Ira Sharkansky

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Among the responses to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s appearance at the recent AIPAC convention are assertions that Israelis must be aware of the costs of an attack on Iran. They come from the the Foreign Minister of France, various unnamed sources said to be high in the American administration, plus a growing list

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– Avigdor Lieberman is one of the more interesting creatures of Israeli politics. He came to fame as a Netanyahu protege and Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office during part of Benyamin Netanyahu’s first term as Prime Minister (1996-99). Later he went out on his own to create the political party

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to AIPAC speaks for itself. Almost. There is enough there for several interpretations ranging to 180 degrees difference one from the other. http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahus-speech-at-aipac-full-text/ There is praise for Barack Obama. On the other hand, the speech begins with a Holocaust story, of a small boy (Yossi Peled)

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of my lifetime, along with computers and the advances in medicine that have kept me able to benefit from them. Computers have freed me from having to type, correct by pencil, and then typing again or–later in my career–having someone type and repeating

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM -Two items in recent days have put the issue of Israel, Iran, and the United States in clearer perspective.One comes from a former head of Israeli military intelligence, a man widely respected for his judgment, and not regarded as a hawk. The other comes from the New York Times journalist who

By Ira Sharkansky Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–This week the leaders of Israel gathered to honor the retirement of Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch, and the installation of her replacement, Justice Asher Grunis. The ceremony provided several insights into the nature of Israeli government and society. It touched the Holocaust as well as the rights of Israeli Arabs.

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –The notes I receive from overseas emphasize the threats to Israel from Iran and its friends, and the threat to the peace of the region and elsewhere if Israel preempts and seeks to destroy Iran’s nuclear capacity. Here, in contrast, political energies are concentrating on the implications of a Supreme Court

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The current uncertainty is profound, but presents opportunities as well as threats.   Most of the attention is on Iran, widely assumed to be moving toward nuclear weapons, against the background of its leaders’ obsession with the destruction of Israel, raising the possibility of an Israel attack meant to avoid

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Not a typical weekend, but not all that unusual. This is a tense place, with frequent events that can provoke great drama. It began with a tragic accident. A heavy truck swerved on a rain slicked road north of Jerusalem, slammed into a bus carrying a group of four- to eight-year