Ira Sharkansky

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There was a three-minute item tucked into the middle of Tuesday’s Channel 2 prime time news that would provide ample justification for the Israeli government to suspend negotiations with the Palestinians, if they chose to do so. By scrolling, you can find it in the 17 to the 20 minute […]

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM _- Is it possible to find an honest broker in the Middle East? In one recent newscast it was reported that the Palestinian negotiator criticized Israel for not living up to the spirit of negotiations, and complicating any possibility of agreement, by continuing to build over the 1967 line. That sounds

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–We’re seeing another uptick in Israelis publicly pondering an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. It might not come today, or ever. The increase in comments attributed to highly placed Israeli officials may be nothing more than frustrated politicians’ efforts to move the public’s focus away from domestic disturbances. The provocation may be

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Conversations began in Washington, to be continued in Jerusalem and Ramallah. It may be too early to speak of negotiations, but it is best that we do not know. More is likely to happen in secret than in public. “Discussions” appears to be an appropriate term for whatever is happening.

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — For several days we have heard the pluses and minuses of an apparently simple, but actually complex decision by Israeli government ministers to release some 104 prisoners for the sake of negotiations with the Palestinians. The decision is complex because it was made in principle, with important details left for

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — I awoke Thursday morning to find that the most troublesome items in my inbox were an article pondering whether the editorials of the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, or Washington Post were the more or less anti-Israel; and an interchange between internet friends about the latest dribble from Roger

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There are times when there are too many Jews in the Jewish country. Or maybe just too many rabbis. Currently we are approaching the culmination of a messy election to the Chief Rabbinate that reveals–along with a couple of other issues simultaneously bothering us–that Judaism would profit from a clean

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The amorphous agreement of Israeli and Palestinian leaders to begin talking has pushed other items–that might otherwise be grabbing all the headlines–to the margins of national attention. One is the impending election of two Chief Rabbis (Ashkenazi and Sephardi), after a campaign with nastiness that makes Knesset elections seem like the most

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Anyone wanting a full description of what John Kerry has achieved, praise or condemnation for one of the parties, must look somewhere else. I am currently impressed with the variety of reports, couched as coming from one or another unnamed participant in Israeli or Palestinian governmental forums, with the additional reservation that

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There has been a bad couple of days for Israelis living in settlements beyond the 1967 borders, including those of us in the new neighborhoods of Jerusalem. The European Union formally announced a ban on the funding of Israeli entities beyond those borders. While the actual impact is not clear,

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Recent events suggest the hypothesis that Israel is no longer at the top of Muslims’ agenda for revenge or liquidation. It has been replaced by other Muslims. The thought is tentative, and not appropriate to guide Israeli policy with respect to its own security agenda, or to justify overseas Jewish