Ira Sharkansky

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Time to think again for those who kvelled when it appeared that Bibi had the US Congress eating out of his hand, standing and applauding at least as often as for a Presidential State of the Union. And again when he began that speech at AIPAC with the Holocaust and ended […]

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Two issues were prominent on Friday’s agenda. Both were either large or small, depending on perspective and how they developed. Both combined local and international considerations. Most immediate was Land Day. Mar ch 30 is one of the prominent items on the protest calendar of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. It

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Recently  I wrote about Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal. Now it is time to think about Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.   Before you accuse me of going literary, note that my metaphor gets us back to politics and the Middle East.   What brings forth Alice in Wonderland, its fantasy

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM – Ha’aretz has long had a reputation as Israel’s most distinguished newspaper, read by the economic, political, and intellectual elites. Its language and the lack of a sensationalist front page are among the factors that make it the secular Hebrew language daily with the smallest circulation. It is also the most

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM  — There are some among my readers who will view my ‘modest proposal’ as the same kind of ungodly satire as an earlier effort by that name. Almost 400 years ago Jonathan Swift published his Modest Proposal to deal with the problem of overcrowding and starvation among the Irish according to

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Silence is the policy of Israeli authorities with respect to the rebellion in Syria. Figuring out what is happening, and what is likely to happen is like deciphering reports and comments about Iran. Currently there seems to be a standoff, bloody in the extreme, between the regime and its opponents.

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Earlier this week, Israeli media headlined that “’Mossad, CIA agree Iran has yet to decide to build nuclear weapon.” The story went on to say that “New York Times report quotes senior American officials who believe there is little disagreement between Israeli and U.S. intelligence over Iran’s nuclear program, despite

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — In a speech before the Knesset, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu compared himself to David Ben Gurion, who declared Israel’s independence in 1948 against the urging of foreign governments, and to Menachem Begin, who decided to attack the Iraqi nuclear facility in 1981, against the advice of the United States. To

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There are reports about a cease fire, arranged by Egypt. After the cease fire was said to go into effect, there continued some rockets and mortars fired from Gaza, but this was to be expected. Either groups are asserting their machismo and superiority, or there is a failure of whatever

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– Wonder of wonders. I’m still learning. For the first time this season I encountered two religious Jews, both sophisticated in issues of their faith and worldy in terms of their education and experiences, who told me that Purim is not their favorite holiday. I have known for some time about the

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — So far it’s a mini-escalation in the south. As I begin this, some 60 rockets or mortars have been sent toward Israel in the last couple of days, several Israelis have been injured, one seriously. Twelve Gazans have been killed, including some ranking members of a fringe group sometimes allied