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
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–In 1869 Mark Twain published his impressions of Jerusalem in The Innocents Abroad. Along with frequent assertions of respect for the city’s history and its meaning to him and many others, he described a general level of filth, disease and poverty that surpasses just about everything in the contemporary Third World. “It […]
New Israel Fund report seen as unreliable Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — I have known Dick Sharkansky since my first memory. Our families lived for a while in the same building on Belmont Street, and sometime during our second year, I’m pretty sure that he bit my finger . He may have a different set of memories. We were in the same
Should columnist say ‘Gentiles’ or ‘Goyim?’ Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The Arabs/Palestinians of Israel and the West Bank have another martyr that justifies continuing their wave of demonstrations that began when? Maybe with the recent wave of Jews going demonstrably to the Temple Mount. Now it’s a young man, Kheir al-Din Hamdan, killed by the police in the village of Kfar
Kfar Kana: Too facile to compare it with Ferguson? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– Both Chief Rabbis are in the news, doing their part to soothe or disturb in different corners of the complex phenomenon that is Judaism. The Sephardi Chief Rabbi has weighed in on the issue of the Temple Mount, and has aroused the ire of Naftali Bennett, head of what considers itself
Many options for people dealing with Israel’s rabbinate Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — We’re in the headlines again. Every day there are violent demonstrations on the borders of several Arab neighborhoods. “Violence” means stones, fireworks, and fire bombs thrown at the ranks of Border Police, who respond with tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and real bullets on occasion. There have been Palestinian
Living amid civil unrest in Jerusalem Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–What’s in it for Israelis? Israeli issues were by no means the whole of what was considered by something like 100 million overwhelmingly non-Jewish voters. Israeli interests may not have been critical in any of the House or Senate races, or mattered even a great deal, but they were in there somewhere.
Election unlikely to change Obama’s Israel policies Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Jewish wars. Not really wars, but a continuation of disputes going back at least to the time of Ezra. Jews have been quarreling about who is a Jew since then, and over the centuries have added numerous other squabbles. It all amounts to disputes among people who have been literate
Conversion battles date back at least to Ezra Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Politics is the essence of civilization, It’s the ideal way to deal with inevitable disagreements. Lots of argument, then voting (either mass electorate or within a governmental forum) and accepting the results.. Until the next opportunity to argue and vote. Criticism is welcome, and essential. All this separates the civilized from those
Ban Jews from Temple Mount, Arab areas? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Police statistics were showing a decline in the incidence of violence associated with Jerusalem until a Palestinian activist took upon himself a motorcycle shooting of Yehuda Glick. The immediate response was celebrations in Arab sections of Jerusalem, followed by an uptick of violence when the police and their colleagues in other
Tensions escalate in Glick shooting aftermath Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It approached the mythic stories of conflict between giants. Or maybe between a giant and a midget, or David and Goliath. Perhaps just a street brawl among ruffians. Whatever image, and whoever is defined as giant, midget, David, Goliath or a ruffian, it occupied the pundits until a shooting of a
Bibi vs. Barack: How important are leaders’ friendships? Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Amid the international clamor against Israel for settlement over the 1967 border and other actions said to harm Palestinians, there is a contrary view of Palestinians harming themselves. Or more accurately, various figures claiming to be Palestinian leaders harming the people, seemingly for the sake of Palestine. It appeared most
Arabs harm each other to score points against Israel Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There are several hot spots around Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are squabbling about the cancellation of school trips to the Holy City on account of the violence. Jerusalem politicians are calling their coastal colleagues unpatriotic. Almost all of the problems are on the edges of Palestinian or Arab
Merchants rein in those who want third intifada Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Every once in a while someone new starts reading my columns, and responds with an expression of frustration. Usually it’s something like, “Dammit, what’s your solution?” Read my lips. There ain’t any. In politics one should never say never, but in this case there is close to a century of
For Israel no solution is the best and only solution Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– What should Israel do? Nothing is probably the best answer. However, pick your platitude Politics does not tolerate a vacuum Politics does not tolerate quiet The world is clamoring for a solution. Not exactly the world, but a collection of activists that includes Palestinians leading the chants Jews who feel uncomfortable
Should Israel leave well enough alone? Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East