Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Gidon Ben-Zvi

10 Downing Street’s Love Letter to the Arab World: Sealed with a Sour Spring

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Sun, 19 May 2013 08:07:09 +0000

In the initial euphoric months of the Arab Spring, a seemingly unstoppable tide swept away corrupt, repressive regimes as people throughout the Arab world suddenly lost their “fear of government.” The Western media passionately assumed the role of cheerleaders of this regional upheaval. But the longer-term outcomes of the revolutions in countries like Egypt, Libya [...]

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From Dry Bones to Start Up Nation

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:45:03 +0000

On May 15th 1948 a certain national myth became a reality. Though Jews weren’t the only landless people to walk the earth at the time, it was an exceedingly rare occurrence for the remains of an ossified nation to rise anew, grow flesh and assume its place – after a 2,000-year absence – among the [...]

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Educating for Peace: Palestinian Authority School Books Preach Peace, Love…and Bomb Making

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:42:07 +0000

In an April 6 Guardian piece Harriet Sherwood described the relentless flurry of hate mail that Israeli journalist Amira Hass has recently received as a result of an article advocating the inclusion of occupation resistance as part of the curriculum for Palestinian schools. According to Hass, Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli soldiers is “an action [...]

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Hamas Embarks on Campaign to Stomp out Carnations

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:15:59 +0000

GAZA – Seeking to beat back a recent outbreak of optimism about the future, the Islamist Hamas movement has taken a number of extraordinary steps in recent days to redirect Palestinians’ myriad of frustrations outward: at Israel, the United States and… pretty little Carnations. Hamas is reacting to a disturbing new poll that was recently [...]

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Jerusalem Parent Trap: Some Very Bad Advice on Raising your Child Well

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 10:03:07 +0000

Eternally gyrating Jerusalem is comprised of every shade and shape of man and woman. Yet, the city’s holiest and most profane inhabitants are singularly united by an urge to dispense good parenting advice. Indeed, raising a baby girl in Jerusalem has exposed my wife and I to the leers, jeers, slights and snubs of a [...]

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Thank you for visiting the Islamic Republic of Fred

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:25:32 +0000

Some countries just can’t catch a break. Blinded by the bright hot lights of international scrutiny, a flock of black sheep within the family of nations is losing its way, repeatedly roaming on to the world’s headlines – for all the wrong reasons. A point of critical mass has been reached, where the negative images [...]

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Jerusalem at My Feet, Jim Morrison in My Ears

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 12:28:16 +0000

As far as the music that makes my heart go pitter- patter, it’s always been bouncy, beat driven, three-chord rock ‘n’ roll for me. Happiness is a catchy opening riff, snappy verse, harmonized chorus, dramatic electric guitar solo and back again – all condensed into a three-minute sonic blast. Rock ‘n’ roll, rooted in African [...]

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Something Rotten: the Odious Prospect of an Olmert Resurrection

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:42:50 +0000

“Only in Israel” is a cliché that’s often uttered in an attempt to distinguish the experience of a life lived here from that of anywhere else. Many of these observations have degenerated into rather lazy stereotyping. For example, it’s “only in Israel” that the bus drivers and taxi drivers read and quote Spinoza and Maimonides; [...]

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Bibi’s Big Speech: An Obsession with Consensus

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:42:11 +0000

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations last Thursday night was powerful, compelling and highlighted by a visual aid – a cartoon bomb drawing that he drew a red line through – that has become a bit of an Internet sensation. Netanyahu’s dramatic performance has led to increased international focus, at least temporarily, [...]

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Obama’s New Year’s Gift to Israel: an Iranian Nuclear Warhead

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 08:14:39 +0000

Gidon Ben-Zvi is posting this piece on behalf of one Harry Ben-Zvi, full time Las Vegas wheeler dealer and part time political philosophizer. Gidon accepts full responsibility for any outbursts of enlightenment that may break out following a perusal of Heshy’s piece. Thank you and Chag Sameach [...]

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Democratic National Confusion: what to do about Jerusalem?

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 05:59:13 +0000

The 2012 Democratic National Convention, held from September 4 to 6, is now history. Former US president Bill Clinton officially nominated current US president Barack Obama for re-election and Obama was nominated unanimously by the 5,556 delegates of the convention. In general, Obama’s second coronation, which took place in North Carolina, ran on all cylinders – [...]

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Debunked: The myth of a caring Obama White House

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 06:00:37 +0000

The administration of US President Barack Obama reacted sharply to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s recent comment that Obama had “thrown allies like Israel under the bus” regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that assistance “… provided to Israel by the United States has never been greater than [...]

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Egged on the face: the case for towing Israel’s bus monopoly away

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:08:39 +0000

Waiting for bus #947 to take me from the El-Al Junction back to Jerusalem every week day has done wonders for my tan. Yet, while my skin has turned a shimmering shade of golden brown, I’m increasingly seeing red as these long hot summer days have shortened my fuse and increased my frustration with the [...]

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Who’s afraid of the big bad Republicans?

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:36:33 +0000

It’s a love affair that’s defied time, common sense and the occasional betrayal: US Jews and the Democratic Party. Why are America’s Red Sea Pedestrians endlessly enamored with the Kicking Donkey? A number of theories have been developed in an attempt to explain this condition. Jews living in the United States are relatively secular (yet [...]

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When in Jerusalem, don’t do as the Greeks have done

Gidon Ben-Zvi — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 08:56:05 +0000

The Knesset on Monday passed a round of austerity measures aimed at curbing the country’s budget deficit, including a rise in the value added tax on all purchases from 16% to 17% that will come into effect on September 1. This move comes on the heels of the cabinet approving a series of budgetary measures that included [...]

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