Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com The Marketplace of Ideas Sat, 25 May 2013 12:30:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Both Lapid and the Demonstrators Have it Wrong http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/both-lapid-and-the-demonstrators-have-it-wrong/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/both-lapid-and-the-demonstrators-have-it-wrong/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 13:19:41 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=125406 A storm of protest has broken out over the new budget proposal presented by Finance Minister Lapid. I understand these protests, and if I was Yair Lapid I would have done some things a little differently (e.g increased the income tax on the higher earners more and the lower earners less; I would have increased [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/both-lapid-and-the-demonstrators-have-it-wrong/feed/ 4 The Lessons of the Wrong Wars http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-lessons-of-the-wrong-wars/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-lessons-of-the-wrong-wars/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 13:00:44 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=123368 Why is it that, in most cases, when people try to apply the lessons of history they tend to employ the wrong lessons? For the past two years the world has stood on the sidelines as the Syrians slaughter each other, with the primary culprit being the Assad regime. Just this past week, when the [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/thinking-about-yom-hashoah/feed/ 0 To Yair Lapid http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/to-yair-lapid/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/to-yair-lapid/#comments Fri, 15 Mar 2013 05:48:47 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=109918 Dear Finance Minister Designate Lapid, I know you never dreamed of being Finance Minister, and you are no doubt fearful of taking on a job in which (regardless of how talented you are) it will be difficult to be both successful and popular. That being said, I have every confidence you will succeed. However, just [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/to-yair-lapid/feed/ 2 What if “Gatekeepers” Wins An Oscar? http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-if-gatekeepers-wins-an-oscar/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-if-gatekeepers-wins-an-oscar/#comments Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:36:58 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=104656 Tonight the Academy Awards will be presented. Among the films competing for the title of “Best Documentary” is the Israeli film “Gatekeepers” (Shomrei Hasaf”). I am not a film critic, and I have not seen the competing entries. Therefore, I certainly cannot say whether the Israeli entry deserves to win the Oscar. However, as I was [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-if-gatekeepers-wins-an-oscar/feed/ 18 Could this time really be different? http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/could-this-time-really-be-different/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/could-this-time-really-be-different/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:04:37 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=100400 The new Knesset is being sworn in today. Negotiations are ongoing to form a new government. There is still a sense here that all things are possible.  At the same time, the veteran political commentators keep warning us that it will all turn out like it has in the past. Now we are in the [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/could-this-time-really-be-different/feed/ 3 The Israeli Electorate Has Spoken http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-israeli-electorate-has-spoken/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-israeli-electorate-has-spoken/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:07:29 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=97608 The Israeli public has spoken. Despite the fact that the final results will not be known until tomorrow, we can learn a great deal from the preliminary tallies.   First, we can learn from what did not happen– The Israeli electorate did not shift rightward. It’s not that Israelis have shifted leftward, they just rejected [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-israeli-electorate-has-spoken/feed/ 5 Decision 2013: I decided (kind of), Now It’s Your Turn…. http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/decision-2013-i-decided-kind-of-now-its-your-turn/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/decision-2013-i-decided-kind-of-now-its-your-turn/#comments Sun, 13 Jan 2013 12:53:21 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=94080 A week ago I wrote a long article explaining why I have no ideal candidate for whom to vote in the upcoming Israel election. Now that the election is only a little more than a week away, the time has come for me to decide. I have missed too many opportunities to vote in the [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/decision-2013-i-decided-kind-of-now-its-your-turn/feed/ 5 Stop Writing About Hagel! http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/stop-writing-about-hagel/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/stop-writing-about-hagel/#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:11:05 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=93476 For the last two weeks commentators in the Israel and the Jewish world have been obsessing over the appointment of Chuck Hagel as the U.S. Secretary of Defense. I have no idea whether Hagel is good or bad for Israel. What I do know is, all the talk about whether he is good or bad [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/stop-writing-about-hagel/feed/ 5 Pollard and the US & Israeli Elections http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/pollard-and-the-us-and-israeli-elections/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/pollard-and-the-us-and-israeli-elections/#comments Sun, 06 Jan 2013 16:44:59 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=92148 Many issues have been discussed over the course of this American and the Israeli election cycle. However, the fate of Jonathan Pollard is one issue that has not received even quiet mention in either side of the Atlantic. Jonathan Pollard has been incarcerated for over 25 years.   Without recapitulating the complete history of this [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/pollard-and-the-us-and-israeli-elections/feed/ 2 Politics of fear, politics of hope, politics of sand http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-politics-of-fear-the-politics-of-hope-the-politics-of-the-sand/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-politics-of-fear-the-politics-of-hope-the-politics-of-the-sand/#comments Mon, 31 Dec 2012 11:37:22 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=89950 Almost 40 percent of the Israeli electorate is said to be unsatisfied with the choice of candidates in the upcoming elections. This is an astounding figure considering the large number of political parties in Israel and the wide range of views they espouse. For better or worse, I fall into that 40 percent. In spite [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-politics-of-fear-the-politics-of-hope-the-politics-of-the-sand/feed/ 12 American Jews: a guide to dissent http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/american-jews-a-guide-to-dissent/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/american-jews-a-guide-to-dissent/#comments Sun, 09 Dec 2012 18:47:53 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=85142 Last night, I received the following email from a liberal Zionist friend in the United States: “Well, after Meshal’s speech, how optimistic are you that you will live to see peace?” My answer: “You know me. I never believed the Palestinians would ever really accept us, but for our own sake we need to always [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/american-jews-a-guide-to-dissent/feed/ 17 “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick” http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick/#comments Sun, 02 Dec 2012 09:51:31 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=83702 “Speak softly and carry a big stick” are the oft-quoted words of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Unfortunately, Roosevelt’s lesson of leadership has been completely lost on the Likud party as each and every Likud government has acted in exactly the opposite way. The current government has been especially guilty of ignoring Roosevelt’s sage advice. Thanks [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick/feed/ 8 Yitzhak Rabin- In Memoriam http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/yitzahak-rabin-in-memoriam/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/yitzahak-rabin-in-memoriam/#comments Sun, 28 Oct 2012 14:35:32 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=73942 Today is the 17th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin. It’s hard to believe 17 years have passed since that tragic event. Last night I attended a memorial in Rabin Square; a memorial in which the overwhelming majority of the tens of thousands of participants were small children (at most) when Rabin was killed. What lessons [...]

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]]> http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/yitzahak-rabin-in-memoriam/feed/ 0 A Wasted Election http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-wasted-election/ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-wasted-election/#comments Sun, 21 Oct 2012 10:21:26 +0000 Marc Schulman http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/?p=72368 I have been trying to write this piece for two weeks. I cannot comprehend why this article has been so challenging to compose. Why has it been so hard to get excited about the elections scheduled here for the end of January? I should be engaged. I should care. I am absorbed in the American [...]

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