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Storming the Bastille of Israel's religious bureaucracy

May 21, 2013  •  The Jerusalem Post

This past Sunday, a press conference was held in Jerusalem which may yet come to signify the start of a revolutionary change in the provision of religious services in the Jewish state.

Speaking to reporters, Religious Services Minister Naftali Bennett and Deputy Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan announced a series of long-overdue reforms that will, for the first time, introduce elements such as competence and competition into the country's moribund system of religious councils.

Sure, no smell of gunpowder was evident, nor did anyone break out into a rendition of "I dreamed a dream" from Les Miserables, but the storming of the Bastille of Israel's religious bureaucracy is most assuredly underway.

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Unholy Hypocrisy At The Western Wall

May 14, 2013  •  The Jewish Press

Last Friday, the Western Wall underwent an unwelcome transformation from sacred site to media circus as the group known as the Women of the Wall sought to hold a decidedly non-traditional prayer service.

Not content with the idea that their worship would be seen by our Father in Heaven, the women went one step further and made sure that plenty of writers, journalists and cameramen from Israel and abroad were there to film their disregard for time-honored Jewish practice.

Waiting there to greet them were thousands of young religious women who had heeded the calls of leading rabbis to demonstrate support for maintaining the status quo at the site.

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Stop spending like a drunken sailor

May 14, 2013  •  The Jerusalem Post

For a country in the throes of mounting national debt, Israel's bean-counters at the Finance Ministry appear to think they have hit upon a remarkable solution – one that defies both logic and experience. Simply put, their economic philosophy amounts to: let's spend even more money we do not have.

After figures showed the government had run up a mammoth NIS 39 billion deficit in 2012, or 4.2 percent of GDP, it became clear swift action was needed to rein in the coalition's profligacy. As a result, headlines in recent weeks have been replete with menacing words such as "austerity," "decrees" and "tax hikes."

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The lies we tell ourselves about moderate Islam

May 7, 2013  •  The Jerusalem Post

The past few weeks have been difficult ones for the United States and its allies, as they received some painful reminders that the war on terror is far from over.

In a dastardly attack on April 15, two bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, killing three people, wounding 264 others and leaving more than two dozen amputees. A week later, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that they had arrested two people in a plot to attack a passenger train heading to Toronto from New York.

There were other incidents as well. On April 18, gunmen stormed a hotel in the Kenyan town of Garissa and sprayed bullets into the restaurant, killing 10.

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A president's view
Interview with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic

May 2, 2013  •  The Jerusalem Post

Less than a year after taking office, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic paid a state visit to Israel earlier this week. The 61-year old statesman, who defeated incumbent Boris Tadic in May 2012, has been a key political figure and parliamentarian in the region for more than two decades.

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