Israel

It would not be surprising if my title today has left you scratching your heads. As if a person can be one or the other, but not both. But it is the Palestinian Authority that has posited this dichotomy! It is part of a surreal and highly politicized image they …

To find upbeat news, that is. No, it is not easy right now. But it is important for all of us to focus positively from time to time. And so I will touch a couple of diverse bases. ~~~~~~~~~ A two-day international conference on the Middle East was hosted by …

It would seem futile to conduct yet another indecisive round of fighting, only to return to yet another tense and sporadically violent interbellum for several years—until the next major flare-up of fighting…  Military assessment warns of high risk of war with Gaza – The Times of Israel, Feb. 13. 2019. …

My Facebook feed is full of Ori’s photo. She looks different in the different images but in each, her radiant smile is the same. Ori, “my light” in Hebrew, was obviously a fitting name for this sunny girl. The more we hear about Ori from friends, family and the people …

Please, read to the end: When last I wrote, I spoke about the tears, the terrible sadness, evoked by the terrorist murder of Ori Ansbacher. That sadness is still in my heart, and in the heart of everyone here with whom I speak. But it is fury that has now …

On the day that we no longer know how to weep, we will have lost our humanity. Ori Ansbacher, 19, was a resident of Tekoa in Gush Etzion.  She was doing a year of national service at a youth center in Jerusalem. On Thursday, Ori was reported missing. Ultimately, her …

Despite claims to the contrary, the Palestinian-Arabs, territory and the fate of the Jewish settlements will permeate the agenda of the April elections, lurking below and hovering above all other issues.    Almost inevitably, elections in Israel revolve—one way or another—around one issue…even when everyone insists they don’t. This is …

A great many things have to come together over the next couple of months before we can say definitively that the political situation in Israel is really good. But I now feel a modest optimism that eluded me when last I wrote. “Modest,” because we never know what’s waiting for …

Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood head and shoulders above his political opponents for the past decade because he has managed to convince the electorate of two factors. Firstly that in effect he is Israel’s ‘security guard’ and secondly that notwithstanding any of his flaws, no-one else is really up to …

As has undoubtedly been obvious to many of my readers, even though Israel is in the throes of an election campaign (or the first stage of a campaign), I have studiously avoided writing about it. There has been ample reason for this:  The process has been so convoluted that reporting …

The Ministry of Strategic Affairs report reveals over 100 different links between terror groups and organizations promoting Israel boycotts, including the employment of 30 current and “retired” terror operatives. Jerusalem, Israel — February 3, 2019— The Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy (MSA) released its “Terrorists in Suits” report …

Benny Gantz’s election campaign videos are being used by Electronic Intifada to tar and feather Israel. When this is your starting point: . . . Gantz, like Netanyahu, is accurately reflecting the desires and fantasies of an Israeli public that views the willingness to shed the blood of defenseless Palestinians …

“But why does he have to make provocations with these declarations of his?!” I was shocked to hear this sentence come out of the mouths of my Jewish American relatives. Yes, they were referring to Trump (who they hate) and to the Jerusalem Declaration. I love my relatives but they …

Sunday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day.   Israel marks the Holocaust on a separate day – Yom Hashoah, after Pesach in the spring.  Yet, I cannot let this day pass in silence. The Holocaust was an expression of evil of overwhelming proportions. After Hitler was defeated and the nature of the …

I am sure most have heard of Shurat HaDin and of the wonderful work and success they have fighting terrorism and its results for victims worldwide. From their website – Shurat HaDin is: Shurat HaDin is at the forefront of fighting terrorism and safeguarding Jewish rights worldwide. We are dedicated …

Once inconceivable, the dismantling of UNRWA; the naturalization of stateless Palestinian residents in Arab countries; and the emigration of Palestinians from Judaea-Samaria & Gaza are slowly emerging as realistic outcomes  Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth – Sherlock Holmes, in “The …

Last time I wrote, it was to provide just good news.  It sure lifted my spirits; messages from you, my readers, made it clear that it lifted yours as well.  We need to hold on to the positive if we are to stay strong and cope with all the world …

Watch our latest video (in English) about the Jewish People’s rights to the Land of Israel! Promoting Israel’s Legal Rights. The video was created within the framework of a joint initiative between Im Tirtzu and Canadians for Israel’s Legal Rights to educate the Israeli public about the legal rights of …

It is election season in Israel with all the attendant empty promises, scandals, and political jockeying. Bayit Yehudi head and Education Minister Naftali Bennett took his deputy, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, and left the party, forming a new party simply called “The New Right”. I have not been able to …

There are so many good things to talk about with regard to Israel.  Unfortunately, I don’t always get to them, because there is often a preponderance of “not so good” things going on that need to be addressed. Sometimes, however, we must focus on matters that are upbeat or constructive, …