Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Paul Alster

Day of shame for Sheikh Mohammed

Paul Alster — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:07:20 +0000

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Makhtoum, the ruler of the Kingdom of Dubai and current Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, could have had fewer more embarrassing and troubling days than on Monday of this week. When the shock news broke that his revered Godolphin racing stables in Newmarket, England, had [...]

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Boston’s naive triumphalism

Paul Alster — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:13:41 +0000

The events of last week in Boston, Massachusetts, may finally have given a proper wake-up call to those who still believe there is no agenda on the part of radical Islamists in the U.S. to undermine mainstream society. Although investigations are ongoing and no concrete facts have yet been presented as to the definitive inspiration [...]

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Time’s up for Hamas dissenters

Paul Alster — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:41:12 +0000

Today, April 11, 2013, time is up for those in Gaza who Hamas determine to be spies or collaborators with Israel. One month ago Hamas announced they would give collaborators and spies the opportunity to turn themselves in and register on a program of ‘mental retraining’. Those that haven’t reported to the authorities will, from [...]

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The good and bad news on the Turkish rapprochement

Paul Alster — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 18:32:37 +0000

With so many mutual strategic interests in an increasingly unstable region it can only be a positive thing for Israel to have diplomatic relations with Turkey restored, even if Turkey is led by the somewhat unpalatable Prime Minister Erdogan, a man whose past record suggests he will prove far from easy to take at his [...]

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Is US unwittingly paving the way for Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Syria?

Paul Alster — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:43:10 +0000

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions” wrote Dr Samuel Johnson, although he wasn’t the first to use such a phrase as some literary experts suggest the shrewd observation derives from a 12th century French proverb. Regardless of the true source of the saying, its underlying message is as true now as it [...]

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The duck that just quacked!

Paul Alster — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:21:57 +0000

Remember Bibi’s AIPAC speech of earlier this year when our silver-tongued PM addressed an adoring audience of supporters and proceeded to give them the old ‘duck’ routine? You know the one, “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, then what is it? That’s right, it’s a [...]

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Let the real election campaign begin!

Paul Alster — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 11:09:29 +0000

This morning’s breaking news that the three major centre-left parties may join together to form an alliance to compete against Likud Beitenu and other right-wing parties, at last offers the Israeli electorate the prospect of a genuine contest at the forthcoming general election on January 22. Regardless of your political views, one thing must be [...]

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Pride in the prosecution of corrupt Israeli politicians

Paul Alster — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:13:59 +0000

Leaving aside any personal opinions as to whether or not Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman did or did not commit an offence that warrants him having to resign his post as Foreign Minister, the investigation into his affairs has once again shown that, for the most part, Israel’s judiciary remains relatively independent and able to [...]

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How to catch an Israeli spy

Paul Alster — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 12:39:15 +0000

If you’ve ever wondered just how hard it is to blow the cover of Israel’s world renowned intelligence operatives then you need look no further than Sudan to receive an object lesson in how to catch an Israeli spy. Clearly a tit-for-tat measure by the Sudanese for what they claim is Israel’s blowing up of the [...]

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Tel Aviv bomb designed to derail ceasefire negotiations

Paul Alster — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:36:07 +0000

With Hamas having already gleefully claimed responsibility for the bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv earlier this afternoon in which 21 Israeli were injured, they have surely sent the clearest possible message that their attempts to negotiate a ceasefire with Israel are little more than a smokescreen to buy time for more attacks. If [...]

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Jimmy Savile duped British Jewish community too

Paul Alster — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 11:24:42 +0000

There won’t be many people out there that follow international news who haven’t heard the shocking revelations from the UK that the late Sir Jimmy Savile, a pillar of BBC broadcasting for over 40 years, may well have been one of the most prolific serial sex offenders in British history. Since the death last year of [...]

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Big boys do cry

Paul Alster — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:38:00 +0000

A long time ago I forgot all that crap they taught me at school in England about keeping a ‘stiff upper lip’, ‘don’t let your emotions get the better of you’, and ‘big boys don’t cry’. A career as a sports journalist in Britain took me closer to the action than most ever get; ringside [...]

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The farce that is Iran’s FARS news agency

Paul Alster — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:47:44 +0000

Iran’s supposedly ‘semi-independent’ news agency FARS has never been the first ‘go to’ address for those wanting to find out what’s really going on in the Islamic Republic. Their record of being economical with the truth demonstrates an imagination Lewis Carroll himself would have envied, as their claim last month that the Chinese navy would [...]

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MI5 boss backs Israel view

Paul Alster — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:37:50 +0000

It is never an easy task trying to tread the fine line between freedom of expression and protecting the general public from the real and present danger posed by terrorists using modern electronic communication. In London on Tuesday, in a rare public speech, the head of Britain’s famed MI5 spy agency, Jonathan Evans, spelled out [...]

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Losing my religion

Paul Alster — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:39:41 +0000

When my parents chose to have my bar mitzvah at a Reform synagogue instead of the usual Orthodox shul, the first question that greeted me from friends was, “Which of your parents isn’t Jewish?” They appeared en masse to be baffled when I assured them that both my parents were Jewish, my family on both [...]

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