Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Ari Moshkovski

Peace later, US diplomacy now

Ari Moshkovski — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 07:58:21 +0000

The announcement of President Obama’s upcoming Middle East excursion has, predictably, sparked a debate among commentators and policy wonks. Should the President focus on imminent crises in Syria and Iran, or a renewed effort to end the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? In his recent op-ed in the Times of Israel, J-Street’s Alan Elsner calls on President Obama [...]

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Just don’t call them ‘Nationalists’

Ari Moshkovski — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:16:35 +0000

Many on the extreme, ideological right are celebrating the Likud Primary results as a victory for the so-called “Nationalist camp.” Indeed, they have reason to celebrate. The Likud party-faithful made history. Over the course of two-days of balloting, they selected a list of candidates for the Knesset from the extreme right-wing, while purging their ranks [...]

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Back to the future in Gaza

Ari Moshkovski — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 04:11:40 +0000

The story is eerily familiar. Israel and Gaza enjoy a period of relative calm. Terrorists skirmish with Israeli soldiers along the border fence. A trickle of mortars and rockets fall on outlying villages and Kibbutzim. Israel retaliates tit-for-tat. IDF patrols along the Gaza border come under attack. The trickle of missiles falling on Southern Israel becomes [...]

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Throwing peace under the bus

Ari Moshkovski — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 06:07:46 +0000

Two and a half months ago, David Horovitz warned of the potential demise of the moderate Abbas-Fayyad government in Ramallah. As demonstrations and discontent spread throughout the West Bank, the fall of the PA seems increasingly possible. The Palestinian Authority is deeply flawed. Conceived as an interim step toward Palestinian independence, the PA was entrusted [...]

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Chutzpah in Tehran

Ari Moshkovski — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:45:09 +0000

I’ve always been a fan of Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. After all, an Orthodox rabbi who can pull off “Kosher Sex” and follow it up with “Kosher Adultery” has got to be doing something right. He’s brought some fresh (though sometimes wrong-headed) ideas into the Orthodox conversation, and he’s enriched the broader public discourse on society [...]

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What to expect during campaign 2012

Ari Moshkovski — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 04:44:58 +0000

With less than 100 days until election day, campaign 2012 is picking up steam in the Jewish and pro-Israel communities. For months, the Obama administration has been steadily ramping up its outreach toward Jewish voters. In recent days, Governor Romney has engaged in an Israeli media blitz ahead of his much-anticipated and greatly hyped visit to [...]

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Let’s hold off on the concubines

Ari Moshkovski — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:41:02 +0000

There’s been quite the fuss over a halakhic ruling which supposedly permits men to have “kosher adultery.” While this is pure nonsense, it does provide an opportunity to refocus on Orthodoxy’s real relationship issues. The truth is, all the brouhaha over “kosher concubines” is much ado about nothing. Haviv Gur provides a thoughtful and nuanced [...]

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Who’s the sucker, now?

Ari Moshkovski — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 21:47:03 +0000

Seventy days ago, Kadima joined the governing coalition and saved Netanyahu from early elections. In exchange, Bibi promised that a Kadima-led committee would draft a new universal service bill. Thus, the Plesner committee was born. But all was not well with the Plesner committee, and by the time its report was ready, members of the [...]

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65 years after the Exodus, we’re still in the same boat.

Ari Moshkovski — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:44:54 +0000

Sixty-five years ago, my grandparents set sail for the port of Haifa aboard the Exodus 1947. They were a newlywed couple, pregnant with their first child and fleeing the ashes of post-war Europe. On July 18, 1947, when the British tried to board the vessel, they resisted. The Royal navy rammed the boat, and my [...]

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Diaspora Jews should stay out of draft debate

Ari Moshkovski — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 21:23:24 +0000

Apparently, the massive rally calling for an end to exemptions from IDF service was bankrolled by significant philanthropic leaders in the global Jewish community. Diaspora Jews generally have the right, and the obligation, to engage in the Israeli civic discourse. Nevertheless, diaspora Jews should stay out of the political struggle over military service. The legitimacy [...]

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Left behind on the road to the Galilee

Ari Moshkovski — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 20:24:56 +0000

The trip from Jerusalem to the kibbutz in the lower Galilee was slightly more eventful than I had planned. The battle for seats on the bus from Jerusalem to Tiberius began in earnest. A platoon of soldiers shoved their rucksacks into the luggage compartment before shoving everyone in their path as they made their way [...]

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Mohammed Morsi and Iran’s propaganda machine

Ari Moshkovski — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 01:22:33 +0000

Soon after Mohammed Morsi was declared the winner of Egypt’s presidential elections, reports began to circulate that he was planning to forge a new axis with Iran and renege on the peace treaty with Israel. There’s only one catch: the story was concocted by the Iranian propaganda machine. In his nationally-televised victory speech, Morsi pledged [...]

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Settlers aren’t statistics

Ari Moshkovski — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 14:02:24 +0000

Proponents of the two-state solution cannot allow settlers to become homeless refugees in their own country. Israel’s borders remain a central issues in both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the ideological divide within the Zionist movement. For those who advocate a two-state compromise with the Palestinians, drawing a boundary between Israel and a Palestinian [...]

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African migrants and Orthodox apathy

Ari Moshkovski — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:50:27 +0000

The crackdown on African migrants in Israel is an ongoing source of sadness and personal frustration. I cannot help but recall the Biblical commandment to treat “the stranger who dwells among you as a citizen” and to “love the stranger as you love yourself.” Why, then, do many of my fellow Orthodox Jews remain indifferent [...]

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Netanyahu’s constuctive sin against the settlements

Ari Moshkovski — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:00:29 +0000

To an outsider gazing at the protest tents in the heart of Jerusalem’s government district, the right wing’s furor over Netanyahu’s handling of the outpost controversy may seem misplaced. But for the ideological right, Netanyahu has committed a sin against the settlement enterprise. Ironically, that sin will prove a boon to the settlement movement. The [...]

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