Jewish Halloween: On Dressing in Drag in the Holy Land…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi
March 10, 2017 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
The unbearable cost of a unity government
September 26, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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 Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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 Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Israel announces August BDS Ambition Tour (one true satire)
August 22, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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In response to the furore unleashed by the Israeli government’s decision to block entry to two U.S. congresswomen, a hastily produced tour of the Jewish state has been announced. Read more
AOC, his name was Dvir Sorek
August 14, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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Freshman U.S.Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently revealed her true feelings about Israel. During a radio interview, AOC concurred wholeheartedly with the program’s host that “…what’s going on with Israel and Palestine…is very, very, criminal, and it is very, very unjust.” Read more
Israeli helicopter parents send instructions
July 14, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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Dear Sheila,
How’s Melbourne? The girls can’t wait to spend a whole two weeks with you. I receive daily updates about all they’ll be seeing and doing during their upcoming August adventure. Read more
Gay Conversion Therapy: should some thoughts be a fireable offence?
July 18, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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Israeli Education Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz’s recent comments about gay conversion therapy have unleashed a firestorm. Read more
Now What? UN Votes to Expel 400,000 Jews…writes Gidon Ben-Zvi
December 26, 2016 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Raging at Rabbis: When rights collide in Jerusalem
June 21, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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 Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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 anti-semitism underground
May 17, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Fiction: The Ido
May 25, 2020 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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Let me tell you about a different kind of hotel no tell. The Ido, pronounced e-DOH, in downtown Jerusalem is a charming nook that doesn’t pop up on any hotel review website or generate any buzz, on or offline. Read more
Who are the Palestinians in Gaza protesting against?
May 9, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Top 10 Plagues of Passover 2019: A father’s journey into and out of Egypt
May 3, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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Passover. The Jewish holiday of freedom. You know the story of how the Israelites, led by that beau hunk Moses, threw off the shackles of bondage, faced off with Pharaoh, unleashed 10 plagues on Egypt and were finally allowed to return to Las Vegas…I mean the Promised Land. Read more
Tolerance Museums: A Failing Franchise?
June 28, 2019 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Schizophrenic: An American Zionist in Israel
May 25, 2017 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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 Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Job to the left of me, crazy girls to my right: Israel Festival blends artistic lines
June 2, 2017 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Art of the Deal: Is Trump’s Bestseller the Secret to Peace in the Middle East?
May 11, 2017 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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Who killed the Holocaust?
April 21, 2017 by Harry Ben-Zvi and Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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 Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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 Gidon Ben-Zvi
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An American resits his driving test in Israel
March 19, 2017 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Compromise Deficiency Disorder: Latest Settlement Dust Up is Symptom, Not Cause
December 13, 2016 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Israel: Confronting Fake News, One Camera at a Time
June 22, 2017 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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While today’s widespread use of the term fake news can be traced to Donald Trump’s first press conference as President-elect, Israel has long had to grapple with the phenomenon of media outlets bending the truth for political gain. Read more
UN Resolution 2334: Death Knell for Israel’s Middle Class?
January 18, 2017 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
In Israel, Yelling Out ‘Fire’ is Considered Free Speech
January 25, 2017 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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Picture if you will, a member of the U.S. Congress getting caught smuggling cell phones, SIM cards and documents to the Black Liberation Army, Aryan Nation or some other domestic terrorist group. Would house arrest and suspension from Congress be an adequate punishment for what looks, walks and talks like an act of treason? Read more
Killing the Messengers: The Democratic Party Embarks on Path of Personal Destruction
November 23, 2016 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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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
Not Fake News: Remember the Time Obama Tried to Oust a Foreign Leader from Power?
December 19, 2016 by Gidon Ben-Zvi
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With all zeal of a convert, Barack Obama in the waning days of his presidency has abandoned the Russian ‘reset’ policy and reprised the Cold War rhetoric that he mocked back in 2009, when he said that “great powers do not show strength by dominating or demonising other countries. The days when empires could treat other sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over.” Read more