Tag Archives: Naftali Bennett

There are not a whole lot of people within the Israeli political system that I’m pleased with at the moment – and that is a polite understatement of major proportions. What evolved yesterday was the final stage of a process of wheeling and dealing that has been destructive for the …

Madness aside for the moment, I begin on a high note, with a hope that all who celebrated Pesach found joy and meaning within the celebration, and a wish that my Christian friends now celebrating Easter are also uplifted. We need all of the uplift we can get!! ~~~ The …

Here we are, at the end of Pesach, with the final day coming on Shabbat here in Israel, and also on Sunday, outside. This is a time for learning the lessons of our people, for rejoicing in all that we have become since the Almighty brought us out of Egypt. …

“Chik-Chok” is a commonly used Hebrew slang expression that roughly means speedily – one, two, three quick.  One might say, no frills.  And that, my friends, is what this posting will be, because Pesach approaches and there is much to be done. But…we did have an election on Tuesday and …

Tonight we kindle the first light of Chanukah.  And it strikes me that this year the messages and themes of the holiday are especially important: It is hardly an easy time. Not here in Israel, and certainly not in the US.  We struggle with corona and the concommitant economic difficulties. …

In spite of the title of this posting being potentially ominous in tone, I begin with a brief good news item: It rained on Tuesday here in Jerusalem, and only in Jerusalem. The rainfall ‒ accompanied by thunder and exceedingly heavy for a brief time ‒ was a real surprise. …

When last I wrote about the painful electoral situation in the US, I said I would return to news about Israel very soon. And so, here I am. But as I began to consider the focus for this posting, a familiar sense of sadness came over me: There is so …

The news was startling and in some respects very exciting: On Thursday, first President Trump and then Prime Minister Netanyahu made the announcement: United Arab Emirates (a Sunni Gulf state that is a federation of seven sheikdoms) has agreed to normalize ties with Israel. In coming weeks, delegations will be …

As a marketer the incongruence of the way Israel’s media presents Naftali Bennett stands out like an enormous red flag. There is a deliberate pattern that is impossible to ignore – and it crosses over from the news to entertainment shows. Either they ignore him or they mock him mercilessly. …

The 29th November, or as it is known in Hebrew “Kaf Tet beNovember”, a very significant date in Israeli history, fell last week.  It was the date of the UN Resolution, Resolution 181, to partition then-Palestine into two states, Israel for the Jews and Palestine for the Arabs.  As we …

So much, so much, seems not as it should be – or, at least, as we would, in the normal course of events, expect it to be. We shake our heads in confusion, and frustration, and anger. Consider: On Tuesday, there were something like 20 fires started in Israel as …

Yesterday was Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day, marking the re-unification of Jerusalem in 1967. Never, ever, will our city be divided again. Jerusalem is not only the capital of Israel, it is Israel’s very heart, its historical essence. We are strengthened when we remember this. Please, take the time to …

It’s only a thought, or a rumor, at this point. I want to call your attention to a new, expanded (and highly informative) page I have put on my website about Israel’s rights to the Golan Heights: https://www.arlenefromisrael.info/israels-legal-rights-to-the-golan-heights/ As time allows, I will be updating my site in other ways …

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 …

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 …

As has undoubtedly been obvious to many of my readers, even though Israel is in the throes of an election campaign (or the first stage of a campaign), I have studiously avoided writing about it. There has been ample reason for this:  The process has been so convoluted that reporting …

My friends, I think it would be lovely if we could segue directly to early April and time for the Israeli elections. But, unfortunately, that will not be possible. And so, I will continue to share basics of the campaign, without an undue focus on details that might seem obscure …

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 …

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 …

“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, …