Israeli Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis

All over the Web there is hand-wringing over the fate of the refugees fleeing war torn and terror infested Africa and Asia. Especially heart wrenching is the newest image of the toddler who washed up dead on the beach in Turkey. What has that got to do with Israel? There are those around the world […]

Sam Harris: Not an Antisemite and Not Pro-Zionist

Sam Harris thinks there is no rational basis for the existence of a national Jewish homeland in the Middle East (or anywhere else) because he does not support land claims based on the Bible. Wait! Before you get all huffy and label him an antisemite (as I was all set to do when I started […]

Galon Uses Democracy to Proclaim That Israel Is Not Democratic

While MK Zehava Galon claims that the Israeli government wants to suppress free speech and muzzle the Left, the fact that she can bad-mouth the country’s leaders and lie to try to prove a point (or show extreme ignorance, if I want to be kinder toward her) implies that free speech is alive and well. […]

Sukkot Gifts and an Invitation to a Sukkot Meal

For the full week of the Sukkot holiday, Jews traditionally eat their meals in a temporary shelter, called a sukkah, in the yard or on the balcony. Children’s drawings and paper chains often decorate the sukkah. While many secular Jews no longer build a sukkah, they may mark this happy holiday with festive meals during […]

How the Knesset Passes Laws: A Guide for the Perplexed Like Me

I always had a very rudimentary understanding of how bills get passed into law in this country but aspects of the process had me confused, and for some reason, I was unable to find anyone who could sort things out for me . . . until I made contact with Jeremy Saltan. Jeremy was kind […]

Introduction to Haifa

I have lived in Haifa since 1986. After having moved around a bit within the city and in the neighbouring towns, I have finally settled in Bat Galim, a neighbourhood “on the other side of the tracks”, about a 2-minute walk from a sandy beach and one of my favourite kiosks in the country, and […]

Hanin Zoabi – Not Just a Hot-Headed Rabble Rouser

Does Hanin Zoabi do anything other than ride the waves on boats that seek to illegally enter Israeli waters, march with those who would accuse our army of genocide, or rant against Israeli policies? We have seen her conduct herself in a way that suggests she has no interest in our state, to put it […]

Hamas Now Begging For What Gaza Was Freely Offered in 2005

Until 2005, Israeli soldiers roamed the Gaza Strip trying to keep order among people who hated them. Naturally. I would also hate a foreign military keeping me from travelling freely from place to place within an area I considered my own. True, there were places of work for many of the Gazan people in the […]

Is Our Only Hope Via a Strong Arm Policy? (Exodus 13:17-14:31)

The Pharoah finally let the Israelites leave, and there was a short way to Israel and a long way. The short way was through the land of the Philistines (Pelesht), an area currently known as Gaza. The long way was through Sinai and into Israel via the Jordan River. This verse states that God did […]

First Inspiration – Deuteronomy 33-34: Understanding Being the Parent of Adult Children

Moses climbed Mount Nevo, from which point he could watch as the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. He blessed each of the tribes of Israel, het Moses was forbidden by God to enter the land together with his people. He had led them out of slavery in Egypt and through the […]