How does Israel interpret the Russian-Iranian alliance?

It is perhaps a measure of Israel’s elevated stature in the world that its newly elected right-wing government is under scrutiny not just for its domestic policies and its approach to the Palestinians but its foreign policy as well. Read more

What killed the two-state solution? Cheers and cash for terrorists

In his initial phone conversation with new Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to congratulate him and the rest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on taking office, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed two contradictory messages. Read more

French-Israeli bass-baritone Yuri Kissin interviewed by Murray Dahm

Yuri Kissin began his singing career in a most unusual way – he was a stand-up comedian and doing a sketch that parodied ‘opera singing.’ Read more

What is wrong in Israel

Corruption is an evocative word. Its original usage in Latin was something spoiled or ruined, mainly comestibles but in Christianity, the human flesh. Read more

The Israeli canary in the West’s cultural coal mine

Those scratching their heads over the way Western liberals have lost all connection with reason over issues of race, gender and Western “colonialism” might usefully look at the reaction to Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount last week. Read more

Collective and compulsive convulsions

One did not need to possess a crystal ball or read tea leaves in order to predict that 2023 would commence with Israel being targeted by the usual motley collection of serial international hypocrites. Read more

Netanyahu’s gambit: going ‘all in’ on peace accord with Saudi Arabia

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is setting an ambitious diplomatic goal for his new term in office: signing a peace accord with Saudi Arabia. Read more

Madagascar The Musical:   a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First

A musical for the littlies – I speak of preschoolers and primary school age children – Madagascar The Musical is based on the successful animated motion picture. Read more

Is Israel really threatened by Ben-Gvir’s Temple Mount gambit?

For those convinced that naming Itamar Ben-Gvir Israel’s minister of national security was tantamount to putting a ticking time bomb in the cabinet, his latest move was proof that they’d been right. Read more

Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich: Israel’s power couple

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the outgoing chief of the Israel Defence Forces general staff, probably never thought he would need to call the incoming prime minister over a political matter in his last month of service…writes Ksenia Svetlova. Read more

Shabbat Vayehiy: Favouritism

As we come to the end of the Book of Bereishit (Genesis), we can look back and see a thread in the narrative of human beings grappling with the moral and spiritual challenges that we all face. Read more

The Fabelmans: a movie review by Alex First

Master filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s searing personal memories are illuminated on the big screen in The Fabelmans. Read more

Blueback: a movie review by Alex First

With a strong environmental message, Blueback is a feel-good story about protecting and saving the reef. Read more

Israel’s new government must not abandon Jerusalem

The transfer of the Jerusalem Affairs Ministry to a Haredi party (UTJ) constitutes the abandonment of Jerusalem to non-Zionist hands. In the long run, this will lead to the loss of the capital city. Read more

Israel’s new diaspora minister hits the ground running

The swearing-in on Thursday of Israel’s 37th government elicited a collective sigh of relief from right-wing voters, for whom the nearly two full months that it took Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to forge his coalition felt like an eternity. Read more

A conversation with Ron Dermer provides a blueprint for Israel’s strategy

Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer was sworn in Thursday as strategic affairs minister. Read more

Feintooner

This week’s cartoon: Bombs Away
Read more

Under the radar negotiations on Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine

Israel and Saudi Arabia have reportedly begun US-brokered peace negotiations that will be conducted far away from the media and public gaze. Read more

On the other hand

The Chanukah lights are packed away for another year, and those who may have overdosed on latkes and survived sufganiyot (doughnuts) can now go back to eating healthy food. Read more

A Man Called Otto – a movie review by Alex First

Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks) seems like anything but a nice man. He likes to keep to himself and is curt to the point of rudeness. In fact, he is known for it. Read more

Where the Netanyahu government differs from its predecessor

With the swearing-in of the latest Netanyahu government, Israel will embark on a new course in foreign policy—and just in time. Read more

The religious culture war comes to Israel

At the root of the convulsions over Israel’s new government lies the secular world’s hatred and terror of religion. Read more

2022: The year FUD took off

There were many occasions during 2022 when events in the news almost tricked us into thinking that we were living in an earlier time. Read more

Israel’s historic right-wing government is the democratic will of the voters

Israel inducted a historic right-wing government Thursday, led by three-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s return to power and the formation of a strong right-wing government is a tremendous achievement for a nation that has increasingly turned towards the right-wing values of strong security and protecting the Jewish character of the state. Read more

Keep right on to the end of the road

This old song’s opening lines, made famous by the late Harry Lauder, are very relevant as we bid farewell to 2022 and face the uncertainties of 2023. Read more

Sylvester

I only became aware of the controversy surrounding the New Year when I was in Israel as a young man and discovered that the rabbinate was refusing to give kashrut certificates to hotels that held New Year’s Eve parties. Read more

Slava’s Snowshow: A theatre review by Alex First

Vanya Polunin is to clowning what Sir Donald Bradman was to cricket – a genius. Read more

The Possibly True Story of Martin Gardiner: A Historical Novel

Jeffrey Cohen reviews the novel written by Graham Cohen. Read more

The anti-Bibi resistance is playing with fire

Like the Democrats who went into the streets in their millions the weekend Donald Trump was inaugurated president in January 2017, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s foes clearly intend to act as a “resistance,” rather than a loyal opposition. Read more

La Boheme reaches its 200th performance

Gale Edwards’ enduring and much-loved production of La Bohème will celebrate its 200th performance when it returns to the Sydney Opera House this summer. Read more

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