Rethinking Gidon Ben-Zvi’s views

May 27, 2019 by  
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J-Wire published an article by Gidon Ben-Zvi’s article “Rethinking restitutions: a case for Jewish dignity”  the contents of which were challenged by the Claims Conference. Robert Goot sets the record straight. Read more

Jewish Halloween: On Dressing in Drag in the Holy Land…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi

March 10, 2017 by  
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Should you suddenly find yourself surrounded by a bunch of young girls dressed up like Catwoman during the month of March, you may well have stumbled into a Purim street party. Read more

Now What? UN Votes to Expel 400,000 Jews…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi

December 26, 2016 by  
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The United Nations Security Council vote regarding Israeli settlements, made possible to by the Obama administration’s historic decision to abstain, has effectively nullified the Oslo Accords that had been based on the concept of bilateral negotiations between Jerusalem and Ramallah. Read more

Bibi’s Game: Talk Tough on Iran, Pass The White House, Collect $5 Billion…writes Gidon BenZvi

November 12, 2015 by  
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According to several reports, Israel wants $5 billion per year in military aid for the next 10 years. Jerusalem has been signaling that it wants more money to counter threats it says will arise as a result of the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. Read more

The unbearable cost of a unity government

September 26, 2019 by  
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Ever since Israel’s snap election drew to a close on September 17 the country’s chattering class has ginned up its campaign to convince Israelis that what they really want is a national unity government. Read more

Are International Human Rights stifling people’s freedom?

September 13, 2019 by  
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What’s striking about the international community’s reaction to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent pledge to apply sovereignty to Jewish communities in the West Bank and the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to revoke the autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir is the sound of crickets. Read more

The Curious Case of Israel’s Invisible Election

September 6, 2019 by  
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With the great election redo of 2019 less than two weeks away Israelis across the political spectrum are meeting up in living rooms, pubs and coffee shops around the country to discuss the great issues of the day…not. Read more

Gay Conversion Therapy: should some thoughts be a fireable offence?

July 18, 2019 by  
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Israeli Education Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz’s recent comments about gay conversion therapy have unleashed a firestorm. Read more

Tolerance Museums: A Failing Franchise? 

June 28, 2019 by  
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The monumental US$250-million building for the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem (MOTJ) is scheduled to open sometime in 2020. Read more

Raging at Rabbis: When rights collide in Jerusalem

June 21, 2019 by  
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This week, the Jerusalem municipality authorized the naming of five alleyways and narrow streets within the Baten Al-Hawa neighbourhood of Silwan after rabbis. Read more

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s guide to an evaporating Israeli government

May 30, 2019 by  
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“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”

– Obi-Wan Kenobi, referring to the lawless desert planet of Tatooine                              (Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) Read more

Why apologize? The danger of driving antisemitism underground

May 17, 2019 by  
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The Harvard Lampoon student-run magazine recently published a photoshopped image of Anne Frank’s face on the body of a woman wearing a bikini. Read more

Who are the Palestinians in Gaza protesting against?

May 9, 2019 by  
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U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar has unleashed a firestorm of controversy for empathizing with the plight of an oppressed people. Read more

Job to the left of me, crazy girls to my right: Israel Festival blends artistic lines

June 2, 2017 by  
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The Israel Festival, taking place from June 1st to June 18th, 2017, is a sensory delight..writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

Schizophrenic: An American Zionist in Israel

May 25, 2017 by  
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The Jewish Agency, Nefesh B’Nefesh, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and other organisations charged with convincing world Jewry that its destiny is intertwined with that of Israel fail to mention, on their glossy websites and in their slick public relations toolkits, the single greatest sacrifice one makes when embarking on an open-ended Zionist adventure: cultural DNA…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

Israel’s First World Problems: On Aerosmith and security prisoners 

May 18, 2017 by  
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Israel’s much touted economic miracle, given official sanction when the country joined the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2010, has brought with it a slew of first world injuries…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

Art of the Deal: Is Trump’s Bestseller the Secret to Peace in the Middle East?

May 11, 2017 by  
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Two state solution advocates recently received a boost when US President Donald Trump hosted Palestinian Authority (P.A.) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the White House…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi.

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Who killed the Holocaust?

Ever dream of winning an Academy Award?…write Harry Ben-Zvi and Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

The Bible: The Folly of Quote Mining, The Virtue of Fact Finding

March 30, 2017 by  
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What gets lost in the din of competing narratives between Jewish and Arab claims to the land currently known as Israel is the historicity of the holy books these groups cite as evidence that God is on their side…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

Israel up in smoke: middle class myths about marijuana use

March 23, 2017 by  
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Earlier this month, the Israeli Cabinet approved the decriminalised use of marijuana…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi.

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An American resits his driving test in Israel

March 19, 2017 by  
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It’s akin to déjà vu on acid, being a 43-year-old driver’s student. The last time I sat through a lesson on defensive driving, the Los Angeles Police Department was caught on video behaving badly – firing a taser into Rodney King’s spine and beating him down with batons for good measure…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

UN Resolution 2334: Death Knell for Israel’s Middle Class?

January 18, 2017 by  
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Little noted in the media firestorm surrounding the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, commanding Israel to stop all settlement activity, is the potentially deadly ramifications for Israel’s struggling middle class. With one vote, the United Nations outlawed most Israelis’ only way out of living from paycheck to paycheck….writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

Compromise Deficiency Disorder:  Latest Settlement Dust Up is Symptom, Not Cause

December 13, 2016 by  
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The crisis over the looming December 25 deadline to implement the Israeli Supreme Court’s order to evacuate the Jewish Amona outpost has provoked a bout of national soul searching with regards to how the government treats native population groups…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

Killing the Messengers: The Democratic Party Embarks on Path of Personal Destruction

November 23, 2016 by  
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Up until last week, I had always thought that Adolf Hitler was the worst person who ever lived…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

Separate but Equal? Egalitarian Prayer Space at Western Wall Makes Israel Similar to Iran

February 7, 2016 by  
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A plan to create a special prayer space in the southern expanse of the Western Wall where the Conservative and Reform movements can hold gender-mixed services was approved by the Israeli government at the end of last month…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

Israel can establish diplomatic relations with the Arab world by learning from Putin

January 24, 2016 by  
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The geopolitical landscape surrounding Israel is shifting in such a way that if navigated correctly could lead to full diplomatic relations between Jerusalem and Sunni Arab governments around the Middle East…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi. Read more

A soldier’s tale: The parakeet in the abandoned school on the Gaza border

December 21, 2023 by  
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Sderot is located less than a mile from the Gaza Strip. Some ninety per cent of the town’s 30,000 residents fled on October 7 after Hamas invaded southern Israel. Read more

Wrath of God II: To win, Israel must assassinate Hamas leaders everywhere

December 17, 2023 by  
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Israel’s military achievements against Hamas are impressive. As part of its campaign to destroy the terrorist group, Israel has reportedly struck over 22,000 targets in the Gaza Strip and has killed some 7,000 fighters since the war broke out. Read more

Becoming Israeli again

November 24, 2023 by  
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Before October 7, living in Israel could leave you battered, bruised, and needing a stiff drink. Read more

Never again is now: Why Jews must take back the Holocaust

November 9, 2023 by  
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As Jewish communities gather to mark Kristallnacht (‘Night of Broken Glass’), the 1938 pogrom across Nazi Germany that many consider to be the start of the Holocaust, ‘never again’ is resounding. Read more

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