Ira Sharkansky

Ira Sharansky

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

Surveying Israeli Developments on the Cusp of the New Year

The country proceeds, also more or less well. Lots of arguments and demonstrations. Major hospitals were on a Sabbath schedule, turning away some patients, claiming that the Finance Ministry hadn’t come through with the money promised. Now that seems to have been solved, with yet another promise from the Finance Ministry. And we’re waiting on the passage of a national budget. We’ve not had one for some three years, and this government will expire if one is not passed in a month or so. With a Knesset majority of one vote, it is dependent on full cooperation. That empowers each Knesset Member to have considerable leverage, to get what he/she wants, or to vote no, abstain, or be conveniently absent from the voting. So far, the Knesset has passed a budget with one vote. Now it’s waiting for two more votes. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

Surveying Israeli Developments on the Cusp of the New Year Read More »

Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Israel’s Coronavirus Mess

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The cases of coronavirus continue to spike in Israel. By some professional predictions, we might reach 12,000 new cases sometime next week. However, the incidence of seriously ill, hospitalized, and deaths may have peaked, and begun a downturn. Presumably due to the increasing incidence of people getting their booster shot.

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Israel Cautious About Retaliating Against Economically Troubled Lebanon

An Arab Knesset Member, affiliated with Meretz, announced that neither Meretz nor the Arab party Ram, would support the government if it attacked Lebanon. Some days earlier, there was a rocket attack on northern Israel, attributed to a Palestinian group in Lebanon. Apparently, there was no significant damage. Earlier there had been an interchange, with Israeli aircraft bombing Lebanese sites in response to rocket attacks. But there was no Israeli response to the latest attack from Lebanon. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Unanswered Questions Abound as Coronavirus Resurges in Israel

-Coronavirus is not finished with us. Or with you.

Lots of us are vaccinated. But there are hundreds of thousands who have avoided the needle. They are most of the sick, but not all.

Currently more than two thousand here are testing as sick each day, with 150 or so seriously ill. We’re still far from the point of over-loaded hospitals, but some are re-opening Coronavirus wards. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

‘Russians’ vs. the Haredim in Israel’s Latest Political Battle

For years, Avigdor Lieberman has been calling for a limitation of what the Haredim have demanded, and received. He’s called for a liberalization of marriage laws, allowing the joining of those not Jewish according to Orthodox Rabbis, with those who are Jews. Or the union of two people who can’t satisfy the demands of the Orthodox, who insist on those born of a mother who can prove that she was born of a Jewish mother [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Jewish Religion, Middle East

Renewed COVID-19 Concerns Focus on Israel’s Main Airport

– There are a lot of questions in the air, along with hopes of some stability in both politics and health. It’s not easy to summarize, but here we go: Most of our news is about the upturn in revealed cases of COVID-19. We’re at several hundred per day, but with few hospitalizations and deaths. There’s some cases of infection among those who’ve received two inoculations, but most of those are not serious. Most infections seem to have begun with people arriving from overseas, infecting kids in schools, and then onward. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Cracks in Israel’s Government Coalition, Opposition

Some instances from the beginning of Israel’s new government: Likud has picked on a law of family reunification in order to embarrass, and perhaps defeat the Bennett-Lapid government. It’s a law that prevents Palestinians, who marry Israeli Arabs, to acquire citizenship in Israel. It’s been on the books since 2003, but has effect only for a year. Thus, it has to be renewed annually. It is something widely supported by predominantly Jewish political parties. But its current renewal has been opposed by Likud. [Ira Sharkansky, PhD]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Uncertainty Attends Israel’s New Government

There’s a new government, but . . . As we got closer to the Knesset decision on a new government, the tone of Bibi and his supporters became ever more aggressive. And disturbing. Commentators compared it to the actions of Donald Trump. Trump didn’t attend the ceremonial signing in of the Biden administration. Will Bibi avoid the start of the new government? [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Bye Bye Bibi — But Not Yet

A half hour before the end of his mandate, Yair Lapid announced to the President the formation of a government.

It’s something of a mess. Eight or nine parties, or portions of parties. Still some issues having to be sorted out. And Bibi is not going quietly, to be head of the opposition, accused of three crimes, and in a trial that may last for years, or until there’s an agreement about a plea bargain. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

Bye Bye Bibi — But Not Yet Read More »

Ira Sharkansky, Middle East