Ira Sharkansky

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The story of those “return to Israel” advertisements has come to an end. It didn’t take long for the Prime Minister to get the message, and order them withdrawn. Not only had they insulted American Jews. They also insulted Christmas. One has to work to find insults in the video […]

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Emigration from Israel is one of those issues that erupts every so many years to excite the fearful. Americans might think about abortion, prayer in the schools, gun control, or the placement of a Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah on a public place. What is common to them all is

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–A cartoon image in Ha’aretz shows animals walking two-by-two to Noah’s ark, while men and women are separated in the IDF, reflecting one of the issues in the headlines. There is a wave of extremism in Judaism parallel to those in Islam and Christianity. With us, it does not take the form

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–There has been another explosion in Iran. This one in the city of Isfahan, home to spectacular Muslim architecture, and industrial facilities linked to the country’s nuclear program. There are no reports that the explosion damaged the mosques or madrases. Among the Iranian reports are that it occurred at a gas station.

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — One of the great failures of my professional life is an inability to convince Israeli Arabs (or Palestinians with Israeli citizenship) to adopt the model of African-Americans as a way of political and social advancement. Arab intellectuals and political activists are well schooled in good reasons to reject the comparison.

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — One can enjoy eating sausage without feeling an obligation to visit the slaughterhouse or the sausage maker. One can also enjoy the benefits of government without worrying about all the details about how the community is kept safe from crime, polluted air, water, and food, or any other disturbance. Some

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — There is good news and other news on the issue of peace and harmony between Jews and Arabs within Israel.   Note “within Israel.” This is not primarily about the Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but of simple decency and accommodation between Jews and Arabs on the streets, in neighborhoods,

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Politics has been the curse of this corner in the Middle East. Proclamations and grand intentions coming from those claiming to be leaders of Palestine, Israel, the United States and other great powers who say they are pursuing peace are actually paving the road to nowhere. Neither Palestinian nor Israeli

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Once again the story of Moshe Katsav has taken a large share of Israeli media. Thursday, Nov. 10, was the occasion for the Supreme Court to reject his appeals against a verdict of guilty for two instances of rape and several counts of sexual harassment, and to affirm the lower court’s sentence

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Widely reported was this conversation at the G-20 summit in Cannes, not meant to be heard but for a slip-up of the great men close to an open microphone. Nicolas Sarkozy, “I cannot bear Netanyahu, he’s a liar.” Barack Obama, “You may be sick of him, but me, I have

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — headline in The Economist: “One side gets even lonelier . . . Binyamin Netanyahu gets brickbats from Palestinians and Israelis” http://www.economist.com/node/21536644 Visiting American relatives told us that their rabbi was saying “Israel is on a precipice,” and that members of the congregation must increase their political and economic support. Those