The current uncertainty is profound, but presents opportunities as well as threats. Most of the attention is on Iran, widely assumed to be moving toward nuclear weapons, against the of its leaders’ obsession with the destruction of Israel, raising the possibility of an Israel attack meant to avoid that threat to its existence. Read More »

An internet friend sent me a video screed from an Atlanta television station that presents, in the most inflammable language, the old saw about too much foreign aid while Americans suffer. Even worse, some of that aid goes to refurbish mosques in unfriendly Cairo and elsewhere. http: //www.wsbtv. Read More »

Not a typical weekend, but not all that unusual. This is a tense place, with frequent events that can provoke great drama. It began with a tragic accident. A heavy truck swerved on a rain slicked road north of Jerusalem, slammed into a bus carrying a group of four- to eight-year old Palestinian children on a school outing. Read More »

The confluence of Barack Obama ‘s problem with contraception and Mitt Romney’s candidacy reminds me of that often expressed sentiment that the United States is a “religion soaked” country. It leads western democracies–including Israel–for the incidence of people who express a belief in God and pray on a regular basis. Read More »

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The New York Times describes Sheldon Adelson as a poor boy who made himself rich, not especially attracted to Jewish affairs or Israel until middle age, now a major contributor to things Jewish, American, and Israeli. http: //www.nytimes.com/2012/ 01/29/us/politics/the-man- behind-gingrichs-money. Read More »

The headlines are about a couple of issues roiling close to the Prime Minister. They do not concern the big stuff that will attract people around the world who look to Israel for the excitement of threat, promise, personal or collective salvation. Insofar as the Prime Minister is the Prime Minister, however, the little stuff can become big. Read More »

Hopefully, Iraq and Afghanistan will be the Lebanon War of the United States. Israel learned from the massive invasion and long occupation of Lebanon (1982-2000) that too much force is frustrating, does not accomplish announced goals, and may be self-defeating. Read More »

We are never far from a reminder that the Israel-Palestinian conflict has a strong element of religious animosity. Those who aspire to solve this with a simple agreement about lines on a map will be better off refereeing a football match (American or European). The Middle East is not for them. Read More »

My audience has weighed in. According to one, I was not sensitive enough in recognizing how dastardly was Ahmed Tibi in referring to Anastassia Michaeli as “cos amok.” According to another, Tibi really is a traitor, in speaking out so forecefully in favor of Palestinian interests while serving in the Israeli Knesset. Read More »

Note the plural in the title. It is not an error, but the theme of this note. Designations of Jerusalem above and Jerusalem below have been around for a long time. They have been adopted by Jews, but may have been introduced in their explicit form by the New Testament. (Galatians 4: 26) Jerusalem below is the earthly city. Read More »

You want fairness from this aging academic? This is a time when I’ll side with a prominent Israeli Arab politician, who has been a source of considerable annoyance for us Jews. But fair is fair. In the last couple of days he earned my commendation. Read More »

It’s not easy being an Israeli. It is even harder being an Israeli policymaker, especially at the top with responsibility for things domestic and foreign. Read More »

Last week was was another occasion when Israel’s ethnic issues escaped from the closet to arouse one crowd and numerous commentators. The crowd was more than two thousand Ethiopians who demonstrated against discrimination in the town of Kiryat Malachi. The principal charge was that landlords refused to rent to them. Read More »

Politics is not only the most civilized way of dealing with disagreements that occur in complex societies. It also provides good theater. Read More »

We see the Shuafat refugee camp from the route that we walk around French Hill a couple of times each day. We don’t see tents or low rise mud brick dwellings, but high rise concrete and stone apartment houses that look pretty much like those on this side of the security barrier. Read More »

Once again Prime Minister Netanyahu demonstrated his skills as a magician. In the morning, his ministers expressed wall to wall opposition to giving up four percent of their budgets for the sake of free pre-school education from the age of three. Read More »

Several of the items in today’s news are not of the world shaking variety that will provoke unrest in the Middle East, Washington, or even among the American Jewish community, but each contributes their increment to understanding this country. Read More »

Israeli and Palestinian officials have met for the first time in months, exchanged documents, and plan to meet again. The meeting came after prolonged pressure from the “Quartet” of US, European Union, UN, and Russia. The location in Amman shows Jordanian interest. Read More »

The commotion over the place of women in buses and on sidewalks reminds us that religion plays a central role in Israeli politics. There is no formal separation of religion and politics. Moreover, Judaism is a religion that gives a central role to political history, political criticism, and political maneuvering. Read More »