They say that anywhere you dig in Israel, you find history. It appears that rings true once more. A crumbling sea-side cliff outside the city of Ashkelon revealed an ancient Roman statute. The land area known today as Israel has been home to some of the world’s greatest civilizations, including the ancient Jews, the Romans, […]
Travelers to our nation’s capital from Israel might feel a little more at home in the coming days, as Metro (the subway system) administrators are preparing to implement a new program that includes random bag checks when passengers enter a station. In Israel, security guards outside malls, office buildings, stores and restaurants search bags of […]
The U.S. Department of State regularly updates its country notes and send out the changes via email. Those country notes are worth perusing, as they provide a quick snapshot into countries’ cultures, economies, and political systems. The State Department just updated their Israel notes and they can be found here. The bulk of the notes […]
The Israeli clandestine service, the Mossad, has been criticized of late for some perceived setbacks. For example, the hit on a Hamas-affiliated terrorist in the Gulf was widely attributed to Israel because some of the assassins were videotaped and their passports were identified. In the Mossad’s past strikes, the clandestine agency left no traces, therefore […]
Both the Israelis and the Palestinians have an oft-evolving view of democracy and how their societies will, if at all, embody values that promote open discourse and equal rights. Israel is often characterized as the Middle East’sd only democracy, a title it rightfully claims because, for the most part, non-Jewish Israeli citizens enjoy equal rights. […]
President Barack Obama issued a presidential determination today to suspend a 1995 law that requires the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In a letter from Obama to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama says the 6 month extended suspension of the law “is necessary, in order to protect the national […]
Israel was just struck by one of the largest disasters in the country’s short history — a fire is sweeping through northern Israel and has already killed dozens. Out of this tragedy, several high points, low points and questions have emerged. The good: Israel’s neighbors are here to help, even the ones that have issued […]
When former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon created the Kadima party, he sought to form a middle ground between the left-leaning Labor movement and the right wing Likud of which he had previously been a part. Sharon — who has been described as a murderer due to his role commanding Israeli troops during the early 1980s […]
The incessant mantra in the Middle East is often that Israel (often called the “Zionist entity” or an “apartheid state”) is an unwelcome gnat hovering around Arab states’ peaceful picnic. In a defiant move, Egypt singed a peace accord with Israel, which was followed approximately a decade and a half later by Jordan. Israel remains, though, unacknowledged and […]
Yair Lapid, an Israeli pundit and son of a the late left-wing politician Tommy Lapid, appears to have solved the peace process dilemma facing Israel and the Palestinians. I have advocated this solution for years, although never as eloquently and directly as Lapid, who hits the nail on the head. The premise: the peace process […]
Israel will pull out of Ghajar, a small town on the Lebanese border that Israel acquired when it took over the Golan Heights, with residents in the early 1980s accepting Israeli citizenship. Ghajar residents are predominantly Muslim, with the town divided in half on each side of the border. Israel has been pressured to leave […]
The peace process is stalled yet again even though U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in marathon talks with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. But all the players in the peace process game are sitting atop different standards, values and goals, and the Palestinian Authority gave us a helpful reminder of that this week. […]
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu just got a new car. The new sports car is equipped with all kinds of perks, such as bullet proof tires and an automated fire extinguishing system. Bibi’s car makes President Obama’s ride look like something built for the grandparents. What’s interesting (aside from the $1 million price tag) is that […]
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ranked 24th on Forbes most powerful person list released yesterday. The magazine wrote: “Second-term hawk insists he’s committed to permanent Palestinian peace treaty, but prospects for peace diminishing. Between a rock and a hard place: Losing political capital abroad after snubbing Obama’s recent call to freeze Jewish settlements. Facing rebellion […]
Readers of the FPA blog network have assuredly noticed an exchange of opinions between fellow blogger Rob Grace and I. In a very well thought-out critique of my previous post that the United Nations is anti-Israel, Rob contends that I “misread” the true nature of that global body, which he says is actually pro-Israel. His […]