In spite of my muted sympathy for Women of the Wall and the non-Orthodox religious movements in Israel who seek to bring egalitarian prayer to the Kotel, their current campaign to generate sympathy among Israelis is wildly inappropriate. They've begun a promotional blitz to raise awareness of the issue via a billboard along a major Israeli highway. It … [Read more...]
Al Aqsa Intifada Begins in Bloody Earnest, Six Dead in Palestine
Today was the day many of us dreaded. Tension has been building all week since the murder of two Israeli police officers and the liquidation of their Palestinian attackers at the Haram al Sharif. Israel's immediate response to seal off the entire Old City for three days along with the Muslim holy sites, and then reopen them with metal detectors and … [Read more...]
Israeli Minister Calls UNESCO Recognition of Hebron as World Heritage Site, “Holocaust Denial”
Let it never be said that Israeli pols don't know how to chew the scenery when they have to act the part of the outraged victim on the world stage. In recent days, UNESCO declared Hebron's Old City and Ibrahimi Mosque as World Heritage sites. Though the wording of the resolution wasn't released, since the Palestinian representative offered the proposal, … [Read more...]
Israel’s Final Solution to the ‘Palestine Problem’
One of the ruling Bayit Yehudi's leading firebrands is Orthodox settler, MK Bezalel Smotrich. He has a long and sordid history inciting hatred of almost every Israeli minority, Jewish or Palestinian. He's hosted a "Beast Day" featuring live animals on Gay Pride Day. He called himself a "proud homophobe." He rejects the term "Jewish terrorism," and the … [Read more...]