Israel

My blog is still under construction, and my posts have yet to be formatted in final form – but I happily reach out to my readers! This is a long posting — it provides a good deal of information about what is going on in Israel now ~~~~~~~~~~ Government and …

Here is a way of looking at the history of the so-called Israeli occupation of so-called Palestinian land: History is narratives. Narratives are stories. Stories have beginnings, middles and endings. Human history has no end in sight so nobody knows how this story of our sojourn on Earth is going …

Will the Israeli leadership remain captive to old molds of thought—thus proving a constraint rather than a catalyst, impeding rather than inducing, the opportunities the Trump administration may  afford?  There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the …

Today I want to do some catch-up. Because of my transmission problems, I haven’t posted since before President Trump’s inauguration. Nothing is ever perfect (and we should face the fact that we probably won’t be happy about everything), but I am confident that the president is going to accomplish much …

In the continuing series on why terminology matters, screaming from the front page of The Jerusalem Post on January 16 was the following headline: “State pressures Bedouin to leave Negev village to make way for Jewish town.” This type of headline has only been seen previously in the likes of …

In one of the most polarizing trials in Israeli army history, 20 year old Sergeant Elor Azaria, who shot and killed a wounded Palestinian terrorist in Hebron, was found guilty of manslaughter. Three judges presiding over the military court ruled that he had violated the ‘Purity of Arms doctrine’ of …

Are “Commanders for Israel” aware of the deadly defects in their ill-conceived program, but persist in promoting it anyway; or they are unaware of them, and are promoting it out of sheer ignorance?  [After Gamal Abdel Nasser’s death] the ability of the Arabs to coordinate their political and military activities …

It’s the countdown to the swearing in of Trump as the new president of the United States – and this can not come soon enough. For those who have not yet seen it, I want to call your attention to the following: In response to the horrendous UN Security Council …

Obama had two terms to prove his mettle. I do not think he meant to do this, but somehow he managed to turn his dealings with the Middle East into what seems like a personal vendetta against Netanyahu. Yes, I know he says he has Israel’s best interests at heart. …

Martin Luther King Jr. fought for the rights of the black minority in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. His passionate words inspired many people to move for equal rights for all Americans. As the last MLK Day of the first Black US President is celebrated, and in the aftermath …

Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been tried in the New Zealand court of public opinion and found to be illegal.  Waikato Professor of Law, Alexander Gillespie, recently declared in the NZ Herald that  “There is no question in international law that these settlements are illegal.”  Similarly, many of …

Will we let the Elor Azaria verdict tear apart our social fabric? We are struggling to define ourselves as a modern nation built on the ashes of our ancient homeland and how we come out from this latest challenge will play a part in that, for better or for worse. …

As the coming Paris conference looms closer, avid two-state proponents should understand what the prescription they advocate really means: Israel through the binoculars of a Palestinian “intelligence officer” If a Palestinian state is established, it will be armed to the teeth. Within it there will be bases of the most …

The four soldiers who were killed in the terrorist truck ramming on Sunday have been named: Cadet Shir Hajaj (22) of Maaleh Adumim. Cadet Shira Tzur (20) from Haifa. Cadet Erez Orbach (20) from Alon Shvut. Erez Orbach and Shira Tzur had joint Israeli-American citizenship. All four were buried on …

Were that I had only good news to report.  But painfully this is not the case.  And in a situation such as we are facing now, the good news, which does exist, must wait. There seems no end to this: In the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem today (Sunday) a …

As their vision of two-states descends into irrelevance, two staters wax increasingly desperate &  delusional, and their policy proposals, increasingly unhinged & unethical …we need a clear map showing Israel’s eastern border and the limits of its territorial demands. .. The eastern border must be based on the required minimum …

While emotions are still running high, people are rushing to condemn the Military Court or to condemn those condemning the Military Court.  I am not prepared to do either.  I am still asking myself questions.  Here are some of them.  1… Elor Azaria killed only one of the two terrorists …

I confess.  Listening to Kerry’s speech on Wednesday night was very difficult for me.  Because it made me ill.  The claims of friendship for Israel, the protests that the Obama administration has always had Israel’s best in mind – all delivered in a calm steady voice radiating faux sincerity.  Stomach …

Despite being in power continuously for over a half- decade, Netanyahu has done virtually nothing to install effective mechanisms to contain and counter the pernicious effects of the White House’s predilections.  “If the aim of the Israeli government is to prevent a peace deal with the Palestinians, now or in …

 I highly recommend an analysis that has just come out from Alan Baker, Director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the Jerusalem Center and the head of the Global Law Forum.  I think you will find this article highly informative and considerably reassuring.http://jcpa.org/dangers-un-security-council-resolution-2334-2016/   ~~~~~~~~~~ The bitterness?  It’s palpable. …