Rabbi Abraham B. Hecht, ZT”L

Posted on: January 9th, 2013

We join with Klal Yisrael in mourning the passing of Rabbi Abraham B. Hecht.

Israel’s New Wall

Posted on: January 9th, 2013

It was hardly surprising that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement, made on Sunday, that Israel will build a fortified fence along its frontier with Syria was characterized by many of the usual suspects as yet another example of Israeli apartheid policies.

The Al Jazeera Purchase

Posted on: January 9th, 2013

There are those who are taking delight in pointing out that former vice president Al Gore, perhaps the individual most identified with the movement to reduce greenhouse emissions, now stands to make a personal profit of $100 million in the sale of the TV station he headed to the Al Jazeera network, wholly owned by the oil-rich Qatari royal family.

Mr. Abbas’s True Colors

Posted on: January 9th, 2013

We were taken by PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s television address to a large Gaza audience, which included both members of his own Fatah group and also the rival Hamas. Long hailed by world leaders as the only Palestinian “peace partner” on the horizon, Mr. Abbas actually revealed himself for what he really is.

Ariel University Upgrade Hardly An ‘Obstacle To Peace’

Posted on: January 3rd, 2013

It certainly is no secret that Great Britain is adamantly opposed to any construction by Israel on any land claimed by Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. So it was not all that surprising that the UK condemned recent announcements by Israel of construction plans in various areas over the green line. But its hyperbolic reaction to the announcement that the Israeli government is granting university status to Ariel College suggests that not a whole lot of thinking goes into its anti-settlement declarations.

The Zoabi Decision

Posted on: January 3rd, 2013

This past Sunday, Israel’s Supreme Court overturned a decision by Israel’s Central Election Committee to disqualify MK Haneen Zoabi of the Balad Party from running for a seat in the January 22 parliamentary elections. The court rejected the committee’s ruling that she should be banned based on her involvement in the Gaza flotilla of May 2010.

More On The Hagel Problem

Posted on: December 26th, 2012

As we noted last week, President Obama’s apparent inclination to appoint former Republican senator Chuck Hagel as his new secretary of defense has been disturbing from the start, given Mr. Hagel’s record of opposing sanctions against Iran, his criticism of U.S. partiality toward Israel, and his reference to what he called “the Jewish lobby” in Washington, which, he suggested, unduly urges the U.S. government to act on behalf of Israel’s interests.

The Changing Face Of War

Posted on: December 26th, 2012

Two weeks ago we suggested that Hamas officials had seized on Israel’s decision not to invade Gaza in the course of Operation Pillar of Defense as somehow demonstrating that Hamas was quite capable of taking on the Israeli military, and that the world, particularly the Palestinian street, should take notice.

The Sandy Hook Tragedy

Posted on: December 19th, 2012

The 26 murders at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut last Friday have triggered yet another nationwide debate over how something so horrific could happen in the United States.

All Eyes On Kerry And Hagel

Posted on: December 19th, 2012

The Washington buzz earlier this week was that President Obama had decided on Sen. John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state and was close to settling on former Republican senator Chuck Hagel as his new secretary of defense.

Fuel For The Pollard Controversy

Posted on: December 19th, 2012

Many Washington officials have long spun the story that convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard did immense harm to this country’s national security by stealing vital American military and intelligence secrets. Thus, the U.S. intelligence community has always opposed Mr. Pollard’s release.

Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, ZT”L

Posted on: December 12th, 2012

The Jewish Press joins Klal Yisrael in mourning the death, at age 79, of Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, a founder of Yeshiva Ohr Someach, a leading educational institution in the ba’al teshuvah movement.

Public Pressure And The Ostreicher Case

Posted on: December 12th, 2012

Early this week it appeared the end could well be in sight to the ordeal of Jacob Ostreicher, an Orthodox Jewish businessman from Brooklyn jailed in Bolivia without being charged for a year and a half on suspicion of money laundering.

Settlements, Obama, And The European Union

Posted on: December 12th, 2012

The Hamas bluster about having bested Israel in Operation Pillar of Defense should not be dismissed as typical Arab hyperbole.

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Jabberwocky

Posted on: December 5th, 2012

The UN General Assembly’s resolution granting nonmember-state observer status to “Palestine” – a document drafted by the Palestinian Authority – and the worldwide negative response to Israel’s reaction to it is reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s classic 1871 poem “Jabberwocky,” which depicts a world filled with illogic and nonsensical speech.

Time To Let Jonathan Pollard Go

Posted on: December 5th, 2012

Jonathan Pollard’s long incarceration has taken its toll and he is now seriously ill. While he is not the first inmate to suffer in this manner, most are given consideration for compassionate early release. It in no way diminishes the severity of his crimes to suggest he should be sent home. His sentence was Draconian, as attested to by a growing number of former senior federal officials, including several from Congress and the intelligence community.

Some Questions For Ambassador Rice

Posted on: November 28th, 2012

Reports in recent days suggest that Republican opposition to the possible nomination of UN Ambassador Susan Rice as secretary of state seems to be softening. Critics such as Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham are changing or at least modifying their tune regarding concern over Ms. Rice’s statements in the aftermath of the attack on U. S. diplomats in Benghazi.

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Pillar Of Defense Aftermath

Posted on: November 28th, 2012

We doubt anyone outside of the Palestinian street really believes the stream of Hamas hyperbole that it emerged from Operation Pillar Of Defense in a better position than before. Of course, we have come to expect this sort of fantasy-based spin from much of the Arab world. Indeed, all reports prior to the cease-fire indicated that Hamas’s military capacity had been severely degraded and its ability to shoot rockets at Israel largely neutralized, at least for now. And Hamas lost some of its top military commanders.

In the Matter of Susan Rice

Posted on: November 21st, 2012

Getting at the truth of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi is a work in progress and this is certainly a story with legs. Why U.S. personnel were not given adequate protection despite danger signals for weeks prior and why the Obama administration, in the face of intelligence information to the contrary, downplayed any terrorist dimension in the assault, urging instead that the attackers were ordinary Muslims upset about an anti-Muhammad video, is sure to be the focus of intense congressional attention.

The President And Operation Pillar Of Defense

Posted on: November 21st, 2012

True to his word, President Obama has demonstrated that when it comes to Israel’s security, he does indeed have the country’s back. In the current confrontation with Hamas, he has from the start unequivocally laid the blame on Hamas and said Israel has the right to defend itself and that for the crisis to end Hamas must stop firing rockets at Israel.

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