I have been advised by a highly reliable inside source that a phone call from Prime Minster Netanyahu to President Trump has a good chance of achieving the release of Jonathan Pollard from his parole restrictions and making it possible for him and his wife to come to Israel at …

Evil is all about us and we dare not ignore it. Please read to the end for another instance of evil.  But here I want to begin with a statement by Yoav Sorek, whose son Dvir was murdered last week in a terror attack: “I hope it is as I …

Actually, I have this wrong: there are many causes for weeping. I write about hope often and there is still hope in my heart But at the moment my heart is heavy with several matters that need to be addressed in a forthright manner. ~~~~~~~~~~ We are now in the …

Things on the political scene have been – if not quite grim – unsettling and worrisome at best. But I want to kick off here with very recent news about a transition in government policy that addresses Israel’s rights rather than simply bending to what is politically correct. It offers …

Last time I wrote, I focused on “good stuff,” and here I will provide more of the same.  However, the good news in several instances is qualified. Not always an easy trick:  To hold fast to what is positive, celebrating the promise, while at the same time retaining a realistic …

Time for a “good news” posting, or at very least one that has a solid focus on the good stuff. We badly need the balance in these difficult times, fraught with tensions. Actually, we begin with an incredible and inspiring story: Earlier this month, Shachar Kugelmas, a young Jewish Israeli …

Both here in Israel and in the US, there is so much dissension, so much hostility.  My thought again and again is that this is not how it is supposed to be. With a couple of exceptions, I will try to move past this, or around it, as I have …

With all there is to write about, I have decided first to do a follow-up to my posting about the Ethiopian riots sent out last Monday: After I wrote, the issue lingered with me: I could not stop turning it over in my mind, in part because of having worked …

Last Sunday, June 30, news broke that an unarmed Ethiopian 19 year old, Solomon Teka, had been shot dead by an off-duty policeman in Kiryat Haim, a neighborhood of Haifa. Although this was not the fact of the matter, as we shall see below, many jumped to the conclusion – …

We cannot pretend otherwise: There is a great deal happening that evokes a very deep unease.  This was my theme in my last posting – the sense that matters are not as we might wish them to be. I will share below a number of issues of concern in this …

So much, so much, seems not as it should be – or, at least, as we would, in the normal course of events, expect it to be. We shake our heads in confusion, and frustration, and anger. Consider: On Tuesday, there were something like 20 fires started in Israel as …

The workshop/conference in Bahrain has not even started yet, and we are being deluged by news reports about the Trump plan.  Quite frankly, it is very wearisome. Today everything is gearing up, with the activity officially beginning tomorrow. I would be pleased to skip it all, but feel there are …

Yoni Ben-Menachem, a Middle East analyst with the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, has advanced a highly plausible take on the situation surrounding the Bahrain economic workshop. The current situation, says Ben-Menachem, represents a significant lowering of US expectations. Originally, the plan had been to invite Israeli officials, and, indeed, …

I can tell you, dear readers, that it is not annexation.  Before you panic, allow me to explain. My reasoning is quite positive: Last week, in an interview in the NYTimes, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said: “Under certain circumstances, I think Israel has the right to retain some, …

Our many challenges, that is.  It is so easy to ignore them, or minimize them.  But we do not have the luxury of doing this.  We must confront our problems head on, to ensure that we come out ahead. Among our serious challenges are the internal ones:  So much energy …

I wrote in my last posting about the passing of First Lady Nechama Rivlin, z”l. But I return to this subject briefly now because the mourning of her loss has been so real, so unusual, that it has been a balm to the sore soul of our nation. I didn’t …

It’s the way of the world.  There are always complexities and provisos and competing perspectives. But first matters first:  Sometimes the way of the world encompasses death.  Nechama Rivlin, Israel’s First Lady, wife of Israel’s president Ruby Rivlin, has passed away, one day before her 74th birthday.  She underwent a lung …

Yesterday was Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day, marking the re-unification of Jerusalem in 1967. Never, ever, will our city be divided again. Jerusalem is not only the capital of Israel, it is Israel’s very heart, its historical essence. We are strengthened when we remember this. Please, take the time to …

And a source of sadness, as well. I refer, of course, to the current political situation in Israel. For days, I held off posting because I was waiting for resolution with regard to formation of a coalition. Now the time to write has come. ~~~~~~~~~~ I want to begin by …

Magic only in this sense: Now you see it, now you don’t. Sort of like the rabbit. Except that it’s not nearly as much fun as the rabbit. ~~~~~~~~~~ Last night (Monday), news sources announced that Israel and Hamas, with Egypt and the UN mediating, had agreed to a six …