- December 9, 2022
My first "aliyah" to "Har HaBayit" was scary, emotional, fascinating, and infuriating. And necessary.
- December 2, 2022
Kohelet is Israel's most dynamic think tank; not just a successful policy institute but a revolutionary advocacy agency that has had an outsize influence in the intellectual debates of our times.
- November 25, 2022
I told interlocuters in the Arabian Gulf last weekend that Israel firmly will assert its sovereignty and governance in the face of Israeli Arab and Palestinian lawlessness. That is what most Israelis expect of their new government! At the same time, I assured Israel's Emirati and Bahraini allies that Israel will do so without racist incitement and delegitimizing rhetoric, and without crude demonstrations of its power, but rather with finely calibrated tools and from an approach of maximum willingness to dialogue. (I hope that I am right....)
- September 2, 2022
“Wine-washing” Israel with outstanding fruit of the vine. A selection of superb Israeli wines, with an emphasis on Mediterranean style wines (Rhone Valley varietals).
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- November 21, 2022
Remembering three relevant and very different Anglo rabbis: The elevated expositions of Rabbi Sacks, the beautiful teachings of Rabbi Carlebach, and the angry warnings of Rabbi Kahane.
- November 11, 2022
I am less concerned about the direction of the emerging new government than I am about the hysterical reactions to the possible government by foreign and hard-left observers. People like Tom Friedman and Asa Kasher swiftly grab the opportunity to declare Israel a lost cause, and seem only-too-happy to jettison their associations with Israel and Judaism.
- November 4, 2022
Rule emphatically but be as inclusive as possible. Keep the foxes (Deri, Ben-Gvir) out of the henhouses. Prepare for war the right way. Build in Jerusalem. Engage the Jewish world. And more.
- October 28, 2022
Consider one of the lesser-known parties running for election to Knesset. They serve as an antidote to widespread cynicism about Israel’s political system.
- October 21, 2022
Israelis should forget the “threshold,” and be strategic and principled, not tactical and cynical, voters. They should vote their conscience, even if that means their ballot for a niche party “goes to waste.” Fact is that their vote also might not go to waste! And anyway, Israel seems headed to another political stalemate with repeat elections likely in April 2023....
- October 14, 2022
Which of the following political, security, and domestic events can be expected in Israel, the Mideast, and around the world this coming year? Take this quiz and calculate the 5783 political future you need to be prepared for.
- October 9, 2022
Israelis are not faced with a choice between good and evil. What they face is another muddy election in a convoluted Israeli political system where negative campaigning and personal animosities are at a peak.
- October 7, 2022
On the eve of Succot, the festival of rejoicing, there is an obligation, I think, to eschew negativity and instead to bask in Israel’s national blessings. I offer here a buoyant evaluation.
- September 30, 2022
A tribute to Rabbi Dr. Ambassador Yaacov Herzog on his 50th yahrzeit: "There is something unique about the Jews in the history of mankind, ‘a people that dwells alone,’ and so long as the world agrees, it cannot deny the right of Jews to this land.”
- September 23, 2022
Southern Israel forever will be lost to Bedouin lawlessness unless the next government goes to “war” to win it back.
