.S., Morocco conduct exercise to thwart nuclear disaster Read More »
USABy Danny Bloom [This commentary was originally written in 2002 and updated in early 2010.] CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — In a magazine article a few years back, a British expatriate in New York by the name of John Derbyshire wrote that a lingering form of antisemitism is alive and well in the United States —
Goodbye to all that! — An American Jew's life in non-Christian Asia Read More »
USACOLUMBUS, Ohio (Press Release)–The Center for Child Welfare Policy of the North American Resource Center for Child Welfare (NARCCW) has announced the 2010 winners of the Pro Humanitate Literary Awards, North America’s premier literary awards for the field of child welfare. One book award and three article awards are conferred annually to authors from the
Book on child sexual abuse in Jewish community wins award Read More »
Amy Neustein, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–For those who doubt that Israel is a normal country, the arrest of a messiah with who knows how many wives and children should establish its credentials. The most complete report I have seen in English appears in the Times of London. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6988614.ece This puts us firmly in the league with the
For all its holy history, Jerusalem a city like many others Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USASEATTLE (WJC)–Naveed Haq, the man who attacked the Seattle Jewish Federation offices in 2006, killing a woman and injuring five other people, has been sentenced to life in prison. In the courtroom, Haq apologized for his actions. In December, a jury found him guilty of aggravated murder and attempted murder. His defense argued that mental
Life in prison for Seattle Jewish Federation attacker Naveed Haq Read More »
Middle East, USAAMMAN, Jordan (WJC)–On Thursday afternoon, a remote-controlled bomb placed by unknown terrorists was detonated when a convoy with two Israeli diplomats coming from Amman was driving toward the Allenby Bridge crossing between Israel and Jordan. No one was injured in the blast, but the two vehicles sustained some damage. The bomb was placed on a
Al Qaeda believed behind attempted roadside bombing at Allenby Bridge Read More »
Middle EastNEW YORK (Press Release) – In a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union asked the government to disclose the legal basis for its use of predator drones to conduct “targeted killings” overseas. In particular, the ACLU seeks to find out when, where and against whom drone strikes can be
ACLU files Freedom of Information suit on U.S. 'targeted killings' overseas Read More »
USAWASHINGTON, DC (Press Release)—Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman, (Independent, Connecticut) and Ranking Member Susan Collins, (Repubilcan, Maine) – who are conducting an investigation into the shooting deaths of 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, last November – issued preliminary policy recommendations Wednesday to the Department of Defense (DoD). The recommendations, which came in
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — At its January 12 public meeting, the United States Sentencing Commission voted to publish for public comment proposed guideline amendments and issues for comment on a wide range of topics that include alternatives to incarceration, the relevance of specific offender characteristics to sentencing, and penalties for hate crimes. The 60-day public
U.S. Sentencing Commission recommends broadening hate crimes categories Read More »
USAROME (WJC)—Israel’s former chief rabbi and current chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel Meir Lau, has said in an interview with Italian television that Pope Benedict XVI should be welcomed when he visits Rome’s main synagogue on Sunday, but that he should halt moves to beatify his controversial wartime predecessor Pius XII. Lau, a Holocaust survivor
Yad Vashem chairman asks Pope Benedict XVI not beatify Pius XII Read More »
Middle East