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 …

It is not because it is unimportant that I have not written about President Trump’s challenge to Iranian threats.  It is of critical importance. I have simply been focused in a variety of other directions. On Friday, however, Ruthie Blum wrote an excellent column, “Bringing Iran to its knees,” in the …

Even with the UGH! there are always good things to report in Israel.  And so, today I had hoped to begin with a deeply moving story, to establish a balance in tone before I moved forward. As matters are playing out, however, I thought it best to focus first on …

Or so I would have thought. Yet, in America today this is what we see: Florida Young Democrats (FYD) has a new Central Florida Regional Director, Rasha Mubarak.  In their announcement welcoming her, Florida Young Democrats noted that she had previously served as the Central Florida Regional Director of the …

But of course they are!  The myriad of problems Israel faces, that is. How delightful Yom Ha’atzmaut was, with its respite – its sense of celebration.  The good things I wrote about are no less important and we should hold on to them.  But it’s time to shift focus. ~~~~~~~~~~ …

I celebrate Israel on Yom Ha’atzmaut – Israel Independence Day. And I invite each of you, my friends, to join with me. Israel is 71 years young today. How far she has traveled in the course of those years!  When we consider the obstacles that have been overcome, it is …

This evening at 8:00, a siren will sound across the land, ushering in Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day).  And once again the nation will stand in respectful silence, honoring the memory of those soldiers who have given their lives to protect Israel.  Without a doubt, it is the saddest, most somber …

Not the most dignified of titles, but one that best captures my mood – and the mood, I will note, of a whole lot of other people here in Israel. This will be a short posting, very directly to the point. When I wrote yesterday about the rocket attacks from …

Israelis have had a belly full of attacks from Gaza and yet here we go again. But this time it is going to be different. We saw it coming just a week ago, when a rocket was fired towards Ashdod but missed its mark and landed in the sea.  At …

Today – Thursday – is Yom Hashoah, or as it is referred to, Holocaust Remembrance Day for the Martyrs and the Heroes.  The heroes should never be forgotten. In Israel, the Holocaust is commemorated on a different day on the calendar than elsewhere in the world, and it imparts a …

Today I begin with a piece – “No, it’s not about ‘race’” – by Vic Rosenthal, writing as Abu Yehuda, because I think this marvellously forthright post should be seen by all and shared broadly (all emphasis added): “Americans need to take a vacation from using the word ‘racist,’ at …