Please read this to the end and share broadly. His chances weren’t good. He suffered severe trauma while still in utero, after his mother Shira Ish-Ran was shot in the lower abdomen. Delivered at 30 weeks via an emergency C-section, this tiny baby held on for four days, as doctors …

What is happening is not to be believed; certainly not to be tolerated.  And so there is no response more appropriate than anger.  With it, of course, pain – for those who are suffering. This is a picture of Shira and Amichai Ish-Ran on their wedding day.  How joyous they …

I begin this post with an urgent message: Issam Akel is an American citizen; he has residency papers and lives in eastern Jerusalem. Two months ago, he was taken into custody by the Palestinian Authority and has been tortured. It is feared that his life is in danger. His crime? …

But this time we are looking at the possibility of war in the north, a far more serious war than one with Hamas would be. One 200 meter (656 foot) tunnel has been identified and is in process of being dismantled. It begins at a home in the village of …

Last I wrote, I began with good news, which set an optimistic tone, and then followed with a catalogue of worrisome issues. The good news is real, and there is yet more of it. But the bad news?  It is ominous and weighs heavily on the soul: Antisemitism is up …

I’m going to start with the good news.  It’s such a pleasure to have news to share. It is hardly a secret that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s greatest strength is in the diplomatic sphere. He has an exceptional capacity for forging relationships with foreign leaders, thus bolstering our position in the world. …

Monitoring the news since my last posting, I have encountered the following and more: And on it seems to go. I find it disheartening, troubling, that in these difficult times we are not seeing a more cohesive spirit in the land. ~~~~~~~~~~ And yet, I’m going to look on the …

In my last posting, I wrote about hope – and I still have hope. We should all have hope. However, while we are in a better place than we were several days ago, we still have a long way to go. A good deal depends on the good will and …

It’s been tough going on the political scene these past few days. By yesterday, stories were changing almost hourly as tensions built. Conflicting reports emerged simultaneously from various media sources. After (former) Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman submitted his resignation last Wednesday, because of his frustration with Israel’s failure to stand …

Our government’s premature willingness to stop the attack on Hamas yesterday was distressing and infuriating. Several people confessed to me that they found it nauseating. And I understood. Over the course of many months, we have tolerated too much aggression emanating from Gaza: the fires started in the south, in …

How many times in the last weeks have I written that war with Hamas in Gaza was inevitable and surely coming? And how many times did that expectation fizzle, in spite of what was happening at the fence? On Sunday night, events turned in a blink. An elite IDF special …

“They” refers collectively to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Security Cabinet, the IDF, and perhaps other persons in leadership roles making decisions on Gaza right now. For the life of me, I am unable to wrap my head around these decisions, or to feel remotely easy about them. ~~~~~~~~~~ Of course, …

Yesterday I moved to get a posting out without delay, in order to begin to provide perspective on the election. But of course there is more. ~~~~~~~~~~ Before I proceed with that election perspective, and related issues, I want to simply express my horror at the Wednesday night killing of …

I am, clearly, not happy about the Democratic win in the House. But I do not see this as indicative of a “blue wave” that signals a crisis for the Republicans now or for Trump in 2020. Traditionally, the party that does not control the White House gains seats in …

I was not going to post again before the midterm election tomorrow, but I must. For today I was directly exposed to some of the virulent, irrational fury sometimes directed at supporters of Trump by people on the left. It is very nasty. Not only have I been exposed to …

Better, on two counts. Please, read to the end. I keep coming back to the terror attack in Squirrel Hill, and to related issues of antisemitism, because it is all so terribly important. Today I begin with a CNN interview of the rabbi of Etz Chaim, Jeffrey Myers, who in …

These days, when we have barely processed information, new events demand our attention. I have been focused on the tragedy in Pittsburgh, and so turn now to other issues. Read to the end for good news items. ~~~~~~~~~~ What is most definitely not good news is the situation at the …

Yesterday, my heart broke over the senseless, antisemitic attack in Squirrel Hill that took the lives of 11 Jews, during Shabbat, while they were in synagogue. I had prayed for healing for the mourners and for the community, and I will continue to pray. But I have scant hope that …

On Shabbat, in the city of Pittsburgh, as surely all of my readers know, eleven Jews – eight men and three women, but, thank Heavens, no children – were killed in what is being described as the worst antisemitic attack to ever take place in the US. The identities of …

I want to return to the issue of the illegal Bedouin outpost of Khan al-Ahmar.  It may not seem so to some of my readers, but this is a big story.  I hope you will share this information broadly.  Much of the media prefers to provide a skewed PA/EU version …