The days move on, and still no word on recovery of the kidnapped students, Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Shayer and Naftali Frenkel.  The IDF continues to operate on the assumption that they are alive and hidden somewhere in Judea and Samaria (most likely but not necessarily in the Hevron area) – …

June 23, 2014: The Middle East, with the singular exception of a stable, prosperous, democratic Israel, is in a state of turmoil and transition – with enormous violence and instability the norm.  We are seeing Sunni-Shia tensions, increasing radicalism, and the break down of borders. And the situation is only …

 When last I wrote, I expressed the fervent hope that by the time I posted again the kidnapped students would have been brought back alive.  Days have gone by since then, but, most regretfully, we do not yet have them home.  I can do no more here than report on …

June 16, 2014 This is not an uncommon refrain for me these days: This posting must be short because other considerations are pulling at me. I did want to follow through a bit more about the search for the three kidnapped students. But, unfortunately, the very same matter that has …

A couple of very significant pieces of information have been uncovered in the extensive IDF/Shin Bet operation for the rescue of the three kidnapped students (emphasis added): “Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting with dramatic revelation over the kidnapping of three Israeli yeshiva students, saying that the …

June 14, 2014: National Anguish. Motzei Shabbat (after Shabbat) And fear.  And fury.  And a terrible sense of déjà vu. Late Thursday evening, three boys disappeared.                                       Eyal Yifrach 19.          Naftali Frenkel 16.         Gilad Sha’ar 16. At this point in time, it’s impossible to piece together …

  In my last posting I wrote about “rays of light,” and indeed they do exist.  But I would be remiss indeed if I were to convey a simple-mindedly optimistic message.  The somber truth is that we are facing down some exceedingly tough situations. For starters, there is Hezbollah.  I’ve …

More and more it seems, the nations of the world are arrayed against us:  Israel is criticized for not accepting a Fatah-Hamas unity government, for building in Judea and Samaria, etc. etc.  But there is one turn-around that, while modest, is significant. The government of Australian Prime Minister “Tony” Abbott …

Shavuot has come and gone and before we go into Shabbat tomorrow night, I want to return to the issue of the PA-Hamas government in order to provide my readers with additional information. This is particularly for readers in the US, who, I must hope and trust, will be inclined …

Last night, I had written my post, which spoke about my unease regarding the possibility of US support for the Fatah-Hamas unity government. What I said was: “Kerry, while expressing concern about Hamas, has had communication with Abbas and will be meeting with him. “He is saying the US will …

  In spite of well-founded predictions that this would never happen, a Fatah-Hamas unity government was sworn in today in Ramallah, to much fanfare.  It is to be headed by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah , former president of An-Najah National University in Nablus, who had been appointed by Abbas. Under …

Please note this is from Israel and Israel is 7 hours behind AEST. May 28, 2014 Today was Yom Yerushalayim – the day marking the reunification of Jerusalem 47 years ago, when, in the course of the Six Day War, we liberated the part of the holy city that had …

  Painful going.  There is no respite. Yesterday afternoon, there was an anti-Semitic terrorist shooting in the Jewish Museum in Belgium. Three people were killed on the spot inside the museum. They were an Israeli couple – Emanuel and Miriam Riba, 54 and 53, of Tel Aviv, who have left …

  It has been over a week since I’ve posted because I have been occupied with personal affairs (I am OK). Many was the time in the course of the last several days that I have wanted to write.  Here I will touch upon some of the news items that …

  American officials declare regularly and with great passion that they are true and devoted friends to Israel.  But right now they’d have a hard time proving it.  We have friends in the US – without question!  They can be found in the US Congress and the Pentagon.  But the …

Israel is an ancient nation, celebrating the 66th year of her rebirth.       And there is a great deal to celebrate, my friends. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Ben-Dror Yemini, writing about the paradoxes in how Israel is seen, says (emphasis added): “…there is one thing [Israel’s founders] definitely didn’t know: That …

                    Israel’s Memorial day – a day for remembering all those from our defense forces who have died defending the country, and all those who have died at the hands of terrorists.  It is a day of national mourning.  Just about …

  I would like to pick up on the two topics I wrote about before Shabbat: accusations of Israel as “apartheid” and the debate about Israel as a Jewish state vs. democratic state. These subjects may overlap, but they are separate issues. As to apartheid.  Warren Goldstein, chief rabbi of …

    Shabbat starts late at this season, which allows me the time to do a post – but even so, Shabbat is Shabbat and this will be brief. The nine-month negotiating deadline of April 29 came and went with no resolution of the issues, and no promise of an …

                A day of remembering the heroes and the martyrs here in Israel.  Heroes, too, because there were those who resisted.   As the years go, and more of the survivors are gone, the act of remembering with immediacy becomes more difficult.  Yet …