It did not have to be this way, but it is.  Israel is headed to the third election in less than a year. I point a finger of accusation, first, at Avigdor Lieberman, head of Yisrael Beitenu. He fomented the electoral instability and took some perverse satisfaction in refusing to …

On Friday, the US House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution supporting the “two state solution.” https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/US-House-approves-resolution-supporting-two-state-solution-610125 This caused considerable consternation among supporters of Israel. But, in fact, it is not terribly surprising: The House is controlled by the Democrats. And they are responding to the very appropriate and long-overdue …

It’s natural for us to want to close our eyes to much that is going on the world today. Yet I would suggest that we do not have that luxury. It is our business, our obligation, to know what is happening. What is more, if our eyes our closed, we …

It has been maddening – nothing less. There has been no solid ground in the political sphere. And so I begin today with a piece by astute commentator Daniel Greenfield, writing as Sultan Knish (emphasis added): “’It is important for me to emphasize that the only ones who determine who …

It is terribly sad. And more still, infuriating. How did we get to this place? Last Thursday, November 21, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced that he had made the decision to indict Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust with regard to Cases 1000, 2000, and …

Benny Gantz, failing to put together a governing coalition, returned the mandate to the president, this evening, Wednesday. The next step is a period of three weeks during which any member of the Knesset who can garner the support of 61 MKs will be given two weeks to put together …

Benny Gantz has only until Wednesday until he must form a government or return the mandate. It’s anyone’s guess what is going to happen. And here I was, just days ago, thinking that maybe it would go well and we would have a unity government in very short order.  But …

Bringing us up to date: Tuesday night, after a day of rocket attack from Gaza, all was relatively quiet. Then on Wednesday, serious rocket barrages began again. At that point, Israel’s response intensified, first with regard to the level of our military response – but in other ways as well. …

I had not planned to post again so soon, but when a crisis arises, there is no time to delay. I write now to inform my readers of the realities on the ground. I ask that you, in turn, share this in order to inform others. The situation that I …

As to the question of who knows which way is up:  There is a WHOLE lot of confusion, not just in Israel, but around the world, with regard to this. While I make light of it, just a tad, to help us all keep our sanity, in reality this dysfunction …

  My friends, I have been struggling for days with regard to writing my next posting.  Everything is SO chaotic, and much of what is happening is truly not good news.  For the first time, I was having trouble deciding what message I wanted to deliver. Now it has come …

Quagmire, morass, predicament.  Call it what you will, Israel’s current political situation is one hell of a mess. Actually, I call it a busha, a source of shame ‒ that some of our purported leaders have not managed (or have not chosen) to get their acts together to form a …

We have just completed the three-week holiday cycle that began with Rosh Hashana and ended with Simchat Torah (a rejoicing in the Torah). It has provided a very necessary respite from the constant tensions and anxieties generated by the news – a time for garnering strength and reaffirming priorities. As …

The situation I address here is awash in complexities and troubling aspects. This past Sunday, October 6, President Trump, after a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced a very sudden decision to pull US troops out of northern Syria. This was in the face of Turkish threats …

Hey, I know politics are a fact of life, necessary for civil governance.  But it happens that a consideration of the political situation here is neither inspiring nor uplifting these days.  In fact, it is depressing. I face the prospect of writing once again about our political situation, my friends, …

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday night received the mandate for forming a new government from President Ruby Rivlin. That the president acted so quickly was a surprise: he had indicated that he would likely wait until next Wednesday, the last day that it was legally possible for him to …

With regard to the elections and their tortuous aftermath. Of course. As this is a professional posting, I refrain from telling you where the pain is. In any event, you may be feeling the very same discomfort. ~~~~~~~~~ But I want to preface my discussion of what’s going on with …

The election is upon us now – only two days away – and the situation is not substantially different from what it was when I last wrote.  Neither camp has a clear majority in the polls. Likud and Blue & White are reasonably neck-in-neck.  Maddeningly, each poll is somewhat different, …

I have made no secret of it: the current election campaign has not exactly been an enlightening period for Israel. For many of us, this has been a source of great sadness. Our nation is capable of better – of a more elevated campaign. There has been too much back-biting, …

There is an idiom that came to my mind this week: “You can run, but you can’t hide.”  It really hit home: There is a whole lot of heavy stuff, worrisome stuff, going on in our part of the world.  The temptation to run from it, figuratively speaking, is huge …