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 »Into the fray: Bibi – Vindicated, validated, not yet victorious.
It would be mean-spirited and small-minded not to credit the recent assertive and muscular attitude of US lawmakers toward the administration, to the impact of Netanyahu’s address to Congress. I trust the Obama administration to get a good deal. – Isaac “Buji” Herzog to Jeffrey Goldberg, Saban Forum, December 2014 …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – Mid-Pesach.
Here in Israel, the world sort of floats in limbo over the Pesach week; and so I thought that perhaps I would not post until the holiday was over. But life does go on, and I’ve decided to write. But before I move to the serious matters calling for …
Read More »The Sucker’s Game
If you are smoking a cigarette, pondering your seven-deuce off-suit in the hole, and looking around the table wondering who the sucker is… you’re the guy.The Arabs and their western-left allies have the Jews hooked into a sucker’s game.One thing that should, by this late date, be absolutely clear to …
Read More »Into the Fray: It’s Arab enmity – not Arab ethnicity
Netanyahu’s remark that Arabs were being bused ‘in droves’ to polls by foreign-funded NGOs may have been abrasive and inelegant, but is was neither racist nor invalid. Zionism is nothing more – but also nothing less – than the Jewish people’s sense of origin and destination in the land linked …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – Bone Weary.
Anyone who is tracking the news these days, and genuinely cares for the security of Israel and the future of the US – not to mention Europe and the Mideast – has got to have an extremely heavy heart. We are facing some very dark times. With regard to Israel, …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – Exposed.
PLEASE PASS ON THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. This Friday, March 27th, at noon, there will be a press conference and a “Keep Iran Nuclear Free” rally, at 780 Third Avenue (between 48th & 49th Streets) in Manhattan. This is in front of the offices of the Manhattan offices of New York Senators …
Read More »Israel: Security in a Small Country
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Israel as “a small country, one of the smallest”. That is true, but only part of the story. As Bibi added “Israel is strong, but it’s much more vulnerable [than the US].” Size: Israel is about 20,000 square kilometers, using the 1949 Armistice Lines, or 22,000 …
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 »Arlene from Israel – With Gratitude and Gladness!
The Israeli election campaign just ended has been one hell of a dismal and ominous ride. I knew that well enough, but it was only when near-final results were released, and I began to cry, that I realized how very frightened I had been. For this nation that I love, …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – Nauseating
Before we get to the events that are stomach-turning, I want to circle back just briefly to Netanyahu’s talk in Congress. I cannot consider every commentary (and there are so many!), but what Charles Krauthammer wrote seems worthy of note here. He refers to “the libel being perpetrated by some …
Read More »From the Desk of Dr Ron Weiser AM – Israeli Election
The most amazing thing about the coming Israeli election is that with so much going on in the region and with so many internal issues needing attention, when it comes to policy issues this is a Seinfeld election – an election about nothing – a policy free zone. This leads …
Read More »Red Herrings on the Red Line.
Summary: Obama’s anger at Israel’s Netanyahu was about Netanyahu’s anger at White House policy on Iran. All of the other excuses that Obama threw out proved inaccurate. However, Obama’s actions have introduced a partisan split over Israel into DC politics. US President Obama took umbrage with Republican House Speaker John …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – HOW PROUD WE ARE!
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu gave the speech of his life today. His speech was not merely good, it was, as one commentator here put it, perfect. His pacing and his delivery were masterful; he managed to take the high road and deliver a powerful message at the same time. …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – Zahor and Bibi’s Mission.
Yesterday was Shabbat Zahor – the Shabbat before Purim, which comes this week. Zahor means remember. After the regular Torah reading there is an additional reading – Deuteronomy (D’vorim) 25:17-19 – that all are obligated to listen to: “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left …
Read More »Give ‘Em Hell, Bibi!
During the 1948 presidential campaign, Harry Truman toured the country attacking Republicans and putting forth his own views on what was best for America. At one point during a speech in Bremerton, Washington, a man in the crowd cried out, “Give ’em hell, Harry!” To the delight of the listeners …
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 – Wearisome
My friends, how long can we monitor the current political situation without feeling weary to the bone – no, even more, revolted – because of what is taking place. Here in Israel, the left is using Bibi’s upcoming speech in the Congress as a weapon with which to attack him. …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – Threats, Lies and Politics.
The situation surrounding the negotiations with Iran and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress daily grows more ominous, more convoluted, and more contentious. I would like to begin with the latest “scoop” – which is supposed to put the lie to Bibi’s charge in 2012 in the UN (complete with …
Read More »Arlene from Israel – How Ugly Can It Get?
Before I get to the ugly stuff, let me begin with a lovely scene: Jerusalem in the snow. The snow fell this past Thursday night, accumulating to the better part of a foot and enfolding our beautiful city in a mantle of white. It is gone now because of heavy …
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