Israel

Hamas and its terror affiliates are not burrowing tunnels, flying incendiary kites and firing rockets at Israeli civilians because Gaza has no port. They are doing so despite the fact that it does not have one! “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about …

There are shifts that seem to be taking place in the dynamics of the Mid-East. Is genuine change being forged? Or are we being fed words that will lead nowhere, as we slip back to previous holding patterns? ~~~~~~~~~~ The improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza will NOT reduce terrorism …

When I got up on Thursday morning, I thought it very likely there would be news of a war in Gaza.  But there was not. Nor is there today, as I write. ~~~~~~~~~~ The IDF has been shooting near those terrorists who launch incendiary devices as a “warning,” but is …

 The arrest of former Minister Gonen Segev, on charges of treason, constitute a regrettable vindication of my assessment of the man – over 25 years ago.  ….the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments…. He rots …

I am sick and tired. More than anything, I am mad. I am sick and tired of seeing cute stories of Israeli kids having kite and balloon festivals sending messages of peace and candy for Gazans. On one hand, I love my people for their strength of spirit and eternal …

Yesterday I began my posting with a discussion of what the Trump “peace team” of Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt might be seeking during their scheduled visits to several Middle East countries this week. The focus, according to administration statements, was on seeking the optimal timing for releasing that “peace …

As my readers know, I have been pondering for weeks exactly what is going on with the Trump administration’s peace team, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt. They have persisted in working on that “plan”: shaping it and refining it so that, we have been told, what is going to be …

 Has the IDF brass forgotten that they are soldiers, charged with providing military solutions to physical threats to the nation’s security; not sociologists, tasked with diagnosing the societal ailments of its enemies?  …the IDF General Staff has been insisting there is only one thing Israel can do about Gaza. According …

There’s light at the top, but it’s always a hard climb. I land at Ben-Gurion Airport just before midnight and begin the long ascent to Jerusalem. The headiness hits me immediately and will remain until I depart 10 days later.  A few hours later I sit bleary-eyed at breakfast ahead …

The situation at the Gaza fence does tend to make one feel weary, but in fact great vigilance is still needed. What is going on is not an existential threat for the nation. But this does not mean we should shrug our shoulders and treat it lightly. Regional Cooperation Minister …

In a first, Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Humanities decided to nix the singing of Israel’s national anthem during its graduation ceremony in order not to offend Arab students. According to a report by Channel 10, the new Dean of the Humanities Faculty, Professor Leo Corry, ordered to cancel the …

There was an old man who used to sweep the area next to the Kotel, the Western Wall .  When asked why he, such an old man, was working, doing menial labor he explained that in Auschwitz a Nazi pointed to the smoke billowing up from the crematorium and told …

Before I write about other matters, there are issues regarding what is happening in the south that I feel compelled to address. It’s on everyone’s mind: The question of the wisest way for us to handle the situation. Here I offer my own opinion, seriously considered: a perspective. ~~~~~~~~~~ We …

My last posting, written on May 30, was entitled “Reprieve?” After a 24 hour barrage of rockets and mortars that brought us to the brink of war, it had gotten quiet in the south. I didn’t delude myself that it would be quiet forever, but I assumed that the quiet …

So it certainly seems right now. It was not an exaggeration when I wrote, 24 hours ago, that we were on the cusp of war. The rockets were flying fast and furious, and the Israeli response was strong. This went on through much of the night, with starts and stops. …

A surfeit of news and information. But this must come first: On Thursday night, Ronen Lubarsky, a fighter in the IDF’s elite Duvdevan Unit, was involved in a routine military operation outside of Ramallah – arresting members of a terror cell that had carried out shooting attacks against civilians. The …

Written by Peter Wertheim AM. co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Events at the Israel-Gaza security barrier on May 15 followed what has become an all too predictable pattern. Hamas starts a confrontation with Israel; Israel defends itself; the world condemns Israel. Why did Hamas start the confrontation …

In recent weeks, Israel has been doing exceedingly well in many regards. In fact, taken cumulatively, our situation has been remarkable: We scored an incredible Intelligence coup with the lifting of an enormous cache of secret files on nuclear development from Iran, and then scored further with the subsequent exposure …

Tom Friedman’s last piece on Gaza is a “masterful” blend of personal bile & bias, liberally laced with logical inconsistencies, factual inaccuracies and even blatant non-sequiturs What if all two million Palestinians of Gaza marched to the Israeli border fence with an olive branch in one hand and a sign …

Despite the many conflicts around the world, there seems to be few as emotive, and that garner as much attention, as the Israeli-Palestinian one. And whenever there is a flare up, we see a rush to judgment against Israel before the full facts are known, an uncritical embrace of the …