Tag Archives: Israel

Shira and Amichai Ish-ran are a beautiful young couple.  Twenty-one years old, they got married this year. Looking at them, most people would see radiant youth, loving eyes and warm smiles. How many would realize that these are people made from steel? On the last day of Chanukah, Amichai and …

Last I wrote, I began with good news, which set an optimistic tone, and then followed with a catalogue of worrisome issues. The good news is real, and there is yet more of it. But the bad news?  It is ominous and weighs heavily on the soul: Antisemitism is up …

Given the emerging realities in Israel’s political landscape, the danger to Right-wing incumbency entailed in early elections might well be considerably less than those entailed in postponing them.  The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry – Robert Burns (1759 – 1796). The “received wisdom”, as reflected in …

Indigenous solidarity reached a crescendo in Northland over the weekend as the Northland Ngapuhi hosted Israeli Ambassador, HE Dr Itzhak Gerberg, for a powerful Powhiri and Hakari Banquet. Held at the Kohewhata Marae (a) in Kaikohe, Northland, the “Heart to Heart Powhiri” held in Māori tradition included a ceremony, songs …

Election fever raged briefly in Israel as a result of the resignation of Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman earlier this month, taking his party with him and leaving the current coalition with just a razor slim majority of 61 seats in a 120 seat parliament. The trigger for Lieberman’s resignation threw …

Ryan Ashley is like a long cold drink on a hot summer day.  Cool, confident and extraordinarily talented, she made history as the first woman to win Ink Master after eight seasons of the tattooing reality TV show competition.  That led to her participation in the spin-off show Ink Master: Angels …

Our government’s premature willingness to stop the attack on Hamas yesterday was distressing and infuriating. Several people confessed to me that they found it nauseating. And I understood. Over the course of many months, we have tolerated too much aggression emanating from Gaza: the fires started in the south, in …

How many times in the last weeks have I written that war with Hamas in Gaza was inevitable and surely coming? And how many times did that expectation fizzle, in spite of what was happening at the fence? On Sunday night, events turned in a blink. An elite IDF special …

“They” refers collectively to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Security Cabinet, the IDF, and perhaps other persons in leadership roles making decisions on Gaza right now. For the life of me, I am unable to wrap my head around these decisions, or to feel remotely easy about them. ~~~~~~~~~~ Of course, …

The policy of trying to placate Hamas with enhanced humanitarian aid is sadly no less farcical than trying to convert a man-eating tiger into a cuddly bunny-rabbit by offering it a diet of premium carrots Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered…[the] reopen[ing of] the Kerem Shalom and Erez border crossings in …

There are some people who don’t hear when others speak the word, “impossible.”  Instead, they hear, “it’s possible” or “I am possible.”  Their minds begin to race in search for solutions and when there is no logical reason to succeed, faith moves them forward. Who could look at the barren …

This will be a “catch-up” posting to keep my readers in the loop during a process with regard to Hamas that is still unfolding. During the night on Wednesday, two rockets were launched from Gaza. Hamas later said their people did not launch them. But the IDF rejected this out …

Any lingering thought that the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) would have any role to play in President Trump’s soon to-be-released peace plan has vanished – after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that $165 million had been deducted from funding to the PLO because of its continuing “pay for slay” …

The saying goes: “The dead tell no tales” but that’s not exactly true. The dead speak to us from beyond the grave but they do so in silent symbols that we, those who are full of life and sometimes full of arrogance, can choose to ignore. Haifa’s cemetery is full. …

It is been a while since I have begun a posting with even a bit of optimism. But that, my friends, is what I want to deliver today. Just a glimmer… Not because all has turned to sweetness and light. Rather, because Israel seems to have regained her footing. This …

As in “really, really…” A report, drawing on Egyptian sources, appeared very recently in Al Araby, an Arabic newspaper in London, with regard to continuing efforts by President Al-Sisi to secure a long-term agreement between Israel and Hamas. This report, cited by YNet, indicated that Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel …

Don’t underestimate Trump’s deal-making ability to end what he himself has called “the war that never ends” Creating another Palestinian Arab state – in addition to Jordan – has been seemingly consigned to the garbage bin of history following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s CNN interview on 28 September. President …

Having had the opportunity to participate in the May ‘Basic First -Aid Course’ of Magen David Adom this year, I could not recommend this experience more highly to anyone willing to put themselves out of their comfort zone. I went to Israel not knowing anyone, the language or the culture. …

Yes, my friends, I am here. Working hard on another writing project, and laboring mightily to make sense of the news. Did you ever stand on the side of a highway, with the cars whizzing past? Hard to not feel a bit dazed. In recent days, I have been watching …

Israel’s new Nation State Law has provoked controversy both inside and outside Israel.  Both critics and supporters have misinterpreted the text and its implications.  They have also missed what may be the most important motive for the legislation – fear of the demographic threat to Israel’s future. First, we can …