The new Israeli government – Israel’s 37th with over 30 ministers – was sworn in today in the Knesset. At the beginning of the proceedings, incoming Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke, presenting the agenda of the new government: First, it would prevent Iran from “developing an arsenal of atomic weapons that …
Read More »From Israel: “The Great Promise, and the Burdens!!”
Baruch Dayan Emet we say on learning of a death: Blessed is the Righteous Judge. In this instance we say it because of the passing of Rabbi Chaim Druckman, z”l, a leading and much loved Zionist rabbi, who died of corona on Sunday night, at age 90. Among the great …
Read More »From Israel: Success!
Last night at midnight was the deadline for Binyamin Netanyahu to inform President Herzog that in accordance with the mandate he was given, he has been able to form a government. He placed that all-important call just 18 minutes before the deadline. Credit: Screenshot Then he tweeted: ala b’yadi, which …
Read More »From Israel: “Slowly, Oh So Slowly!!”
First, an important housekeeping message. There had been some trouble with linking to my website. Several repairs/adjustments have been made and now access should be possible without a problem. (In the unlikely event that you still encounter difficulty, it will be because of a lag time in when the repairs …
Read More »From Israel: Vile and Insufferable!!
Let us put the title of this posting aside for the moment. We are moving close to the formation of a new right wing government – which, quite to the contrary – will be cause for considerable thanksgiving. Otzma Yehudit headed by Itamar Ben Gvir, the Religious Zionist Party headed …
Read More »Since Netanyahu won the election the world has come forward to acknowledge the result. Opinion: Nov 2022.
This most recent Israeli election, the fifth in the current cycle, proved to be quite different from the previous four, not only in producing a definitive result but with the campaign itself. It began the same, however, along the way expanded into not only a ‘for or anti-Bibi’ tussle, but …
Read More »From Israel: “Extraordinary Promise, Major Outrage!!”
Last Tuesday, Israel held an election that has significantly shifted the tenor of politics in the nation – and I will offer a look at various aspects of the situation below. But this coming Tuesday, it is America’s turn. And so I want to begin by offering my heartfelt prayers …
Read More »From Israel: An Imperative of Critical Importance!!
Once again, I begin by reporting a terror attack. On Shabbat, an ultra-Orthodox man, 20, was stabbed in the back by a Palestinian Arab youth in Jerusalem’s Givat HaMivtar neighborhood, between French Hill and Ramat Eshkol in eastern Jerusalem. The attacker was from the Palestinian Arab village of Anata, outside …
Read More »Israeli election ideas. Opinion piece: October 2022
At last, we appear to have an Israeli election issue on at least one foreign policy matter, rather than just solely on personalities – or do we? In September, the following words were said by the prime minister of Israel to the United Nations General Assembly: “I hear the buzz. …
Read More »In this election we need to get it Right – Opinion
I believe that an across the board right-wing coalition, religious and secular, can and must address these issues. Elections in Israel can be viewed as punishments or as opportunities. I would suggest that the lengthy string of inconclusive outcomes preceding the recently dissolved government were the former. Conversely, the Bennett-Lapid …
Read More »Looming election in Israel. Opinion piece: June 2022
In an election anyone claiming to predict who the next prime minister of Israel will be is a brave person. The frontrunner is Benjamin Netanyahu, which counts for quite a bit of course. But will it be enough? Hard to say. At the time of writing the next election had …
Read More »From Israel: “Steps Forward, Let Us Pray!!”
There has been movement in the political scene here in Israel, and I will come to that shortly. But first I want to share some important insights with regard to the US abortion issue. Star Parker, a columnist and political activist, is the founder and president of CURE, the Center …
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 »From Israel: “It Rests upon Our Shoulders!!
The shoulders of those Israelis who are true Zionists, and love our nation: who have been heartsick about the state of affairs here, and understand there is no time to be lost. Credit: Paolo Pellegrin/Magnum ~~~ I have been reporting on the situation in the Negev with the Bedouin; and …
Read More »Israel’s diplomatic & internal political challenges – Opinion piece: Nov. 2021
As we close out 2021 there are two key areas that continue to be at the centre of Israel’s diplomatic and internal political challenges, as well as a third emerging issue of quite a different colour. 1 – Iran There is no doubt that the vast majority of security and …
Read More »Israel’s leaders need to listen to the music of the latest US election results
Israel’s new something-for-everyone coalition government prides itself on its emphasis on restoring bilateral political support for Israel in the United States. Of course, this is a not-so-subtle slap at former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom they perceive to have unduly favored the Republicans—meaning former U.S. President Donald Trump—thereby “endangering” longstanding …
Read More »Into the fray: Netanyahu vs Olmert – Comparing chalk & cheese.
While it may be inappropriate that someone under criminal indictment should be a candidate for, or serve, as prime minister, it is far more inappropriate that he/she be precluded from doing so by abuse of the legal system We have a prime minister mired up to his neck in investigations. …
Read More »From Israel: Pain and Fury – So Much That Should Not Be!!
It is with enormous sadness, but not surprise, that I share news of the death of Bar-el Shmueli, age 21, a Border Police officer who was shot in the head at point blank range, during the course of a riot at the Gaza border on Saturday night, August 21. Shmueli, who …
Read More »Political demise has turned into a Greek tragedy. Opinion piece: June ’21
Tragically for Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and who will undoubtedly be remembered for many very significant achievements – including his statesmanlike behaviour on the international stage – his political demise has turned into a Greek tragedy. It may be too soon to write Netanyahu’s political obituary – but there …
Read More »Into the fray: Because of Biden…Bibi.
Dispassionate analysis of the political deadlock in Israel will reveal that this state of suspended political animation is the result of nothing more than what the Jewish sages designated as “baseless hatred” among Jews. …take for example the vaccinations. Today he [Netanyahu] holds a press conference and declares there are …
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