Israel

Intensive investment must be made in civil society frameworks that can not only draw the idea of extended Israeli sovereignty into the main-stream discourse as a legitimate political objective, but as one that can dominate that discourse.   In a significant departure from his usual ambivalent and non-committal policy formulation regarding …

Thirty-seven years ago, during the First Lebanon war, Israeli troops engaged in a fierce and bloody battle with Syrian and affiliated PLO units at Sultan Yacoub near the Syrian border. Tank Commander Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel (pictured) went missing, along with Zvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz. The three were …

These elections are perhaps the most interesting in recent times, even though there are really only two candidates running. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Bibi. Which side of Netanyahu will figure more prominently in the eyes of the Israeli electorate – the statesman also known as ‘Mr Security’, or the person …

If we care about what’s going on around us, in the end there is no choice but to open our eyes and look hard. The situation is difficult. I did my good news posting and was very glad for it. ~~~~~~~~~~ By the end of last week, I was giving …

My sanity, certainly, and perhaps yours too. Yesterday was April Fool’s Day.  I don’t do April Fools shtick, but I found someone who does: US astronaut Scott Kelly, partnering with SodaStream. https://www.israel21c.org/us-astronaut-partners-with-sodastream-to-turn-burps-into-fizzy-water/ For myself, I decided that it’s a really appropriate day for a good news posting.  Do we need …

In issuing his recent presidential decree, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, President Donald Trump followed the commendable policy pattern he has set … of not following the policy patterns set by his predecessors. Recognizing reality. Much like his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Trump’s decision was, …

Left Right out? In the more than 37 years since I made aliyah I have not felt more depressed before a national election as I am today. If the pundits and the polls are correct – that’s a big IF in Israel because they are so often wrong – the next …

I begin this posting with a caution about how “current” it will be when you read it. This may seem to be a strange statement. But it is an honest and necessary one, in light of the current situation, which is so very, very fluid. That instability, that shifting dynamic, …

What has unfolded in Gaza should not really surprise anyone willing to face up to the inclement realities. After all, it was not only entirely foreseeable, but easily foreseen. The nightmare stories of the Likud are well known. After all, they promised Katyusha rockets from Gaza as well. For a …

In the past couple of weeks, while we have been having a family health crisis, it has not been quiet and peaceful at all on our borders and within country. The worst attack was a combined shooting and stabbing at Ariel Junction, scene of several previous attacks. A soldier, Gal …

In my last posting I discussed Israel’s failure to be tough enough – to create an environment of deterrence – with regard to terrorists residing in Judaea and Samaria, and inside of Israel. I noted to myself then that I needed to follow up with a similar discussion with regard …

Purim is over, and we are back to “normal,” whatever that actually is. Last Tuesday, the terrorist who murdered Staff Sgt. Gal Keidan and Rabbi Ahiad Ettinger at the Ariel Junction a week ago, was caught and eliminated.  Security forces had tracked him to the Arab village of Abwein, near …

In overturning a previous decision of the Knesset’s Central Elections Committee, the High Court took another giant step towards further undermining the already dwindling public confidence in the Israeli judiciary.  In Israel, the negative impact of the judicialization of politics on the Supreme Court’s legitimacy is already beginning to show …

We knew there was a strong possibility that Rabbi Ahiad Ettinger might not live, in spite of the valiant efforts of his doctors to save him.  But we prayed, and we hoped.  And now we must say, Baruch Dayan HaEmet (Blessed is the Righteous Judge), because he died this morning. In …

Perhaps it should not be unexpected, for there is frequently an increase in attacks before Purim, which comes later this week. But one can hope.  And one still feels punched in the stomach at the news of yet another attack. I begin with what is most important: a request for …

The air in Israel is heavy with tensions, but in many instances, for the wrong reasons. We are subject to so much nonsense: unfortunate sparring between persons in the political sphere; undue attention to the trivial. Perhaps what is currently happening is inevitable during a campaign, but I would prefer …

“We”? I am speaking of Jews:  The Jews here in Israel, certainly.  And some percentage of American Jews. I’ve been tracking the growing antisemitism in the US – including in the halls of Congress — with alarm and anger.  But, focused on events here, I have not written about it …

The danger is Benny Gantz as prime minister, in a very literal sense.  And so I lead off with “Elephant in the room – highlighting Gantz’s military record,” written by Dr. Aaron Lerner, co-founder and director of IMRA (emphasis added): “Bennie Gantz’s military career was torn to shreds in a feature …

The two-state paradigm’s deadly detriments are now so glaringly apparent that it is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile calls for Palestinian statehood with genuine concern for the well-being of the Jewish nation-state.    Ladies and gentlemen, when the Palestinians say “two states” they do not mean what we mean—Maj-Gen. (res.) …

A month ago we raised three questions in regards to the forthcoming Israeli election . The first has been answered. A group of three ex IDF Chiefs of Staff – Gantz, Ya’alon and Ashkenazi – have joined together with Yair Lapid to present the Israeli people an alternate leadership to …