Transparency remains vital in drafting budget despite pandemic

The government is about to start formulating the budget for the next fiscal year, which will start in April. The budget requests for fiscal 2021...

The Netanyahu Doctrine: Break All My Enemy's Bones

Zbytočný núdzový stav

Otázkou je, či na sprísnenie opatrení potrebujeme zaviesť núdzový stav, či by nepostačovali iné, mäkšie nástroje. Núdzový stav je...

A Biden administration could ensure that Khashoggi’s death was not in vain

In an interview a few days after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi two years ago, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called Crown Prince Mohammed Bin...

The Gospel according to Pompeo

Commentary. If Pompeo's morality lectures aren't gaining traction at the Vatican, they are finding fertile ground in Italy. Di Maio’s M5S,...

Words alone won't enforce EU rule of law

For the first time, the European Commission has released a report analyzing rule of law in all EU countries — and it doesn't look good. But words...

Conte predicts GDP rebound next year, but Recovery Fund projects are still a mystery

Analysis. For Next Generation EU, Prime Minister Conte announced the creation of an ad hoc structure to ensure transparency and meet deadlines....

My Jewish love of Christmas lights

I have a confession. While most observant Jews spend this time every year shopping for the four species – carefully inspecting the etrog’s texture...

Australian cli-fi movie ‘2067’ is cerebral SF, puts ‘Down Under’ on Hollywood map

A top film reviewer in New York named Julian Roman has seen the movie and says it’s about a nuclear technician who tries to save humanity from a...

Nuthin’ much…just watchin’ the games…how about you?

ENTERTAINING NEWS FLASH!! The following headline just in, is from Hubby, the FNN’s (Fake News Network’s) specially embedded reporter…. Rumor has...

Finding one’s voice (Daf Yomi Eruvin 53)

Embed from Getty Images “We are like a finger in a pit with regard to forgetfulness.” Today’s Daf Yomi reminded me of how fortunate I am to...

Guess What Would Have Happened Had Arabs Protested on Balfour Street

Processing migrants on a distant island isn’t a crazy idea: it’s the sort of leftfield thinking the UK needs more of

While the liberal sharks circle Home Secretary Priti Patel for daring to even look at housing immigrant processing centres on a pair of remote...

Racism is over! All it needed was to paint Britain’s iconic red post boxes…black

Another pointless initiative has hit the United Kingdom’s streets. It’s a shameless stunt to emphasise the United element of our world-renowned...

Russia’s operation in Syria 5 years on: A military success, sure, but how to convert this into long-term political outcomes?

According to Russia’s Ministry of Defence, before the operation was launched, a military force was secretly deployed to Khmeimim Air Base in Syria....

Generation after generation, they will keep our dream alive

The October 2000 Intifada, or “uprising”, was a defining moment in the history of our Palestinian people, especially for the Palestinian Arabs...

Hundreds march through Tel Aviv against law limiting demonstrations

Hundreds of Israelis marched through the streets of Tel Aviv on Wednesday against new legislation aimed at limiting protests during the current...

Large sukkahs for mass gatherings seen going up in ultra-Orthodox areas

At least three ultra-Orthodox sects were reportedly preparing on Wednesday for mass gatherings in Jerusalem during the upcoming Sukkot festival,...

Bronfman heiress jailed for bankrolling sex slave cult leader

NEW YORK (AP) — An heir to the Seagram’s liquor fortune was sentenced Wednesday to an 81-month prison term and immediately thrown behind bars for...

The other pandemic: Racisim

This past weekend, just before the second lockdown began, when the state was busy with political battles over prayers and protests, Fadi, an...

Humanost in strokovnost na preizkušnji

Dobri dve leti sta minili od slavnostnega praznovanja 50-letnice Centra za usposabljanje, delo in varstvo (CUDV) Črna na Koroškem, ob kateri so...

Abe’s legacy: Stable, standardized politics PREMIUM

The curtain has fallen on the administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and it has risen on the administration of his successor, Prime...

Nigeria at 60 — The young make the difference

There are some who believe that there is not much to celebrate on Nigeria's 60th anniversary. But Nigerian activist Maryam Laushi pins her hope for...

Mary Beard: women in power

The Western world’s demonisation of women in power can be traced back to Ancient Greece, argues the celebrated UK classicist Mary Beard. For...

A Celebration of Vulnerability (1 Kings 8:2-21)

Sukkot falls just at the time of year when the seasons are changing. In the northern hemisphere, summer turns to fall and, even in Eretz Yisrael,...

What should I say to my grandson?

When at 5 years old he asks the naïve question “Savta and Saba coming?” And of course in our “mature” voice, we can explain “No there is a...

The Rabbis and the Umbrella

It is hard to watch the antics of some of the more unusual cults operating in Israel, ostensibly the Land of the Jews. In normal circumstances, if...

Will You Shut Up, Man

“Will you shut up man;” “you blew it;” “it is what it is because you are who you are;” and “I’m not here to call out his lies,...

The Lockdown Turns Israel into a Human Zoo

Let’s say that you need to choose between two life courses: Living for 85 years locked at your apartment without meeting anyone or seeing...

The deep Anthropocene

Humanity’s transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture is one of the most important developments in human and Earth history. Human...

A different Kind of Succah

This Rosh Hashana was particularly difficult for me. As I sat in the improvised shul on the balcony of my neighbor and prayed, I stifled my tears...

Amy, wear your mask

When I began drafting this post, I wanted to praise Amy Coney Barrett, the Indiana Federal Judge, whom US President Donald Trump nominated to the...

Ask Me Next Yom Kippur

As my family sat eating and drinking upon Yom Kippur’s conclusion, my children asked me why I was sad. I insisted that I wasn’t – but here’s...

Teenagers, Mental Health, and COVID-19

The recent outbreak and spread of COVID-19 has sparked significant emotional challenges for teens and young adults. Indeed, a recent study by the...

When a son makes aliyah and children join the IDF

Four of our nine children have now become Israeli citizens. The latest is our 19-year-old son Yosef who recently graduated from Yeshiva...

Trump’s trade war failed. Can Biden do better?

With the U.S. presidential campaign heading into the home stretch, President Donald Trump will surely try to tout his record on economic issues....

Without a Future: Gandhi, Childhood and Politics

Children, along with the mentally ill and prisoners in countries like the United States, are the only category of citizens disallowed from having a...

Berlin film fest casts new light on its founder’s hidden Nazi past

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The Berlin film festival, one of Europe’s top cinema showcases, released a study Wednesday showing the deep entrenchment...

Could this religious extremist be Israel’s future prime minister?

Recently, I conducted a long interview with former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone for an upcoming project. He told me a number of interesting...

More than a thousand academics and lawyers call for the repression of speech and scholarship on Palestine to end.

As lawyers and academics, we are deeply troubled and exasperated by the pervasive repression of speech and scholarship on Palestine. This includes...

NYC’s ‘mask patrols’ add insult to injury as city languishes under endless shutdown

The mayor warned those who dare to move around the city bare-faced that his “mask patrols” would be prowling nine so-called “hotspot” zip...

BuzzFeed gaslights millennials that living with your parents forever is fine, as US creates a generation of docile perma-children

Sandbagged out of the gate by the 2008 recession, young American adults have had the economic rug pulled out from under them yet again with the...

On China's national day, remember the sins of its leaders

High public satisfaction rates should not be a bulwark against criticism

Deputy AG: No conflict of interest for Netanyahu to make decisions on protests

The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s developments as they unfold. Russia accuses opposition leader Alexei Navalny of working for the CIA...

Trump calls on far-right group to ‘stand down’ after debate blowback

US President Donald Trump denounced white supremacists on Wednesday after skirting a request to do so during the previous night’s presidential...

Long off-limits, new anti-Trump ad suggests Nazi comparisons becoming kosher

JTA — Is it OK to compare Donald Trump to a Nazi? In line with their longtime opposition to such rhetoric, anti-Semitism watchdog groups are...

Rivlin issues first pardon for pandemic-related debt

President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday granted his first pardon for debts faced by those hurt financially by the coronavirus pandemic, in a sign of...

Biden blasts Trump as ’embarrassment’ for not denouncing far-right organization

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Democrat Joe Biden branded election rival Donald Trump a “national embarrassment” on Wednesday for failing to explicitly...

In film on over-the-top Versailles gala at NY Met, Ottolenghi proves food is art

NEW YORK — Anyone who wants to argue that food cannot be art has clearly never cracked open a Yotam Ottolenghi cookbook. Ottolenghi, the...

Flailing in the face of COVID-19, Israel is now on the brink of catastrophe

Israel is flailing on the very brink of catastrophe. Having started off so well in its battle against COVID-19, it finds itself in the last few...