Ira Sharkansky

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Two committees are competing for Israel’s media space. Both are dealing with items that have been near the top of the agenda for some time. And consistent with their long play without solution, the clear tendency of commentary about both is pessimistic. One is dealing with Iran’s nuclear program. Without trying to […]

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The country once riled (and still so in some localities) on the subject of alcohol and which has pursued a war against drugs since the 1970s is now beginning a presidential campaign with same-sex marriages as a central issue. Its difficult to decide between ridicule and laughter, sadness and tears

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The affiliation of Kadima to the Likud-led coalition came in the middle of the night, at the 11th hour before a Knesset vote to dissolve and begin the onset of an election campaign. It triggered not only the surprise and wonder of commentators, but shrill criticism of Shaul Mofaz for

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israelis went to bed expecting the Knesset to finalize arrangements to dissolve itself and declare a national election for September 4th.   We woke to the news that Benyamin Netanyahu and Shaul Mofaz (who recently defeated Tzipi Livni in a party election to be the leader of Kadima) had agreed

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Benyamin Netanyahu is sitting pretty with Israeli voters. Recent polls make him a sure bet to repeat as prime minister.   Not so simple is his standing within his own party. While his leadership is likely to be secure, there are enough signs of right-wing opposition to provide some worry. They

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Years ago, at the beginning of my career as a political scientist, I learned about incrementalism. That describes the gradual changes that generally occur in government. I made my contribution to the subject by examining government spending. I found that governments that spent more or less, and were more or less

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israeli voters appear ready to renew the lease of Benyamin Netanyahu on the Prime Minister’s Office. A poll reported in Ha’aretz shows a near majority (48 percent) favoring him as Prime Minister. The aggregate support of his three nearest competitors do not match him: 15 percent prefer Shelli Yehemovich of Labor,

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — At one time, a mantra of American politics was that politics stops at the water’s edge.   Then there was Vietnam. Long before Vietnam there was considerable dispute about entering World War I. Irish immigrants were prominent among those  not wanting to risk themselves for Great Britain. When the next

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The continued variety of comments about Iran from the governing summit of Israel says something about this country and its society. The problem: one cannot be sure what it says. Last month, the former chief of Mossad spoke publicly on Amrican media. Meir Dagan has been described as “hard-charging” and

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israel’s settlement policy has returned to the headlines with a ministerial decision to convert three West Bank outposts (Rehalim, Bruchin, and Sansana) into legal settlements, and to find a solution for a neighborhood of Beit El that the Supreme Court has ruled to be illegally located on Palestinian land. Also