Last Friday night, Jews across the world were participating in the Pesach Seder. And so I begin by extending wishes for a Pesach Kasher v’Sameach to all who are observing. Every year I share a link to a video of Vehi shamda, which is found in the Haggadah: That which …
Read More »From Israel: “The Thread Has Snapped, and Now?”
Last I wrote, the negotiations between former Prime Minister Netanyahu, head of Likud and leader of the Opposition, and Attorney General Mandelblit regarding a plea deal were hanging by a thread. Now the negotiations have collapsed. ~~~ It is almost always the case that there is more to a story …
Read More »Benjamin Netanyahu holding the government together: Opinion piece: Opinion piece: July ’21
The Israeli government coalition of eight parties, where not only can any one party bring the government down, but even a disaffected individual MK is able to do so, has survived its first two months. The glue holding it together in one very real way is Benjamin Netanyahu – who …
Read More »From Israel: “Heartsick!!!”
This, my friends, will be the shortest of postings. It is not necessary to deal now in all of the details of the prospective new “change government” that may have been forged last night—that appears to have been forged but is not yet finalized. What makes me heartsick is the …
Read More »Three election attempts: Opinion piece April 2020.
When people discussed the need for Israel to finally form some sort of unity government after three election attempts in order to deal with real matters of government, almost no-one imagined that as Bill Gates had predicted already in 2015 – the next danger facing mankind would not be something …
Read More »From Israel: “Battling Threats on Two Fronts”
Our first battle is against the coronavirus, which is being fought not just in Israel, but around the world. It preoccupies everyone, so that political news here is not necessarily even front page any more. I write from my Jerusalem apartment: I am well, thank Heaven, but following the rules …
Read More »From Israel: It’s Time…
Time to touch base on Israel’s political situation. I have studiously avoided writing about it for many weeks because the situation has been so in flux that whatever I wrote would probably have changed by the time most of my readers read my posting. More to the point, perhaps, I …
Read More »From Israel: “Politics? Phooey!!”
Hey, I know politics are a fact of life, necessary for civil governance. But it happens that a consideration of the political situation here is neither inspiring nor uplifting these days. In fact, it is depressing. I face the prospect of writing once again about our political situation, my friends, …
Read More »From Israel: “Triumph!”
When the polls in Israel closed at 10 PM on Tuesday, the air was fraught with tensions. Various exit polls, notoriously unreliable in any event, were providing such disparate results that there was little clarity on what the outcome would be. The count was announced early in the morning on …
Read More »Answers apropos Israeli Election. Opinion piece March ’19.
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 …
Read More »From Israel: Definitely Less Awful!
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 …
Read More »Israel Election time.”The Silly Season”- : Opinion piece Jan. ’19.
The silly season is upon us and the even sillier season seems to be approaching fast. Israel is going to elections on the 9thof April. On the one hand when it comes to actual policies, it is the Seinfeld election – yet again – an election about nothing – well …
Read More »Labor lost and is not likely to win any time soon.
This is the article I wanted to write one week before the recent Israeli elections but I chickened out. Who wanted to predict inevitable defeat for the strangely named Zionist Camp, or is that Union, when the polls and the pundits were already celebrating victory? The dust has settled but not the …
Read More »From the desk of Ron Weiser – So Israel has a new government.
So Israel has a new government. Just. Prime Minister Netanyahu must be wondering why he decided to go to early elections after all: – his government currently has a slim majority indeed, just 61 out of 120 seats in the Knesset, – he has been forced to pay a very …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – Could Be Worse.
Before I begin to discuss how it could be worse, a couple of housekeeping matters. First, dear readers, please know that I am working overtime on the Legal Grounds Campaign. That’s a good thing, because it means we are developing a solid campaign to coincide with the formation of the …
Read More »Into the Fray: Whew! But…
The unthinkable has been avoided – narrowly. The greatest challenge now will be to deal with a detrimental, dysfunctional and, not infrequently, disloyal opposition. With respect to the people’s choice, if this is in fact its choice, I do not accept it … If that is the choice of the …
Read More »Israel’s Message to Obama.
I woke this morning in far off India to the news that Israel had done what I wanted it to do, what India did when the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, tried to interfere in their elections. As we watch the dust settle over the election results, …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – It’s Up to Us!
The chances of a right wing victory in tomorrow’s election suddenly seemed far greater after last night’s rally in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square. After a very frustratingly lackadaisical campaign – with an incredibly negative tone, and with polls showing the left ahead – a bubble of hope welled up. Some …
Read More »Elections for the Short Attention Span
Israel Advocacy Update. Written by Emily Gian. Media and Advocacy Director, Zionist Federation of Australia.. The Israeli elections are getting close, and with only three weeks to go before polling, the entire country is in full campaign mode. There has been plenty of analysis about the different parties (of which …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – We Must Hope.
I comment every year at this time about the difference between the way the secular new year and the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) are celebrated. In the Jewish tradition it is a time for prayer and introspection. This year in particular, I think, the difference is marked. For the …
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