I have spent the last few days scouring the English and Hebrew Press to find what I think is the best analysis of the consequences of the upheaval in Egypt. On the top of my list of recommendations...
40% said even with a peace deal Palestinian militants would continue armed struggle against Israel
One of the basic premises in the Middle East peace process is that Palestinians desperately want to be of rule by Israel and to live in a state of their own.
Just after midnight on January 1, 2011, an explosion detonated outside of the Church of the Two Saints in Alexandria, Egypt during the New Year’s mass. The blast killed 21 people and wounded approximately 80 others. First reports indicated that the device was planted in a car, but according to Egyptian authorities, it was a suicide attack.
Two months ago, in December 2010, a senior official with the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Information in Ramallah Al-Mutawakel Taha, posted a report
Dear Friends, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is often quoted by Western media outlets as wanting peace with Israel. He's painted in a favourable light by foreign journalists who...
[Editor's note; I wrote this artcile 6 years ago. As the 46 anniversary of the Six Daty war has just passed, I am reprinting it now] What, if any, were the mistakes of Israeli...
[Editor's Note: Akiva Eldar has just retired as [Editor's Note: Akiva Eldar has just retired after 35 years at Ha'aretz. To read his final column go to:...
Media coverage of the new Israeli government initiative to define itself as both a Jewish and democratic state has not touched upon why this seemingly surprising legislative initiative was introduced at this time by the government of Israel.
[Editor's note: The article below was written 5 years ago on the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War when I heard Shimon Peres speak when he was a member of Kadima and Ehud Olmert was Israeli Prime Minister. Five years later, Peres is serving as
Jerusalem Post reporter Khaled Abu Toameh, who has spoken in Winnipeg a number of times, is one of two winners of Israel’s Media Watch’s 2011 award for media criticism, the organization announced recently.
[Editor's note: to read Gifford's op-ed written in 2006 about Israel and the Middle East, please scroll down nearer to the bottom of this article] Ha'aretz has reported that Jared Lee...
According to Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA, Makor Rishon correspondent Ariel Kahane reported on the front page of January 7 2011's edition of that Hebrew daily that during the...
Two very different positions appear to have surfaced between United States and Canada with respect to the Middle East. Going viral on Facebook was a short clip of Prime Minister Harper’s...
[ Editor's note: Yael Dayan is a former Member of Knesset [Labour], is active in Peace Now, and is the daughter of late General Moshe Dayan. She is currently the chair of the...
As soon as the first-ever conference of Arab expatriates hosted in Cairo earlier this month by the League of Arab Nations closed, the fanatics dropped from their damp dark caves and started to scream that it was a sham.
The special panel of judges appointed for the trial of former President Moshe Katsav was comprised of the chair, the
Richard Holbrooke is known as one of the most accomplished American diplomats of the last century. During the 1990s, while many other US officials failed,
Tragedy anywhere can strike in a moment
[reprinted with permission] Now that the Wikileaks reveal widespread Arab support for the military option against Iran’s nuclear facilities to be put on the table, the time has come to...
Special to the Winnipeg Jewish Review
Editor’s note: Pilar Rahola is a Spanish politician, journalist and activist and member of the far left. Her articles are published in Spain and throughout some of the most important newspapers in Latin America.]
A song and dance group that has recently performed hate and violence promotion songs in the PA has been honored and turned into an official Palestinian national band by decree of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Having recently visited the US and Canada, I was left with a feeling of profound disquiet concerning the starkly contrasting attitudes toward Israel displayed by the leaders of these two neighboring countries.
It’s been almost two years since the IDF incursion sought to put an end to the Gaza terror regime’s daily rocket attacks on the civilian population in Sderot and the Western Negev. While...
[Ray Hanania is a Palestinian living in Chicago]
That we even have to ask the question “can Jews live in a Palestinian state” tells you how bad relations between Israelis and Palestinians have become. It explains what the real problem is – bad attitude, exaggerated fear.
REFLECTIONS WHILE STANDING ON ARAFATS GRAVE IN RAMALLAH
RAMALLAH – It was a very stange feeling standing at Yassir Arafat's grave in Ramallah in August of this year.. I began to think that it would be rather ironic if there were a sign at his graveside that said "may he rest in peace
The United Nations has been in the news again lately, and not in a good way. One kerfuffle has surrounded Canada’s not getting a seat on the UN Security Council. Among past Security Council members are Syria (2002-2003) and Libya (2008-2009).
There are certainly days in Israel when I honestly need to pinch myself to believe that I actually live day-to-day life here. Some days I feel like I’m having an out of body experience where I am hovering and observing someone else’s life. As great as life can be here, it is physically and emotionally exhausting. Nothing is all that easy and fortunately we’re
The last time anything happened in the Israel-Palestinian peace talks was two years ago when then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered the Palestinians a comprehensive peace settlement.
October 2010 was my fifth tour of college campuses in the United States.
When someone feels the need to look at you in that certain way, lower their voice, and say, "Let me tell you the truth…", don’t you feel that you are about to witness an inversely proportional relationship between the truth and the words on their way to your ears?
[reprinted with permission]
As a Palestinian, I have this need to control and protect land. It includes battles with my neighbors over where my grass ends and their grass begins. We have lawn mower fights and the dividing line is more vague than the Green Line. I’ve been like this all my life and it has consequences.
With the cold war now over, there are still no diplomatic relations between Cuba and Israel. Both countries and the communist revolution along with the anti-Israel rhetoric has reached deep. However, last month Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic Monthly Journal had a rare interview with the ailing 84 year old Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba.
ISRAEL IS THE NEW PRESIDENT OF EUREKA – THE LARGEST (40 NATION) R & D NETWORK IN THE WORLD AND NO ONE BOYCOTTEDWhile most in the Jewish community view Israel as politically “isolated”, “alone in the world”, and locked out of every club, Dr. Henri Rothchild ,who was recently in Winnipeg says that in the world of innovation and science “Israel is a very sought after partner."
Seven thousand cubic meters of concrete were poured this week to form the base of the world’s largest underground hospital. For 36 hours running, shifts of 70 workers and 80 cement mixers worked to lay the foundation of the emergency facility, which is designed to withstand conventional, chemical, and biological attacks.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=190917
A 14-year-old boy petitioned the High Court of Justice on Wednesday to force the Chief Rabbinate to check his ordination exam, so that he may be able to be ordained as a rabbi.
No one gives me such heavy doses of unconditional love as my Mom. For as long as I can remember, my Mom has had the ability to gloss over most of my failings and foibles and accentuate my positives while eliminating my negatives.
[This was first published in the Jerusalem Post in response to Ehud Olmert’s proposal to divide Jerusalem. Following Dore Gold’s article there is an opposing view written by Palestinian Hanna Seniora. Published with permission]
Right after the War of Independence, prime minister David Ben Gurion faced inexorably difficult pressures over the future of Jerusalem.
Hi Mira,
Did you see Shmuel Rosner’s criticism’s of Peter Beinart’s widely talked about article in Beinart’s NYRB piece or were too busy dipping apples in honey for Rosh Hashana and building a sukkah ?
Whenever I’m not attempting to conjugate Hebrew verbs or not pondering menus for the chagim (holidays), I’m preoccupied with finding a lesson to write about. During my morning drive to Ulpan I remembered an incident I witnessed, which believe me is no small feat given the enormous balagan (chaos) going on in my brain ever since I started full-time Hebrew lessons.
One of those "can you imagine…" moments that I have been known to use to describe Winnipeg to the average Israeli is the story of how the schach (roof) of our succah collapsed under the weight of the snow.
On Sept. 21, Palestinian Authority leaders Machmud Abbas and Salam Fayyad arrive in Washington. According to reports that have appeared in both the Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post newspapers, the purpose of their trip is to improve their relations with the Jewish community in the United States at a time when negotiations have resumed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In that context, the Daniel Abraham Center will be hosting Abbas and the Israel Project will be hosting Fayad in widely publicized press events.
Turning 60 years old two weeks ago, on the day that marked the 40th anniversary of my arrival in Israel, provided an appropriate pause for reflection.
After all, there is the tradition that a Jew is reborn upon arrival in Israel, when he or she assumes the inheritance of the land that God has given to every Jew.
To arrive in Israel in 1970 was to experience a nation which experienced some kind of "Post Miracle Traumatic Stress Syndrome”.
[Reprinted with the permission]
When President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas try to make peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the 600 pound gorilla in the room will be Richard Goldstone. Although he was not invited to the meetings, his presence will be felt.
RAMALLAH, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY – As peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are set to begin, a recent visit to Ramallah this August provided very little evidence of support for P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas on the streets.
The hardest challenge for any Israeli leader proposing what political initiatives his government should undertake is anticipating what the Middle East region will look like in the years ahead. In the Middle East, the range of uncertainty about the future is far greater than any other part of the globe. No one can be certain who will rule Egypt five years after Mubarak is no longer president.
[This article first published in the Jerusalem Post on August 20th is being reprinted with the permission of the author.]
Despite earnest efforts by American President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas, it will be extremely difficult for a final peaceful resolution to be achieved between Israel and the Palestinians in the near future.
RAMALLAH, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY –“If there’s one politician from Fatah that Palestinians hate the most it’s Abbu Alla [Ahmed Qurei,],” my blonde haired blue eyed German friend from Ramallah told me as we sat at a beautiful restaurant, nestled in a grove of pine trees outside the bustling centre of the city.
Tel Aviv Chosen As One of Top Ten Beach Cities In The World
Oded Grofman has been blazing trails at the Israel Government Tourist Office in Canada (IGTO) ever since taking over in September 2007. Grofman, who serves as the Consul for Tourism and Director General for Canada, IGTO was recently in Winnipeg for Folklorama promoting travel to Israel.
[This first appeared in the Jerusaelm Post and is being reprinted with permission]
THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHAT IS CALLED THE FIRST ‘PALESTINIAN SETTLEMENT’ IN THE WEST BANK -RAWABI-IS EXACTLY THE SORT OF THING WE SHOULD BE DOING MORE OF TO BUILD PALESTINE
Qatar is unlike many of the other Arab countries that support the Palestinians.
FOURTEEN YEAR OLD GENIUS MOSHE SHARIFY WANTS TO BE THE YOUNGEST RABBI IN THE WORLD. SEVERAL PROMINENT RABBIS AND EVEN ASHKENAZI CHIEF RABBI OF ISRAEL YONA METZGER THINK HE WILL MAKE A GREAT RABBI. HE WAS INVITED BY THE CHIEF RABBINATE TO TAKEW AN ORDINATION EXAM. BUT AFTER COMPLETING THE TEST, HE WAS TOLD HIS PAPER WOULN"T BE MARKED AS AN INTERNAL RABBINIC RULING SAYS HE MUST BE 22
