Jerusalem Post's talented team of journalists provides insight into their work presented in the opinion section. This section highlights the beliefs and values that experienced writers who are witnessing the Middle East turmoil unfold. Their first hand encounters with world leaders have shaped their opinions and world views to be shared on this page.
I want to deal with the situation that is imminent. Following that, I will outline a far more effective and democratic form of government than Israel's historic system.
Unlike most other people of his generation, Rivlin has a lot of room in which to move around outside without breaking the rules.
A major problem facing us all is how to gradually return to normal life – albeit battle-scarred – after the war is over.
“Ministers have a hard time functioning in routine and implementing their policies, let alone at a time of emergency.”
It appears, then, that a complete countrywide lockdown – which most Israelis have been both fearing and expecting – is inevitable.
The turbulent reality in the Middle East challenged the rivalry between Israel and Qatar and prompted a fundamental change in their relationship.
On Sunday morning, Aharish was fired from the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.
Sending off a son this week to serve in the IDF is a raw test of Zionist commitment, especially during a contagion.
Those images – broadcast far and wide – led to angry reactions in Facebook posts and Twitter feeds, with many recoiling at what they described as the “selfish” behavior of haredim.
5 key crisis management rules and how they relate to the coronavirus crisis in Israel.
I would rather see seminars on ethics and public policy instituted in the halls of city government before another shekel is spent.
In just a few years, Israel and Qatar relations has evolved from enmity to strategic partnership regarding the Gaza Strip.
Now, I’m doing all of that without school and activities to keep the children busy and my husband is staying at his parents’ empty house in isolation. And so, I am doing this all on my own.
The informed public demands that you both, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leader of the Blue and White Party Benny Gantz heed President Rivlin’s request to put aside your political differnces.
OBSERVATIONS: On Saturday night, March 14, a new immigrant from India named Am-Shalem Singson, who studies at a hesder yeshiva in Ma’alot, was on his way home to visit his family in Tiberias.
readers of the Jerusalem Post Magazine have their say.
New immigrants arriving after COVID-19 began taking its toll may find themselves isolated – but they won’t be alone
Usually we hear about Lebanon when tensions escalate on the border. Lately, we neglect to observe that it is going bankrupt and on the fast track to being declared a failed state.
The Torah tells us to see ourselves as soldiers in the army of life, on permanent duty against death. The first priority now is to fight this escalating threat.
Staying home exposes you to fewer people, which makes it less likely that you will catch COVID-19.
Turning the threat into an opportunity
Much is being spoken about solidarity nowadays. Does this include respecting those who are violating the medical instructions and putting all of us at risk?
Is the intervention of the Supreme Court a violation of the sovereignty of the Knesset? The answer is a clear: no!
There will be birthdays without parties, weddings without horas and funerals without mourners. Our family and friends will not be there.
This is a crisis that no one expected or could prepare for. Even worse, it is impossible to estimate when it will end.
Trump has said he plans to resurrect and relentlessly pursue the investigations of Hunter Biden now that his father is the likely Democratic presidential candidate.
The public trusts its officials to make the right decisions and balance the possible loss of life with national security interests. They understand that sometimes ultimate victory comes with pain.
Since the lockdown, I’ve found myself spending hours at home feeling aimless and unmotivated, but mostly afraid.
Social media seems to have exploded with antisemitic comments, ranging from “The Jews created coronavirus” to absurd false accusations that Israel has separate medical treatment for non-Jews.
This country needs an active Knesset. It needs oversight and the democratic wheels need to continue spinning.
Your “last hurrah” abroad ended with your grandmother’s deathwatch and shiva. Then, your two weeks of pre-IDF fun ended in Corona-quarantine.
It is scandalous that while the majority of the nation are isolated in their homes, Blue and White leaders are still playing petty, inciting politics.
KAN said its decision to fire Aharish was part of its staff cutbacks due to the coronavirus cutback, but we don't buy it.
It looks as if the system is rapidly finding its hands and feet, though there appears to be disagreement among the experts about the priorities
Reality Check: The prime minister is exploiting the coronavirus pandemic for his own personal needs.
Even if those who say we’re overreacting are right, shouldn’t those who are part of the partying scene feel that it’s unseemly at a time when so many are suffering?
The myth that historians have propagated is that Jewish life under the Muslims was safer and more successful than the life of Jews in Christendom.
Jewish tradition has a remarkable way of connecting current events to the Torah-reading cycle, and this crisis is no exception.
Analyzing the specific data of each country separately suggests that there is a light at the end of the tunnel – and that the tunnel is not that long.
The prime minister is exploiting the coronavirus pandemic for his own personal needs.
The isolation imposed on the Foreign Ministry by the outgoing government resulted in its gradual decline.
Side by side with the awesome power of the human spirit is the existential vulnerability of the human condition.
It is believed that thousands of Israelis are still stuck in South America.
Just as some diabetics cheat and eat candy, there will be people who test the boundaries of social distancing and try to expand the lines of where they should and should not go.
By now the overwhelming majority of people in Hasidic communities understand the danger of the pandemic and the resulting need for isolation.
For every American manufacturing job lost since 1977, 10 comparable (or better) paying jobs have been created elsewhere.
Nobody can predict what might be the consequences of this state of affairs – thousands, perhaps even millions, of Iranians may die.
Not to recognize the potential threat of summer time during this trying period would be both reckless and irresponsible.
Now it is up to us, as citizens, to learn to be comfortable with a unity government arrangement.
Now is the perfect time to put all of this to an end and to set up a single dispatch service in Israel.
Many have framed the coronavirus as a test of Beijing’s international reputation.
Capriciousness and vulnerabilities of life teach us humility, moral responsibility and reliance on G-d
This virus affects all parts of society. It does not care is you are religious or secular, Jewish or Muslim. In this war, Israel does not fight an Arab or a Muslim enemy.
Ever since he was appointed speaker of the Knesset in 2013, Yuli Edelstein has epitomized what it means to be a statesman in Israel.
Is it accurate to predict that those who recover from COVID-19 will all become immune?
Pressuring Israel to partake in negotiations, particularly negotiations doomed to fail from the outset, does not bode well for future Israeli cooperation in US regional policies.
Now released, we are warned, as senior citizens, to remain in quarantine. In any case, there seems logically little place else to hide from the virus.
The non-state actors, who don’t receive any external support financially nor politically, are given ample assistance in both categories.
With this in mind, China has invested considerably in Israeli start-ups, academic collaboration and research and development.
Netanyahu is not waging a war against the coronavirus. He’s managing a war for his own survival, and nothing else.
One of Israel’s great strengths is the diverse society created over its history.
Leaving familiarity and communal religious tolerance for the unknown is scary.
“Go, My people, enter your chambers, and close your door; hide for but a moment until the wrath passes” (Yeshayahu 26:20).
It was only when we were on our way down that I learned we were coming home to quarantine, despite the small number of cases of coronavirus in Africa.
Trump’s “don’t worry, be happy” approach from the outset has backfired. Only the blindly loyal believed when he said he had everything under control. Even some loyalists are having doubts.
What is not needed at times like these – when everyone’s anxiety level is already at fever pitch – are unclear messages from the top.
Like all things this past year, the novel coronavirus is no different, as Israel’s grand interregnum keeps chugging along.
In Israel, there currently is ample reason for political engagement, dissent and mass protest.
The too many years of the Netanyahu regime has increased racism, hatred and fear against the Arab citizens of Israel.
For the vast majority of American Jews, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were the first contenders for the major party nomination who expressed strikingly anti-Israel and anti-AIPAC attitudes.
Managing remotely or remotely managing?
The United Arab Emirates is emerging as Middle East's power broker
Young Jewish adults are not building enough of an effusive connection to Israel and programmatic priorities have shifted away from Israel-related education.
It's almost impossible to imagine the accelerated pace of limits imposed on the country over the last 10 days.
As this virus crisis robs us of the joy of community, as we feel how alienating it is to live in isolation, let’s push back.
This is a serious threat, and there are serious concerns, and there is reason to worry. But there are also responsible ways of dealing with the crisis enveloping our lives and threatening our health.
Even if such a coalition will not materialize now, the conversation should continue, as this question will remain important.
Both Netanyahu and Gantz expressed the desire for unity immediately after the March 2 election.
In times of crisis, when normal business is suspended and the usual models fall apart, managers are tasked with maintaining calm and preserving value for their organizations
If the Erdogan regime, in pursuit of its own antidemocratic, expansionist, and destabilizing agenda, continues to weaponize immigrants and place their lives in serious danger, the world must act.
Only now, as the Health Ministry regulates preventative measures of separation, do we realize that we are all one.
I believe that fear will weaken, rather than embolden, our resolve. It will undermine our health. Depression will sap our energy and make us partially give up.
When the world experiences unprecedented crises, people seek answers.
Israelis don't like to admit that we don't have the answers for every puzzle, and we definitely don't like to confess that we're scared.
Since the explosion of coronavirus cases in Wuhan, the Chinese government drastically cracked down to stop the spread of the potentially fatal virus. But what about just prior to that?
COVID-19 has already dealt devastating blows to Israel’s travel, tourism and entertainment sectors. However, the impact on Israel’s economy will be far wider.
'We are in a state of emergency, but that does not mean the State of Israel can be turned into a surveillance state.'
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