A Rosh Hashana Call for Unity to Israeli Leaders With Rosh Hashana approaching, it is surely time for our leaders to take stock of themselves and recognize the terrible damage incurred on the nation by their indefensible, self-promoting, corrupt and anti-democratic behavior. Prior to the outbreak...
Dershowitz, the Me Too Movement and the Rule of Law גרסה בעברית On Friday, August 14, The Jerusalem Post Frontlines section featured a massive two-page article by David Brinn about allegations leveled against American lawyer and legal scholar Alan Dershowitz. As I read it, my thoughts...
Affirming Civilization, United Arab Emirates and Israel גרסה בעברית Civilization is currently facing the greatest threats since the rise of Nazism. Coronavirus and its social and economic byproducts have resulted in global waves of populism, accompanied by violent demonstrations initiated from...
Don’t Forego an Historic Opportunity Virtually overnight, the coronavirus pandemic descended upon us, inflicting sickness and death. Not surprisingly, this depressed us and made us angst-ridden, as it did to others around the world. An unprecedented economic crisis, with massive...
A World in Chaos When my last op-ed was published at the end of March, the coronavirus appeared to be under control in Israel and a national unity government was in the process of being formed. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s popularity and approval rating was soaring...
Stop the madness! National Unity Government Now! We are experiencing a global nightmare that could result in millions of deaths. No one could have anticipated the extent of the coronavirus impact. The tragic images emerging from Italy, where patients over 60 are unable to obtain medical aid from...
Unrestrained hatred endangering our democracy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confounded his adversaries and proved that he may be the world’s most consummate politician. Despite an ongoing media campaign of demonization and facing serious indictments, the third election in less than a year...
Rampant madness prevails When waking in the morning, we need to pinch ourselves to be certain that our current position is not a dream: The American administration headed by Donald Trump has emerged as Israel’s greatest ally ever – a stark contrast to its predecessor....
Our age of miracles but possible lost opportunities Three months ago, who could have dreamed that we would be in such an extraordinarily good position? The Trump government had already established itself as the most pro-Israel American administration in history and publicly assumed the role of a...
Netanyahu: In the national interest please step down now After the electoral impasse, I was one of the first of Prime Netanyahu’s long-term admirers and supporters to suggest that unless he made a deal with Benny Gantz, he would be well advised to retire now, or he would damage his illustrious...
Political leaders: Stand up and be counted There is an ever-increasing likelihood that we may be forced into a third election. This would be an abominable reflection on Israel’s political leaders and could have disastrous consequences. If the reason for this demoralizing situation...
The World Jewish Congress shames us The World Jewish Congress purports to represent Jewish communities throughout the world. Although its president (and prime funder), Ronald Lauder, at times feels free to ignore governance on issues related to Israel, the WJC has successfully...
Netanyahu: End of an era Isi and Naomi Leibler wish you and your families a Shana Tova – a year of good health, happiness and harmony. May our prayers be answered and may Israel be blessed with leaders endowed with wisdom and integrity. May we merit a year of peace...
An election outcome reflecting the will of the people The decision to hold this election was disgraceful and should have been avoided. Indeed, one of the big questions that could be critical for the outcome are the voters who are fed up with our dysfunctional politics and will simply not bother casting...
The implosion of American Jewry Over the past decade, the Jewish establishment leadership in America – with the exception of the Orthodox, the Zionist Organization of America, and other small groups – has failed to speak up in defense of Israel and imposed a curtain of...
Is this Netanyahu’s last hurrah? On top of that, should Netanyahu be indicted, it is likely that Likud would be divided as to whether he can retain his position as party leader. Paradoxically, Netanyahu is currently at the peak of his achievements. He courageously overcame the...
Netanyahu’s brilliant victory and the challenges ahead Israeli voters have chosen Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in what was essentially a referendum over whether he should be re-elected to a fifth term of office. This was the result, despite a viciously hostile media, three pending corruption...
Considering the national interest in the forthcoming elections Despite the high-pitched abuse being exchanged between the principal contenders, Likud and Blue and White, paradoxically this election highlights the unity of the nation. There is barely a sentence in the political manifesto of Blue and White that...
Broad lessons to be learned from the Polish imbroglio Emotions and realpolitik do not mix. Jews with any connection to the Holocaust tend to harbor prejudice against Poles. Despite their 1,000-year sojourn in Poland, Jews were often discriminated against. In the Middle Ages, they were prohibited from...
For whom should you vote? Most of Israel’s previous elections have presented voters with meaningful choices, many with long-term implications on the security of the nation. The most extreme example was the dispute over the Oslo Accords, which fiercely divided the nation....
American Jewish leaders: Where are you? Israel is once again facing major new international military and political challenges. Yet despite our dysfunctional political system and the chaos associated with the impending elections, we have never been as militarily secure as we are today. We...
Political Dysfunctionality and Electoral Chaos Setting aside the Gaza confrontations, 2018 was one of Israel’s best years since the establishment of the state. President Trump’s Administration has become the most Israel-friendly U.S. government in history, appointing pro-Israeli officials in...
The Prime Minister is treating us as morons Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu displayed his political savvy by avoiding an election as he outmaneuvered Naftali Bennett and his Bayit Yehudi party, forcing them to blink after Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned. Having only a one seat...
Trump, Nazis and American Jewry As the global anti-Semitic tsunami intensifies, most Diaspora Jews seem to have lost the plot. In the past, when an external foe emerged, Jews would put aside their differences and unite in the face of those seeking their destruction. Prior to the...
Restore deterrence in Gaza now All of us abhor military confrontation or war, which inevitably leads to casualties. Today Israel faces a major threat from Hamas in the south where Iran and Hezbollah could become involved if we go for the military option. I am not privy to...
A call to GA participants First, permit me to open this column by expressing my distress that for the first time, the Jewish Federations of North American are holding their General Assembly in Tel Aviv rather than Jerusalem. I doubt this was a coincidence. Israelis are...
The Kavanaugh imbroglio and Jews Although I am not American, I must confess that I was glued to the screen watching the Kavanaugh hearings in the U.S. Senate. With the hindsight of time, I will attempt to provide a retrospective analysis, including the role of Jews. Let me first...
The devastating impact of American non-Jewish Jews There is no disputing that, except for the vast majority of Orthodox Jews, American Jews and their leaders have distanced themselves from their Jewish identity. In most cases this reflects an indifference to global Jewish issues, and often, a...
UK Jews: Unity at any price The list of 50 Most Influential Jews published by The Jerusalem Post included Marie van der Zyl, the recently elected president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Van der Zyl is a feisty, committed Zionist and has followed in the path of her...
5779: A new year of hope Those of us privileged to live in Israel should give thanks to the Almighty and appreciate the extraordinary achievements of the past year and pray that this momentum is maintained in the coming year. Of course, we continue to face threats from the...
Lauder loses the plot Ronald Lauder is a billionaire and respected art collector who became passionately committed to Jewish life when, as U.S. ambassador to Austria, he witnessed virulent anti-Semitism. I have known him for over 20 years and was involved in no small...
Deterrence against Hamas is evaporating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will see his electoral support plummet unless he finds a better solution to the barrage of Hamas rockets and incendiary kites than bombing empty buildings. What we see now is déjà vu – a return to the tit for...
Hysteria over nation-state law It is inevitable – and laudable – that there are debates and differences over most new legislation. However, that does not justify the global hysteria generated over the recently passed nation-state law, which the clear majority of...
Interview on PJTN Channel I am sharing with you a link to program that was first aired last week on PJTN a Christian TV Channel. It deals at the outset with my award of Honorary Doctorate by Bar Ilan university. The subsequent interview and the topics discussed remain...
U.S. President Trump: A balance sheet U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin served to increase the paranoia about him to an all-time high. He was accused of “failing America,” acting “shamefully” and “disgracefully,” and even committing...
The Perils facing Anglo Jewry Over 10 years ago, I warned that the passivity of the Anglo-Jewish leadership would likely lead to disastrous political consequences and negatively impact the younger generation, which was being inadequately educated to face its challenges. I...
Balancing dangers and opportunities The speed of change – both positive and negative – in this region over the past two months has been breathtaking. On the negative side, the ongoing escalation of anti-Semitism, especially in Europe (and in the U.K. which could elect an...
Reviewing a month of hypocrisy and moral decadence Never have we witnessed such morally decadent political behavior as what has transpired these past weeks. Paradoxically, this occurred in the wake of a series of incredible Israeli achievements. It was Israel’s founding leader David Ben-Gurion, an...
The disintegration of American Jewry American Jewry, apart from the Orthodox and a minority of committed non-Orthodox, is demographically imploding. Paradoxically, this is taking place at a time when support for Israel among the American people is at an all-time high and traditional...
Threatening Regional Storm Clouds Notwithstanding the exuberance of Israelis at the jubilant 70th Independence Day celebrations, justified in light of Israel’s extraordinary achievements and progress on both the diplomatic and defense fronts, the Jewish state will be facing major...
Accusing Putin of anti-Semitism A very significant portion of my life has been devoted to personally combating Russian anti-Semitism. I experienced firsthand the extent of hatred against Jews which was basically ingrained in most Soviet leaders and bureaucrats. I will never forget...
AIPAC leadership losing the plot The American Jewish leadership’s downward spiral has accelerated. This can be traced back to its cowardly silence when then-President Barack Obama began treating Israel as a rogue state and applied moral equivalence to Israelis defending...
Dysfunctional politics and disgraceful behavior The criminal charges recommended by the Israel Police against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the politicians’ and media’s reactions amount to perhaps the most scandalous political imbroglio in Israel’s history. This is not to say that...
Aliyah from Western countries The founders of modern Israel originated from contrasting ideological movements. Since their dispersion into exile, Jews who for centuries endured Christian and Muslim persecution, maintained spiritual (and in a few cases physical) links with their...
The predictable liberal response to Pence Listening to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s address to the Knesset was a euphoric experience. Pence is a devout evangelical Christian who regards America’s religious commitment as a crucial component of the administration’s policy. He...
Seeking the perfect national leader We expect national leaders to behave in an exemplary manner and act as role models to be emulated. What most of us seek is a “perfect” leader. But that is mission impossible. Such a person has never existed. Some of the greatest American leaders...
Discretion in dealing with Europe’s populist parties Populist and nationalist parties are emerging as powerful political forces. They are likely to profoundly influence domestic and foreign policies in virtually every European country. There are many, including a substantial number of Jews, who,...
American Jews: Look in the mirror There are some unpleasant facts and bitter truths about a large component of Diaspora Jews that are being swept under the carpet. The reality is that many of those who classify themselves as Jews live in an environment in which being Jewish has...
Storm clouds gathering over the region The volatility of political activity in the Middle East region is dizzying. The Syrian civil war is almost at an end. President Basher Assad remains in power and Iran and its surrogate Hezbollah have emerged as the clear victors. Disconcertingly,...
Recent sexual controversies and upheavals While sexual attitudes are inclined to change from generation to generation, controversies relating to sexual behavior are ageless and even occupy a prominent role in the biblical narrative. Perhaps as an octogenarian there is a generational gap...
Commemorating the ANZAC liberation of Beersheba Today Australia is indisputably Israel’s best friend in the world – in every respect. The origins of this relationship have their genesis a century ago with the spectacular victory of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) that liberated...
The enemy of my enemy The dramatic swing to the right in the recent Austrian elections is likely to have widespread repercussions throughout Europe. It will also oblige Israel to reconsider its current approach to far right-wing groups. While many readers may strongly...
Fatah-Hamas reconciliation: A fusion of evils World leaders – including some of our American friends – are apparently still unwilling to face reality and continue to delude themselves that Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority can be induced to making a peace settlement if Israel...
The ongoing kulturkampf with the ultra-Orthodox The Chief Rabbinate, backed by its ultra-Orthodox political factions, has imposed additional extreme and even bizarre rulings that impact on the nation. In previous generations we were blessed with chief rabbis who were worldly, spiritual giants who...
Facing a challenging new year We enter Rosh Hashanah 5778 with conflicting emotions. Israel has never been in a stronger position, globally and domestically, thriving in every respect—economically, politically and militarily. But we live in a world of chaos. North Korea...
The prisoner exchange imbroglio It has been reported that Israel is once again engaged in negotiations with Hamas on the issue of prisoner exchanges. There is no certainty whether the three Israelis—Ethiopian born Avera Mengistu and the Bedouin captives Hisham al-Sayed and Jumaa...
Europe begins to appreciate the reality of Islamic terrorism Until recently, most European governments avoided confronting the reality and true nature of Islamic terrorism by burying their heads in the sand. The usual government response after each terrorist incident was to appease their Muslim constituents...
The never-ending peace process farce Unless the U.S. is willing to bite the bullet and finally confront Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, the forthcoming mission to the region by U.S. representatives Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt to “restart the peace process” on...
Accelerating chaos within the American Jewish community The chaos enveloping American Jewry since the election of President Donald Trump—which many predicted would be merely a passing phenomenon—has in fact increased exponentially over the past few months. It is concurrent with the turmoil prevailing...
Postmortem of a disastrous month The dramatic setbacks of the past month have been somewhat destabilizing in contrast to the almost euphoric atmosphere which prevailed. It is an awesome burden of responsibility to serve as a leader, obliged to make decisions that affect the future...
A Memoir – Background to Indian prime minister’s visit This week’s historic visit to Israel by India’s prime minister revived memories of my previous associations with Indian leaders and the Indian Jewish community in the 1980s. India at that time was still a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement,...
British Jews: A wake up call British Jews and many other British nationals were shocked and dismayed with the outcome of last week’s general elections in the U.K. Contrary to expectations, Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May emerged with a staggering defeat and Jeremy...
Israel must now be proactive The fervent hope shared by most Israelis — despite the frustration of some American Jews — is that U.S. President Donald Trump will overcome his domestic political problems and strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance. Trump’s visit to the Middle...
After Trump visit, the onus rests on us Overall, U.S. President Donald Trump has delivered. He will not have satisfied the delusional aspirations of Israel’s radical right but, despite some missteps before he arrived, highlighted by hostile and misleading press reports, the Trump visit...
JBS Interview on Trump’s upcoming Israel visit The video above is an interview with Rabbi Mark Golub, director of the Jewish Broadcasting Service (JBS), America’s premier Jewish television channel. The interview focuses on Ronald Lauder’s efforts to persuade President Trump to back...
Lauder promoting Abbas as respectable moderate fraught with danger Last week, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder released a series of statements confirming that he had encouraged U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize that peace between Israelis and Palestinians was now attainable. He also stressed...
Nine challenges confronting Israel Not since the creation of the state has Israel found itself in such an advantageous position. While a genuine peace settlement with the Palestinians remains a distant mirage and the threat from Iran is ever present, Israel has emerged as a regional...
Celebrating Independence Day in a world of turmoil Israel Independence Day symbolizes the empowerment of all Jews in the wake of the most successful renaissance of a nation after two thousand years of exile. It highlights the dramatic contrast between our status today and that of our powerless...
The Unacceptable Behavior of the German Foreign Minister German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel displayed unprecedented chutzpah and insensitivity during his official visit to Israel to participate in ceremonies on Holocaust Remembrance Day when he scheduled meetings with organizations that accuse the IDF...
Passover: We have reason to rejoice Tonight, most Israelis, secular as well as observant, will celebrate Passover, the festival of freedom in which we recount our life of slavery and exodus from Egypt and how we became a nation. The Haggadah that we read at the Passover Seder also...
Pre Passover Interview on JBS Isi Leibler discusses the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate’s increasing encroachment on Israeli life, URJ President Rick Jacob’s visit with Mahmoud Abbas, the Knesset bill banning BDS activists, and Donald Trump and Israel. With Mark S. Golub of the...
Trump seeks to resolve Israel-Palestinian conflict Throughout his election campaign and thereafter, even while fulsomely praising Israel and vowing to treat us as a true ally, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that his former deal making experience would enable him to resolve the...
On religious extremism It is ironic that with Jewish observance and spiritual values at unprecedentedly high levels in Israeli society, the established religious leadership has sunk to its lowest nadir. There are many wise, creative and worldly Israeli rabbis but in most...
American liberal Jewish leaders fuel anti-Semitism We try to rationalize that the anti-Zionist behavior of individual Jews does not justify anti-Semitic bigotry. However, the crass political exploitation of their Jewish identity by American leaders of purportedly “nonpartisan” mainstream Jewish...
Anti-Semitism and Aliyah Political correctness still seems to impel us to continue chanting the mantra that we are prohibited from relating to anti-Semitism as a cause for settling in Israel and insisting that the only motivation for aliyah today is to enable a committed...
A small minority must not jeopardize this great opportunity Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has returned from triumphant visits to the United States, Australia and Singapore. Now is the time for him to display courage and make serious decisions that will determine his legacy — as either one of Israel’s...
Are Trump and Israel on the same page? The first two weeks of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration have been the most active of any in recent memory. The unprecedented executive orders, not to mention the initial exchanges with other heads of state, have generated headlines...
Pseudo-liberal Jews are causing unspeakable damage Chaos is the order of the day throughout the entire democratic world. This has been accelerated by the hypocrisy and intolerance of the vindictive Left, aided and abetted by foolish bleeding-heart pseudo-liberals who have become accomplices in the...
Netanyahu messed up but it is time to move forward Enough is enough. Since the beginning of his public life, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been subject to the most ferocious ongoing campaign of vilification endured by any politician in the democratic world. For two decades, Noni Mozes, the...
Israel and the Trump administration In just two weeks, a new U.S. administration will enter the White House. It may well prove to be a turning point for Israel, reversing the tide of global hostility of the last eight years in which the outgoing administration regarded us...
Responding to Obama’s malicious betrayal of Israel As predicted, on the eve of his retirement President Barack Obama betrayed Israel. The former long-standing congregant of the paranoid anti-Semitic pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright who has a penchant for supporting to the Moslem Brotherhood, broke with...
European meltdown threatens Jews Today, Diaspora Jewish communities are suffering severe trauma as they experience erosion of the acceptance and security they enjoyed over the past half century. Whether it be Paris, Johannesburg, New York, Melbourne or any city with a Jewish...
American Jewish liberals have lost the plot Throughout the 2000 years of Jews living in the Diaspora, there has been no precedent comparable to the behavior of major liberal mainstream sectors of the American Jewish community. They are undermining themselves and provoking massive waves of...
The Trump revolution, Israel and American Jews The victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential elections will have long-term global repercussions at many levels. It represents a revolt against extreme postmodernism which has undermined the moral fiber of the West and its willingness to...
Sharing a deeply personal experience I am an octogenarian and one of the few who has both witnessed the tragedies and become engaged directly in the triumphs of the Jewish people in our time. Yet this is the first occasion that I felt the need to share a truly emotional personal...
Will betraying Israel be Obama’s farewell gesture? Throughout his entire presidential term of nearly eight years, U.S. President Barak Obama has insisted that he “has Israel’s back.” The reality is that Obama’s appalling foreign policy has been geared toward the creation of “daylight”...
Strength and unity will overcome our adversaries The abysmal failure of most governments to display even a pretense of morality when formulating resolutions relating to international affairs was again highlighted by the latest outrageous resolution relating to Jerusalem endorsed by UNESCO. The...
Rosh Hashana 5777: Gratitude and Optimism We are confronted by a multitude of security threats and diplomatic challenges but the prophets of doom and gloom are selective and masochistic. Israel is a democratic oasis in a region that has reverted to the Dark Ages and barbarism. We face...
Haredim – an impending Kulturkampf As Rosh Hashanah approaches, one senses an impending explosion between Israeli mainstream society and the ultra-Orthodox. For years, tensions have steadily grown as influential haredi rabbis strived to prevent their followers from integrating into...
Shame on the ADL Irrespective of ones personal opinion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus videotaped remarks on Palestinian “ethnic cleansing” of Jews from any future Palestinian state, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt’s scornful public...
Ronald Lauder: A unique global Jewish leader The Executive Committee of the World Jewish Congress meeting in Jerusalem this week will highlight the impressive turnabout of this organization since the election of Ronald Lauder as president. The WJC was founded in Geneva 80 years ago, as the...
Response to Haaretz allegations In a column provocatively titled “Racism-as-Zionism. Don’t Call It ‘pro-Israel.’ Call It What It Is: Disgusting,” Haaretz.com senior editor Bradley Burston accuses me of being a revolting racist. Burston bases his vulgar claim...
The accelerating erosion of the post-Zionist Hebrew media Haaretz, Israel’s oldest Hebrew daily newspaper, was established in 1918 by a group of left-leaning businessmen. In 1937, Salman Schocken bought the newspaper and it was edited by his son Gershom until his death in 1990. Although its circulation...
Exposing the criminal society and the culture of death We are losing the battle in the war of ideas for the simple reason that we are continuously on the defensive while those seeking our destruction actively and relentlessly demonize us. Ever since the Oslo Accords, successive Israeli governments have...
Has the Anti-Defamation League lost the plot? I rubbed my eyes with incredulity when I read bizarre statements emanating from Jonathan Greenblatt the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the most powerful American Jewish organizations whose principal mandate is to combat...
Government to expel BDS activists. Bravo! The decision by the Interior and Public Security ministers to form a special task force to expel foreigners engaged in Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activities is a long overdue but urgent call for remedial action against anti-Semites and...
American Jewish leaders are on the edge of the abyss The American presidential elections have created an unprecedented climate of political chaos. Both candidates are reviled by the bulk of the electorate, many of whom intimate that they intend to abstain from voting. The polls originally predicted...
Interview: Europe’s problem with moral relativism and guilt over colonialism Dutch TPTV interview focusing on Europe’s problem of moral relativism and the guilty complex over colonialism.
Abusing the term ‘fascism’ in relation to Israel It is now a worldwide phenomenon that left-wingers and increasing numbers of liberals chant the mantra that Israel is led by extremists and becoming transformed into a full-fledged fascist state. Unfortunately, such unadulterated nonsense is...
Global chaos — a byproduct of the failure to confront evil A generation ago, the term evil had meaning. There were no bleeding hearts — certainly no Jews — who minimized the malevolency of the Nazis. Evil was evil. Today, as moral relativism dominates, the world has effectively abandoned the...
No permanent allies or enemies: only permanent interests Aware that President Erdogan remains an aggressive Islamist and presumably harbors as much love for Israelis as we do for him, the government was strongly criticized for the unpalatable concessions it granted in order to restore economic and...
The scandal-ridden chief rabbinate must be restructured The scandalous depths to which the haredi extremists who have abused their rabbinical authority are sinking seem limitless. It is high time for Jews in Israel and the Diaspora to publicly vent their rage and insist that their shenanigans must cease....
JBS interview on J Street and the ADL Interview conducted by Rabbi Mark Golub, director of the Jewish Broadcast Service (JBS), concerning J Street and the ADL.
Herzog’s intolerable deceit Zionist Union Chairman MK Isaac Herzog is the scion of one of Israel’s most distinguished families. His late father Chaim served with distinction as president, and his grandfather, whose name he carries, was one of Israel’s most respected and...
Jews and Israel in a threatened, leaderless and delusional world The painful lesson of the Orlando massacre is that no place in the world is immune to fanatical religious extremists willing to kill themselves to achieve heavenly salvation. The Western world is floundering in its pathetic efforts to confront the...
Israel and Diaspora Jewry – A Looming Crisis . (Address given at Bar Ilan University after award of Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy) . The Jewish world, both in Israel and the Diaspora, is undergoing dramatic demographic and ideological changes. The past decades have witnessed a steep...
Video – Israel and Diaspora Jewry – A Looming Crisis Isi Leibler address “Israel and Diaspora Jewry – a Looming Crisis” at Bar Ilan University. Questions and answers following address.
American Jewish leaders fail to confront the anti-Israeli bandwagon The confusion and uncertainty arising from the presidential election campaign, together with the hostility generated over the new Israeli coalition, has emboldened a number of prominent Jewish progressives to initiate a new crusade implicitly...
TP (Dutch) TV Interview with Isi Leibler Extract of TV interview with Dutch TV/Internet station TP/TV relating to European refugee crisis and Islamic fundamentalism
I stand by my critique of ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt Jonathan Greenblatt’s response (click here for link) to my criticism of his embrace of J Street, alleging that I distorted his message, is disingenuous and reaffirms my assessment. (click here for link) Invoking clichés “that there are steps...
A morally and politically dysfunctional Government The recent shenanigans that preceded the expansion of the government sickened even those reconciled to the reality that, since the Menahem Begin era, there exists a total lack of ethics in the Israeli political arena. Prime Minister Benjamin...
ADL applies moral equivalence to Israelis and Palestinians The Anti-Defamation League’s new National Director, Jonathan Greenblatt, previously a special assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama, has begun to court the liberal glitterati and their media by following the Obama lead and creating daylight...
On celebrating Independence Day Last week, we commemorated the genocidal murder of 6 million Jews – the most barbaric episode in our 2,000 years of exile which was sporadically interspersed with discrimination, persecution, expulsion and pogroms. Today, the nation mourns those...
The erosion of Holocaust memory My grandparents and many members of my family were exterminated by the Nazis. I would probably also have perished had my parents not had the foresight of leaving Antwerp when I was a young infant on what was probably the last boat to sail to...
Passover, our festival of freedom and miracles On the first night of Passover, the festive meal is preceded by the Seder, which chronicles our emergence from bondage into a nation and recounts the miracles associated with the Exodus from Egypt. The central theme of the ancient Haggadah resonates...
Anglo-Jewry confronts Labour anti-Semitic surge Ten years ago, I was accused of pandering to hysteria when I praised Melanie Phillips’ groundbreaking book, “Londonistan,” detailing the alarming growth of anti-Semitism in the U.K. and predicting further deterioration unless the British...
The United Nations sanctifies evil The United Nations is an evil body dominated by Islamic nations and tyrannies. Just last week, on March 24 in Geneva, the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) concluded its session by passing five resolutions condemning Israel. This followed a series...
American Jews face dilemma in presidential elections The turmoil associated with the American presidential elections has impacted on much of the nation, and certainly on the Jews. Many, both liberal and conservative, feel that their traditional political affiliations have been destabilized. Grass-root...
Passover interview on JBS For those interested, here is a link (click here) to an interview of me conducted by Rabbi Mark Golub, head of the Jewish Broadcast Service (JBS), the principal Jewish TV Channel in the United States. In the interview I discuss last week’s...
The fallout of the Obama doctrine: Global chaos and its implications for Israel and the Jewish people President Barack Obama’s determination to downgrade U.S. international power has generated massive global instability and chaos with especially ominous implications for Israel. The Obama policies have undermined longstanding alliances within the...
A time for unity against dangerous new Obama initiatives U.S. President Barack Obama continues to ignore the catastrophic global repercussions of his flawed policies toward the Middle East, where hundreds of thousands of Arabs have been butchered in civil wars and millions displaced from their homes. The...
Rivlin’s regrettable cancellation of Australian state visit Israel today has few genuine friends willing to stand up and defend the Jewish state and counter the many nations that apply bias and double standards in ongoing harassment. Australia, an important Western middle power, has a track record of...
The European implosion obliges new alliances for Israel and Jews The mass migration of Muslim “refugees” to Western Europe could result in one of the most significant global demographic upheavals in history. In an outpouring of passionate emotions, European leaders have suspended reason and self-esteem. ...
The tragedy of Ehud Olmert in retrospect The image of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, now 70, entering Maasiyahu Prison to serve a 19-month sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice is a shocking stain on the entire nation. To witness such a talented man fall to such depths...
Should we stand by knowing that Hamas intends to attack us? Few envy the painful decisions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be obliged to make in the months to come. He faces grave challenges that impact on the life and death of Israelis. The current wave of Palestinian terror seems to be...
No more illusions: Come home Objectively analyzing recent events can only lead to the dismal conclusion that the status of Diaspora Jewry, bad as it is, is only likely to deteriorate. The horrific escalation of the global anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli tsunami extends to areas...
The requiem for the Oslo Accords warrants a unity government The controversy over the Oslo Accords, which bitterly divided the nation over the past quarter century, is no longer a contentious issue. The late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin personally told me on numerous occasions of his concern that the deal...
A roving ambassador India and Israel are currently experiencing a renaissance in relations, with the Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj having just concluded a visit to Jerusalem. You might be interested in the article recently published in the Jerusalem Post by...
The challenge facing Education Minister Naftali Bennett Anyone following the leftist media in Israel could be forgiven for believing that Israel is undergoing a Kulturkampf and that a desperate struggle is taking place in the secular school stream to retain freedom of expression from an extremist...
Israeli Chief Rabbinate seeks to emulate role of the Vatican The tensions created by the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate within Israeli society have extended to the Diaspora and are now undermining relations with the Jewish state. Ironically, this is taking place at a time when many Israelis are returning to...
Thinking out of the box needed to combat terror The “lone-wolf” stabbings, shootings and other actions by individuals designed to kill Israelis are not a new phenomenon. Nor are they “popular” responses to settlements, poor living conditions or alienation due to the “occupation.” They...
Jewish terrorism must be cauterized like a cancer Israelis shuddered when viewing the widely publicized extracts of the wedding video in which youngsters in large white knitted kippot brandished knives like savages, sang a hymn of vengeance and gleefully danced around photographs of the victims of...
Jews and the global tilt towards conservativism and populism Since the emancipation of the eighteenth century, Jews traditionally supported liberal, reform and even revolutionary movements which, in most cases, paved the way for them to achieve equality. This was not surprising as, by and large, the...
President Rivlin must eschew politics Prime Minister Netanyahu was widely criticized last year for his efforts in trying to prevent Reuven Rivlin from being elected president. However, in the light of his recent engagement in politics, which is constitutionally beyond the jurisdiction...
British Jews under pressure Reviewing the status of Anglo-Jewry can lead to diametrically opposing conclusions. Residing in a northwest London Jewish suburb, one can easily be deluded that life for Jews in the U.K. is rosy. Jewish cultural and religious life is thriving, as...
Temper compassion toward Muslim “refugees” with reality Sensitive to the despicable behavior by much of the world which denied haven to European Jews on the eve of the Holocaust, I react instinctively with compassion when I hear about the plight of refugees. I am personally sensitive to this issue,...
Saving innocent lives must have priority over civil liberties The indisputable prime responsibility of any government is to protect the life and limb of its citizens. This overrides all other considerations, including civic rights and freedom of association and expression. The world is currently facing the...
The global jihadist onslaught and European Jews That a massacre of at least 129 civilians in Paris, in the heart of Europe, could be engineered by half a dozen militarily trained killers is an indicator of what we can expect in the future unless ruthless measures are taken to confront the...
A call for unity and expressing outrage The world is experiencing a clash of civilizations with satanic forces seeking to revert to the Dark Ages. In this context, the behavior of the Palestinians has now descended to such barbaric depths that in a rational world, Israel should have the...
Putin’s Russia and Israel: A tenuous relationship For over 30 years, my principal public occupation in the global Jewish arena was to promote the struggle for liberation of Soviet Jewry. This brought me into direct contact with Soviet ministers, officials and apparatchiks, enabling me to appreciate...
American Jewish leaders: Speak up now or be damned It is now evident that, by and large, the Jewish establishment has adopted a policy of deafening silence in relation to condemning or protesting against the virulent one-sided political attacks and sins of omission by the Obama administration...
Let My People Go Photo: Speakers at Begin Heritage Center book launch, L-R: Australia’s Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma, Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, Isi Leibler, Natan Sharansky, and Ilan Greenfield, Gefen Publishing. Photo by Andres Lacko...
The time has come to consider drastic action Like most Israelis, I am proud that we remain one of the most democratic countries in the world, despite being surrounded by a sea of barbarism and facing continuous threats to our existence by hostile neighbors. But the nation today is facing a...
Jews, Islamophobia and compassion for refugees It would be inhumane not to react with compassion to the tragic and harrowing depictions of the suffering of refugees. For Jews, more than any others, these images revive horrific memories of their own collective past and the horrors endured by...
Chief Rabbis besmirch Christian Embassy It is regrettable that on Yom Kippur eve, our chief rabbis have again uttered offensive remarks, this time besmirching one of Israel’s most dedicated allies and ardent supporters. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau and his Sephardi counterpart, Rabbi...
Rosh Hashanah: Confronting the challenges of 5776 The past year, like its predecessors, will once again be viewed by many as an annus horribilis. It has indeed been a bitter year on many fronts. Israel is an oasis surrounded by a sea of savagery which is reminiscent of the Dark Ages, with Islamic...
Passionate political conflict and civility The bitterness of the debate in the United States in relation to Iran has again raised questions concerning civil discourse when contentious and emotional issues arise. Israeli politicians are renowned for resorting to hyperbole and even outright...
Disband the disgraceful state-endorsed rabbinical leadership I rubbed my eyes in disbelief when I read that Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has extended the ban on television and computers by decreeing that anyone using the “abomination” of smartphones be prohibited from leading prayers. Like most...
Should Netanyahu suspend Israel’s Confrontation with Obama? The U.S.-Israeli tensions that have escalated over the Iranian issue during the past month have led to waves of criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Yet in reality, Netanyahu has proven to be an impressive statesman. His address to the...
Jews and the Lucky Country I have just returned from Down Under, Australia, the country that nurtured me prior to my aliyah. It remains one of the most delightful countries in the world, providing an unparalleled quality of life. Indeed, Australians remain so laid back that...
Abe Foxman’s retirement: End of an era I received a call recently from Abe Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, in which he castigated me for not consulting him in advance of my publishing strong criticism of his remarks. After a brief acrimonious exchange, he hung up...
Rejecting Despair and Confronting the Challenges I will not add to the flow of articles that have more than adequately analyzed the horrendous long-term consequences of U.S. President Barack Obama’s capitulation to the Iranian ayatollah, who to this day explicitly identifies the destruction of...
A Disgrace: New York Attorney General Investigates Claims Conference Two years ago, at the annual Claims Conference board meeting, directors representing the World Jewish Congress, the Jewish Agency and others, failed in their efforts to introduce meaningful reforms to the organization. This week, the annual board...
Identifying and combating the new anti-Semitism How does one effectively fight anti-Semitism and its newest mutation, anti-Israelism? The first step must be to understand how these phenomena are manifested and who is behind them. Over the past decade as anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism increased...
Explosive new Claims Conference scandals revealed Almost a decade has passed since I began urging for drastic reform and change of leadership at the Claims Conference in the wake of successive scandals relating to the mismanagement of the organization entrusted to pursue justice on behalf of the...
The blowback from the Oren revelations The fierce reactions to Kulanu MK and former Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren’s evaluation of the Obama administration in his new book, and in particular to three articles he penned titled “How Obama abandoned Israel,” “Why Obama is wrong...
American Jews are in “Galut” – Exile The exceptional response to my column, “American Jewish leaders fail to respond to Obama’s threats,” combined with further developments on the American scene, have brought me to the sad conclusion that when the chips are down and when faced...
American Jewish leaders fail to respond to Obama’s threats It is time to stop making excuses for American Jewish leaders and their failure to respond to U.S. President Barack Obama’s latest despicable efforts to turn the Jewish community against Israel. This time he employed a charm offensive, expressing...
Dissolve the scandal ridden Chief Rabbinate now The despicable effort by the haredi-controlled Chief Rabbinate to purge Rabbi Shlomo Riskin because he does not conform to their stringent halachic approach may prove to be a blessing in disguise. The anger this outrageous initiative generated could...
Politicians: Get your act together Every time we feel that our dysfunctional political system and its political leaders have descended to an all-time low, we wake up the next morning to learn of additional shenanigans and irresponsible behavior by those we elected to represent us. It...
Curbing the self-loathing Jewish defamers of Israel Most of us are thoroughly exasperated with the obnoxious Jewish deviants who are demonizing Israel with their global campaigns, falsely defaming the IDF as monsters and war criminals. Such reprehensible elements were always the bane of the Jewish...
Global anti-Semitism continues escalating This week, the Foreign Ministry and the Diaspora Affairs Ministry are jointly sponsoring the 5th Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism. It will be opened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a host of prominent global leaders will participate...
To survive, Netanyahu must broaden his new government Following weeks of unedifying horse trading, threats and extortions, compounded by personal malice, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally cobbled together an untenable coalition with only a single-seat majority — which any single...
Commemorate the heroic contribution of Soviet Jewish activists Last week, I was deeply saddened to learn that Volodya Slepak passed away. A week earlier another giant among the heroes of Soviet Jewry, Volodya Prestin, also died, preceded a few months ago by Yuli Kosharovsky. They were members of a group of a...
Claims Conference leaders continue obfuscating the truth Once again, as we commemorated the victims of the Holocaust, what was highlighted was the grinding poverty of elderly survivors unable to live out their few remaining years with a semblance of dignity. It is now almost five years since the exposure...
Independence Day: We have reason to rejoice The Bible quotes Balaam describing the Jews as “a people that dwells alone and is not counted among the nations”. Alas, that aptly describes the status of the Jewish state on the 67th anniversary of its rebirth. Yet despite enormous challenges...
The Iranian crisis: American Jews must stand and be counted The announcement of the Lausanne joint statement concerning the framework of the U.S. deal with Iran highlighted the extent of President Barack Obama’s subterfuge and deception. We also witnessed the blatant contempt of Iran’s supreme leader,...
Uniting to resist Obama’s unprecedented hostility It is ironic that as we prepare to celebrate Passover, the festival of freedom, we are facing vicious efforts by the vindictive leader of the United States, our greatest ally, who is abandoning us — the only democratic state in a region...
Our Shakespeare: A tribute to Yehuda Avner When Yehuda Avner passed away Tuesday, aged 86, Israel lost a noble citizen whose entire life was devoted to serving the Jewish state and the Jewish people. He was my dearest friend with whom I was in almost daily contact over the past few years....
Vindictive Obama punishing Israel for re-electing Netanyahu Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stunning election victory surprised the nation and shocked the media “experts” who were already writing his obituaries. Gideon Levy of Haaretz even remarked that the only solution for Israel now “was to...
Every vote counts in this crucial election The wretched state of Israeli politics and this unnecessary election have alienated the majority of voters. With the exception of those voting Meretz, Habayit Hayehudi, and the haredi and Arab parties, most Israelis will be holding their noses and...
The aftermath of Netanyahu’s congressional tour de force A week after the event, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s extraordinary address to Congress has in no way diminished my enthusiasm for his tour de force, which exceeded all expectations. He respectfully conveyed appreciation for the support...
Isi Leibler – Israel Issues on L’Chayim Israeli columnist Isi Leibler offers analysis of the Israeli political scene, the controversy over PM Netanyahu’s address to Congress, European anti-Semitism and the quality of American Jewish leadership. Interview with Rabbi Mark Golub on the...
Israel’s scandalously deficient response to global anti-Semitic tsunami Successive Israeli governments have failed miserably to meet the challenge of global anti-Semitism, not providing the leadership demanded of a Jewish state in these turbulent times and leaving Diaspora Jews to their own devices. The global...
Obama’s shameless Jewish cheerleaders While U.S. President Barack Obama determinedly pursues his policy of appeasement, which may enable the world’s most dangerous terrorist state to become a nuclear threshold power, there are Israelis and American Jews who have initiated a campaign...
Cry for me, Argentina The assassination of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman reflects the endemic corruption of the Kirchner regime and focuses the spotlight on the devil’s pact consummated by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in 2013 with Iran, whose leaders...
A Revolting Election Campaign and a Vicious Media Israeli voters should be considering the issues and debating who is best equipped to lead a nation confronted by extraordinary military, diplomatic, social and religious challenges. Yet what we are witnessing today is probably the most vulgar and...
Should Netanyahu address Congress? Presumably, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed his options carefully before accepting U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to address the joint session of Congress. There is no doubt that the bulk of Congress,...
Lessons from France – Aliyah is the cornerstone of Zionism French Prime Minister Manuel Valls courageously stated that “if 100,000 Jews leave, France will no longer be France. The French Republic will be judged a failure.” He said that he did not employ the term Islamophobia because it “is often used...
The Fruits of Cowardice and Appeasement The ill winds that have been gathering over Europe descended with a tornado last week in Paris with the barbaric Charlie Hebdo massacre, followed by the horrific terror attack at a kosher supermarket – a total of 17 dead in three days. But alas,...
Haredim and the State: A Possible Turning Point Although election fever currently dominates the national agenda, we should also recognize that today the state is at a turning point in its evolving relationship with the haredim – undoubtedly the most significant long-term challenge to Israeli...
Mounting election turmoil It is still several months until the elections and the current opinion polls, in all probability, will be far from an accurate reflection of how voters actually cast their ballots. But there is an indication that significant numbers, particularly...
The crass self-promoting motivations behind the “Anyone but Bibi” The “Anyone but Bibi” frenzy, now moving into high gear, highlights the absence of genuine discourse or debate over issues confronting the nation and demonstrates that this election is dominated by the machinations of individuals...
A dysfunctional political system operated by self-serving mediocrities It is deplorable that after only 20 months in office, the government has been dissolved. To be diverted from concentrating on the awesome challenges facing us and to divest billions of shekels in an election at a time when the country is under...
Increasing numbers of Jewish Democrats disillusioned with Obama It has been reported that American Jews still voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party in the recent midterm congressional elections. At the same time, there is mounting evidence that increasing numbers of American Jews at the grassroots level...
Ambassador Prosor at the UN I have just read Ambassador Ron Prosor’s tour de force address to the United Nations a couple of days ago. It is one of the most exemplary speeches I have ever read. It not only eruditely reiterates the Jewish case but forthrightly exposes the...
Coping with barbaric, religiously inspired terrorism The horror that engulfed the entire nation in the wake of the barbaric murder of Jews engaged in prayer in a Jerusalem synagogue remains palpable. Although there have been other devastating acts of terror against innocent civilians, this time it was...
The Knesset adopts Bolshevism The Knesset discredited itself and cast an ugly blemish on Israeli democracy when, by a 2 to 1 majority (43–23), it passed a bill clearly designed to vindictively prejudice Israel’s largest circulating daily newspaper, Israel Hayom. The...
Obama desperate for a deal with Iran at any price Despite their statements to the contrary, the Obama Administration appears determined to achieve an “agreement” with Iran and seems willing to breach their repeated undertakings that they would never countenance Iran becoming a nuclear power....
Is American Jewish leadership intimidated? I would hesitate writing this column had I not served as a national Jewish leader who faced similar dilemmas to those confronting the American Jewish leadership today, many of whom I was engaged with in various battles against enemies of the Jewish...
Obama Seeks Confrontation with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the intensifying global pressures on Israel is to firmly reject any further territorial withdrawals that would put Israel’s security at risk, stating that “Israel will not lose hope for peace,...
British vote epitomizes ignorance, opportunism and malice The British parliamentary resolution that called for the immediate and unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, endorsed by an overwhelming majority of 274 to 12, was an unprecedentedly aggressive act. Although not binding, and with the...
Is the status quo relating to the disputed territories sustainable? Israelis from all sides of the political spectrum desperately yearn that their dream of peace and a secure and stable relationship with their neighbors could be realized now. But alas, no quick fix is currently achievable. Both left- and right-wing...
Obama administration’s unprecedented outburst against Israel The exceptionally vicious U.S. condemnation of Israel with regard to housing construction in the Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem is not merely misguided, but also reflects irrational bias. Incidentally, this behavior also has many ominous...
Duplicitous Abbas comes out of the closet Even the few delusional apologists who maintain that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is a genuine partner for peace must have been stunned by his obscene and demagogic address on Rosh Hashana at the United Nations General Assembly...
Rosh Hashanah: Challenges and Optimism On the eve of Rosh Hashana 5775, traditional Jews are engaged in teshuva — reviewing the past year and soul-searching with a view to enhancing our moral standards for the coming year. While we indulge in self-criticism, we must also condemn the...
Voice of Israel: Two-State Solution Not Currently Feasible, But Must Not Be Abandoned Isi Leibler’s newest New York Times article managed to anger both left and right. On the one hand, he says that the two-state solution is not currently feasible, but at the same time he believes that as an eventual goal it must not be...
Israel Must Put Security First Over the past year my column has become critical of the increasingly hostile policy adopted by the New York Times against Israel. Many of the actual reports were biased and the opinion pages were overwhelmingly composed of editorials and op-eds...
Facing Realities in the wake of Operation Protective Edge Most of us were bitterly frustrated that the Hamas terrorist regime was not removed in the course of Operation Protective Edge. Although defeated, it remains in power and unless there is a diplomatic breakthrough, we must be prepared for the...
Déjà vu: Jewish renegades spewing vitriol against their people From the outset of Operation Protective Edge, Jewish renegades have been increasingly propelled into the limelight. One example was a recent letter published as an advertisement in The New York Times, signed by 300 descendants of Holocaust survivors...
Operation Protective Edge — Gains and Losses The jury is still out and few would envy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s challenge in making the tough decisions required in an extraordinarily complex situation. But despite self-criticism that occasionally borders on masochism, most Israelis...
The deafening silence of American Jewish Leaders Over the past few months, Israel has been increasingly castigated and blamed by President Obama and his spokesmen concerning their botched initiative to bring about a settlement with the PA. The downward spiral in relations escalated in recent weeks...
Relying on Abbas to defang Hamas is delusionary As of now, most Israelis, including his long-standing opponents, endorse Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership during Operation Protective Edge. From the outset he displayed determination but avoided demagoguery or generating unrealistic...
Will President Obama Continue Shielding the Barbarians at our Gates? The US is Israel’s most important ally. It has provided us with arms and only last week Congress granted us additional funds to further develop the Iron Dome. It has also used its political clout to deflect hostile resolutions and sanctions at the...
Shalom TV News: Israel in Turmoil – Weekly Roundup (Aug 2nd, 2014) In this weekly roundup of Israel in Turmoil, Mark S. Golub interviews fmr. Israeli Ambassador to the US, Danny Ayalon, the founder of Palestinian Media Watch, Itamar Marcus, and Jerusalem Post columnist, Isi Leibler.
Is President Obama ‘Abandoning’ Israel? Check out my interview on FOX TV with Greta Van Susteren on the topic of President Obama’s abandonment of Israel VIDEO: Is President Obama ‘Abandoning’ Israel? – Gretawire
Israel In Turmoil – 7/28/14 Shalom TV President Mark S. Golub speaks with Isi Leibler (Jerusalem Post Columnist) and Itamar Marcus (Founder of Palestinian Media Watch) on July 28th 2014.
President Obama Abandons Israel In the midst of a bitter war – one that Israel sought to avoid – the statements and initiatives from U.S. President Barack Obama and his inept secretary of state, John Kerry, have convinced Hamas that if they maintain their campaign of...
Obama’s ongoing shameful behavior against Israel We are now reconciled to the fact that in any conflict — even when we are exercising our right of self-defense — we will either be condemned or, at best, accused of acting disproportionately. However, the latest round of hypocrisy by...
There is no moral equivalence but Netanyahu must act now The words of last week’s Torah portion resonate loudly, as we read of the non-Jewish prophet Balaam’s description of “the people that dwells alone and is not counted among the nations.” We have all been traumatized by the events of the past...
The Klinghoffer Opera and the American Jewish Establishment The debate over the New York Metropolitan Opera’s performance of “The Death of Klinghoffer” raises serious questions about the functioning of American Jewish leadership. Over the past 40 years one of the most positive features of American...
As Europe slides into a Dark Age, Jews must review their future Recent developments signal that the prospect of Europe sliding into a new Dark Age is now a horrifying reality. It is as though all the elements negating the open society have been blended into a witches’ brew to undermine Europe’s liberal...
Our Islamic Fundamentalist Adversaries are Inhuman Barbarians Fears for the well-being of the abducted teenagers dominate our minds and prayers and we share the pain of their parents and families. And the nation as a whole is displaying the unity that has always been the hallmark of the Jewish people when...
Further Ugly Vibes from the Obama Administration The gloves are off. The White House has now unequivocally designated Israel as the scapegoat and is meting out punishment for the disastrous outcome of the peace negotiations it initiated. The process began in March when President Obama publicly...
The Visit of the Pontiff and President Peres’s Last Hurrah at the Vatican Whilst distressed by some aspects of Pope Francis’s recent visit to the region, I strongly disagree with those who accuse him of abandoning Israel. He certainly provided the Palestinians with a propaganda boost by being photographed kissing and...
Yom Yerushalayim In the spirit of Yom Yerushalayim, I would like to share with you a remarkable sermon which I have just come across which was delivered by my father in law, Rabbi Israel Porush z”l,* at the Great Synagogue in Sydney, one year after the Six Day...
Beware of those Promoting Fake Interfaith Relations In the midst of the political currents confronting Israel, it is bizarre to hear an “Orthodox” rabbi blessing the head of the Palestinian Authority for his dubious statement regarding the Holocaust and castigating our Prime Minister for...
Have They no Shame? In terms of shameless personal corruption on a broad party political level, I doubt that anything can match the extraordinary efforts by MKs from the majority of political parties, who are promoting legislation calculated to damage or destroy the...
The Fake “Martyrdom” of J Street Despite widespread predictions to the contrary, J Street failed dismally to gain admission into the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations (Presidents Conference). It was unable to obtain the constitutionally required two thirds...
Proposed PA – Hamas Union Based on Common Objectives The timing of the PA intention to merge with Hamas may have caught many by surprise. But it was evident that Israel would not reach understandings with a Palestinian Authority headed by the intransigent Mahmoud Abbas, who refused to make a single...
Incentives for Murdering Jews It is a damning reflection on the civilized world that one rarely hears a word of condemnation of the criminal Palestinian society in which the murder of Jews is not only considered laudable, but has today effectively become a vehicle towards...
Jewish Leaders Down Under not intimidated Former Australian Labor Party Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, this week released a 500 page book titled “Diary of a Foreign Minister” depicting his activities in office from March 2012 to September 2013. It includes a vicious attack on the Jewish...
Blaming Israel for the Collapse of the Peace Negotiations All signs indicate that the moribund peace process has now formally collapsed. Few Israelis will be surprised. The Obama administration was repeatedly cautioned that pressurizing of Israel and appeasing the intransigent Palestinians would only...
The Disastrous Outcome of the “Peace Negotiations” As anticipated, the Obama administration’s efforts to impose a peace settlement have proved to be a disastrous failure. It is immaterial whether the negotiations formally break down or a face saving “framework agreement” is adopted which is...
The Radicalization of the Haredi World The polarization within the Jewish religious arena is sharply reflected both by the dramatic weakening of modern Orthodox streams and in the growing radicalization of the haredi world and empowerment of its most extreme elements. I recollect...
Putin, Ukraine and the Jews The international crisis created by Putin’s military incursion into Crimea has also served to highlight again Russia’s relationship to the Jews. The Russian President has included radical nationalism and anti-Semitism in the Ukraine as major...
Bashing Israel and Journalistic Integrity The two articles linked below were recently published in the Australian, the only national daily newspaper, and are of primary interest to Australians. However, I believe they warrant wider circulation. The article by John Lyons is an example of...
Obama and Netanyahu Rift is Unbridgeable In an unprecedented breach of diplomatic etiquette, President Obama once again sandbagged Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. In a carefully orchestrated interview with Jeff Goldberg, a columnist for Bloomberg, released a few hours before the Prime...
The Insanity of Providing Platforms for our Enemies Anti-Zionist charades from the far-left-wing American Jewish community are now a daily occurrence. We witness the manipulations of the reprehensible BDS movement, J Street’s efforts to encourage the US Administration to pressure Israel, and the...
Ari Shavit: Confusing Self-Criticism with Self-Debasement I have just finished reading Ari Shavit’s tour de force “My Promised Land”. It left me deeply disappointed and angry. Shavit is one of Israel’s most talented and erudite columnists. He is a passionate Zionist and proud Israeli whose...
Prime Minister: Don’t Take Diaspora Jews for Granted Under the leadership of the indefatigable Malcolm Hoenlein, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, a unique umbrella organization, is gathering in Jerusalem this week. Its members, leaders of America’s most prominent...
With Jewish friends like these… In this era of post modernism and abandonment of traditional moral values, our capacity to inflict harm on ourselves seems to be at an all-time high. Whether in the entertainment industry, the media or the political arena, increasing numbers of...
Friends of Israel Must Speak Up Now US Secretary of State John Kerry no longer pretends to be even-handed in overseeing the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. His most recent move was to indirectly threaten Israel with boycotts if it refuses to accede to additional...
Pollard, American Jewish Leaders and Anti-Semitism American Jews are experiencing a nightmare. They are finally accepting the reality that the draconian treatment of Jonathan Pollard emanates from anti-Semitic strains in the US Intelligence hierarchy. Some had believed this to be the case for some...
The “Price Tag” Crimes Must be Dealt With Now As an Israeli citizen, I am profoundly ashamed of the “price tag” crimes committed by Jewish hooligans and bigots primarily against Arabs over the green line. I am also shocked by our collective failure to bring an end to these ongoing outrages....
Foreign Minister Lieberman cannot act as a Maverick When our Foreign Minister announces major new policy initiatives without the approval of his government, he is truly advancing us towards a banana republic. Negotiations preceding the Kerry “framework agreement” have major implications for our...
An Open Letter to Secretary of State John Kerry Dear Mr. Secretary, Over the next week or so, you will be unveiling a US proposal for a “framework agreement” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as a prelude to a final status arrangement. Before you do so, I encourage you to...
Bayit Yehudi Cannot Remain Silent Over Rabbi Druckman Rabbi Chaim Druckman, one of the most prominent Rabbis within the national religious movement, has responded to Rabbi Mordechai Elon’s conviction on charges of sexually assaulting minors, by employing him as a teacher in the Or Etzion Yeshiva...
Haaretz Debases Warsaw Ghetto Uprising I rubbed my eyes in disbelief this week when I read an article prominently featured on Haaretz website entitled “The Warsaw Ghetto Myth”. The story asserts that the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the largest single revolt by Jews under Nazi occupation,...
Crucial that Netanyahu Creates Coherent Settlement Policy Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu enjoys enormous public support. Most Israelis, including many of those who generally oppose his policies, supported his single-handed global campaign against a nuclear Iran and the delicate diplomacy he employed in...
Obama’s Munich Reverberates but Israel is no Czechoslovakia Now that we have absorbed the shock of Obama’s capitulation to the Iranians, it is time to face hard realities and plan for the future. It is sobering to realize that despite the fact that American public support for Israel is at an all-time high,...
New Religious Leadership Needed There was hardly a murmur when former Chief Rabbi Metzger was arrested for the second time and placed under house arrest on suspicion of money laundering, bribery and obstruction of justice. This lack of reaction to such a scandalous event...
Chaotic Government Undermines Our Global Standing The return of Avigdor Lieberman to head the Foreign Ministry will undoubtedly exacerbate the disastrous absence of cabinet responsibility and failure of the government to speak with one voice. This will become especially sensitive now with...
L’Chayim Roundtable: Iran & Jewish Pluralism The Obama administration’s support for easing sanctions on Iran, and the US crisis of non-Orthodox Judaism as detailed by the Pew Report are discussed by Helen Freedman, Joshua Hammerman, Isi Leibler, and Eric Yoffie on a...
No Illusions Concerning the Obama Administration Israel is heading for what could be its most severe confrontation with the United States, despite reassuring words from the Obama administration to the contrary. President Obama’s policies have led to a US retreat at all levels in the global...
An End to Jewish Life in the Diaspora? The recent Pew Research Center survey of American Jews has ignited discussions extending from gloomy predictions of the inevitable demise of Diaspora Jewry by assimilation to optimism over the finding that the number of Jews has risen from the 5.5...
Turkey’s Erdogan – an Autocratic Islamist Bigot After over 50 years of Israeli-Turkish intelligence co-operation and sharing, the Turkish disclosure to Iran of the identities of Mossad operatives – apparently subsequently executed, illustrates the depths to which Israel-Turkey relations have...
No End to Claims Conference Distortions and Shamelessness Less than six months after the Board of Directors of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) brushed off allegations of managerial negligence and insufficient oversight, and re-elected all officers to another...
Jerusalem: Anti-Semitism analysis by Prof Manfred Gerstenfeld, Prof. Robert Wistrich and Isi Leibler Anti-Semitism Conference at JCPA in Jerusalem Jan 2009 – with Manfred Gerstenfeld and Isi Leibler. Prof. Robert Wistrich (attending).
Electing the Mayor of Jerusalem Jerusalem is one of the most colorful and contentious cities in the world. It is the spiritual heart of the Jewish people. It is a city of never-ending conflict: during its 5,000-year history it has been destroyed twice, besieged, attacked, captured...
J Street Not a “Pro-Israel” Organization At its fifth annual national conference last week, J Street advanced its objective of gaining recognition as a mainstream Jewish organization with the inclusion of a wide range of prominent American and Israeli political figures amongst its...
Netanyahu – “If Needed Israel Will Stand Alone” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did us proud when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week. True to form he again employed his extraordinary communication skills to superbly present the case for Israel. He was focused, factual,...
President Obama and Israel: Looming Confrontations One might have hoped that Obama’s calamitous mishandling of recent Middle East crises, climaxing with his disastrous response to the Syrian use of chemical weapons, would have taught him a few lessons on regional politics. Regrettably, his address...
Anti-Semitism in Belgium Reaches New Heights I have devoted numerous columns of late to the tsunami of anti-Semitism sweeping throughout Western Europe, noting that aside from the frenziedly anti-Semitic Islamic extremists, the principal perpetrators are left wing activists frequently led by...
Putin’s Russia Now a Force in the Middle East President Obama’s abysmal failure to provide leadership during the Syrian crisis represents a turning point in the Middle East and has paved the way for President Putin’s Russia to emerge as the dominant regional force, a position it had...
America’s Isolationism and its Implications for Israel There is currently a remote possibility that the Russian strategy will succeed in averting US military action by persuading Assad to hand over his chemical weapons of mass destruction for demolition by the international community. But even if that...
A Friendlier Australian Government Australia’s election results are good news for the Israel-Australia relationship. Labor party incumbent Kevin Rudd, who held office for less than three months following a coup against former PM Julia Gillard, lost in a landslide, bringing an end...
Responding to the Syrian Nightmare There are no simple solutions to the horrors unfolding in Syria. Had the West responded sooner, there might have been a remote chance for moderates within the rebel camp to form a functional political authority. Today, that possibility is...
The Implications of Obama’s Failure in Egypt To date, US President Barack Obama’s efforts to appease or engage Islamists have either failed or backfired. US influence in the Mideast is at an all-time low and Islamic fundamentalism continues to gain strength at an alarming pace. Egypt, which...
Obama Appeasement Will Result in Disaster Reviewing Israel’s political situation after two weeks abroad is a disconcerting exercise. As anticipated, the Arab Spring has devolved into a bloody nightmare that has engulfed Egypt, leaving Israel surrounded by a sea of violence and barbarism...
Distinguishing between critics and adversaries We are a passionate people and, when engaged in political disputations, frequently cross the boundary of civil discourse. I could personally testify to this were I to air some of the more vulgar verbal outpourings directed against me by extremists...
Indyk: a Disastrous Choice for Mediator The US State Department has floated a trial balloon to test the idea of former US Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, serving as mediator in the forthcoming peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It is not surprising that...
Isi Leibler discusses Claims Conference corruption Recent revelation of corruption within the Claims Conference, which handles billions of dollars, is the “greatest scandal for the Jewish people, because this organization handles sacred money,” says Leibler, suggesting “making way...
Europe Hypocritically Lashes Out Against Israel The European Union has disposed of any pretense of even-handedness with Israel, and has effectively repudiated the concept of disputed territories, which will be one of the principal issues of contention at the forthcoming peace talks sponsored by...
Claims Conference: Has it No Shame? For more than a decade, there have been passionate pleas for the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the organization responsible since its inception for the distribution of over $70 billion of restitution payments, to review its...
En Route to Becoming a Banana Republic In recent months, there has been mounting indiscriminate criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s policies by government officials. Although such behavior has been a feature of Israeli politics since the onset of the post-Begin era when Cabinet...
Will the Claims Conference Board Act Before it is Too Late? July 9th Update Interview with Walter Bingham on Israel National News (click here) on the Claims Conference. In addition, see today’s report from the Jerusalem Post (click here) and the eJewishPhilanthropy post featuring the full internal...
Teheran and Islamic Fundamentalism: Facing Realities The enthusiastic media response to the election of the “moderate” and “reformist” Hassan Rouhani is reminiscent of the unrealistic drivel which greeted the “Arab Spring”. Indeed, there was perhaps greater justification for the misplaced...
Chief Rabbinate Electoral Machinations The sleazy political machinations surrounding the impending elections for the Chief Rabbinate are shameful. There is today a unique opportunity for ending the excessive influence exerted over the nation by ultra-Orthodox groups. This extends beyond...
Implications for Israel in the US Global Retreat The appointment of Samantha Power as America’s UN ambassador combined with recent US foreign policy statements, reinforce concerns that the US administration is accelerating its policies of global withdrawal, engaging rather than confronting rogue...
Religious Tolerance and Mutual Respect rather than Polarization The pivotal breakthrough which now seems likely to oblige Haredim to share the burden in terms of conscription and gainful employment, heralds a belated and dramatic review of the relationship between the State and Religion. The question is whether...
Claims Conference gets deeper in the Mire Julius Berman has circulated members of his Board with an 11 page diatribe (click here to read letter) in response to the recent flood of criticisms relating to the flawed management, lack of oversight and absence of transparency in the Claims...
Peres, Abbas, and Kerry: Fantasies and Realities Earlier in the week, I participated in “Breaking the Impasse”, an event held in Jordan under the auspices of the World Economic Forum. It was attended by some 300 Israeli and Palestinian leaders of commerce and industry who represent over 25% of...
A Global Tsunami of Anti-Semitism Participants at the fourth conference of the Global Forum for Combating anti-Semitism, held under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry this week in Jerusalem, will be provided with data highlighting the accelerated global erosion of the status of...
Claims Conference Leaders must Resign Now! Over the past few days, there have been additional mind-boggling exposures of further scandals, lack of transparency, cover-ups and ethical failures at the highest possible levels of the Claims Conference leadership and management. Unless these...
Exposed: Devastating New Claims Conference Scandal Last month I devoted a column to the ongoing disgrace of the Claims Conference and the failure by the management to take appropriate action to provide financial assistance to ailing survivors unable to afford food, medicine and other basic...
Déjà Vu: “Peace in Our Time” “Peace in Our Time” was proclaimed by Neville Chamberlain in 1938 in defense of his disastrous Munich Agreement with Hitler. History testifies that his policy of appeasement and failure to confront the aggressive Nazi barbarians virtually made...
Bayit Yehudi: Choosing Religious Moderation or Extremism Naftali Bennett represents one of the most successful of the new generation of Israeli politicians to have emerged from the recent Knesset elections. The charismatic 41 year old religious Zionist has rejuvenated the moribund Bayit Yehudi which was...
Survivors Languish as Claims Conference issues Unresolved Every day we hear additional heartbreaking stories depicting the appalling suffering of destitute elderly Holocaust survivors denied elementary needs such as food, medicine and other basic services to enable them to live out their remaining years...
American Jewish Leaders: Stop the Rot Now Visiting New York this week, I sought to assess the broader implications of the recent “International Peace Award” bestowed on former president Jimmy Carter by Yeshiva University’s Cardozo Law School. This unsavory display of groveling by a...
Independence Day and the Zionist Vision As we launch into our 65th Independence Day celebrations it is timely to review and rationally assess the extent to which our Zionist objectives have been achieved. When the Jewish state was proclaimed in 1948, the 650,000 Jews who constituted the...
Sanctimonious Jewish Bleeding Hearts I was somewhat taken aback by a letter released in the wake of President Obama’s visit to Israel, signed by 100 American Jews including a number of rabbis, communal leaders and academics, many, if not most of whom are politically inclined to the...
Obama’s Visit to Israel: A Turning Point? Both American and Israeli leaders must have heaved sighs of relief as Air Force One departed from Ben-Gurion Airport with President Obama’s visit culminating on a high note for both parties. Obama engaged in an unprecedented charm offensive in...
In The News: Obama Visit to Israel Offering Israeli reaction to the March 2013 visit of President Barack Obama to Israel, Jerusalem Post Columnist Isi Leibler suggests that the president’s warmth marks a dramatic change in the tone of US/Israel relations. Shalom TV “In...
The Obama Visit and American Jewry Israelis will enthusiastically welcome President Obama in the course of his first visit to the Jewish state since being elected president. But they will also be apprehensively following his statements and hoping that his meetings will solidify the...
Mulling over our new Government Bravo! After six tortuous weeks of horse trading, spins and hypocrisy, Israel has its 33rd government. Most of us, not already having written off our politicians, were thoroughly distressed that even during this crucial period for Israel our elected...
Israel Bashing in the Israeli Movie World It is a depressing reflection of our times, when many of us heaved a sigh of relief when neither of the two Israeli documentary Oscar nominations received awards. In the current perverted environment, it has become a hallmark of left liberal...
Germans Lurching towards Anti-Semitism In the aftermath of the Holocaust, successive German governments have meticulously upheld their obligations to the Jewish people. Study of the Holocaust is a mandatory component of the German state education curriculum, Holocaust denial is...
Israeli Politics: On the Edge of the Precipice There is madness in the air. Israel faces extraordinary challenges whilst virtually all our leaders uninhibitedly continue their intrigues and machinations in pursuit of power. They regard their responsibility to the national interest as a distant...
Netanyahu’s Political Cynicism will backfire Without doubt, many Israelis share my disgust as they observe the deceitful and cynical machinations of those we elected to represent us in the Knesset. Understandably, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was disappointed with the dramatic erosion in...
Reviewing the Case of Prisoner X As former head of the Australian Jewish community and now resident in Israel, I was bombarded over the past week with endless calls from the Israeli and global media soliciting comment on Ben Zygier, the Australian who committed suicide whilst in...
Argentina’s Pact with the Devil Argentina’s President Cristina Kirchner has jettisoned whatever was left of her country’s moral standing by consummating a devil’s pact with Iran, whose leaders were responsible for having inflicted the worst ever act of terrorism on her...
End the Shenanigans and form a Government The excessively slow pace of Israel’s electoral and political systems impose dysfunction at a time when a strong, strategically-directed government is desperately needed. This is highlighted by the excruciatingly slow coalition building process...
United Nations: Convergence of Hypocrisy, Deceit, and Evil Israel was the first country to boycott the annual human rights review presented at the bogus United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Despite being tacitly rebuked by the US, Israel was justified in doing so. For years, whilst ignoring the...
Say no to Hagel Now that leading Jewish Democrats have endorsed the Hagel nomination for defense secretary, his confirmation is likely to be approved, despite the fact that a liberal newspaper such as The Washington Post challenged the appropriateness of the...
Anglo-Jewish Leaders partner anti-Israeli Charity I rubbed my eyes as I observed yet another botched initiative by the well-intentioned leadership of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Its plenum, by a vote of almost to 2:1, endorsed a linkage with the British branch of Oxfam International, one...
Daunting Challenges facing Netanyahu The unexpected election results have created daunting challenges for Prime Minister Netanyahu. Many Israelis dislike Netanyahu. He has personality deficiencies and, like every Israeli leader since Ben-Gurion, has made major mistakes. But to his...
Liberal Jewish Israel Bashers: Ignorant or Malicious? I must confess to a rising sense of frustration and rage when observing the increasing number of ill-informed and fallacious critiques of Israel by liberal Diaspora Jews. This is not in reference to the loathsome so-called anti-Zionist Jews who call...
Hagel Nomination Conveys Chilling Message In light of the opposition generated when former Senator Chuck Hagel’s candidacy for Defense Secretary was initially mooted, most analysts predicted – mistakenly – that President Obama would not proceed with the appointment. The...
Bayit Yehudi: Don’t Blow this Opportunity Over twenty years ago, I published a booklet titled “Religious Extremism: A Threat to the Future of the Jewish People” which was translated into many languages and widely distributed. It dealt with extremist trends in the religious world,...
Habait Hayehudi – Religious Zionism at the Crossroads As a lifelong religious Zionist, I was saddened observing the ongoing collapse of the movement which had made a unique and valuable contribution to the welfare of the nation, upholding enlightened Jewish values, striving for unity and promoting...
Hagel – a Litmus Test of Obama’s Attitude to Israel The possible nomination of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense will represent a litmus test as to whether President Obama is poised to resume his anti-Israeli campaign, despite supporting Israel during Operation Pillar of...
The Election Season: An Unedifying Spectacle Most of us would be relieved if the election season could be considerably shortened. The worst aspects of our dysfunctional politics have been highlighted in this campaign, commencing with primaries which tended to promote the lowest common...
Ignorance, Hypocrisy and Double Standards I was more saddened than angered when I learned that the North American Board of Trustees of the Union for Reform Judaism condemned Israel’s plans for construction in Jerusalem and the E1 area because it highlights Israel’s failure to adequately...
Australia tilts against Israel In the diplomatic debacle at the United Nations General Assembly pertaining to the vote of recognition to the Palestinian Authority, two countries considered solid supporters of Israel, abandoned us at the crucial moment. Israel was shocked when...
The Gaza Outcome: Victory, Stalemate or Defeat? Castigating the government for the ceasefire agreement and implying that Operation Pillar of Defense was a failure is misguided and merely provides credibility to the distorted Hamas narrative of the conflict. Under current adverse geopolitical...
Only disproportionate deterrence will offset Hamas Terror The Jewish state was created to overcome powerlessness and provide a haven for Jews – not to have them cringing in shelters. There had previously been considerable criticism of the government for its failure to adequately respond to the...
European Jews: Time to Wake up Now The time has come for European Jews to pull their heads out of the sand, face reality and ask themselves honestly whether there can be any meaningful prospects for their children to remain proud Jews in societies which have reverted to treating them...
Post-Election Musings in the wake of Obama’s Victory Being in the US this week during the elections has truly been a remarkable experience and roller coaster. The outcome is that, for better or for worse, the American people have determined that President Barack Obama will serve a second four year...
An Election of Great Importance for Israel Next week’s U.S. presidential election will have major implications for the entire Western world but in particular for Israel. It is also noteworthy that Israel and the Jews have never featured so prominently in a presidential campaign. In last...
Netanyahu-Lieberman Unity Ticket – A Massive Gamble There may have been covert negotiations between Netanyahu and Lieberman for a long time. But as far as the Likud and Israel Beiteinu leadership and members were concerned – not to mention the public – the announcement was a bolt from the sky....
Turkey – Another Emerging Islamist Autocracy Bernard Lewis, one of the world’s greatest experts on the Islamic world, told me a few years ago that the emerging younger Iranian generation and the alienated middle class would bring about regime change. However, he also predicted that Turkey...
The Hypocritical Protestant Churches The recent initiative by a group of Protestant Christian leaders calling on Congress to reevaluate military aid to Israel is a nauseating example of applying double standards against Jews and Israel under the cloak of piety and hypocritical...
On Israeli Racism and Democracy Nothing makes us cringe more than screaming headlines reporting racist outbursts or hate crimes in our own country, There were a number of such cases over the past year and earlier this month, a Jerusalem Christian Church was vandalized with foul...
Netanyahu Speaks for the vast majority of Israelis Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s skilled oratory last week at the UN (click here to watch the speech), climaxed his highly successful global campaign to convince the Western world that a nuclear Iran controlled by messianic mullahs would not...
On the Boil: Obama, the Democrats and the Jews The disproportionately high profile of American Jews in the Presidential election contest and the efforts invested by both candidates portraying themselves as supportive of the Jewish State has assumed surrealistic levels. Overall, Israel’s...
Muslim Carnage: Appeasement and the Lessons of History There is an iron law in history. Appeasing xenophobic movements or totalitarian regimes invariably lead to disaster, encouraging escalating demands to levels which either culminate with surrender or make armed conflict inevitable. Had Chamberlain...
Rosh Hashanah – A Time to Rejoice Isi & Naomi Leibler wish you and your families a Shana Tova – a year of good health, happiness and serenity. May our prayers be answered and may our leaders be endowed with wisdom and integrity. May we merit a year of peace and security for...
The Futility of Relying on the International Community Over 120 countries – equating to two thirds of total United Nations membership – convened in Teheran to partake in the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) hosted by the Iranian Islamic Republic. The Iranians boasted that 3 Kings, 27...
The Jewish Struggle for Universal Human Rights One of the conundrums associated with the enduring nature of global anti-Semitism which has soared exponentially in recent years, is why, having made such disproportionate contributions towards all levels of civilization and left major imprints on...
Irresponsible Israeli Politicians and Media on Rampage In recent weeks, the ugly side of Israeli public life has been on display with irresponsible politicians supported by the sensationalist media, engaging in cheap demagoguery in relation to the Iranian nuclear threat. Yet simultaneously, in the...
Billionaires and the Looming Jewish Leadership Crisis The diaspora is undergoing a Jewish leadership crisis. In the United States where the vast majority of Jews outside Israel reside, the key professionals dominating the leadership scene are close to retirement, yet failing to groom successors. With a...
Wistrich on “The Left, the Jews and Israel” Robert Wistrich, Hebrew University professor of European and Jewish History and director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of anti-Semitism has just published his 29th book titled “From Ambivalence to Betrayal: The Left,...
Australia: A Long-Standing Friend of Israel The Australian Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, who will be visiting Israel this week, has a longstanding warm relationship with the Jewish community. Carr boasts a distinguished political career, having served uninterruptedly for a record 10 years as...
In The News: Isi Leibler talks about Mick Davis & Joe Millis Isi Leibler talks with Mark S. Golub on Shalom TV about Mick Davis and Joe Millis.
No Illusions about Egypt The government of Israel is making all the right noises and appropriate statements expressing hope that the new government of Egypt will maintain the cold peace. But we should be under no illusions. Even the greatest optimists cannot gloss over the...
Response to the continuing saga afflicting Anglo Jewry For those of you interested in following the issues raised in my recent column concerning the British UJIA, below is my response to two letters from Joe Millis (attached below), the latter carrying the imprimatur of the UJIA and my response to the...
Haredi Draft Bill: An Historic Missed Opportunity The breakdown between Likud and Kadima over the Haredi draft represented the loss of an historic opportunity for Israel to unite the nation and rescue a significant ever-growing sector of Israeli society from a life of poverty and ignorance. Alas,...
New Scandal impacts on Anglo-Jewry Mick Davis, head of the United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA), UK Jewry’s principal Jewish and Israel fund raising umbrella organization, has appointed an extremist critic of Israel to act as “PR and Communications Manager” – the...
Olmert: Count Your Blessings and Retire Graciously Following the verdict of the Jerusalem District Court, I was very relieved that Ehud Olmert will not be behind bars, unless the “Holyland” trial determines otherwise. It would have reflected adversely on the state of Israel for a former Prime...
Netanyahu and the Haredim Prime Minister Netanyahu’s impulsive dissolution of the Plesner Committee dealing with the haredi draft was a blunder from he and the Likud faction are now trying to extricate themselves. If this fails, it will lead to his political undoing....
The Putin Visit in Retrospect The recent visit to Israel by Russian President Putin represents yet another example of the extraordinary and unpredictable events continuously impacting on Israel and the Jewish people. Putin’s presence in the Jewish state revived memories of my...
Moshe Ya’alon – Strategic Thinker and Leader A recent interview by journalist Ari Shavit with former IDF Chief of Staff, now Vice Premier, Moshe Ya’alon, provides a fascinating insight into the thinking of one of Israel’s most sophisticated political leaders and covers the crucial...
JerPost Conf. 5: Diaspora and Israel A panel on “Diaspora-Israel Ties, US Jewry’s Socioeconomic Interaction With The Jewish State,” featuring Jerusalem Post columnist Isi Leibler, JNF CEO Russell Robinson, Ido Aharoni (former Consul General, NY) and Ehud Arnon of...
Peres Conference Provides Platform for Farrakhan Fan Towards the close of the fourth President’s Conference, Russell Simmons (pictured right) the African American hip hop mogul, the co-sponsor of Rabbi Marc Schneier’s (pictured left) “Foundation for Ethnic Understanding” , made an outrageous...
Promote Aliya Now The Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization are holding their meetings in Jerusalem during this week. Alas, the issue of aliya, which warrants priority on their agenda, beyond a few words of lip service, will almost certainly be shunted to the...
Concerning “Self-hating Jews” In a column appearing in The Independent, the fiercely anti-Israeli UK daily, Avram Burg, former Speaker of the Knesset, Chairman of the Jewish Agency and scion of one of Israel’s renowned religious Zionist families, commended the UK...
Religion and State at the Crossroads Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his new coalition partner, Shaul Mofaz, have pledged to introduce legislative reforms which will ensure that all Israeli citizens – including haredim and Arabs – will be obliged to fulfill their...
Labor in Opposition: An Historic Opportunity Labor Party leader Shelly Yachimovitch initially expressed bitterness and regret when the unity government was proclaimed. But she is sufficiently sophisticated and intelligent to appreciate that being elevated to Leader of the Opposition, provides...
Zionists do not boycott Israelis Despite being a weekly columnist, I feel compelled to respond to the Jerusalem Post editorial titled “Zionist Unity” (22/5/12). The editorial makes the outrageous claim that left-wing Jews living in the Diaspora who call for global...
The Nakba Hoax in Retrospect No revisionist or post Zionist spin can possibly deny that the War of Independence was an attempt by a coalition of Arab states to annihilate us. But as Goebbels used to say “Repeat the same lie again and again and ultimately people will believe...
Breakfast with Peter Beinart During a recent visit to New York, I had an extended breakfast meeting with controversial author Peter Beinart who in recent months receives enormous media exposure as the most prominent far left critic of Israel in the United States. Jeffrey...
Unity Government – Opportunities and Dangers The dramatic coup by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Opposition Leader Shaul Mofaz to form a national unity government and set aside elections until November 2013 has dazzled the nation. For over three years in this column I repeatedly...
Ehud Olmert and Intelligence Heads in Destructive Rampages We have recently been subjected to a variety of prominent Israelis publicly besmirching their country in order to promote their personal agendas or compensate for their frustrations. However we fail to appreciate the extent to which these ravings...
Most Israelis and Jews are under no illusions If one reviews the events of the past year and monitors opinion polls, it becomes abundantly clear that despite the mantras chanted by the far left insisting that most Israelis and Jews are opposed to the policies of the current Israeli government,...
Personal Musings on Aliya on Independence Day In Israel, the past few weeks epitomize the contrasting emotions of sadness and exhilaration which embody the life of the Jewish people. We experience profoundly mixed sentiments when, after Pesach we successively commemorate Holocaust Day, mourn...
Intellectuals and the Left The most talented Israeli intellectuals and writers frequently display gross political naiveté. Amos Oz is an Israeli icon, recognized throughout the world as the doyen of the Israel literary arena. His books, primarily relating to the wide...
The Relevance of Pesach in our Times Despite alienation from religious extremism and the extortionist tactics of the one dimensional haredi political parties, there has been a remarkable revival in the observance of Jewish traditions and customs among those not committed to observing...
Elan Steinberg: A great loss to the Jewish World Elan Steinberg, the former World Jewish Congress executive vice president, died last Friday in New York at 59. Steinberg was one of the greatest political strategists of the post-war generation of Jewish leadership and an articulate spokesman for...
Claims Conference Self-Aggrandizement The management of the Conference on Material Claims against Germany (Claims Conference) is ecstatic after having successfully forced two Israeli journalists to publicly apologize and praise them. In 2008, Israeli TV aired a program titled...
AIPAC at the Pinnacle of Success The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a uniquely American organization supported by the majority of American Jews, is the most important global Jewish association engaged in Israel advocacy. Jews on the far left, like those...
Israeli Arabs – Rights, Obligations and Loyalties An incident during the recent retirement ceremony for Israel’s Chief Justice, Dorit Beinisch, highlighted the complexities Israeli Arabs face in relation to their identity. Justice Salim Joubran, a respected Israeli Arab Supreme Court judge, a...
Olmert Honors J Street – a Disgrace I must confess I rubbed my eyes in disbelief when I read that former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had accepted an invitation to be the keynote speaker at the J Street Conference Gala dinner on March 26. By doing so, Olmert has sunk to an all-time low,...
Putting Hamas on notice Last Friday, the IDF struck out against the Iranian controlled Popular Resistance Committees which our intelligence discovered were orchestrating another attack on the Egyptian border. Zuhair al Qaisi, the Secretary-General of the PRC (who had...
Can Obama be trusted? Few would envy Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‘s role during the forthcoming months. Whatever spin is applied, the Obama Administration is refusing to draw red lines in relation to military action to forestall Iran’s nuclear threat. In fact...
Anglo Jewish Leaders and “trembling Israelites” The simmering tensions associated with the “restrained” Anglo Jewish leadership approach to Israel advocacy, exploded at the last plenum meeting of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Senior vice-president Jonathan Arkush launched a bitter...
A wake-up call for the Prime Minister’s Office Thankfully, the unsavory allegations of harassment against the former Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) are behind us. But the fallout from further impending resignations and bitter infighting amongst key officials remain the...
Beinart’s False Image of Zionism and American Jewry In June 2011, Peter Beinart a former editor of the staunchly pro-Israel New Republic, published a controversial essay in the left wing New York Review of Books, headlined “The failure of the American Jewish Establishment”. The article was a...
Ice Cream and Conversion When the Israeli Chief Rabbinate decreed that Haagen-Dazs ice cream is no longer kosher because it is not based on Chalav d’Yisrael – milk extracted under authorized Jewish supervision – it is imposing the most stringent interpretation...
Israelis on Attacking Iran: Leibler As world attention remains focused on a possible Israeli military strike against Iran, Jerusalem Post Columnist Isi Leibler reflects upon how Israelis feel about launching a pre-emptive strike and discuses whether Israel needs prior US consent.
The Erosion of Israeli Leadership It is somewhat depressing to observe the stark contrasts between the caliber and extraordinary dedication of Israel’s founding fathers and our more recent leaders. This would perhaps be understandable if we were now living in normal times. But...
Documenting Palestinian Criminality We are told, day after day, that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is a genuine moderate committed to achieving a peace settlement with Israel. In addition to the international community, even some Israelis – admittedly a dwindling...
When Ronald Lauder calls on Mahmoud Abbas During a recent visit to London, World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald Lauder accompanied by the President of his Latin American region, Jack Terpins, called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Saeb Erekat who were also in...
Groveling to the Muslim Brotherhood It is profoundly disconcerting to read media reports of the unseemly competition between the US and Western governments to curry favor with the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of its electoral victory in Egypt. There are chilling parallels to such...
Newt Gingrich Flap (Palestinians) Responding to Newt Gingrich’s statement that Palestinians are “an invented people” are Jeff Ballabon (political analyst), Malcolm Hoenlein (Presidents Conference), Ken Bialkin (America-Israel Friendship League) and Isi Leibler...
L’Chayim: Isi Leibler, The new IDF Draft Bill Jerusalem Post columnist Isi Leibler provides an Israeli perspective on an Avigdor Lieberman bill requiring service in the IDF as a precondition for serving in the Knesset, and on problems posed by the ultra-Orthodox and the Israeli political
Who’s threatening democracy? The collapse of the Palestinian initiative to achieve unilateral independence and the widespread consensus within Israel concerning the principal threats confronting us, have deeply frustrated marginalized far left groups. Their response has been to...
Change the System but cease Haredi bashing Last month at the outset of the upheaval over enforced haredi gender separation, I wrote a column titled “Confront Unbridled Religious Zealotry Now“. Regrettably, the fundamental issues requiring attention have been totally submerged by...
Losing the War of Ideas due to Incompetence In the war of ideas, we operate under huge handicaps. Our adversaries attract sympathy as underdogs, yet carry enormous economic and political clout and effectively control international institutions like the UN. In addition, they have hijacked NGOs...
Confront Unbridled Religious Zealotry Now Once again I feel impelled to express anger, frustration and pain concerning the primitive behavior displayed by our religious zealots and their frenetic efforts to reject modernism. But more worrisome are their efforts to impose their stringent...
The New York Times hates Israel The brouhaha over the recent New York Times column by Tom Friedman highlights the newspaper’s increasing hostility against Israel. Today, it would not be an exaggeration to state that the editorial policy of the NYT towards the Jewish state is...
Kudos to ADL’s Foxman for speaking up For some months I have been highly critical of the failure of the American Jewish establishment leadership to speak out against repeated hostile policies and statements emanating from various branches of the Obama administration. I also expressed...
Interview with Shalom TV in New York I attach, for those interested, the link to an interview with Mark Golub of Shalom TV which was conducted during my recent trip to New York and which is being televised this week. Mark Golub is an extraordinarily talented and highly...
Islamic ascendancy intensifies US appeasement It is ironic that whereas President Obama portrays himself as a friend of Israel whilst soliciting funds from Jewish donors, two senior members of his team were providing chilling insights to what Israel may expect should the current administration...
New Israel Fund sparks furor Down Under In June 2010, amidst considerable controversy, an Australian branch of the New Israel Fund (NIF) was launched by its president, former MK Naomi Chazan, who a few months earlier had been disinvited from an Australian Zionist speaking engagement...
The resurgence of the Zionist Organization of America I recently had the fascinating experience of attending the 114th national anniversary dinner of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) in New York. Close to 800 participants (including 100 student activists) from throughout the US gathered in New...
The assault on Jewish Jerusalem The ongoing pressures exerted against construction in Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem like Gilo reflect intensified global efforts to redivide the city. Like many aspects of the Israeli-Arab conflict, the issue of Jerusalem is being reviewed in a...
Netanyahu – the pros and cons Two months ago at the UN General Assembly, we proudly observed as our Prime Minister employed his golden tongue to promote the case for Israel. It was reminiscent of his previous address to Congress, which evoked repeated bi-partisan standing...
Searching for one Palestinian Moderate The Bible tells us that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah despite Abraham’s intercession, after he was unable to identify even ten righteous people in these cities. Alas, I believe that if one were to review the entire spectrum of Palestinian...
Stop distorting Rabin’s legacy As the nation commemorates the 16th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, I can vividly recollect – as though it was yesterday- the shock and anguish that we all experienced when we first heard the devastating news....
American Jewish leaders at a crossroads On the surface, it would seem that two of American Jewry’s most highly regarded Jewish leaders, both deeply committed and devoted to Israel, have lost – at least temporarily – their political bearings. In a recent column titled...
Gaza missiles: Testing our resolve Our tepid response to the latest stream of missiles launched against us from Gaza is chillingly reminiscent of our failure to adequately respond to this threat since the advent of the primitive Qassam missiles over a decade ago. That accustomed the...
On distinguishing between good and evil Good deeds and the spurning of evil preoccupied us throughout the Days of Awe and the festival period, climaxing with the redemption of Gilad Schalit. We live in times when concepts such as good and evil are deliberately blurred. For example, the...
Obama and Israel and Peace? Right and Left discuss the Obama admin. relationship with Israel and whether there is a realistic chance for peace with the Palestinians. Featuring Jerusalem Post columnist Isi Leibler and Ralph Seliger, editor of Israel Horizons of Meretz USA.
Gilad Shalit-The Sweet and the Bitter The liberation of Gilad Shalit on the eve of Sukkot, after five cruel years of incarceration was the outcome of a major conflict between the heart and the mind in which turbulent emotions triumphed. The end of the nightmare created waves of euphoria...
Is Peace Possible? Leibler/Norich The realistic possibilities for a peace between a Netanyahu-led Israel and an Abbas-led Palestinian Authority are discussed by Jerusalem Post Columnist Isi Leibler and Jewish Forward Publisher Sam Norich.
A Post-Zionist World Zionist Organization A widely distributed Jewish Telegraphic Association (JTA) news report recently published in the Jerusalem Post, reinforces the view that the World Zionist Organization (WZO) has now truly passed its expiry date, and is engaged in activities which...
Israel loses an old friend in Fraser Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister of Australia between 1975 – 1982, coinciding with the period when I was President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the umbrella organization representing Australian Jewry. During that period he was a...
Obama administration maintains pressure We must not underestimate the serious implications of the US administration’s fierce condemnation of a routine municipal approval for construction of 1100 homes in the Jerusalem suburb of Gilo. Although our government must find a solution to avoid...
L’Chayim: Obama, Beinart & Shalit – Isi Leibler, JPost Columnist Sharing his view of Pres. Obama, Israeli occupation and the Beinart position, the ’67 borders, Jerusalem and the prospects for Middle East peace, and the trade for Gilad Shalit, Jerusalem columnist Isi Leibler meets with Mark S. Golub on...
Rosh Hashana expectations Rosh Hashana is the season of Tshuva – of soul searching and reviewing events of the past year in order to improve our conduct and raise our moral standards for the coming one. Unfortunately, reviewing the “annus horribilis” of 5771 is a...
Abe Foxman responds to Isi Leibler No such games Sir, – Speaking on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League, I can unequivocally say that Isi Leibler is totally mistaken when he suggests that American Jewish organizations have become reluctant to criticize American policies toward...
A Crucial Week at the UN This has been an amazing turnabout. A few sentences in Barack Obama’s speech at the UN represented the most articulate and explicit summary of the case for Israel ever uttered by an American president at the UN. It demonstrated that the US...
Shana Tova greetings from Isi & Naomi Leibler Isi & Naomi Leibler wish you and your families a Shana Tova – a year of good health, happiness and serenity. May our prayers be answered and may our leaders be endowed with wisdom and integrity. May we merit a year of peace and security...
The silence of American Jewish leaders Traditionally, Diaspora Jewish leaders speak up on behalf of Israel, frequently even taking the lead on issues in which geopolitical considerations made it problematic for the Jewish state to be engaged. Examples abound: the plight of Soviet Jewry,...
Jews defect from Obama in droves We must not underestimate the serious implications of the US administration’s fierce condemnation of a routine municipal approval for construction of 1100 homes in the Jerusalem suburb of Gilo. Although our government must find a solution...
The two faces of the New Israel Fund It is a somber reflection on the naivety of well-intended Jewish philanthropists that they continue donating vast amounts of money to Israel’s largest NGO, the New Israel Fund (NIF). They do so despite repeated documented exposures demonstrating...
No tolerance for hooligans The demolition of three homes at the Migron Heights outpost by the army was conducted in an unprofessional, brutal and primitive manner. Three families were awoken after midnight as soldiers in riot gear and bulldozers descended on them and...
Isi Leibler Interview on Israel’s Channel One Isi Leibler interviewed for Saturday night’s February 23 program of ‘Roim Olam’ (seeing the world) on Israel’s Channel One on the topic of the Prisoner X affair and its impact on the Australian Jewish Community.
The depraved United Nations On September 20, the vast majority of the 192 member countries of the United Nations will probably “recognize” a Palestinian state. The “recognition” will not be accompanied with caveats about dismantling PA terrorist...
Explaining doublespeak to our friends These are difficult times, as we simultaneously confront threats from our neighbors and intensified pressure from every direction. The situation is aggravated by the upheavals in the Arab world, which have in all instances resulted in radical...
Justifying murder – an abomination Even before the Middle Ages, we encountered marginal Jews who turned against their own people. Among apostates to Christianity, there were those who wrote inflammatory libels against the Jews, paving the way for pogroms; socialists like Karl Marx...
Tough decisions on terror The latest terrorist attack in southern Israel was no random outburst. The Hamas leadership is unquestionably responsible, and at least authorized the attack. It was a highly sophisticated, well-planned military operation involving at least 20...
Social protest – reality and delusion We should be celebrating the apparent success of a protest movement initiated by Israelis outraged by an increasingly hedonistic society that displays scant concern or compassion for the underprivileged. After the tents have been dismantled and the...
Claims Conference Controversy Jerusalem Post Columnist Isi Leibler and Forward Publisher Sam Norich discuss the validity of criticism of the “Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany” for failing to support impoverished Holocaust survivors.
J Street’s soft sell for the uninformed Jeremy Ben-Ami, founder and president of J Street, has written a highly misleading book titled “A New Voice for Israel” portraying himself as a passionate supporter of Israel and a dedicated Zionist and extolling the virtues of his...
Tzipi Livni should resign now Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni’s unprecedented outburst against Prime Minister Netanyahu to an American audience, in my opinion, warrants Kadima calling for her immediate resignation as party leader. Livni’s eruption was unconscionable. I...
Claims Conference: A Failure of Leadership The board of directors of the Conference on Material Claims against Germany (Claims Conference) should hang their heads in shame. Rather than respond to the growing calls for an independent review of the organization in the wake of the theft by...
Israelis performing Wagner in Germany – a national disgrace The Israel Chamber Orchestra on Tuesday performed Wagner’s opera Siegfried Idyll at the Bayreuth Opera Festival. It was the first time an Israeli orchestra had played Wagner in Germany. The conductor, Roberto Paternostro, whose mother and...
Obama and the Jewish vote The recent Dick Morris opinion poll demonstrates that traditional long-standing Jewish support for the Democratic Party has eroded dramatically. It was an extraordinary demonstration of loyalty to the Democratic Party that notwithstanding Barack...
Rupert Murdoch – a genuine friend of Israel Rupert Murdoch, the man who single-handedly created the most powerful media conglomerate in the world, is currently experiencing a nightmare. Not only is his empire under siege but his competitors are literally baying for his blood, inciting the...
Confronting BDS from home I am somewhat unhappy with the anti-boycott law – and not because the hysterical far Left screams that it undermines Israeli democracy. I am concerned that if it is not adequately comprehended, it enables demonizers of the Jewish state to pose...
The never-ending claims scandal This week the Conference on Material Claims against Germany (Claims Conference) is convening its annual board meeting in New York. The agenda has already been circulated. Yet most of the 60 well-intentioned directors, whose principal involvement...
Obama intensifies pressure on PM The enthusiastic response from Congress and the American people vindicated Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s dignified refusal to kowtow to President Obama’s unexpected attempt to impose further, potentially disastrous, demands on...
Religious extremism and the Jewish state The demonstration that erupted in Jerusalem over the “arrest” of Rabbi Dov Lior, a right-wing religious nationalist leader has the potential of developing into another major crisis. With regard to the challenges currently confronting the...
The collapse of Zionist leadership The Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization will be meeting in Jerusalem next week. Of late, the media have been conveying the message that many Diaspora Jews, especially youngsters, are becoming alienated from the Jewish state. It is sometimes...
David Cameron and Anglo-Jewish leaders Anglo-Jewish leadership is again under the spotlight following its response towards recent behavior by UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Today every Jewish community engaged in dealing with government feels challenged by the need to balance silent...
The erosion of European Jewry Even if the flag of Islam ultimately flies over Europe and most Jews assimilate or emigrate, a Jewish presence comprising principally of enclaves of ultra-Orthodox Jews is likely to prevail, especially in the main cities. Only a few decades ago...
After the Obama- Netanyahu falling out As the dust settles in the wake of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s dramatic altercation with President Barack Obama, one is now able to evaluate the repercussions. Obama’s ambush of Netanyahu was utterly counterproductive. Coming...
Mr. Prime Minister, you make us proud Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has responded in a masterful manner to Obama’s unanticipated Middle East policy statement – presented without prior consultation on the eve of the Israeli leader’s arrival in Washington –...
Be firm in Washington The threats arising from the chilling empowerment of radical Islamic movements in the wake of the “Arab Spring” and the reunification of the openly genocidal Hamas with Fatah shatter any remaining dreams about the short-term prospects of...
Political correctness and the Kushner brouhaha Should loathsome or controversial public attitudes be taken into account when determining whether to honor a person for artistic, musical or literary contributions? This has now become a contentious issue in the American Jewish arena. In New York...
Independence Day thanksgiving As we celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the miraculous rebirth of Jewish nationhood, we should take pride in the extraordinary accomplishments achieved over such a short time. Israel represents the greatest national success story of the past...
The president’s catastrophic Mideast policy At every conceivable level, the Obama administration’s Middle East policies are spiraling into a disastrous free-fall. Even Obama’s friend, PA president Mahmoud Abbas, has explicitly accused the US President of having totally misled him....
An absolutely must read interview As a rule I restrict my website to my own columns and blogs and refrain from circulating other material. However, I am making an exception and incorporating an extraordinarily important interview which appeared in this weekend’s Jerusalem...
An open letter to President Obama Dear Mr. President, During your recent meeting with American Jewish communal leaders, you reassured them of “America’s unshakable support for Israel’s security, opposition to any effort to delegitimize it or single it out for...
Arab Spring – an illusion We are currently witnessing contradictory and confused responses by the Obama administration to the upheavals sweeping the Arab world. They highlight the failure of previous US governments to pressure autocratic Arab allies to introduce domestic...
The Goldstone Mea Culpa One would surely have expected that when Richard Goldstone felt impelled to belatedly retract his previous appalling defamation of Israel, he might have selected a more appropriate outlet to make his statement than an obscure op-ed column in a...
Perfidious Albion and Israel British Jews who primarily interact with fellow Jews in their daily lives, and thus remain largely insulated from direct anti-Semitic confrontations, frequently underrate the impact of the relentless demonization of Israel on their standing in...
Get tough with Hamas now These are indeed difficult times requiring painful decisions over issues such as how to placate the Obama administration in order to forestall a breakdown in US-Israel relations and avoid international efforts to force us to revert to the 1949...
Don’t Transform J Street into Martyrs Despite masquerading as a “pro-Israel” organization, J Street has now effectively been exposed as an organization whose principal raison d’etre is to mobilize public opinion to encourage the Obama Administration to condemn Israel...
A Jewish-Muslim alliance? The proposed public hearings by House Homeland Security Committee chairman Peter King on the extent of radicalization in the American Muslim community and that community’s response have created a heated media debate on the role of Muslims in...
Further developments regarding Mick Davis head of the UK UJIA and the so called ‘Jewish Leadership Council’ Guest post by Jonathan Hoffman A petition calling for Mick Davis’ resignation as UJIA Chair – originated by me – has been signed by nearly 100 people. The background is here: http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/58-lambast-davis-letter-jc...
The Defamation of Amidror The outrageous remarks contained in an open letter from a group of far-left artists, authors and politicians preceding and following the appointment of Major General Yaakov Amidror (res.) as the new head of the National Security Council succeeding...
Obama and Jewish leadership The “closed” meeting between President Barack Obama and 50 representatives of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations last week was hailed by the chairman Alan Solow and executive vice chairman Malcolm...
An open letter to Geert Wilders Dear Mr. Wilders, Having over the years written a number of columns in the Jerusalem Post broadly supporting you, a number of readers have pleaded with me to communicate with you regarding the Freedom Party’s efforts to outlaw the Jewish...
The incredible Rabbi Shlomo Riskin My first encounter with Rabbi Shlomo Riskin took place many years ago, on his first visit to Australia. He had a dramatic impact on the entire Jewish community, and since then I have been an enthusiastic admirer and supporter. Rabbi Riskin has just...
J Street Exposes Itself The scandals and controversies racking J Street over the past year are reflected in the notable absence this year of any high-profile Democratic Congressman at their annual conference, a marked contrast from the preceding year. Obviously the...
Avoiding euphoria over Obama A strange euphoria seems to have blinded some Israelis and American Jews concerning the context of President Barack Obama’s veto of a UN resolution. In the past, blatantly one-sided anti- Israeli resolutions were vetoed as a matter of course....
Objectionable behavior, questionable leadership The Jewish Chronicle of London this week highlighted what it alleged was Tzipi Livni’s endorsement of controversial remarks made last November by Mick Davis, chairman of Anglo Jewry’s United Jewish Israel Appeal and head of its...
Lieberman: ‘We are not a Banana Republic’ Enough is enough! We are not a banana republic. Our Foreign Minister is undermining the credibility of this government and by continuously behaving like a bull in a china shop, transforming us into the laughing stock of the world. The time has come...
Egypt, democracy, fundamentalism Those of us fortunate to be living in democratic countries loathe dictatorships and autocracies, and harbor little sympathy for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, even though compared to most other Arab leaders he would probably be deemed a...
Where are the voices of moderate Islam? When declaring war against radical Islam in response to the 9/11 bombings, president George W. Bush made the statement that “Islam is a religion of peace.” His laudable intention was to distinguish between radical Islamic...
Al-Jazeera ‘disclosures’ If ever there was a need to provide irrefutable evidence of the extent to which all parties involved in the Arab Israeli conflict are living in Alice in Wonderland, this was demonstrated by the Al-Jazeera “disclosures” of the...
On Israeli Racism and Bigotry As Jews, we were brought up to reject all forms of hatred and religious prejudice, and this was reinforced by the Holocaust. Revulsion of racial prejudice and the oppression of minorities was seared into our consciousness. However, in Judaism as...
We deserve a better government Those who think the demise of Labor and the affiliation of Ehud Barak’s rump faction to the government is a coup for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are mistaken. This latest realignment is yet another example of how our politics seem...
Yes to prosecuting subversion, no to McCarthyism Even though empathizing with the anger and frustration of many in the face of the blatantly anti-Israeli activities of certain Israeli NGOs operating under the guise of human rights groups, I oppose the establishment of the Knesset committee to...
Israel, a corrupt society? Corruption and sex scandals are not a new phenomenon for this region. The Bible records a colorful variety of examples, including the episode of King David, who sent a soldier to his death so that he could marry his widow Bathsheba. But at least,...
Unite on defensible borders Over the past two years, there have been repeated pleas for our politicians to recognize the gravity of the global and domestic challenges facing us, suspend conventional party politics, and work in unison to advance the national interest. In recent...
Lieberman and chaotic government Avigdor Lieberman is anything but a fool, and to his credit has on many occasions displayed a knack of striking a popular chord with hawkish Israelis. His aggressive manner and inclination to ignore diplomatic niceties enthuses those who welcome a...
Yehuda Avner’s best-seller The Prime Ministers, Yehuda Avner’s riveting chronicle of the country’s diplomacy through the eyes of an aide and adviser to successive leaders, has now become an international bestseller. Based on the copious notes and records Avner...
Open Letter to Claims Conference Board Members List of Board Members I would hope by now that you have all received a copy of the damning report on the Claims Conference by Jeffrey Gruder, QC, which was commissioned by the British Board of Jewish Deputies. This...
I stand by my criticisms In these pages last week, Jonathan Freedland accused me of indulging in a “viciously personal” attack on, and misrepresenting the views of, Mick Davis. Let me begin with a clarification. My source was the Jewish Chronicle itself, which...
Kissinger, court Jews and Anti-Semites Few would be shocked with details of further anti-Semitic outbursts by former president Richard Nixon revealed in the latest transcripts of tapes released from the Nixon library. He was a vulgar man whose foul mouthing extended beyond Jews to...
Rabbis: Raise your voices against extremism In 1991, I published a booklet titled “Jewish Religious Extremism – A Threat to the Future of the Jewish People.” It was translated into Hebrew, Russian, French and Spanish and widely circulated. Critics accused me of...
The ongoing denial of reality Were we living in a sane world, the events of the past few weeks, culminating with WikiLeaks, should have confirmed the veracity of our approach to the peace process. But, alas, much of the liberal global media has once again displayed its penchant...
Accountability for Claims Conference in Prague on November 17, the Claims Conference held its first executive meeting since the revelation of the $42.5 million theft from funds granted by the German government to Holocaust survivors. One would have expected that the fraud would be the...
The de-Zionization of Anglo Jewry Mick Davis, the South African-born chief executive of the powerful mining group Xstrata, is chairman of Anglo Jewry’s United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) – the principal fund-raising institution for Israel of the UK Jewish community. He...
Isi Leibler on the Claims Conference on Shalom TV Those of you following the Claims Conference imbroglio may be interested in viewing the attached TV segment currently being televised in North America. It presents a discussion concerning the Claims Conference failure to prioritize the needs of...
Harper and Obama on Israel Having recently visited the US and Canada, I was left with a feeling of profound disquiet concerning the starkly contrasting attitudes toward Israel displayed by the leaders of these two neighboring countries. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has...
Claims Conference fraud: Apologize! This week, the full extent of the fraud and theft of funds specifically earmarked by the German Government for Holocaust survivors was disclosed by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The money was stolen from the...
Israel after the congressional elections Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will face pressure to renew the settlement freeze when he meets Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after addressing the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in New...
At the Expense of the Survivors This weekend, Israel Hayom, the Hebrew daily with the largest circulation in the country, published an extensive analysis by me about the Claims Conference. An English version of the article is set out below. The slightly abridged Hebrew version, as...
A triumph of light over darkness Today, the Knesset will host a ceremony honoring former Soviet refuseniks and activists from around the world. The campaign on behalf of Soviet Jewry was the most glorious achievement of the Jewish people since the creation of the state, and...
Yes! Dissolve the Chief Rabbinate Ten years ago, it would have been inconceivable to visualize myself endorsing moves by the Knesset to dissolve the Chief Rabbinate. In the early years of the state, the Chief Rabbinate was one of the jewels in the crown of religious Zionism. It was...
Reneging on the Oslo Accords The Palestinian Authority renowned for its bizarre proclamations has now threatened that it would unilaterally abrogate the Oslo Accords if the peace talks break down. For ten months, Mahmoud Abbas refused to indulge in direct negotiations with us,...
Barack Obama’s plummeting support and US Jews For months, even years, the media have been feeding us gloomy reports about how American Jews are becoming disenchanted with Israel, alleging that indifference and even hostility were rampant. Misnamed “pro-peace, pro- Israel”...
The controversy over Wagner A debate over whether it is appropriate for an Israeli orchestra to play the music of the notorious anti-Semite Richard Wagner has again been resurrected. The Jewish boycott of Wagner’s music was initiated in 1938 following Kristallnacht when...
Our irresponsible politicians No sane person would envy Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu his job. He not only faces enormous hostility from the global community, but is embroiled in an impossible domestic impasse. To warding external threats while retaining the reins of...
The Wilders Trial and freedom of speech The bizarre trial of Dutch political leader Geert Wilders, for having allegedly insulted Islam and incited hatred against Muslims, may have major long term repercussions on Europe. Voted politician of the year in Holland in 2007, the highly...
A trust betrayed Some readers will say “Surely not again. He is obsessed with this issue.” Indeed, I am deeply pained and angered that for all these years we have remained shamefully silent while the Claims Conference failed to adequately prioritize the...
J-Street unmasked Two years ago, when I first condemned J Street’s anti-Israeli agenda, I tagged George Soros, the billionaire Hungarian born currency speculator, as one of its major sponsors. Yet J-Street founder and executive director Jeremy Ben Ami, on...
Islamophobia and the Jews It is surely high time for Diaspora leaders to stop living in denial and get their act together. Instead of competing with each other in oozing political correctness, they should display some backbone and call a spade a spade. We are currently...
Liberals, Palestinians and the sanctity of life Traditionally, abolition of the death penalty was always a primary objective of liberal establishments throughout the world. But clearly, there are notable exceptions. For example, when Hamas activists throw Palestinian Authority leaders off the...
Jews in the lucky country I returned with my wife Naomi on the eve of Rosh Hashana from a brief visit to Australia, frequently referred to as Down Under, being the most geographically distant destination from Europe (and Israel). Besides visiting family and friends, the...
Peace theater of the absurd Gemar Chatima Tova and wishing you well over the Yom Kippur Fast It is once more déjà vu. Magnificent speeches bubbling with visions of reconciliation and goodwill between Israelis and Palestinians. Global media editorials pontificating and...
The Ongoing Claims Conference Controversy In recent weeks Claims Conference president Julius Berman and treasurer Roman Kent published a spate of articles in various Jewish media defending their position and bitterly attacking me, even trying to reverse my allegations that they had failed...
Israel’s New Coalition: Isi Leibler After Likud and Kadima create one of the largest unity governments in Israel’s history, Jerusalem Post Columnist Isi Leibler offers analysis and explains why there is now an opportunity to change Israeli election law and end ultra-Orthodox...
Rosh Hashanah Greetings Dear Friends, Naomi and I have just returned from a brief visit to Australia where, amongst other engagements, we were privileged to meet again with one of Israel’s greatest friends, John Howard, the former Australian Prime Minister who plans...
Clean Up The Claims Conference The disclosure by The Jewish Week of the $7 million fraud at the Claims Conference has revived former concerns and exposed new problems relating to the management of this important Jewish organization. Initially, Claims Conference officials...
More on the Claims Conference Isi Leibler Interviewed on Israel National News radio with Walter Bingham In the wake of my recent columns concerning the Claims Conference I received a number of heartbreaking letters from Holocaust survivors describing the appalling conditions...
Anti-Semitism soars in Holland Like many Jews, as a youngster I associated Holland with windmills and tulips and a heroic people which bravely defended Jews during the Nazi occupation. Alas, I subsequently learned that the record of the Dutch towards the Jews was nothing of the...
Bungle at Israeli London Embassy Over the years I have encountered many cases of incompetence and blunders on the part of those responsible for promoting the case for Israel on a global level, but nothing quite as bizarre as what I experienced a few days ago. A number of British...
Claims Conference: Isi Leibler Interviewed on Israel National News radio with Walter Bingham Click below to listen to the interview Powered by Podbean.com
Restraint or deterrence A recent editorial in Haaretz reprimanded the IDF for cutting down a tree inside Israeli territory near the Lebanese border on the absurd grounds that the authorities should have been more restrained and sensitive to the political tension in...
Claims Conference: Cry Gevalt now! It reflects adversely on the Claims Conference when its chairman, Julius Berman, stoops to personal abuse in response to the troubling concerns I raised concerning the organization’s management and policy over the past few weeks (click here to...
Jews and the mosque at Ground Zero Throughout his long career as head of the Anti Defamation League (ADL), Abe Foxman has earned a reputation for promoting liberal causes and speaking out against all forms of prejudice and hatred. Nobody would describe him as a conservative. But...
Conversion: The Deafening Silence of Religious Zionists On issues relating to Jewish identity in Israel, Diaspora Jews are not only entitled but are obliged to be party to discussions. However, the current upheaval over the proposed Rotem conversion legislation has limited bearing on Diaspora or American...
J Street disingenuous As I wrote in my July 19 column (“J Street’s new outrageous initiative“), J Street has enraged many American Jews by calling on its members to lobby the US Treasury to question the tax deductibility of charitable donations...
The arrogance of Claims Conference leaders At the annual meeting of the Claims Conference in New York last week, there was discussion of my recent column concerning the fraudulent misappropriation of more than $7 million of Holocaust funds (“Scandal at the Claims Conference,”...
J Street’s outrageous new initiative The time has arrived for liberal American Jews who support Israel to ask themselves whether there should be some limitations or red lines for organizations seeking to be part of what they describe as the “Jewish tent.” Until now, many...
Change in Obama’s Israel policy? Last week’s meeting with US President Barack Obama was, on the surface, a dream outcome for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, especially in view of the harsh political environment surrounding him prior to his visit. Although it was widely...
Scandal at the Claims Conference On Tuesday, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) will be holding its annual meeting in New York. Proceedings will be overshadowed by the recent exposure of a massive misappropriation of funds, which will be...
Stalinism at Ben-Gurion University Just a few weeks ago, Professor Neve Gordon, head of Ben-Gurion University’s department of politics and government, was again challenged for continuously engaging in initiatives calling for a global boycott of Israel including his own...
Israel, Diaspora Jews not equal partners We have grown accustomed to the ravings of the Jew haters of Zion – the loony left who identify with Hamas and Hizbullah rather than their own people, the post-Zionists who seek to undo the Jewish character of Israel and the bleeding heart...
The forthcoming Netanyahu – Obama meeting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be in an unenviable position when he meets US President Barack Obama on Tuesday. He will need to walk a diplomatic tightrope of balancing conflicting issues. He is obliged to firmly resist pressures which could...
Haredi reform now Despite being a frequent critic of intrusive and contentious High Court judgments, I commend the recent ruling that the government terminate discriminatory funding to the only sector of society which rejects national service and the majority of...
Australia’s new PM – a proven friend of Israel The ousting of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd by his deputy Julia Gillard was a dramatic event. A year ago Rudd was still highly popular but his abrupt policy reversal on global climate and the environment began a decline, which climaxed when...
Netanyahu: Place not your trust in princes Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is likely to receive a red carpet reception from President Barack Obama at the White House combined with a reaffirmation about the “unshakeable US-Israel alliance.” However we should not delude...
Why some Israeli liberals lose perspective It is surely ironic that simultaneously with the emergence of a broad consensus endorsing a centrist position and the marginalization of extremist left- and right-wing factions, a number of Israeli intellectuals – mainly writers and academics –...
Isi on Shalom TV I have just received a recording of this TV interview that took place about six weeks ago and is now being reviewed. I have been asked to distribute it but appreciate that due to its length (45 minutes) many of you may be inclined to give it a miss.
The perfidious UN The Gaza flotilla imbroglio has provided the UN with the pretext for a new wave of anti-Israeli incitement. The Security Council instantly summoned an emergency meeting, which merely served as an arena to slander Israel and endorse a US-modified...
Time to get our act together As the details emerge, there is little doubt that our efforts to prevent the flotilla seeking to break the embargo on Gaza have become an immense public relations disaster. Israel is being depicted in the global media as barbaric aggressors whilst...
Our Soldiers Speak This is a reposting of an email sent out by the organization ‘Our Soldiers Speak,’ whose mission is to “bring the IDF’s proud truth from the front line of Israel’s battlefields to the people of the Diaspora”. It...
Bogus ‘pro peace’ organizations undermine Israel Of late, the western media has provided inordinate prominence to Jewish fringe organizations like J Street and its European clone, JCall, which define themselves as “liberal” and “pro-peace”, but concentrate on castigating...
The Guardian and anti-Israel lies The most recent defamation of Israel in the Guardian newspaper was a front page exposé alleging that Israel had offered to provide nuclear weaponry to the South African apartheid regime. I attach for your information two important articles exposing...
More on TAU and radical university professors As I previously wrote, Marc Tannenbaum recently resigned as a member of the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University.He did so after Professor Klafter, President of TAU denied him the right to submit a resolution calling on the University to review...
The US-Israel crisis is far from over We are currently being subjected to a chorus of proclamations by government spokesmen, American Jewish leaders and Obama administration representatives reassuring us that Israeli-US relations are back on track. Ironically, these frenetic denials...
Degenerate Israeli Academics on the Rampage In the politically correct world of infantile leftism, words like sedition and disloyalty have effectively been erased from the political lexicon. Indeed, those daring to employ such terms are automatically smeared as “McCarthyite” or...
Rejoice on Jerusalem Day Jerusalem, referred to over 600 times in the Bible, has represented the cornerstone of our Jewish identity for more than three millennia since it became the capital of King David’s Israelite monarchy. It remained at the core of our spiritual...
From pro-Israel to anti-Israel apologist Former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk has emerged as one of the leading Jewish apologists for President Barack Obama in his confrontation with the Israeli government. With the American public now beginning to express resentment of the...
Exposing hypocrisy, cant, falsehood Award-winning columnist Melanie Phillips, recipient of the Orwell prize for journalism in 1996 and author of acclaimed Londonistan, has written an explosive new book systematically exposing chapter and verse of the hypocrisy, cant and blatant...
Down from the fence World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder should be applauded for calling on the Obama administration to end the antagonism and one-sided pressure it has been applying against Israel. The call was in an open letter to President Barack Obama...
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Talk to us Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s reluctance to speak to the nation is encouraging the Obama administration to intensify pressure on Israel. He is creating uncertainty both in Israel and among its friends throughout the world. If he fails to...
Confronting Obama’s Messiah complex In the midst of celebrating Pesach we watch the storm clouds gathering against Israel. On this festival when we commemorate the liberation of the Jewish people from bondage we must remind ourselves that with the help of the Almighty, for over 3000...
Netanyahu must get his act together Dismiss the chorus of hard-liners urging us to tell the Americans to butt out of our affairs. Every prime minister was aware of the critical importance of retaining the support of at least one major power and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is no...
Obama has crossed the line The bureaucratic fashla of our dysfunctional government to forestall the announcement of a new housing project in Jerusalem during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden provided a pretext for the Obama administration to launch one of...
French Jews sous pression Over the past decade the status of the 500,000-600,000 French Jews, who constitute the third largest Diaspora community, has continued to deteriorate. This can be attributed to a combination of the dramatic increase in the numbers and power of...
Those bleeding-heart journalists In recent weeks, our media has indulged its penchant for masochism, depicting every incident in the most self-deprecating manner. This is exemplified in a column by Bradley Burston on the current homepage of the English edition of Haaretz. Titled...
Geert Wilders and European democracy The outcome of the current trial of Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders on charges of “incitement to hatred” will represent a watershed in Europe’s response to the challenge of Islamic fundamentalism. Wilders, nicknamed Mozart...
Inappropriate behavior by former Foreign Ministry Director General at UN sponsored anti-Israel conference In response to my last column titled Confronting Jews who defame Jews, one of my readers sent me official United Nations summaries of a conference held this month in Malta “in support of Israeli-Palestinian peace” under the joint...
Confronting Jews who defame Jews The time has come to draw red lines between legitimate criticism and initiatives seeking to demonize Israel. Richard Goldstone’s infamous role as the token head of the UNHRC report accusing the IDF of war crimes is only one example of...
The impending Haredi implosion Ongoing external threats have diverted us from confronting the burgeoning Haredi crisis which is rapidly developing into a national disaster. Haredim are an important component of our society. They represent an attractive contrast to the excessive...
Ending the illusion of peace in our time It is high time that we ceased indulging in theatrics and spoke the truth. We all desperately yearn for peace, and the vast majority of us do not wish to rule over Arabs. If we could convince ourselves that our neighbors would commit to peaceful...
Today’s great defamation of the Jewish people Until recently, Holocaust memorials were almost exclusively sponsored by Jews mourning murdered kinsmen. Today, many democratic governments have transformed Holocaust commemoration into an educational vehicle to demonstrate the monstrous...
Growing Norwegian hostility Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Gahr Støre, who is visiting Israel today, represents a government that all too often seizes the opportunity to besmirch the Jewish state and is renowned as one of the principal Israel-bashers in Europe. Jews have...
Obama and Israel: difficult days ahead Don’t be fooled by the soothing words recently expressed by our ambassador to the United States, or by the appearance of tranquility that seemingly prevails with respect to US-Israel relations. The settlement freeze may have averted an ugly...
Stalinism at the Foreign Ministry? Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has a penchant for rubbing against the grain of Israelis with some of his more abrasive statements. Today’s Jerusalem Post contains an item in which an unnamed Foreign Ministry official accuses Liebermann of...
Favoring a national unity government Just under a year ago after the elections and again last month, I called for a government of national unity. I was apprehensive that our situation was becoming ominously reminiscent to the period preceding the Six Day War. Polls after the elections...
Religious Zionists must disown the zealots Religious Zionists are confronted by an unenviable challenge which could permanently undermine their status in Israel. From being regarded by the mainstream as the voice of religious moderation and a force of societal unification – whose youth...
Competitors try to close down new Israeli Daily Until recently, the Israeli Hebrew media was dominated by three daily newspapers. The most sophisticated daily, Haaretz, known for its far left post-Zionist agenda has a small circulation but is widely read by opinion makers. But the market has...
Far more negative, far more dangerous The Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism has assembled in Jerusalem this week for its annual conference. The gathering of such a distinguished group of Jewish and non-Jewish legislators and others of distinction for the express purpose of...
Postscript 2 to “Perfidious Albion and Jewish Leaders” Yesterday evening I was briefly interviewed by the same BBC program in which the Board of Deputies treasurer Laurence Brass made his outrageous remarks expressing regret that President Obama failed to succeed in forcing the Netanyahu government to...
Europe has forsaken Israel It was ironic but no surprise to learn that immediately after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s settlement freeze, the response of the Swedish head of the European Union was to preempt negotiations with the Palestinians and make further...
Was Netanyahu’s settlement freeze a betrayal? Many of us were deeply disappointed when our prime minister approved a broader settlement freeze than initially envisaged. It is surely bizarre to impose such harsh restrictions for almost a year on major settlement blocs which even the previous US...
Postscript to Perfidious Albion and Jewish Leaders POSTSCRIPT to Perfidious Albion and Jewish Leaders. Readers will recall my condemnation of the behavior of Anglo Jewish leaders in a recent article. My concerns about the caliber of Anglo Jewish leaders were reinforced this week when I learned of an...
Why does so much of the world hate us? I recently met with a group of high-level Australian journalists, including editors of some of the leading dailies. They impressed me as a fair and open-minded group. In the course of discussions, one elegantly phrased question, not intended to...
Israel is Europe’s blind spot I am pleased to say that a revised version of this article has been published today by The Guardian newspaper. The talkbacks, even if disturbing to read, are important to see as they illustrate my point about Israel being a blind spot for too many...
Vigilance wanted, apply within Neither right- nor left-wing organizations can guarantee total immunity against infiltration by fanatics and extremists. Their real test of moral integrity can be determined by the degree to which they isolate, condemn and purge such elements from...
Kadima must form a unity government, now Ill winds are blowing. Tensions with the Obama administration are escalating. The odious Goldstone Report has provided a massive boost to the global campaign to delegitimize and brand us all as war criminals. Its full impact has yet to emerge. Many...
Response / On ‘exorcising’ Israel bashers from the Jewish mainstream Despite initially refusing to provide me with a right of reply to the Haaretz articles by Bradley Burston and Carlo Strenger misrepresenting me, following a further exchange of correspondence Haaretz.com have now published my response. Although no...
The incredible gall of Haaretz The gall of Haaretz is incredible. I previously reported on the refusal of Haaretz to provide me with a right of reply to an article criticizing me by Bradley Burston which was published in the Hebrew and English sections of the newspaper and...
‘Perfidious Albion’ and Jewish leaders The British and French foreign ministers, both of whom have Jewish ancestors, are now among the most vociferous European critics of Israel. This was reaffirmed by their odious “absence” from the vote on the Goldstone Report at the UN...
Haaretz & Right of Reply Last week Tony Lerman, the controversial former head of the London based Institute for Jewish Affairs, wrote an article in the Guardian totally distorting an article I had written in the Jerusalem Post critical of J Street and Jews whose prime...
Why make a fuss about J Street? This week J Street are launching their first major convention at which they claim 160 members of Congress and a number of former Israeli left-wing politicians will participate. Only launched 18 months ago, J Street already boast of a $3 million...
President Obama: Do not forsake Israel The disgusting behavior by the vast majority of members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) in relation to the Goldstone Report was no surprise. An international body with an automatic majority of Arab and rogue states was not...
Zionism at the crossroads After 2000 years of dispersion, persecution and powerlessness and in the wake of the greatest disaster ever to have encompassed the Jewish people, Zionism rose like a phoenix from the ashes of the Shoah and achieved the impossible. In what must be...
Marginalize the renegades The exploitation of Judge Goldstone’s Jewish background by our enemies intensifies our obligation to confront the enemy within – renegade Jews – including Israelis who stand at the vanguard of global efforts to demonize and...
Israel has to stop apologizing and take the offensive The non-Jewish seer Balaam is quoted in the Torah describing Jews as the “the people that dwells apart and is not reckoned amongst the nations.” Recent events, climaxing with the UN Goldstone report, have certainly borne this out. The...
Netanyahu’s address at the UN General Assembly If you have not heard Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations General Assembly I would urge you if possible to set aside 30 minutes before Yom Kippur and listen to it. Some newspapers have totally distorted what he said. Few...
More about our Evangelical Friends Last month I wrote a column for the Jerusalem Post expressing appreciation to Christian evangelicals for the support they were providing to Israel and the Jewish people. I noted that the enormous increase in support we were receiving from...
Towards a year of renewal and hope Naomi & I wish you and all your loved ones Shana Tova – a year of good health, happiness and tranquility. May our prayers be answered and may our leaders be endowed with wisdom and integrity. May it also be a year of peace and security...
There may be worse to come President Obama’s naive efforts to appease the Arabs by bullying and distancing the United States from Israel has backfired. However despite increasing unease extending to some of Obama’s most fervent supporters, the administration has...
Evangelicals: An appreciation A prominent American Jewish leader recently told me that the passionate standing ovation he received after addressing 4,000 participants at John Hagee’s Christians United for Israel rally in Washington was reminiscent of the fervent Zionist...
Sack Consul General Nadav Tamir Boston Consul General Nadav Tamir may be the most talented diplomat in the foreign ministry. He should nevertheless be dismissed forthwith, or at the very least carpeted and downgraded. Even if the policy of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was...
End the blood libels against Israel & the IDF The current global campaign accusing the IDF of “crimes against humanity” and “genocide” exceeds all the obscene libels that have ever been launched against the Jewish state. One of Israel’s proudest achievements is the...
American Jews: Stand up and be counted This column is a sequel to The case against Obama Ignore the soothing denials; the reality is that the crucial Israeli-US relationship is at stake. Over the years, American Jews have established remarkably sophisticated agencies to advance the...
The case against Obama See follow up column American Jews: Stand up and be counted Prior to the election, many traditional Jewish supporters of the Democratic Party were apprehensive of Barack Obama’s initially negative attitude to Israel and his troubling...
The religious kulturkampf The intense political and economic challenges confronting us divert attention from a festering kulturkampf within the religious arena the outcome of which will impact heavily on the future of Israeli society. Orthodox Jews were never a monolithic...
Obama and Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was in an unenviable position when he delivered his first major foreign policy address. He was facing tough demands from a highly popular new American president who gives the impression that he seeks to draw the...
Bogus ‘Zionist’ Israel-bashers It is ironic that many of the disconcerting themes relating to Israel in US President Barack Obama’s Cairo speech replicated those widely promoted for months by a noisy minority of radical American Jews. These “Israel...
US-Israel relations: A looming crisis? The vibes from Washington, reconfirmed by President Obama’s speech in Cairo, suggest that the United States may be heading toward a major confrontation with Israel. The policy adjustments are being orchestrated in a highly sophisticated...
Ugly vibes from Europe Paradoxically, despite the alarming ongoing surge of Islamic religious and political extremism in Europe, the European Union and individual European countries seem poised for what could become the ugliest confrontation with Israel since the creation...
Getting it wrong with the Pope Any discussion amongst Jews relating to the Catholic Church invariably triggers off emotional responses. But even taking this into account, the rage displayed by some Israelis against the conduct of Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Israel was...
Obama, Netanyahu and American Jews It was with mixed feelings that I returned from New York after extensive discussions with a wide range of American Jewish leaders. The outcome of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s forthcoming meeting with President Barack Obama will indicate...
Netanyahu & the two-state solution When our government enters into formal discussions with Washington, it will be obliged to make decisions that may set the tone for its long-term relationship with the new administration. President Barack Obama has yet to fully show his hand, but his...
Blood Libels Manufactured in Israel Last week the Jerusalem Post and the New York Jewish Week published articles in which I accused Haaretz of promoting blood libels by providing credence to unsubstantiated gossip alleging that Israeli soldiers were indulging in war crimes.A few days...
The Challenges facing Religious Zionism Lecture to Rabbinical Council of America Jerusalem, 24/3/09 My objective in this outline is to review the changes that have impacted on religious Zionism over the past 40 years and identify the challenges currently facing the movement. Mizrachi was...
Jewish blood libels Defaming an individual is a criminal offense. To defame a nation by falsely presenting its soldiers as wanton murderers would be considered treasonable in most countries. For Israelis to defame their own youngsters when their nation is at war and...
The Obama administration, Durban and America’s Jews A feeling of disquiet and angst prevails among American Jews. Many share a gnawing concern that ambiguous signals from the Obama administration herald an erosion of the US-Israeli partnership. The withdrawal of Charles Freeman as candidate for the...
The debate over ‘Durban II’ and the AJC David Harris is an exemplary Jewish professional who is largely responsible for the American Jewish Committee becoming a major creative force throughout the global Jewish arena. I am therefore saddened by his vitriolic public attack on Anne...
Can Bibi do it? Tzipi Livni is betraying her primary electoral pledge to promote the national interest above any personal or political ambitions. Worse, she is basing her strategy on the premise that under the pressure of events, a narrow Netanyahu government will...
Isi responds in the New York Times Roger Cohen wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in support of “dialogue” with Hezbollah and Hamas and further stated that he was ‘deeply shamed’ by Israel’s actions in Gaza. Below then is a response written by Isi...
Ill winds from Washington There are ominous vibes emanating from Washington signaling impending confrontations between the Obama administration and the incoming Netanyahu government. Over recent weeks the administration has appointed to senior government postings, personnel...
Livni should set aside her ego for the national interest Our politicians are once again outrageously defying the will of the people. The electorate decisively rejected the former government’s policies of extending unilateral concessions to our adversaries and the inability to adequately defend...
Zionism and the global anti-Semitic frenzy The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism is meeting today in London in the wake of the Gaza campaign, which ignited an exponential eruption of global anti-Semitic frenzy unprecedented since the Nazi era. The intensity of the...
Why I support Likud We stand at a crossroad. The government we are about to elect will be confronted with awesome military, political, economic and social challenges and will assume responsibility for laying the foundations for the long term future of the nation. I...
Leibler speaks at opening of exhibit on Holocaust survivors finding refuge in Australia By Greer Fay Cashman ‘JERUSALEM POST’ columnist Isi Leibler, before making aliya, was president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the highest position in Australia’s Jewish community. It was in that capacity that he was...
Diaspora Jews and the war The virulent global response to our struggle to defend our citizens against a cruel and evil foe confirms that Balaam's biblical depiction of Jews as "the people that dwells alone" remains valid to this day. Notwithstanding unprecedented efforts...
Don’t Transform the IDF Victory into a Defeat The Gaza war is far from over and we still face great danger in the days and weeks ahead. But we can be grateful that in this war, the IDF with new leaders at its helm demonstrated that it had learnt from the failures and disarray of the Lebanon...
End the cant and hypocrisy Anyone seeking a case study of the forces of good facing evil incarnate would not find a better template than our current confrontation with Hamas. And yet, having for years endured bias and the application of double standards from the amoral...
Avraham Burg: The ultimate post-Zionist Avraham Burg's book Hitler's Victory, published last year in Hebrew, has now been released in English with a more neutral title - The Holocaust Is Over: We Must Rise from the Ashes. Some of the most offensive remarks appearing in the Israeli edition...
Jewish Doves urge Obama to pressure Israel "Dovish" American Jewish groups are frenziedly urging the incoming Obama Administration to prioritize pressuring Israel to make further unilateral concessions. Although it is idle speculation to try to predict the policy that President-elect...
Madoff Earthquake In the wake of the devastating financial tsunami which had already inflicted enormous damage to Jewish and Israeli welfare and educational networks, the subsequent Madoff earthquake will undoubtedly have devastating long term implications for the...
Exorcise the rot from our midst The masked Jewish youngsters, who assaulted defenceless Arabs, attacked fellow Jews and defied the laws of the state, succeeded superbly in undermining the legitimacy of the settlement movement as a whole and strengthened public support for the...
Islamophobia Without detracting from the obligation to combat hatred against Moslems and all minorities, the reality is that despite protestations to the contrary from liberals, Moslems residing in Europe face far less institutionalized discrimination than what...
Museum of Tolerance Controversy Senior Haaretz.com editor Bradley Burston wrote in his blog ‘A Special Place in Hell’ against the proposed site of the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem being built by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. After a 2 year court battle the Israeli...
The tragedy of Gilad Schalit Our incoming leadership must make it clear that they are determined to bring an end to a situation in which our neighbors take for granted that kidnapping Israelis will benefit them. They must understand that committing such acts will only inflict...
The demise of the Religious Zionist party (Mafdal) The Religious Zionist Party (otherwise known as the National Religious Party – NRP), one of Israel’s oldest political parties, formally dissolved itself yesterday. The Jerusalem Post editorial laments the disapearance of this once...
Nordic Exposure Yet regrettably, this beatific image of philo-Semitic Scandinavians is a far cry from reality. Despite the presence of only minuscule Jewish communities in the region, Scandinavian countries are today at the forefront of promoting the most vicious...
Why I endorse Nir Barkat for Mayor of Jerusalem The Jerusalem elections will have profound long term repercussions on the future of the capital of Israel. As a religious Zionist I find it surrealistic that Meir Porush, a Haredi with a one dimensional outlook, would even seek to become Mayor. I...
Holocaust denier David Irving comments on my latest column Irving�s insane remarks about the wealth of my brother and I are as bizarre as the suggestion that we bankrolled Australia�s Prime ministers. However we do take pride in confirming that we encouraged Australian governments to keep this wretched...
Rethinking prosecution of Holocaust denial Today in democratic countries we face infinitely greater threats than from those promoting the insane proposition that the Holocaust was a fantasy. Prosecuting the deniers in court transforms them into victims and diverts us from confronting...
Why is the West funding Abbas’ hate TV? For too long the West has turned a blind eye towards incitement against Israel featured on the Palestinian Authority’s TV station. Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, describes in the Jerusalem Post how Norway, other European...
Jerusalem municipal elections Jerusalem Municipal elections are scheduled for November 11th, 2008. Many in the city are viewing this election as pivital for the city’s future. JTA reports on the issues concerning many Jerusalem voters as they consider whom to support for...
Liberal Israeli academics defend the Jewish State In a welcome change from the tendency of some on Israel’s liberal left to identify with or support those challenging Israel’s very existence as a Jewish state, two Israeli Academics, Amnon Rubinstein and Alexander Yakobson, have come out...
A courageous rabbi talks to the Catholic synod Haifa Chief Rabbi She’ar Yashuv Cohen recently became the first Jew to address a synod of bishops at the Vatican. He did so with dignity and diplomacy, and unlike many Jews engaged in interfaith activity, he courageously raised issues that...
A vehicle promoting evil Five years ago, I wrote that the civilized world would benefit from the dissolution of the United Nations, already then a dysfunctional assembly of nations dominated by tyrannies and dictatorships. Since then, despite the welcome replacement of...
New Leaders and Rosh Hashanah Reflections After struggling through yet another annus horribilis, we enter the New Year (5769) facing dark clouds and girding ourselves for all sorts of eventualities, including a possible war. However, there is cause for comfort in the demise of the...
Canadian Israel advocacy in turmoil Canadian Jewish leaders, who fear that protesting against this state of affairs will shatter the "unity" of the Canadian Jewish community, are misguided. The blind reliance of establishment machers on PR specialists who appear to dictate policy in...
Georgia is not our war whereas Israel is only a minor player in this confrontation, it would be totally against our interests to take sides. In fact, to the extent that we have any say at all, our diplomacy should do all it can to avoid a revival of the Cold War.
Debate policies, not personalities מאמר בעברית Much of the nihilism surrounding our government these past years is related to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s insistence that “a prime minister does not require an agenda.” Few of us harbor the illusion that...
Exchange with Yehuda Bauer Editor’s note: On July 8th Isi wrote in the Jerusalem Post in support of a petition that he and 100 leading Israeli intellectual and public figures signed urging Yad Vashem to exhibit works relating to Hillel Kook’s efforts in the United...
WJC embraces an anti-Semite World Jewish Congress officials allowed themselves to get carried away when they hailed a recent meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as having been "successful" and proclaimed that he had joined the global struggle against anti-Semitism.
Don’t confuse interfaith dialogue with groveling A global conference promoting interfaith dialogue sponsored by the current Saudi regime sounds somewhat like South African proponents of apartheid holding a global kumbaya extolling the virtues of racial equality.
Post-Olmert: A new era or more of the same? מאמר בעברית That Ehud Olmert may remain at the helm for a few additional months, making life and death decisions at such a crucial time in our history, is utterly scandalous. But thank heaven, the most disastrous government Israel has ever...
Yad Vashem and Hillel Kook מאמר בעברית I was privileged to sign a petition to Yad Vashem with over a 100 leading Israeli intellectuals and public figures encompassing the entire political spectrum, from Moshe Arens to former Supreme Court Justice Meir Shamgar to...
Enough of political perfidy It was only when recently addressing a Jewish gathering abroad that the extent of the shame of the immoral and indecent behavior of our elected leaders fully impacted on me. It all came together like a bad dream as I tried to put a positive gloss on...
The Barack Obama Enigma and the Jews I remain fairly optimistic that irrespective of who the American people elect as their next president, the friendship with Israel will remain intact.
The haredi offensive against religious Zionism If religious Zionists are to be constructive partners in state-building and avoid relegating themselves to isolated enclaves, they must take positive steps to preserve and promote the Jewish character of the nation without coercion.
End of the Olmert regime מאמר בעברית It could be weeks, or even months. But Ehud Olmert’s political fate is sealed. Even if the nauseating revelations in Morris Talansky’s testimony fail to result in a formal indictment, Olmert has passed the point of...
Enough of the empty threats. Act now against Hamas in Gaza Alas. Our fears have been realized. A missile landed in a crowded shopping mall in Ashkelon, a city with 120,000 inhabitants. Although fatalities were miraculously averted, there were over 90 casualties, including a number of seriously wounded. I...
Democracy demands transparency מאמר בעברית Two months ago I predicted that in order to delay as long as possible the drastic military action which will eventually have to be undertaken in Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would seek a face-saving formula by which to...
With friends like these It’s disconcerting and sad to see American Jewish “progressives” frenziedly lobbying the American administration to pressure Israel for further unilateral concessions to the Palestinians. To make matters worse, they understate...
How Israel got Trashed How was it possible? Only 30 years ago, we were still being hailed as the greatest success story of the 20th century. We were regarded as the people who rose from the ashes of the Holocaust and resurrected ourselves into an independent democratic...
Bravo to Michael Melchior I am hardly a fan of Rabbi Michael Melchior’s politics. But I must commend the Labor-Meimad MK who, as chairman of the Knesset Education Committee, is taking a major step toward breaking the religious-secular impasse in the woefully ailing...
The rabble that is the Israeli cabinet It is not merely that our prime minister is a failed leader, repeating the same flawed policies which led to our recent self-inflicted disasters. His dysfunctional ministers, content to remain ignorant of the concessions being offered to the...
Hillel goes post-modern Post-modernist thinking has made massive inroads at all levels, not excluding the Jewish political world, where references to right and wrong or good and evil have become rare, replaced by a politically correct lexicon. Recent controversies...
The truth about the Bibi ‘scandal’ The Israeli media have reported ad nauseam Binyamin Netanyahu’s so-called binge in London during the Second Lebanon War. But what has not been considered is the media’s despicably unethical behavior in feeding Netanyahu to the lions for...
Hudna? A prescription for disaster Today we are threatened with two extremely dangerous situations that must be dealt with speedily and resolutely. The first, already far too advanced, is that the government seems to regard rocket attacks against our civilians as being part of an...
Bravo, President Sarkozy It is early days but initial signals from the Elysee Palace suggest that President Nicolas Sarkozy is genuinely committed to opening a new chapter in Franco-Jewish relations. Since 1967, French Middle East policy has been consistently hostile and...
The state of Jew-hatred Almost 300 parliamentarians, academicians, human rights activists and Jewish leaders from all corners of the globe are participating in the Global Forum against Anti Semitism, held under the auspices of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and...
Israel needs a national unity government In many respects we are rapidly moving toward a situation which has ominous parallels to the weeks preceding the Six Day War. As then, the enemy is gathering on our borders while the nation lacks faith in its leadership. To make matters worse, our...
Stop promoting Israel-bashers The growing trend to provide respectability to Jewish defamers of Israel by inviting them to participate at leading community cultural events suggests that the distorted “politically correct thinking” about Israel prevailing in Britain...
Let’s correct the leadership deficit There is an old Yiddish saying that a fish stinks from the head. This certainly applies to our nation, whose leaders are unfit to lead. It is somewhat bizarre to hear our prime minister employing his renowned talent for spin and shamelessly...
Don’t give a platform to Israel-bashing During a recent visit to London, I was depressed to observe that the utterly distorted PC-thinking about Israel prevailing in Britain has now begun to influence Anglo-Jewish leaders. This is reflected in the growing trend of providing respectability...
Israelis aren’t ‘racist’ – they’re worried When Defense Minister Amir Peretz designated MK Ghaleb Majadle for a ministerial post, in order to garner Arab support for his position in Labor, Israel Beiteinu faction chairwoman Estherina Tartman branded the appointment “shameful and...
The first thing leaders need to do The preliminary Winograd Report failed to review the increasing reluctance of IDF commanders and political leaders to embark on military initiatives out of fear of incurring casualties. It is, of course, mandatory for military leaders to take all...
A nation that is in search of leadership With the impending release of the Winograd Report, most Israelis will be mulling over the future of their current leadership. Those old enough will recollect with nostalgia the extraordinary quality of the Israelis who led the country from its...
Tell President Bush the Truth Prime Minister Olmert has announced that in the course of his meetings with President George W. Bush, besides discussing Iran, he intends to reassure the president that Israel will remain highly flexible and make every effort to enhance the status...
On dialogue between Jews and Muslims Dialogue with Muslims has become the flavor of the month, and many Jewish organizations now compete with one another to create Muslim-Jewish talk-fests. Whereas such initiatives are helpful and certainly preferable to exchanging diatribes, if the...
“I implore you” Israel wants “to be raped” In the course of a visit to Israel by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, approximately 20 heads of the most senior Israeli think tanks and media leaders were invited by the American Ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones, to a dinner at his...
Outright defeatism Without exception, appeasement, self-deprecation and preemptive concessions to terrorists have inevitably served to embolden them. Israel’s experience has demonstrated that our enemies are restrained when they perceive us as being resolute,...
The Jews of struggle Attending the opening of the Soviet Jewry Exhibition (“Jews of Struggle”) currently on display at Bet Hatefutsoth brought back vivid memories about the campaign which dominated my public life for 30 years and launched me into the Jewish...
Olmert, don’t renege on the Jewish state In the week preceding Annapolis, PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, dropped a bombshell proclaiming that “one of the more pressing problems is the Zionist regime’s insistence on being recognized as a Jewish state… Israel could call...
One of our best friends defeated Australian Labor party leader, Kevin Rudd, the scholarly former diplomat to Beijing who speaks fluent Mandarin, won a landslide victory in Sunday’s Australian elections, abruptly terminating the uninterrupted near-12 year reign of Conservative...
Stop abusing the memory of Yitzhak Rabin Hitherto, I was loath to publicly express my feelings on the sensitive subject of the Rabin “heritage.” I do so now because I am enraged at the cynical, even obscene manner, in which the memory of an assassinated prime minister has been...
Sending our youth the wrong signals Alarm bells should be ringing in response to the findings of the recent survey of American Jewish attitudes toward Israel compiled by Professors Stephen M. Cohen and Ari Kelman on behalf of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Foundation. Based on a...
Shame on ‘Haaretz’ We frequently boast that notwithstanding its limitations, the Israeli media is unfettered by government intervention and could serve as a role model for a free press in any democracy. As in most Western countries, Israeli journalists are inclined to...
Leibler applauds security funding by Peter Kohn October 18, 2007 VISITING communal titan Isi Leibler has praised what he sees as a growing consensus between the Federal Government and Opposition on funding school security. Leibler told The AJN he hopes the commitment to funding will...
A banana republic in the making Never have Israelis been as frustrated with their leaders as today. Yet the old guard not only retains the reins of power, but with unabashed hutzpa launches new policies that the vast majority of their constituents adamantly oppose. There is a...
Retreat from reason High birthrates have substantially increased the number of observant Jews. Yeshivot are blooming and there is a widespread increase in ritual observance. A sense of triumphalism prevails among Orthodox Israelis. But there is a disconcerting aspect...
Toward a year of renewal There is no denying that 5767 was another awful year. But as we usher in the new year on Wednesday evening, let us restrain our masochistic inclinations and – without detracting from the very real threats confronting us – end the...
Measures against Kassam rocket attacks Question #39 As Kassam rockets continue to pound Sderot, Minister Haim Ramon has suggested responding to the salvos by cutting off vital infrastructure such as water, electricity and gasoline to Gaza for a specific time frame, while the...
The problem with post-Zionism Post-Zionism can be crudely defined as a post-modernist rejection of Jewish nationalism that delegitimizes Zionism and denies the Jewish right to statehood. The buzz phrases employed to promote these goals include calls to transform Israel into...
The unholy trinity and Oslo redux Only a few weeks ago our erratic prime minister was still assuring the nation that for the time being no further unilateral withdrawals were under consideration. Yet a recent report in Haaretz outlined a comprehensive new “peace” formula...
Hebron Refusal Burning Issues #38: How can the IDF improve its standing among Right wing youth who have become increasingly less motivated to join the army, and at the same time harshly deal with any insubordination among its ranks, as was demonstrated in the...
A think-tank, first and foremost Over 100 prominent Diaspora Jews and Israelis including scholars, organizational leaders, philanthropists, opinion-makers and Israeli politicians recently gathered in Jerusalem under the auspices of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute to...
The looming haredi disaster There is now a long-overdue recognition: the erosion of Jewish identity in the curriculum of the dominant secular school system is having disastrous repercussions. In their frenetic zeal to promote universalism, secular educators have diluted Jewish...
Avrum Burg’s Act of Infamy In virtually every era of Jewish history, renegade Jews have emerged as effective disseminators of hatred against their kinsmen. During the Middle Ages, a number of Jewish converts to Christianity became the most effective promoters of...
Stop appeasing Abu Mazen As events unfold in the wake of the Hamas Gaza takeover, there is a sense of deja vu. Despite the bloody consequences of our largely self-inflicted policies, we seem not to have learned any lessons from the bitter past. Our leaders mindlessly repeat...
British Jewry in crisis The call for a boycott against Israeli academicians by the British University and College Union (UCU) reflects the depths to which vicious hostility against Israel has become ingrained in British society. It is an abomination for...
WJC – closure and hope The World Jewish Congress imbroglio is hopefully now at an end. After three harrowing years of ongoing scandal as layer after layer of corruption was exposed, there is hope that we are now about to enter a new era. I am writing from New York, where...
The chief rabbinate is wrong about Evangelicals I was astonished to learn that by a majority vote, the Chief Rabbinate recently promulgated a ban against Jews participating in a Christian women’s conference “to promote the status of women based on biblical values” under the...
World Jewish Congress: closure and hope for the future The World Jewish Congress imbroglio is hopefully now at an end. After three harrowing years of ongoing scandal as layer after layer of corruption was exposed, there is hope that we are now about to enter a new era. I am currently in New York where...
John Howard: Champion for Israel Australian Prime Minister John Howard recently received a standing ovation at a Jewish community event, reflecting the admiration felt throughout the Jewish world for his courageous support for Israel. Unfortunately, the polls are predicting that...
Why I support Ron Lauder for WJC president The abrupt resignation of WJC President Edgar Bronfman in the wake of successive scandals now leaves the former illustrious global body of the Jewish people on the brink of a total meltdown. As the media fest continues exposing more improprieties,...
No solutions to Qassams? Only tough military action can bring Palestinians to realization their lives will improve only if they rid themselves of leaders who believe terror will destroy us One of the principal objectives of creating a Jewish state was to bring an end to...
YNET & Jewish Week coverage of WJC An Israel YNET interview on recent WJC developments follows. I am also attaching the link to an overview of the WJC published today in The Jewish Week by Gary Rosenblatt, editor and publisher and Larry Cohler Esses, the editor-at-large. Esses is the...
Now, the ‘March of the Living’ Scandal I recently joined the increasing calls for the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany (Claims Conference) to reform its outdated structure and implement greater transparency in its modus operandi and financial activities. I also echoed...
Yet another scandal Here in Israel, every time we felt that we had reached rock bottom in terms of corruption, we were confronted with yet more layers of sleaze and scandal. But ultimately exposing this cesspool into the sunlight enabled the public rage to bring about...
Jerusalem Report Interview on WJC Imbroglio Satisfaction in clearing my name is balanced by deep sadness’ The Back Page by Netty C. Gross April 16, 2007 In the end, like Cardinals Richelieu and Wolsey and other famously denounced deputies, Dr. Israel Singer’s fall from grace was...
It’s time to reform the Claims Conference Over the past year, escalating complaints and demands for greater transparency have been directed against the management of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), the organization responsible for recovering and...
Save the World Jewish Congress Almost three years have passed since I became aware of serious financial irregularities within the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and called for an independent audit. My proposal was not merely rebuffed but together with those who supported my request,...
More WJC Comment is superfluous. But I feel impelled to make one observation. The remarks of Claims Conference Chairman Julius Berman contained in this JTA article not only raises questions in relation to his own moral compass, but raises concerns about the...
Jews Against Zion Throughout the Diaspora there are alienated Jews on the fringe whose primary involvement in Jewish life is centered on undermining the Jewish state. Now they are seeking to establish themselves as a respectable alternative Jewish voice. This is the...
Interfaith dialogue: Have we gone mad? Last year I wrote an article warning that whereas we all support interfaith dialogue and creating alliances with other groups, we must never lose sight of the objective and recognize that dialogue can only succeed when both parties are committed to...
This is not ‘interfaith dialogue’ It’s time to have another look at the purpose of interfaith dialogue. Last year, I wrote that whereas we all support interfaith dialogue, we shouldn’t lose sight of its objective; that we needed to recognize that reaching out can only...
Now make it a full-time job, with real resources Isaac Herzog may have been disappointed that Labor Party politics forced him out of his post as Minister of Tourism. World Jewry, on the other hand, have welcomed his appointment as minister of Diaspora Affairs, though displeased that he will direct...
Birthright Israel… on second thought Over the past year Jewish philanthropist Sheldon Adelson, ranked by Forbes as the fifth richest person in the world, has provided a series of major donations for worthy causes in Israel. Last month he announced a contribution of $30 million toward...
The blight of corrosive corruption Of late, many of us have been warning that corruption poses a greater threat to our future than our external adversaries and that, unless reversed, like a cancer it will ultimately destroy the Zionist dream. Alas, today the stench of corruption has...
Be strong and of good courage This week over 100 Jewish leaders, academics and activists from Israel and the Diaspora will gather in Jerusalem to attend the Global Forum on Anti-Semitism convened by the Foreign Ministry. The conference could become the launching pad for a...
The End of Corruption Current cleansing of stables provides hope that genuine governance, financial transparency will dominate public and private sector Over the past year we truly began to feel as though we were turning into a banana republic. The stench of corruption...
Israelis aren’t ‘racist’ – they’re worried When Defense Minister Amir Peretz designated MK Ghaleb Majadle for a ministerial post, in order to garner Arab support for his position in Labor, Israel Beiteinu faction chairwoman Estherina Tartman branded the appointment “shameful and...
Enough of weak leaders! Isi Leibler urges the UK Jewish establishment to abandon its policy of quiet diplomacy By and large, Anglo-Jewish leaders — with whom I have worked over many years — are dedicated, well-intentioned Jews, genuinely striving to serve their community. The problem is that their reliance on discreet appeals to those in authority rather...
Enough of weak leaders! Isi Leibler urges the UK Jewish establishment to abandon its policy of quiet diplomacy By and large, Anglo-Jewish leaders — with whom I have worked over many years — are dedicated, well-intentioned Jews, genuinely striving to serve their...
Give us leadership Conflicting government policies relating to the so-called truce with the Palestinians are truly mind-boggling. What has unfolded over the past few weeks signals that our leadership has plainly lost the plot. The pride of Zionism was that after 2,000...
Islam, British Society and the Terrorist Threat Video of the Symposium “Islam, British Society & the Terrorist Threat” which took place on January 2 2007 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The subject of my contribution was “Antisemitism and the Response of Anglo Jewish...
Symposium: Islam, British Society & The Terrorist Threat The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism The Hebrew University of Jerusalem I am attaching a transcript of my remarks at the Symposium “Islam, British Society & the Terrorist Threat” which took place on...
Israel’s Plummeting Image A Call To Action! Jimmy Carter’s vile anti Israel tract aptly titled “Palestine: Peace and Apartheid” brings to mind the UN sponsored anti racist conference in South Africa which became the launching pad for the resurrection of the new global anti...
Winning the battle of ideas Jimmy Carter’s vile anti-Israel book, Palestine: Peace and Apartheid is bad enough for being another in a seemingly endless flow of tracts demonizing the Jewish state. But the author is a former US president, who despite antipathy to Israel...
The Gaza truce: another capitulation to terror I hope I will not be accused of pandering to hysteria when I assert that this latest “cease-fire” with the Palestinians not only represents a capitulation to terror but has also greatly heightened the peril confronting the House of...
Jerusalem’s Pride Divide The passionate controversy over the gay pride parade planned for Jerusalem earlier this month brought to a head the worst aspects of life in Israel. The storm can be viewed as a microcosm of the decadent trends that have steadily infiltrated our...
Jerusalem’s Pride Divide The passionate controversy over the gay pride parade planned for Jerusalem earlier this month brought to a head the worst aspects of life in Israel. The storm can be viewed as a microcosm of the decadent trends that have steadily infiltrated our...
Surrealistic nightmare These are difficult times. In contrast to the quiet confidence that prevailed even during the height of the terror, nowadays whenever Jews or Israelis gather, the conversation gravitates towards the state of the nation and invariably ends on a...
Beware Jewish Billionaires Bearing Gifts There are ill winds of change hovering on the horizon. Washington is signaling its intention to distance itself from Israel. Pressures are being imposed on Israel to make further unilateral concessions to Mahmoud Abbas, most of which would directly...
Weakness fosters anti-Semitism One would have hoped that by the 21st century it would be history, but anti-Semitism today has achieved what British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has described as “global tsunami” proportions. Clearly we are destined to remain “the...
A response to Al Jazeera There is no disputing that at every level we are losing the global war of ideas. Despite clear evidence that fanatical Islamic fundamentalism threatens the basic fabric of Western civilization, Israel, and by extension the Jewish people, are now...
Take on the billionaires We’re now witnessing an intensifying campaign by unrepresentative left-wing American Jewish groups to pressure the Bush administration into softening its policy toward the Palestinian Authority. In order not to distress the pro-Israel Jewish...
We need the guts to say no to Rice Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his successor Ehud Olmert justified unilateral disengagement on the grounds that we were obliged to take initiatives to break the impasse in the absence of a Palestinian peace partner. In order to implement this,...
‘Bravo Papa!’ In what will probably become one of his defining speeches on Christian-Muslim relations, Pope Benedict XVI ignited a hornets’ nest by incorporating a quotation from a 14th-century Orthodox Byzantine emperor alleging that the Prophet Muhammad...
My Ten Commandments of political reform Irrespective of its composition, the top priority of our government must be to repair the House of Israel. In view of the soul searching taking place arising from the Lebanon war, this could be an ideal opportunity for a broader review of the state...
For a year of people power In an op-ed for Rosh Hashana published last year, I described the outgoing year as “annus horribilis” – an awful year. Alas, if anything, this past year was even worse! In retrospect, the path to the Lebanon war was paved by the...
Elections now! I write the following in pain. The anger at the failures displayed by our leadership when the nation was under fire continues escalating among Israelis of all political persuasions. The issue of whether Hizbullah gained or lost from this war is...
Interfaith dialogue out of control Interfaith is like motherhood and apple pie. Everyone supports it. But there is one proviso. Dialogue can only work when both parties are genuinely committed and we avoid making concessions in order to curry favor that merely create a fa硤e of...
What to do about Tel Aviv We are already immersed in painful evaluations to identify the cause of the breakdowns in our decision-making processes and in rectifying the weaknesses in the IDF as a consequence of the recent war. What went wrong? The problem goes far beyond the...
Time for Radical Change Jihadists everywhere are celebrating, proclaiming Hitler’s Iranian successor, Hassan Nasrallah, as the new Saladin. Nasrallah describes the war as the first step towards the dismemberment of the “Zionist entity”, the...
Defeating the barbarians at our gate This war could have been avoided had we not continued to bury our heads in the sand as we watched the Katyusha missile infrastructures being built by Hizbullah on our northern border. For over a year, Kassam rockets rained over us and although we...
The value of Holocaust memoirs I have just finished reading yet another diatribe by a post-Zionist Israeli academic promoting the theme that the Holocaust was exploited by Zionists to create a Jewish state at the expense of the indigenous Arab inhabitants. To this day, goes the...
A government’s flawed morality Israel’s founding fathers took pride in proclaiming that the Jewish state would represent a safe haven and ensure that those who shed innocent Jewish blood would pay a bitter price. Were they aware how those who inherited their leadership...
Stop apologizing What a tragic missed opportunity. Over the past month the global media focused on Ehud Olmert as he met heads of state in Washington, London, Paris, Cairo and Amman on his maiden prime-ministerial visit. It was a perfect opportunity for our eloquent...
Olmert caves in to Bush Ehud Olmert did indeed receive a magnificent reception at the White House last month, and he must have been delighted when President George W. Bush signaled his intention to retain with him the warm relationship built up with Ariel Sharon. In turn,...
The threat from within Londonistan By Melanie Phillips Encounter 200pp., $25.95 The nightmare has truly become a reality. A frightening new book simultaneously released in the United States and the United Kingdom starkly exposes the magnitude of the penetration of Islamic...
Save religious Zionism Wherever they resided, religious Zionists at all times identified themselves with the triumphs and tribulations of Israel. They were drawn toward Zion like a magnet and viewed the restoration of Jewish statehood as a manifestation of the Divine...
Big fish, not big headlines In recent months I have written passionate op-ed columns predicting that unless we vigorously confront the mushrooming corruption in the public domain, like a cancer it will undermine the moral fiber of the nation. Thus most Israelis would applaud...
Don’t demonize good people It is a highly unedifying spectacle to witness Israelis demonizing Israelis. Unfortunately, in recent times this has extended beyond post-Zionists and other alienated Israelis to many rank-and-file citizens. In the last elections Shinui garnered...
Netanyahu’s new Likud Over the past year many Israelis justified Ariel Sharon’s riding roughshod over democratic procedures on the grounds that only a strong leader could overcome the seemingly endless conflict and achieve stability, if not peace, for the nation....
The validation of Jewish anti-Zionism Otto Preminger’s Exodus, a dramatized presentation of Israel’s case, during its early years generated enormous global goodwill for the Jewish state. In contrast, if the critics are to be believed, Steven Spielberg’s Munich...
The routinization of terror The recent suicide bombing at the Sharon Mall in Netanya claimed “only” five Jewish lives. Drive-by shootings have become almost routine. Potentially lethal Kassam rockets directed against Israeli civilians are a daily event. In most...
Banana republic It would be a monumental understatement to describe our current political condition as chaotic. Over the past year even some of Ariel Sharon’s supporters became distressed with his heavy-handed style of leadership and inclination to behave as...
Stop attacking our friends ADL Director Abraham Foxman’s wide-ranging attack on evangelical Christians, whom he has accused of launching a campaign to “Christianize America,” is still reverberating in the United States. The leader of the Reform movement,...
When Seymour met Condi Until recently, Diaspora leaders all agreed that on matters relating to security, Israel and the Diaspora are not equal partners. It is Israeli citizens who will face the consequences of decisions made by their elected government, whereas Diaspora...
Don’t Repeat the Same Mistakes Despite the bitter loss of so many innocent lives in recent years, there is a feeling of deja vu as our leaders recycle the same blunders of the past. We always attain peaks of popularity whenever we make unilateral concessions. So it was not...
Storm clouds ahead On the surface, the relationship between the United States and Israel has never been better. The Bush Administration is today more understanding of Israel’s position than any of its predecessors; the extent of evangelical Christian is...
Norman Finkelstein’s world Historically, self-hating Jews besmirching their kinsmen have ranged from apostates in the Middle Ages to communists in Stalinist Russia. Today their successors have assumed pivotal roles in the global campaign to delegitimize Israel. The most...
The first word: Stop whispering Anglo-Jewry can take pride in its exemplary contribution to world Jewry and Zionism. From Moses Montefiore’s interventions during the Damascus blood libel, to the Balfour Declaration, through to the Soviet Jewry protest movement, British Jews...
Religious Zionists in crisis Religious Zionists today face an existential crisis. Their role as a positive pivotal force in Israel is doomed unless they absorb the lessons from the setbacks and failures from the past year. If they are unable to realign with the people and fail...
5765, the good and the bad Even most supporters of disengagement would agree that, by any benchmark, this has been an annus horribilis, an awful year on the Israeli domestic scene. The prime minister bypassed procedures which are normally taken for granted in a democratic...
Going beyond scapegoating Over the ages anti-Semites highlighted the alleged wrongdoings or antisocial behavior of individual Jews as a means to vilify and demonize the entire Jewish people. Who could have dreamt that a Jewish state would become the staging ground for...
Sharon must face the people now In light of recent events Prime Minister Sharon must heed the calls to hold national elections. Failure to do so makes a mockery of Israel’s parliamentary system. In a humiliating defeat for the Prime Minister, the Knesset recently carried...
Essay: For a real Knesset debate Have we lost our minds? How else can one explain the curtain of silence which greeted the devastating press interviews by outgoing chief of General Staff Moshe Ya’alon? Ya’alon predicted that: * Current government policies might...
Corruption is a cancer The state comptroller’s annual report again enumerated a litany of corruption based on protektzia and nepotism. Obviously frustrated, retiring comptroller Judge Eliezer Goldberg warned that “government corruption represents a greater...
Professors of hate The flow of new initiatives from academics throughout the world seeking to delegitimize Israel continues unabated. Now the emphasis is directed towards anti-Israeli boycotts as exemplified by the recent outrage from the British Association of...
The dangerous silence of modern Orthodoxy It is generally conceded that as a group, religious Zionists today represent the most motivated, dedicated and patriotic segment of Israeli society. Why, then, do so many Israelis still regard religious Jews generally with disdain, even disgust?...
Mr. Sharon goes to Crawford When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon flies to President George W. Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch for a scheduled April 11 meeting, the premier will leave behind a tense, bitterly divided nation still in the dark about his real intentions after...
How not to repeat Oslo’s mistake Assuming the painful unilateral disengagement proceeds as scheduled, it is vital that a strategy for the day after be precisely formulated now. Oslo was flawed because the day after was based on a false premise – that unilateral concessions would...
The limits of ecumenical dialogue In these times we are surely obliged to forge new alliances. Our traditional friends of yesteryear – the liberals and the Left – now stand at the forefront of campaigns to demonize and delegitimize us and increasingly indulge in outright...
Divided, not defeated Are we witnessing the impending demise of religious Zionism? There is no denying that the disengagement process has had a particularly devastating impact on religious settlers and others who believe they must choose between obeying God’s will...
Let’s rethink how we fight Jew-hatred There will be little cause for celebration at the Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism which opens Tuesday evening in Jerusalem. Partly that’s because in fighting Jew-hatred we have been misdirecting some of our energies. Having been involved in...
Extremism is the greatest threat Many Israelis are losing the ability to indulge in civilized dialogue. Political discourse invariably degenerates into screaming matches, and Knesset debates stoop to personal abuse. While the decline in civility and rational dialogue is bad enough,...
Don’t take the Diaspora for granted There are alarming indicators suggesting that the erosion of the Israel-Diaspora relationship is reaching an all-time low. The extent of this downturn is minimized by exaggerated media exposure of enthusiastic statements of support for Israel by a...
Stop the Kassams It is disconcerting that Kassam rocket attacks on Sderot and the Negev are treated in the media as routine. On Wednesday a rocket landed near a kindergarten. Fortunately there were no casualties. To accept these assaults on our civilian population...
Israeli and Diaspora Jews are not equal partners Despite soothing statements of support from Jewish leaders there are serious problems looming in the Israel-Diaspora relationship. Anti Semitism and demonization of Israel have encouraged committed Jews to intensify their support of Israel but the...
Yasser Arafat’s repeat performance After four years of bloodshed, some in the Israeli media have opened the debate as to the peace credentials of Yasser Arafat. What self-inflicted masochism is this? In every generation we seem to spawn frustrated Jews obsessed with an urge to...
The UN – a home for the Jews? It has been somewhat bizarre to observe the recent stream of international and government-sponsored conferences dealing with anti-Semitism. Only six months ago most European governments were still indignantly denying the evidence of burgeoning...
Religious Zionism at the crossroads Having been raised in a religious Zionist household, I find it painful to observe the ongoing self-destruction of a movement that has so much to offer Israeli society. Even today Israel’s religious Zionists are represented far in excess of...
Democracy or banana republic? Surrounded by neighbors committed to our destruction and standing in the front line of the global war against terror, Israelis can rightly take pride in being the only democratic state in the region. However, recent political developments do raise...
No ersatz unity government Waxing eloquent over the need for Jewish unity is like supporting motherhood. Who can object to unity? A unity government would seem timely, given that most Israelis now share a consensus about the nature of our confrontation with the Palestinians....
Full circle in Berlin Two weeks ago in Berlin, where the Nazis launched the Final Solution, 600 delegates from 55 governments and NGOs met under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to review the alarming global upsurge of...
…support it Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral withdrawal plan may be ill-timed, defeatist, and perceived as a reward for terror. Until April 14, I fervently hoped it would be rejected at the Likud referendum. But ultimately politics amounts to the...
Moscow revisited While still a student, I was privileged to be recruited to the cause of Soviet Jewry by Shaul Avigur, the Israeli who laid the foundations for one of the most successful human rights campaigns in the 20th century. My involvement included lobbying...
Europe faces its present In 1970 an international conference on Soviet Jewry in Brussels became a turning point in the campaign to liberate Jews in the Soviet Union. Future historians may well conclude that the recent European Union-sponsored seminar on anti-Semitism, also...
Sharon should prove terror hasn’t won Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip may represent a historical watershed. Despite the chaotic manner in which the initiative was launched and unpleasant accompanying allegations concerning...
The demonization of Israel and Anti-Semitism Paper presented to Global Conference on Anti-Semitism – Jerusalem, January 28, 2004. In a letter to an anti-Zionist, published in the Saturday Review, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate wrote: “… You declare, my friend, that you do not...
Confront the evil How appallingly mistaken we were. While hypnotizing ourselves into accepting “the irreversible peace process” we also deluded ourselves into believing that anti-Semites had become an extinct species. We failed to appreciate that after...
The Right should stick with Sharon Of late I have criticized Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for maintaining the status quo and only responding to events rather than developing initiatives in accordance with a strategic game plan of his own. This paralysis, coming at a time when our...
Blame the chaos on Sharon Have we really begun losing the plot? In the old days, when we witnessed apparent bungles we would convince ourselves that we were not privy to all the facts and time would show that our leaders were in reality playing a smart game. Today we no...
New deal from New Delhi As a frequent visitor, I had become inured to India’s hostile posture toward Israel. The country was a leader of the Cold War-era non-aligned movement, dependent on Arab oil and expatriate income from the Gulf States. It is also home to over...
Post-Zionist rampage Israel has just cause to take pride in its democratic system. What other country at war with ruthless terrorists would take for granted the right of independent media to highlight interviews with former security leaders who lambaste the government...
Crossing all red lines Yossi Beilin has again hoisted himself on his own petard. The recent negotiations with the Palestinians in Amman and the anticipated signing ceremony in Geneva demonstrate that he and his fellow Osloists have learned nothing from the decisive...
War of ideas There is no question that we are utterly inept in presenting the case for Israel and faring disastrously in the war of ideas. Paradoxically, this is happening at a time when the rights and wrongs are so self-evident that our moral case should be...
Jewish leadership fails again We are currently commemorating the second yahrzeit of Hillel Kook, a remarkable person who carried out a one-man campaign to arouse the conscience of the world to the terrible plight of the Jews in Europe during the Holocaust. It is undeniable that...
Jews contra Israel In response to “The Price of Not Keeping the Peace” by Arthur Hertzberg, originally published by the New York Times on August 27, 2003. It is tragic that in the war of ideas some of the most nefarious assailants of the Jewish cause are...
Misplaced aliya priorities Are we spending too much on free trips to Israel for teens, and not enough on actually promoting aliya among potential immigrants? Over the past six months immigration to Israel has dropped sharply. The figures are now 30 percent lower than they...
Evangelical Christians, our new allies Scarcely a day goes by without a fresh media story in appreciation of our new friends, the Evangelical Christians. Only a few years ago many of us would have been appalled at the prospect of developing warm ties with those we then considered at best...
Response to David Kimche Written in response to “Apologize, or resign” by David Kimche, published by the Jerusalem Post on August 11, 2003. Dear David, I still have clear memories of many meetings in your office during your term as director general of the...
An open letter to Edgar Bronfman Mr. Edgar Bronfman, President World Jewish Congress 501 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 Dear Edgar I write to you as the Senior Vice President of the World Jewish Congress. Last week you co-signed with Lawrence Eagleburger a letter to President...
Poraz beats the anti-religious drum Avraham Poraz, our secular “Zionist” minister of the interior, is a modern man untrammelled by bigotry and superstition. His revulsion to religious values is directed against his own people’s faith, Judaism; one does not recall him...
Lose our children, lose our future Our failure to convey Israel’s historical narrative and its political case to young Jews in the Diaspora is a looming disaster. Countless high school, college and university students feel uncertain and even ashamed of being identified with a...
Miguel Moratinos and the European malaise If you are in any doubt as to the bias and double standards Europeans apply against Israel, just read the farewell message of the outgoing European Union Representative towards the Middle East Peace Process, Miguel Moratinos (Jerusalem Post, July...
Place not your trust in princes President George W. Bush is a friend of Israel and has displayed understanding for our security concerns. Washington is the shield that protects Israel from total isolation in the international community. More than that, the United States is the...
The road map and realism The road map will shortly be published, and there are no surprises. Implemented as it stands, it would be detrimental to Israel and amount to a recycling of the disastrous Oslo Accords. Despite appearances, Prime Minister Abu Mazen, the Holocaust...
Counting Israel’s blessings The Haggada reading that “in every generation there are those who rise against us to destroy us” will undoubtedly sound a responsive chord amongst Israelis especially at those Seders marred by the absence of a family member killed or...
Civilian casualties and ugly wars Saddam Hussein is an evil and reckless tyrant, but one should not underestimate his ability to identify and exploit the weaknesses of his enemies. As his last desperate hope to ward off defeat he has designated a number of strategies to undermine...
Time to dissolve the United Nations? The civilized world would be better off were the United Nations in its present form to disappear. Such views are being increasingly expressed by many people, including sober analysts of the international scene. As a sentimental youngster, I was in...
Beware of a false dawn The impending war and its subsequent impact on the region makes it mandatory for leaders in the national camp to review their current policies and future strategies. Over the past months our leaders have been reassuring Israelis that President...
Icons are also fallible What motivates a prize winning Israeli author to write an op-ed in the New York Times urging Americans to oppose military action against Saddam Hussein? Amos Oz is an Israeli icon – one of our most distinguished men of letters whose novels and...
When Effi met Tommy: The real test of the NRP-Shinui relationship The agreement between Shinui and NRP paving the way for the formation of the government took most political observers by surprise. Over the past decades the polarization of attitudes between the religious and non-observant sectors of Israeli society...
The Belgians as true Europeans A very personal j’accuse by a former Belgian Jew My grandparents and many members of my family in Belgium were deported and gassed in Auschwitz. As in most Nazi occupied countries in Europe, the state bureaucracy and Belgian collaborators...
New face to the Diaspora Supporters of Yisrael B’Aliya are undoubtedly bitterly disappointed at their unexpected poll debacle. But many more will applaud the appointment of Natan Sharansky as incoming minister for Diaspora Affairs. Indeed one political party’s...
A mandate and an opportunity Sharon must go beyond war and peace and set the domestic house in order Ariel Sharon’s landslide victory is testimony to the common sense of the Israeli voter. The electorate – which refused to be sidetracked by a stridently biased media...
The doublespeak of the Left If George Orwell were alive today, he would glory in the instance of the Leora Glatt-Berkowitz affair, as a classic example of “doublespeak.” A breach of law, integrity and ethics is brazenly committed by a senior prosecutor of the Tel...
Of corruption and treason After 2,000 years of bitter exile and persecution, after the devastation of the Holocaust and now facing the threat of weapons of mass destruction, many of us still delude ourselves that we can take our country’s survival for granted. How else...
Avoiding a religious Kulturkampf How is it possible that a political party whose primary platform based on hatred of haredim is poised to become the third largest party in the Knesset? Why are religious Jews regarded with disdain by so many Israelis? Why are many of our youngsters...
The decline and fall of Labor Zionism The election of Amram Mitzna to the leadership of the Labor Party has effectively marginalized the party and virtually destroyed its chances of winning the forthcoming elections. Even if the party gains a few Meretz votes its Knesset representation...
A Partnership – Not A Feud – To Be Fueled We stand at a watershed. The impending election could be the most important since Israel’s founding. The new leadership will be obliged to make critical decisions that could determine the country’s destiny for generations to come....
No More Sham Unity Governments To hold an election when a country is undergoing war and battling an economic crisis is far from ideal. Yet it can also be argued that the Knesset was no longer representative, a large proportion of its members having outlived their mandate. Some...
Yossi Sarid’s Inciteful Remarks Although we argue and disagree passionately on many issues, whenever we were previously confronted by an external threat, with the exception of a few marginal elements, we always set aside our differences and united. Alas, not so today. Using...
Evil is Evil Although in all likelihood we will still undergo more bloodshed before we see the dawn, all indicators suggest that we are moving in the right direction. Those who insisted that military responses have no impact on terror have been proven...
An open letter to British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Dear Chief Rabbi, We have known each other for a long time and as one who considers himself a personal friend and has always admired you as a profound religious thinker, I have thought long and hard before committing to paper what I have to say in...
We Must Stop Apologizing! We have every reason to be distressed, angry and disgusted. We are distressed at the accidental deaths of Palestinian civilians, children included, in a military operation against a cruel and evil mass murderer. But Salah Shehadeh was aware that he...
Jobs For the Good Ol’ Boys – and Girls Industry and Trade Minister Dalia Itzik is a highly talented woman. Despite many obstacles, she rose to political heights in her own right. However, to appoint her as Israel’s ambassador to the Court of St. James’s would be outrageous....
Prime Minister Sharon Must Say ‘Enough Is Enough’ Woe to the people of Israel if their elected representatives are a true reflection of the electorate. The public has become so accustomed to the appalling behavior of its politicians that it seems to have become immune to outrage. At present, the...
No Palestinian State, For Now I dispute the conventional wisdom that the debate over Palestinian statehood at the Likud Central Committee should never have taken place. For the sake of Israel’s national interests I am glad it did. The humiliation of Prime Minister Ariel...
Desperately Seeking the Center Religious Zionism is a movement that has nurtured champion citizens. They are to be found at the forefront of all positive areas of Israeli life. They represent the most dedicated and motivated Zionists in the country, exemplified by the inclusion...
And Now The Home Front The die has been cast. After the terrible carnage during Pessah, our national-unity government has finally resolved that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is an enemy rather then a peace partner. We can only hope that despite the immense...
Enough Talking Our situation today is worse than it was a month ago and this is largely a product of our own making. There was appalling fallout following the conflicting messages conveyed to the Americans by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Defense Minister Binyamin...
Wanted: The Firm Hand Of Leadership Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s “address to the nation” did little to lift the depressed mood of most Israelis. But short of a radical change of policy, such an outcome was predictable. Sharon has not been blessed with a Churchillian...
Is Nusseibeh a Con Man? It is far more preferable to listen to soothing presentations by Nusseibeh than to the more traditional rejectionist Palestinian statements calling for Israel’s destruction. The writer is senior vice president of the World Jewish Congress....
Disloyalty and Patriotism Since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the words “treason” and “patriotism” have been expunged from the Israeli political lexicon. Yet now – with scarcely a day going by without people being killed and Israel...
Diaspora Is No Equal Partner Until recently, it was almost universally understood among Diaspora Jewish leaders that irrespective of their personal political views, public criticism of the democratically elected government of Israel was inappropriate on foreign and security...
The Diaspora in Crisis The Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress opens today in Jerusalem at a time of unprecedented turbulence and tension. The Diaspora is undergoing its greatest crisis since the Holocaust. Jews everywhere are confused, destabilized and fearful....
History Repeats Itself We are told that history never really repeats itself, but have not recent events in America created a sense of deja vu? Like the Nazis, the Islamic fundamentalists unleashed their attack on civilization by first targeting the Jews. The world ignored...
In Mosley’s Footsteps The latest outrageous outburst by MK Azmi Bishara (Balad) in Damascus, in the presence of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the head of Hizbullah, endorsing a united front to destroy Israel, must under no circumstances again be ignored or swept...
‘Zionism and McCarthy,’ Round 2 When David Newman implies on these pages that Limor Livnat is promoting McCarthyism (“Zionist McCarthyism,” March 14), I am reminded that nearly two decades ago Jewish communists accused me of the same crime. They, too, claimed to be the...
The Struggle for Israel’s Soul Post-Zionism is usually promoted under the mantle of ‘normalization’ and mainly directed toward Israelis ignorant of or indifferent to their Jewish heritage. The writer is chairman of the governing board of the World Jewish Congress. The...
Calling out to Diaspora Jewry The challenge in the Diaspora will be to reinvigorate the Zionist ideal in all its manifestations. The writer is chairman of the governing board of the World Jewish Congress. The demonization of Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon by his opponents as...
The Unbridgeable Gap Although anticipated, it was a relief when the Israeli courts convicted the defendants on trial for negligence in the Maccabiah bridge disaster. The unequivocal verdict, and in particular the explicit judgment against Maccabiah organizing committee...
A Small Sacrifice For a Great Cause The ongoing bridge-disaster saga between the Australian Jewish community and the Maccabi World Union seems to have reached an impasse. This is paradoxical because there is now every hope that with the intervention of Finance Minister Avraham Shohat,...
Nothing Learned From Maccabi Bridge Disaster Sir, – Maccabi World Union deputy chairman Oudi Recanati would have done better to remain silent because his outrageous remarks demonstrate that nothing has been learned from the disaster (“A view to a bridge,” Nov. 25). Recanati...
Nazi War Criminals In Australia Sir, – Recent revelations that the post-war Australian government, influenced by Cold War British and American intelligence agencies, recruited former Nazi war scientists has created a furor in Australia. But such behavior, typical of all...
Religious Zionism reaches the crossroads Not so long ago, religious Zionism was widely admired as a moderate movement which harmonized Torah, modernity, and love of the Jewish people. After the Six Day War, most religious Zionists believed they were not only seeing a miracle, but actually...
Ugly Forces In the past two weeks, the already-disastrous relationship between Israel’s religious and non-observant sectors has escalated to a new and alarming level. The haredi deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Haim Miller, yesterday served notice that under no...
A Questionable Future The threats to reduce ties with Israel can only harm American Jews themselves We are living through an unprecedented era of Jewish history, discontinuous with all the recurring themes of the past. Put simply, there has never been a comparable period...
A Twofold Tragedy We are left with mistrust, suspicion, and widespread contempt on both sides of the religious-secular divide. The writer is the chairman of the governing board of the World Jewish Congress. The numbers are against us as a people. The vast majority of...
No Time to Lose THE Tenth Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress opening in Jerusalem today and attended by leaders from over 70 Jewish communities will be a watershed meeting, a signpost pointing us away from the past, toward the future. Over the past...
Seeds of Perversion There’s a cancer in the religious Zionist camp which must be eradicated. The writer is co-chairman of the governing board of the World Jewish Congress and president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. A cancer has invaded the...
Moshe Sneh’s Contribution Sir, – Sarah Honig (May 30) is only partially correct when she says that Ephraim Sneh’s father, Moshe, the Israeli Communist Party leader, was not placed totally beyond the political pale because of his contribution to the Yishuv prior...
Retreat Into Irrelevance The silent majority of traditional religious Zionists yearn for the revival of the NRP’s middle way. The writer is co-chairman of the governing board of the World Jewish Congress and president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. He...
Action Aliya It’s a matter of Jewish life and death. We can no longer afford to be relaxed about the Diaspora. The writer is co-chairman of the governing board of the World Jewish Congress and president of the executive council of Australian Jewry. IN...
Diaspora Death Threat A specter is haunting the leaders of American Jewry – and therefore haunts us all. It is a specter which has little to do with the Clinton administration’s policies toward Israel, the growth of antisemitism, or Black-Jewish relations....
Disturbing Cartoon Sir, – Oleg’s cartoon of November 23 is the most disturbing caricature I have ever seen in the Post. It is reminiscent of the ugly antisemitic stereotypes we were accustomed to seeing in the Nazi and Soviet press. Racial caricatures of...
Resurrect The Old NRP THE result of the recent elections has added a new urgency to a problem that has come to haunt many of us in the Diaspora concerned with the future of Israel: the specter of a potentially tragic kultuurkampf developing between secular and religious...
Australia’s Record On War Criminals Sir, – Efraim Zuroff’s gratuitous attacks on me and leaders of the Australian Jewish community over the winding down of Australia’s Special Investigations Unit, twice in the past two weeks (Letters, July 3 and 14), represent a new...
Australia’s Special Investigations Unit Sir, – While I share Efraim Zuroff’s deep disappointment at the Australian government’s decision to close down its Special Investigations Unit (SIU) hunting Nazi war criminals in this country (May 13), I take strong exception to...
Chinese-Jewish Encounter TWENTY-four leading Chinese and Jewish scholars gathered in Beijing earlier this month to end 3,000 years of near-total cultural isolation. The first international colloquium on Chinese and Jewish culture was held in the Chinese capital under the...
The End Of The ‘One People’ Myth? THE GULF WAR will in all probability lead to a major realignment of Israel-Diaspora relations. There can be no ignoring the disappointment and frustration most Israelis experienced with a Diaspora which, in their perception, failed to respond...
Turning Point For Soviet Jewry THERE HAS recently been an atmosphere of panic verging on hysteria among wide sections of Soviet Jews, and this has snowballed over the past six weeks. While the majority of Soviet Jews will remain in the Soviet Union, today there are hundreds of...
The Diaspora Raises Its Voice Insider Says Solidarity Conference Fills Leadership Vacuum THERE SEEMS to have been considerable confusion and contradiction in much of the press coverage of the Prime Minister’s Conference on Jewish Solidarity with Israel in Jerusalem last month, in terms of both Israel’s position and the...
The Jews of Silence Are Finding Their Voice THE WINDS of change sweeping through the Soviet Union are having a direct impact on Jews. This is no longer in question. Messianic times have not arrived, but events in recent weeks confirm that there is now genuine potential for a dramatic revival...
