Matters are certainly not smooth. Not here – and I’ll come to that. But worse, on the other side of the Atlantic. America is in a great deal of trouble. And so I begin by recommending Gloria Greenfield’s latest film, “The Fight of Our Lives.” The film addresses the …

Which is to say: it hurts! In my last post I focused on news of two terror attacks in recent days, and I had hoped to move on from there to other matters. But it is not to be. When I wrote yesterday, I reported on a terror attack in …

Late Friday afternoon there was a terror attack by car ramming that took place outside of Mevo Datan, a small community in the northern hills of the Shomron (Samaria). Two soldiers were killed instantaneously, two were injured, one moderately and one with critical head injury. He has, thank Heaven, stabilized. …

Until late yesterday Israelis were facing the unpleasant prospect of an early election brought on by the collapse of the coalition.  The presenting issue: Inflexible ultra-Orthodox party (UTJ and Shas) demands for blanket yeshiva student draft exemptions facing off against the inflexibility of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman (head of Yisrael …

The sun may be behind the clouds part of the time, and the clouds can get very dark.  But it’s there.  And we need to remember that even when it’s raining. ~~~~~~~~~~ As I had mentioned in my last posting, on Sunday night at the AIPAC Conference, CEO Howard Kohr …

My regular readers know that I am basically an upbeat person.  I am not a Pollyanna: I face the bad news.  But I also seek out the promise and hold fast to the blessings.  And so I think I may surprise many of you, when I speak now of how …

    Wednesday night and Thursday we celebrate Purim (with the celebration a day later in Jerusalem, a walled city).  As we read the Megillat Esther, we relate the story of the machinations of Haman, in the Persian court, whose goal it was to eradicate the Jews. And we celebrate …

It’s a fascinating phenomenon, a paradox: Muslim Arab (and thus Palestinian Arab) culture is an honor-shame culture.  Honor is the ultimate value. But in this context “honor” means receiving appropriate courtesies and respect – being viewed positively by others.  It’s an external thing, not having to do with an internal …

  It feels as if there is flux everywhere: whether with regard to politics, diplomacy or security issues. And so, let us turn away from the tumult and begin with the good news – for, indeed, we are also blessed with good news. ~~~~~~~~~~ The Israeli Defense Ministry, working with …

  Today I begin by following through on the events of this past Saturday, with regard to our contending with Iran and Syria.  There is so very much being said, so many different opinions as to the implications of what has happened. If there is any clarity I can bring …

In the early hours of Saturday morning, for the very first time the Iranian military launched a direct military operation against Israel, when a drone (UAV) commanded from the Tiyas Military Airbase in the Homs desert region in central Syria was dispatched into Israeli air space. According to a statement …

  Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal, who was knifed to death by a terrorist on Monday, was buried in his home community of Har Bracha on Tuesday. He was praised highly as a sterling teacher, forever devoted to his students. Here we see an unidentified mourner at the funeral. “Our hearts are …

Sometimes all subtleties fly away, and I have to tell it as it is: Damn!! Another terror attack.  Another innocent victim, a young husband and father of four little ones, killed only because he was a Jew. Didn’t we just have a picture like this, of a happy family torn …

Radical evil, we all know about. We see it everywhere: In the horrifying repression in N. Korea, and the radicalism of Iran.  In acts of terror closer to home, and child abuse in places far and wide. But we do not live in a world of absolutes, in which everything …

The darkness, we all know about: We certainly have not yet learned how to escape it, as humankind persists in embracing acts that are, at very best, foolish, when not deeply malevolent. But those all-important sparks—emanating from within the darkness—remind us of what is possible. They provide strength and inspiration,A …

Trying to keep up with the pace of events, never mind reporting on them, makes the head spin. ~~~~~~~~~~ We got them, we always do: The terrorists who murdered Rabbi Raziel Shevach nine days ago. The original search had been in Nablus, but intelligence brought the operation to Jenin, long …

On Saturday night, the IDF destroyed yet another tunnel running from Gaza into Israel. This one originated at Rafah, at Gaza’s border with Egypt, and ran some 600 meters into Israel. It was constructed by Hamas, not Islamic Jihad; reports identified it as different in construction from most of the …

I’ve written about this before and feel called to write about it again in this brief posting:  I cannot begin to explain it, but I have seen time and time again that the people who are killed in terror attacks are special people. This is certainly true with regard to …

The father of six, the youngest only eight months old, the eldest aged 10. A rabbi, a mohel (ritual circumciser) and a volunteer paramedic first responder with Magen David Adom. This was Raziel Shevach, age 35. He was murdered by Palestinian Arab terrorists on Tuesday night, in a drive-by shooting …

As a rule, it is not realistic to think we can achieve full clarity with regard to political acts or decisions. There is always so much we are not privy to, or fail to anticipate – so many interpretations that present themselves. We can try to understand – indeed should try. …