Israel
The last time I was in Gaza, it was unpleasant. It was 1979, and I was in Israel on vacation, two years after I covered Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem. A moshav in Israel (Photo: Amusing Planet) Gaza was then under the Israeli occupation — it is
Israel
At first glance at these polling numbers, my knee-jerk response is that it proves the younger you are, the dumber you are. That may come from me being in the 65+ group, so let me take a step back and be kind. Instead of dumb, let’s say the younger
Israel
This Gallup poll absolutely disgusts me, it is part of the reason I am a disloyal Democrat, and it reflects misplaced sympathies based on an ignorance of the history of Israel and the Middle East. Asked in March about which side Democrats side with, 38% were with Israel, 49% with
Freedom of Speech
To me, usually an Israel-supporting American Jew, Kareem Tannous is a loathsome creep with a distorted view of history and vicious, ill-informed anti-Israel opinions. He was fired as an assistant business professor by Cabrini University in Radnor last August after despicable tweets of his were discovered. “#zionism is the disease
Israel
By Jerome Verlin “The Squad” just did grassroots American Jews a favor by introducing House Resolution 1123, “Recognizing the Nakba and Palestinian Refugee Rights.” [”Nakba” means “catastrophe” in reference to the Jewish state.] In branding Israel’s 1948 independence an unjust “catastrophe for Palestinians” and demanding a “Right of Return”
Israel
For the record, editorial cartoons are not obligated to be accurate or fair. It’s better, maybe, when they are, but those virtues are not required. The idea is to take a simple idea and drive it home. I try to not blow my stack when I disagree with them,
Israel
The current turmoil in the Middle East is, as usual, a Goddamn shame, and some Americans, including Leftist Jews such as Bernie Sanders (not a practicing Jew) are urging the U.S. to take an “evenhanded approach” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To which I reply — why? Create an equivalency between
Israel
Many Presidents write books after retiring, basically to burnish their reputation and to explain their actions without having to pass through the filter of the media. They usually don’t escape fact-checking by outside sources. Portions of “A Promised Land,” Barack Obama’s second memoir (with one more to come)
Israel
Score one for President Donald J. Trump. The historic agreement by the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations with Israel is, as Joe Biden said in a different context, a Big f’n deal. It is the first Israeli/Arab diplomatic handshake since Jordan recognized Israel in 1994, following Egypt
Coronavirus
Talking to a Center City neighbor — from a safe distance of course — about the threat of death that envelops us, I tell her I can’t recall a time of similar peril. “I can,” says Bella Lewensohn Schafer. “Really?” I say. “When was that?” “When I was in the underground
Israel
“They never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity,” said Israeli ambassador Abba Eban about Israel’s Arab neighbors. This was decades ago, but they are about to miss another opportunity — a peace plan proposed by the United States, announced by President Donald Trump, who is impeached, standing next to
Hate crimes
How Jewish publishers, editors and writers respond to anti-Semitism was served with bagels and coffee Tuesday morning at a conference arranged by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. Jewish panelists were Philadelphia Gay News founder and publisher Mark Segal, Jewish Exponent Editor Liz Spikol, and journalist Stu Bykofsky, a.k.