Steve Kramer grew up in Atlantic City, graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1967, adopted the hippie lifestyle until 1973, then joined the family business for 15 years. Steve moved to Israel from Margate, NJ in 1991 with his family. He has written more than 1100 articles about Israel and Jews since making Aliyah. Steve and his wife Michal live in Kfar Saba.
By Steve Kramer KFAR SAVA, Israel — My wife Michal and I recently returned from a “vacation” to Florida, mainly to visit friends and relatives. It was a whirlwind trip, with many opportunities to check out the “Florida living.” After several weeks, we were happy to return to Israel to our new home in the […]
The Israel – U.S. Jew disconnect Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Refugees aren’t too popular these days in most countries. Israel has some unwanted refugees of its own. These refugees, commonly called “infiltrators” here, number about 30-40,000, down from a much larger contingent several years ago. What happened? Israel’s policy has been to grant asylum to almost none of
Wanted/ Unwanted Refugees Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — If you expect peace to break out any time soon in the Middle East, you’re bound to be disappointed. First, Arabs don’t get along among themselves, partly due to the division between Sunni and Shia Muslims. About 85% of Muslims world-wide follow the Sunni tradition; the two sects
Emigration: Pals can escape constant turmoil Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer
The Rabbinate in Stormy Days by Shaul Mayzlish; Gefen Publishing House By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — As a Masorti (Conservative) Jew living in Israel, there’s a lot to be learned from this history of the modern State of Israel’s first chief rabbi, Yitzhak Isaac HaLevi Herzog, who of course was deeply religious. The Chief
By Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Evidently, money means little when it comes to projecting military power. How else to explain the fact that the US is in a tizzy because of threats and actions by Russia, by Iran, and even by dirt-poor North Korea – all of which have economies that are minuscule
Gangster states threaten even when seriously outgunned Read More »
International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — This week, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini “guaranteed” to the Palestinian Arabs, EU support for a divided Jerusalem. She rebuked Prime Minister Netanyahu, “You know where the European Union stands. We believe that the only realistic solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is based on
OpEd: Europe hates Israel–and itself Read More »
International, Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel –Knesset member Yehuda Glick had this to say at the “Jordan is Palestine Conference” held at Menachem Begin Heritage Center on October 17: “The concept of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria doesn’t exist anymore, and anyone who is genuine knows that. It is wrong, dangerous, and not
OpEd: Jordan is Palestine Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Divisions between Jews are wide, as are divisions between many other groups of people all over the globe. In Israel, among the Jews there are four basic groupings: secular, traditional, religious, haredi (ultra-Orthodox). There is friction among them, especially between the Reform and Conservative movements and the haredi political
Support for Israel dropping in the U.S. Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — According to Wikipedia, “Eurabia” is a concept used to describe a “conspiracy theory” of globalist elements, coined by author Bat Ye’or in the early 2000s and described in her 2005 book titled “Eurabia: The Euro‐Arab Axis.” Unfortunately, it’s fact, not a conspiracy theory. France and the other EEC
Op-Ed: Europe is committing suicide Read More »
International, Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — On July 7, UNESCO declared the old city in Hebron as a Palestinian world heritage site, outraging Israelis who say the move attempts to erase the deep Jewish ties to the biblical town and its ancient shrine. So, is Hebron no longer incredibly significant to the Jews because
Speakers inaugurate an Israel Victory Project Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — Following is an open letter to David Horowitz, editor in chief of The Times of Israel, concerning political nomenclature. Dear David, I enjoy reading your online newspaper, The Times of Israel – I’m even one of the paper’s many bloggers. But there are a few editorial decisions about terminology
News outlet urged to review Middle East names Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — The Middle East would require a bold American leader to jumpstart peace negotiations in Jerusalem, if such a process is even possible. Since the mid-1970s, many presidents have tried but all have failed. The only way to ensure that the Palestinian Arab leadership gets serious about negotiations is
Waiting for Washington to move its Israeli embassy Read More »
Middle East, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — June 5–10, 1967, (earlier this year according to the Hebrew calendar) is the most consequential period in the history of modern Israel except for May 14, 1948, when David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence. In the midst of this six-day period, Jerusalem Day marks the 50th anniversary of the
Jerusalem Day Celebrates Israel’s Sovereignty Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, Steve Kramer
By Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — Spring is the perfect time to travel to the north in Israel: the temperatures are generally ideal, the hillsides and fields are green after the winter rains, and the streams are flowing with a respectable amount of water. So, not long after Passover, Michal and I and some