Israel Now

Toward A Song Of Freedom

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:45:00 +0000

Can art break barriers and build bridges between Israel and Egypt? It’s a long shot but some Israeli writers and musicians hold out a glimmer of hope.

Michele Chabin

Israel Correspondent

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Like a lot of other Israelis, and Jews, around the world, I watched the unfolding people’s revolution in Egypt earlier this year with a combination of admiration and trepidation.

There were dueling thoughts inside my brain. My inner New Yorker couldn’t help humming “Could be … who knows…,” the shout of hopeful anticipation from West Side Story; but it was soon drowned out by my outer Jerusalemite paranoia, which kept asking, “But is it good for the Jews?” “Is it good for Israel?”

When September Comes…

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:26:00 +0000

Palestinian statehood, growing isolation for Israel and a ‘new chapter’ for the region.

Stewart Ain

Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

In seeking United Nations recognition as an independent state — bypassing a negotiated settlement with Israel — Palestinians are tapping into the Arab clamor for self-determination and threatening to isolate Israel on the world stage, according to several Israeli analysts.

“Unfortunately, we are on the brink of a severe crisis,” said Yoram Meitel, chair of the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

For Israel, The Time To Act Is Now

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:44:00 +0000

A leading Israeli think tank founder says the country’s leaders should ‘drive’ the peace process.

Gidi Grinstein

Special To The Jewish Week

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

When Christian fundamentalists predicted that May 21 would mark the end of the world, Jews laughed. We know that the end of the world won’t happen until September, when the Palestinians bring their declaration of the statehood to the UN General Assembly. Or when the Iranians get the Bomb. Or whenever President Obama utters the word “1967” and is not referring to Haight-Ashbury or Carl Yastrzemski.

The Year Of Thinking Biblically

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:11:00 +0000

A plea for adaptability and openness in a world increasingly colored, as in the Bible, in stark black and white.

Joshua Hammerman

Special To The Jewish Week

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The Worst Case

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:26:00 +0000

On every front — from the Muslim Brotherhood to the White House — Israel’s back is against the wall, argues the author.

Barry Rubin

Special To The Jewish Week

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

From an Israeli standpoint — and this is a non-partisan, across-the-board situation — the Middle East is heading toward crisis and disaster.

Just to list developments that are clearly happening is quite worrisome. The fact that the U.S. government doesn’t understand this long list of factors, nor do European governments, nor does almost all of the Western mass media, makes the problems far larger.

Nurturing Democracy

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:23:00 +0000

With so much hanging in the balance, an American Jewish leader weighs hopes and fears.

David Harris

Special To The Jewish Week

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

I want to be an optimist about the upheaval in the Arab world and where it’s headed. In fact, I desperately want to be hopeful.

After all, if things were to go in the right direction, then an entire region could at long last begin to savor the blessings of flourishing democracies and the protection of human rights. In turn, that could create an atmosphere conducive to peaceful conflict resolution and its potential aftermath, fruitful coexistence and regional development.

Steering Clear Of History, For Now

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:20:00 +0000

With all the turbulence around it, and caught between risk and opportunity, Israel should stand pat, argues a veteran of the peace process.

Aaron David Miller

Special To The Jewish Week

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

In the wake of the Arab Spring and winter sweeping the Arab world, Israel would be wise to keep its hopes and fears under control. There’s a great deal about these popular uprisings and those yet to come we obviously don’t know. With the devolution of authority comes confusion and the devolution of information as new players and old ones reconfigured step on the stage. It would be smart and prudent not to draw too many hasty conclusions.

Israel Now June 2011

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:14:00 +0000

Navigating the Arab Spring
Essays by Aaron David Miller, Gidi Grinstein, David Harris and more.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Bright Flight

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:04:35 +0000

Israel’s brain power is increasingly global and mobile, and the country is moving to keep academics at home.

Dina Kraft

Special To The Jewish Week

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

T el Aviv — Israeli Science Minister Daniel Hershkowitz announced recently that the country was unintentionally subsidizing the entire Western world to the tune of some $3 billion with its exported brain power.

“We have one tremendous resource and that’s our human capital,” Hershkowitz told a recent conference on education, basing his estimate on the amount Israel invests in training its academics, thousands of whom are working abroad. “But we are bearing witness to brain drain abroad.”

How The Other 20 Percent Lives

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:02:09 +0000

Israeli Arabs say the country under-serves
their community, and underestimates its value.

Michele Chabin

Staff WriterIsrael Correspondent

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

F lag Season is the time in the spring when Israelis remember victims of the Holocaust and military battles and terror attacks by standing in silence while sirens wail around the country.

For the vast majority of Israeli Jews, it’s a time of somber remembrance and national pride, flags, and barbecues in the park. A period of reflection cushioned by the reality of having a Jewish homeland.

Off Message

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:00:19 +0000

Israel’s public relations problem can be fixed,
experts say, but not by clinging to the old narratives.

Joshua Mitnick

Israel Correspondent

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

F irst, the good news.

Despite frustration among Jews in Israel and North America that the country is losing the public relations battle because of the recent Gaza war and its current hard-line government, recent surveys show remarkably robust support for the Jewish state.

The Gallup 2010 country-favorability rating ranked Israel fifth, trailing stalwart allies like the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Canada. Israel enjoys a favorability rating of nearly 50 percentage points over the Palestinians.

The Gap Generation

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:58:42 +0000

Between Israel and many younger Jews here
stands a gaping cavern. Needed: a new narrative
to bridge the divide.

Steve Lipman

Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

A nyone checking out some popular Jewish websites a few weeks ago learned a subtle lesson about American Jewry. On “mainstream” home pages, which appeal mostly to an older demographic — affiliated members of the Jewish community — were these: travel missions to Israel (jewishfederations.org); articles about “Israel’s Ethical Defense” and media coverage of the Middle East peace process (aish.com); several essays about relations between Israel and the United States (jewishworldreview.com).

So Near, So Far

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:39:14 +0000

Birthright Israel and the complicated — and contradictory —
business of building Jewish identity.

Shaul Kelner

Special To The Jewish Week

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

A traveler’s quiz: When American Jewish tourists arrive at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport, which two words are they more likely to be greeted with?

A) “Welcome home!”

B) “Passport, please.”

‘We Know The Quiet Won’t Last’

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:37:14 +0000

The current Israeli-Palestinian situation seems a tolerable — even a desirable — alternative,
but perhaps only for now.

Joshua Mitnick

Israel Correspondent

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The main shopping mall in Kfar Saba, a suburb of Tel Aviv, was bombed by a terrorist in 2002 during the most recent Palestinian uprising. It’s been more than seven years, but glass barriers still ring the mall’s perimeter, forcing shoppers to pass through a security check — a reminder of the uncertainty that nags Israelis even though the uprising has long since died out.

Cracks In The Pro-Israel Wall

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:33:44 +0000

The emergence of J Street and what it means.

Adam Dickter

Assistant Managing Editor

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The recent exchange of letters between Elie Wiesel, on one hand, gently reproaching the White House over its Jerusalem policy, and dovish Israeli politician Yossi Sarid, on behalf of J Street, on the other, seems to encapsulate the debate American Jews are having these days over what it means to be pro-Israel in 2010.