Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Maurice Ostroff

Stephen Hawking’s decision and Haaretz — giving credit where credit is due

Maurice Ostroff — Sun, 12 May 2013 11:33:36 +0000

Haaretz deserves due recognition for its major part in motivating Stephen Hawking’s negative attitude to Israel. After all if I lived abroad and my knowledge of Israel were based on the views expressed by Haaretz as so eagerly quoted by international media, I would react in the same way as Hawking did. We shouldn’t be surprised [...]

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Follow up to open letter to B’Tselem and Gideon Levy

Maurice Ostroff — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:33:14 +0000

The following correspondence follows my open letter to Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy and B’Tselem spokesperson Sarit Michaeli, published in Times of Israel on April 2, 2013 Ms. Michaeli has not responded but Gideon Levy sent the following email. On 08/04/2013 Gideon Levy wrote Dear Mr. Ostroff, Thank you for your letter and all your remarks. [...]

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An open letter to B’Tselem spokesperson Sarit Michaeli and to Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy

Maurice Ostroff — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:50:08 +0000

From Maurice Ostroff April 2, 2013 Dear Sarit Michaeli and Gideon Levy I am writing to seek your advice. In the March 31 Jerusalem Post article “IDF releases video of Hebron kids throwing stones” you, (Ms. Michaeli) are quoted as saying “Even if they [minors under 12] are throwing stones, they cannot be arrested.. there [...]

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The apartheid epithet and BDS

Maurice Ostroff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 06:57:04 +0000

What BDS Organizers should have told us but didn’t With “Israel apartheid week” (IAW) currently spreading its hate message around the world, it is timely to consider some little-known facts about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) that very successfully promotes these activities. IAW is a well-funded highly professional annual series of events that [...]

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Electoral reform part 2 – Regional vs proportional representation

Maurice Ostroff — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:13:11 +0000

Unlike FPTP, PR ensures that every vote in the country has equal value If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it Electoral reform is in the air as it is widely accepted that our present system of government is in urgent need of overhaul. But caution is needed. It is vitally important to carefully consider [...]

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Electoral reform part 1 – Trimming our obese cabinet

Maurice Ostroff — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:13:27 +0000

Although, OBESITY, with its contribution to diabetes and heart disease, is recognized as a drag on the economy, Reuters reports that the 2013 annual conference of the WEF in Davos discussed the subject but could not agree on what can or should be done about it. But Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party [...]

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The 2013 election results and the importance of raising the election threshold

Maurice Ostroff — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:03:24 +0000

The total number of registered voters in Israel is 5,656,705. After more than 99% of the votes had been counted it became apparent that 3,834,136 Israelis actually cast their votes, equal to a 67.8% turnout. These included 40,915 spoiled or blank votes leaving a balance of 3,793,221 valid votes cast. In terms of our proportional [...]

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Welcome to the forthcoming S. African parliamentary visitors

Maurice Ostroff — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 08:38:30 +0000

As a South African living in Israel, with strong emotional ties to my former home, I’m very pleased to learn of your planned visit to Israel. I welcome you and hope you will enjoy a pleasant and informative visit during which you will hopefully meet a wide range of Israeli civil society groups such as Telfed [...]

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An open response to Rabbi Rosove of Temple Israel, Hollywood

Maurice Ostroff — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 10:20:31 +0000

From Maurice Ostroff December 30, 2012 Dear Rabbi, I read with extreme sadness, your article in Times of Israel titled “An honorable tradition: rabbis dissent on E1 settlement plans for the sake of Israel“ Sadness, because your subscribing to the letter by 400 American rabbis and cantors protesting E1 building plans contradicts the letter [...]

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A modified grand jury could fix our broken justice system

Maurice Ostroff — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 14:01:21 +0000

The long drawn out Liberman and Olmert cases are but two of many that have provoked severe criticism of the office of the attorney general (AG). Current AG Yehuda Weinstein’s decision to close the major cases in the long drawn out investigation of former FM Liberman has caused widespread speculation about inefficiency and undue influence. [...]

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The UN Palestine resolution was void from the start

Maurice Ostroff — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:07:21 +0000

The article by Raphael Ahren “Is Palestine a state?” raises the very relevant question as to whether the November 29 UN resolution A/67/L.28 that granted observer status to Palestine as a non-member has in effect granted real statehood to Palestine. The question then also arises as to what and where is Palestine and whether it [...]

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Letter to the editor, NY Times re E1

Maurice Ostroff — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:28:08 +0000

The editor, NY Times December 7, 2012 E1 and the two state solution This letter is intended neither to oppose nor to support the recent much publicized announcement by Israel of its intention to build in the area referred to as E1, but merely to draw attention to credible facts. In this connection I refer to the [...]

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Pillar of defense – what now?

Maurice Ostroff — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 16:18:36 +0000

Prosperity can breed peace: robust industrial, commercial and even cultural relationships between the Palestinians and Israelis can lead to durable peace, mutual acceptance and understanding. It has been achieved before and can be achieved again if the politicians prioritize the true interests of the people above narrow political ambitions and slogans. The truce allows [...]

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The flip side of the Israel apartheid poll

Maurice Ostroff — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 14:29:40 +0000

Believe it or not, contrary to recent sensational headlines, if the highly publicized poll on purported apartheid in Israel is examined objectively, Israelis can be proud of the results. Directly contradicting the distorted interpretation by columnist Gideon Levy in Haaretz, an objective analysis of the results of the poll reveals that the great majority of [...]

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About the apartheid poll and responsible journalism

Maurice Ostroff — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 06:44:07 +0000

It is not the attitudes of Israelis that are shocking but the shoddy manner in which the survey was formulated, the shoddier manner in which Gideon Levy misinterpreted the results and the irresponsible manner in which Haaretz printed it without any attempt at evaluating its credibility that should shock him Kudos to Arno Rosenberg for [...]

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