Tag Archives: Netanyahu

Let me begin with a video of something I described last night from the Shloshim ceremonies at the Great Synagogue.  This is Lt. Col. Shai Abramson, Chief Cantor of the IDF, singing with choir in prayer for the soldiers of the IDF: For strength.  (And with thanks to Linda O.) …

  I begin by sharing this picture, drawn by an artist intent on paying tribute to our soldiers. Soldier as superman: His cape is his tallit. The artist is my granddaughter.         A true story told last week by Col. Richard Kemp: He was given the opportunity to …

It’s going on 72 hours since I’ve posted – the longest interval I’ve gone without a posting since this war with Hamas began.  In that period, as I have attempted to track what is happening, I felt as if my head was spinning 350 degrees. Round and round. Here I …

Even at this point it is possible to assess that this time a number of things have been different to what some people expected and to what happened in the past. Of course some things have not changed at all, such as Hamas’ determination to attempt to terrorise and destroy …

  Today was a day on which I had planned to skip posting.  A busy day, starting with an event in the Knesset this morning (about which more in time). But I know I must write to update my readers, even if very briefly. After I had written yesterday, news …

Motzei Shabbat (After Shabbat) I mentioned in my last post the intention to return to the issue of ceasefires, and I will do so below.  But I begin by noting that my greatest fear in this very necessary war we are waging now is that it should be terminated prematurely …

It is very very necessary, this invasion – which has been ordered by Prime Minister Netanyahu. So let’s stop here for a prayer for the thousands of Israel’s soldiers who are now inside Gaza. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15289#.U8g8IZvlrIW ~~~~~~~~~~~ I just heard an interview with Col. Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces …

  What a roller coaster ride the last 24 hours has been with regard to our war with Hamas. Yesterday Egypt announced a proposal for a ceasefire: Both sides would stop firing, and then in 48 hours parties would convene in Cairo and – via an intermediary – discuss terms …

I’ve written about the Iron Dome, which helps protect our citizens from rocket attacks, and about the shelters that are provided, as well as about the government guidelines that are released to keep people safe. But there is a another significant factor – from my perspective and the perspective of …

There is a widespread – but very erroneous – impression that if an enemy attacks, a proportional response means a nation can only return what was received and no more. That is, the mistaken impression is that if Hamas shot one rocket, we could only shoot one rocket back. International …

It took a long time in coming, but it’s very serious now.  The military action, called Operation Protective Edge, was announced in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. As I write, well over 140 sites in Gaza have been hit by the Israeli Air Force and some 14 people have …

By adhering to a policy of avoiding confrontations which Israel can win, the government risks leading it into one in which it might lose. It is time for a bold new offensive – before we are overtaken by events. To remain at peace when you should be going to war …

Prime Minister Netanyahu called it “A Day of National Mourning,” and that is precisely what it was, as Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach were laid to rest. The families first had individual services in their respective communities.  I was going to say “private,” but in fact they were …

Blessed is the righteous judge. This is the first order of business.  We accept the horror of the Hamas murder of three innocent Israeli students: Naftali Frenkel, 16, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19. These boys did not die in vain.  We have witnessed for many days now an …

That is what that amazing woman Rachel Frankel, mother of Naftali, is asking of all of us. Not coincidentally, this dovetails with what I wanted to ask today as well. Investing energy in anger about the boys’ kidnapping, focusing on fear for them and other negative thoughts is not constructive …

June 23, 2014: The Middle East, with the singular exception of a stable, prosperous, democratic Israel, is in a state of turmoil and transition – with enormous violence and instability the norm.  We are seeing Sunni-Shia tensions, increasing radicalism, and the break down of borders. And the situation is only …

A couple of very significant pieces of information have been uncovered in the extensive IDF/Shin Bet operation for the rescue of the three kidnapped students (emphasis added): “Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting with dramatic revelation over the kidnapping of three Israeli yeshiva students, saying that the …

More and more it seems, the nations of the world are arrayed against us:  Israel is criticized for not accepting a Fatah-Hamas unity government, for building in Judea and Samaria, etc. etc.  But there is one turn-around that, while modest, is significant. The government of Australian Prime Minister “Tony” Abbott …

As disappointing as the response of the West to the Hamas-backed PA government is, Israel bears much of the blame for the situation. Palestine, with the boundaries it had during the British Mandate, is an indivisible territorial unit… The partition of Palestine in 1947, and the establishment of the State …

  In spite of well-founded predictions that this would never happen, a Fatah-Hamas unity government was sworn in today in Ramallah, to much fanfare.  It is to be headed by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah , former president of An-Najah National University in Nablus, who had been appointed by Abbas. Under …