This posting will be brief. I had hoped to write next when a government had been formed. Sadly this has not happened yet (I will get to this) but there is information that must be shared. Must be shared because people must know what we are dealing with. I suspect …

When the Israeli election results were made public almost two weeks ago, it became apparent that the Religious Zionist party would have a significant role in the new government. Since then, there has been a huge international outcry, including from several liberal-left American Jewish organizations. The main focus of the …

Last Tuesday, Israel held an election that has significantly shifted the tenor of politics in the nation – and I will offer a look at various aspects of the situation below. But this coming Tuesday, it is America’s turn.  And so I want to begin by offering my heartfelt prayers …

Not the right-wing, not Bibi Netanyahu, but the State of Israel. I watched and tracked, as the ballot count was announced, in stages, through the day on Wednesday. I was hopeful, so hopeful, but cautious – to be certain that I did not respond prematurely. I am no longer feeling …

I made my case for voting right-wing last week and I had decided that was it.  There was no end to additions I might have sent out to strengthen my position, but I felt I had done enough. Now I have changed my mind, because I find the current situation …

Once again, I begin by reporting a terror attack.  On Shabbat, an ultra-Orthodox man, 20, was stabbed in the back by a Palestinian Arab youth in Jerusalem’s Givat HaMivtar neighborhood, between French Hill and Ramat Eshkol in eastern Jerusalem. The attacker was from the Palestinian Arab village of Anata, outside …

I had written before the holiday began that I would post again after Sukkot, and begin to look at some of our more serious problems in greater detail at that time. Yet, even in the midst of family time, and sukkah time, certain news should not wait.  We Israelis refuse …

We are in the heart of holiday season now.  Sunday night we begin the festival of Sukkot: I wish all who are celebrating a chag sameach.  It is a joyous holiday, referred to as Z’man Simchateinu – the Season of our Rejoicing. Credit: Modern Tribe In between Yom Kippur and …

A week ago, on September 21, Joe Biden, in his capacity as president of the US, delivered an address to the General Assembly of the UN. In the course of his speech, he referred to a negotiated “peace between the Jewish and democratic state of Israel and the Palestinian people,” …

I take this opportunity to wish all a year of peace, good health, abundant love of family and friends, and spiritual growth. Credit: My Jewish Learning ~~~~~~~~~~ Something disturbing happened in Jerusalem earlier this week, and the story is not yet over: Temple Mount activists Yehuda Glick, former MK and …

These are vastly unsettled times, presenting huge challenges. What makes matters more difficult is a shifting of dynamics, both domestically and internationally.  There is not a whole lot that is stable. Bottom line: We must rely upon ourselves.  That has always been the case, but right now is a time …

“Ouch!! Confronting Truth, Because We Must!!” The world is full of incidents that it would be easier, more comfortable, to avoid confronting – but which we must meet head on because truth matters.  In the case I am going to address here, it matters a great deal indeed. ~~~~~~~~~~ In …

While here in Israel there is always much to contend with, at the moment, we are confronting a preponderance of problems of considerable proportions.  They require vigilance and determined responses.  It is imperative, however, that we not become discouraged by the scope of our challenges. ~~~~~~~~~~ Many of the problems …

I struggle to understand the phenomenon.  But even should the Almighty bless me with 120 years, I do not believe I would get it.  That’s because I’m looking for rational answers, and there aren’t any. What I am referring to is the embrace of the “two-state solution,” which is once …

I have drawn my title, as many of you will surmise, from the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah (Yermeyahu), who asked, Can the leopard change its spots? What he was referring to was the idea that people don’t really change. I believe sometimes people can change, but it takes hard work and …

I am writing this during the closing hours of Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of our Temples and other calamities.  Below you see ancient stones from the time of the Roman destruction of the Second Temple. Credit: Amanda Borschei-Dan/TOI On Tisha B’Av we are called upon …

In my last posting, I described the hard-nosed position taken by the IDF on the orders of Defense Minister Benny Gantz (head of Blue & White) with regard to the Nachala Movement’s effort to promote the establishment of six new yeshuvim (settlements) in Judaea, Binyamin and Samaria.  The Nachala program …

The first step is the most difficult, my friends.  That’s the first message I want to carry today. Had I written immediately after Nachala took action last Wednesday, July 20, my tone would have been heavier.  For in the immediate aftermath of what transpired it was difficult to sense an …

I am putting this brief posting out as a preview of what we may see coming down the road in the next couple of days with regard to the Nachala Movement Project. The plans are in place – and they are extensive. Three temporary yeshuvim (settlements) are to be set …

Some of my readers are undoubtedly familiar with the following story of Menachem Begin, z”l. When a young senator from Delaware, slamming forcefully on the table in the course of a 1982 Senate hearing, told  him that aid to Israel would be cut if Israel persisted in building in Judaea …