InDepth

The Gaza Strip is no different from the rest of the Arab world, so tribal culture is alive and kicking there. Ever since the Hamas movement took control of Gaza trip in 2007, it has transformed itself from a gang of jihadists into a ruling government, a standard Arab state. The minor movements - Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Resistance Committeess - function like tribes, challenging the authority of the state. Today, these groups are doing to Hamas what Hamas did to the PLO twenty years ago when it was in power.

A war between Israel and Iran is not something that may or may not occur in the future. It is in progress now.

Reality: Those who are, or will soon be, governing Egypt view themselves as being at war with Israel for all practical purposes. It matters relatively little that there is still a peace treaty. In Cairo, there are no thoughts of peace.

The threat and the ominous effects of an air attack against Iran is the pull and tug of sovereignty versus suzerainty. Is Israel an independent nation free of American influence? Does the president of the U.S. have a veto over Israeli military actions? Or is Israel free of outside influences, a state enjoined by what it believes to be its self interest?

In our Palestinian culture, it is much more important if one "graduates" from an Israeli prison than from the most prestigious university in the world.

I oppose the proposed Biometric Law because of how easily it can chip away at a citizen's liberty, without him feeling a thing.

For forty years I have studied the stunningly complex problem of enemy rationality, especially in certain earlier published writings concerning the particular nuclear threat from Iran.

This past summer, Israel made headlines for something other than the peace process or fighting terrorism when hundreds of thousands of its citizens took to the streets to protest social inequality and rising living costs.

The Jewish Press urges its readers in the 27th Senate District to vote for Lew Fidler in the special election on Tuesday, March 20. As New York City Councilman representing Marine Park, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay and Madison, Mr. Fidler has ably represented the interests of his Orthodox Jewish constituents and deserves their support.

The current New York State Senate redistricting map championed by the Republican majority calls for the establishment of what has been characterized as a super Jewish district.

The New York Times recently threw a hissy fit over what it felt were overzealous efforts by Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly to defend NYPD anti-terrorist surveillance programs the Times opposes.

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A little research – on the Internet or at a good public library – will yield a rich harvest of facts and quotes buttressing Israel’s case and highlighting Palestinian dishonesty and double talk.

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In Genocidal Liberalism: The University’s Jihad Against Israel & Jews, published by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, Dr. Richard Cravatts pulls no punches, relentlessly anatomizing the pedagogic bias currently in place, which is neo-Marxist in its orientation and undeniably anti-Jewish in its expression.

In a world where nuclear weapons could soon be in the hands of a rogue nation like Iran, an Israeli preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be fully justified.

The riots and violence in Afghanistan over some accidentally burned Korans followed a script that by now is all too drearily familiar.

Just last week we experienced the crowning point of the month of Adar by commemorating the extraordinary events that unfolded in the ancient Persian Empire. We read the scroll of Esther, enjoyed a hearty feast, and traded gifts of goodies with each other.

A solution in which the Syrian people are empowered to operate more freely in a true multi-party government, under the aegis of multinational protection against both Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, would be the most desirable, achievable outcome. It is not possible to broker this outcome while ignoring Russia.

While war with Iran might eventually be inevitable and necessary, that’s not true at this moment - when Iran is far from being able to build nuclear weapons, much less deliver them on missiles. And such an operation does genuinely pose serious problems for Israel and also - even if it does not participate directly in any way - for the United States.

The Iron Dome is another, hi-tech manifestation of the siege mentality that guides Israel's cultural and political narrative. From media to academia to politics, Israel’s celebration of this so-called “strategic” weapon system - that neither neutralizes its threats nor enhances Israel's geo-political position – is an indictment of the degree to which Israel has accepted this siege mentality, and of its resignation to a permanent defensive posture.

In the past, Hamas has proven that when it wants to, it can prevent attacks on Israel. It would be a mistake to allow these governments to have it both ways -- on one hand claiming they are legitimate and sovereign governments, while on the other hand avoiding responsibility for terror attacks.

Planning timelines of days and weeks are very comforting for policy-makers seeking to avoid costly decisions. But the purpose of the exercise is not to indefinitely postpone what is best done today. The decision-makers owe it to their constituents to look beyond the next weeks and even months.

The war on terrorism cannot be won by defensive – but only by offensive – means, notwithstanding the impressive performance of the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Israeli intelligence authorities need to assess the threats coming from Iran. This is not a public relations issue. Obama and the other world leaders can support or oppose our actions, but Israel will have to do what is best for the future and well-being of the Jewish State. No one else will do the heavy lifting for us. While we cannot diminish the possibility that Iran actually has the technology and the motivation to strike Israel, we also cannot afford to overlook other real and obvious threats to Israel.

The difference between the Muslim Brotherhood and “Salafists” is purely tactical. The Brotherhood has learned how to maneuver politically, an advance similar to what Lenin instituted for the Marxists of his day. You can’t just declare a revolution and change everything overnight. And just as Lenin planned to get the capitalists to sell him the rope with which to hang them, the Brotherhood plots the same course with the infidels.

Apartheid in Israel does not exist, however gender apartheid, apartheid against gays, as well as slavery and racism against blacks, Palestinians and non-Muslims are all commonplace in the Muslim world.

The Knesset's Jewish Home faction is in danger of splitting, following the internal political maneuvering that has taken place in the National Union.

Two polls - one commissioned by Maariv, the other by Haaretz - paint drastically different pictures of the current political frontrunners, leading to heated debate in the halls of the Knesset

A survey released two weeks ago, titled “The American Mosque 2011,” revealed a tremendous growth in the number of mosques across the US since 9/11, and claims that Islamic radicalism in the US is on the wane. But Islam expert David Yerushalmi says that many of the numbers presented in the survey don't add up, and in fact contradict similar surveys conducted in recent years.