The video that went viral in Israel on Monday left little room for debate. Three Special Patrol Unit police officers are standing outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, when one of them asks a young man for his ID and all hell breaks loose. The man, later named as Muhammad Ali, 19, from Shuafat, takes a knife and stabs the neck of one of the police officers and then jumps and stabs a second one, before he is taken down in a …
Roni Alsheich, deputy head of the Shin Bet (Israel security agency) was introduced – somewhat – to the Israeli public last Friday as all but a shoo-in for the new chief of police, finally, mercifully bringing the hunt for a new chief to an end. Alsheich (whose name can now be printed, saving us the silly requirement of calling him simply “R”) brings impressive credentials – a former company and deputy brigade commander in the Paratroops – he has spent over …
The spy who came in from the cold – to lead the police Read More »
Judging by the pre-game hype in the national press, something akin to the moon landing or the planting of the US flag on Iwo Jima took place in Tel Aviv on Friday morning, as hundreds gathered in the center of town to see the iconic Ma’ariv Bridge blown up and brought to Earth. The situation on the ground at judgment hour didn’t live up to the hype, but it was a carnival of sorts nonetheless. Ori Benaim was sober …
Every protest movement needs a great song. Earlier this month the famed comedy trio Shlishiyat Ma Kashur released a protest video, a clip full of anger ripped from the front pages. A serious departure for the trio, “Ayalon Darom” (the title taken from the Ayalon freeway, which was blocked during rush hour during a protest by Ethiopian Israelis in May) depicts the three actors as Ethiopian Israelis fed up about racism in Israeli society, sick of being seen as nothing …
These days, Israel’s leaders are desperate, or at least at a loss on how to stop a fringe element of Jewish extremists that has long figured out how to dictate the path of this country, no matter how few they are. Desperation was the message put out Sunday by the diplomatic-security cabinet when it approved the use of administrative detention for Jewish extremists suspected of involvement in acts of terrorism directed at Palestinians. A controversial practice, administrative detention involves …
Looking for a quick fix to ‘price-tag’ attacks, human rights be damned Read More »
(In light of the terrible, awful events in Israel/Palestine in the past few days, it was decided that a temporary departure for this blog may be in order) The latest hip hop feud has certainly been good for one Jewish Canadian (Drake), and very, very bad for Meek Mill, (not Jewish, and a native of Philadelphia, which is not in Canada). Now that I have your attention with that ridiculous headline (I worked at a Jewish/Israeli news site where we would …
For the past 10 months the family of Avera Mengistu has lived with trauma and uncertainty. Their son has been missing in Gaza, his whereabouts and health unknown, with no sign of life. The fact that he crossed into the Strip willingly, and has a history of mental distress is probably of no consolation. They have also, it turns out, not been treated with the level of urgency and sympathy one would expect for the family of an Israeli citizen held …
It’s a common refrain any time there’s a mass shooting in the US, which are almost always carried out by white men. The killer – if it’s a white man – must be mentally deranged, possibly even under the influence of harmful medication, something, anything that could explain cold-blooded cruelty on that level. This refrain has been repeated this week, ever since Dylann Roof walked into an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina and shot dead 9 congregants last Wednesday night. …
Suddenly, a whole lot of people in Israel are talking about Baltimore. The city has become a buzzword in Israel for riots and protests against police brutality and racism. Coinciding with the publication of a video of an Ethiopian-Israeli soldier being beaten by police, the images of riot cops clashing with protesters and row houses in flames became a symbol to many of what could happen in Israel if the situation spun out of control, if years of frustration in the …
Not ‘Israel’s Baltimore’, but real cause for concern Read More »
A rare cause for celebration gripped the Israel Police last Monday, as they dedicated a massive, 2.9 billion shekel training facility outside Beit Shemesh. Coming in the midst of an era of scandal, the dedication of the gleaming, sprawling facility was marked as nothing less than a triumph for the battered organization. According to police figures, the academy sprawls over some 64,000 square meters on a more than 230 dunam plot, and will incorporate the activities of some 19 police training …
A ‘field of dreams’ that wont heal police troubles Read More »