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Author: David Gerstman

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David Gerstman

David Gerstman blogged as Soccer Dad from 2003 to 2010. Formerly a computer programmer, he is now a blogger for The Israel Project's The Tower blog.

Posted by David Gerstman on March 08, 2013 5 Comments

The state of the Secretaries of State One of John Kerry's first acts in office as Secretary of State was a good one. Lee Smith writes in John Kerry Roasts Turkey: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not a man who minces words. He has called...

Posted by David Gerstman on March 07, 2013 6 Comments

Those "apartheid" buses A number of British publications recently featured articles about some new Israeli bus lines devoted to transporting Arab residents of Judea and Samaria into Israel. These publications have outrageously called the buses, "apartheid" buses. Lori Lowenthal Marcus lays out some of the background (and...

Posted by David Gerstman on March 05, 2013 15 Comments

Two recent articles provided explanations as to why Mitt Romney failed to win the presidency. In The GOP and the City Edward Glaeser writes: After the presidential election in November, New York Times exit polls found that Republican candidate Mitt Romney had received only 29 percent of...

Posted by David Gerstman on March 05, 2013 1 Comment

1) More on AIPAC In addition to explaining how the two organizers put together the AIPAC conference, Tablet has a symposium, Do we still need a pro-Israel lobby? Though there are some good responses, the presence of Rebecca Vilkomerson and Alan Elsner as respondents is disappointing. Vilkomerson is...

Posted by David Gerstman on March 04, 2013 4 Comments

1) Taking the lede in blaming Israel A number of bloggers have commented on the anti-Israel remarks made by Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan last week. Fortunatly, Secretary of State, John Kerry and others rebuked Turkey. Here's how the New York Times' anti-Israel blogger Robert Mackey provided context for the remarks: The Turkish prime minister has expressed his anger with...

Posted by David Gerstman on February 28, 2013 9 Comments

1) Water, water everywhere At the Times of Israel, editor David Horovitz writes about how Israel's dealt with its water crisis. (h/t Yaacov Lozowick) “How did we beat the water shortage? Because we said we would. We decided we would,” says Kushnir, a big man with a warm...

Posted by David Gerstman on February 27, 2013 12 Comments

Jon Stewart mocks the sequester hysteria. Yes, he targets Republicans towards the end. But it's still pretty funny.(h/t my wife) I'm not a Jon Stewart fan, but he wouldn't be popular if he wasn't tuned in. Does his cavalier approach to the sequester reflect a popular skepticism...

Posted by David Gerstman on February 27, 2013 8 Comments

1) It's been more than 20 years  Jonathan Tobin writes in The Day the War on America Began: Exactly 20 years ago on this date, a terrorist attack at the World Trade Center took the lives of six people and injured more than a thousand others. The...

Posted by David Gerstman on February 26, 2013 5 Comments

1) Why are they staying away?  Yesterday the New York Times reported Syrian Opposition’s Complaints Shadow Kerry’s First Official Trip: Mr. Kerry and foreign ministers from Europe and the Middle East are scheduled to meet in Rome on Thursday with opponents of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria,...

Posted by David Gerstman on February 25, 2013 19 Comments

Earlier today Prof. Jacobson covered an issue I wanted to get to, Gov’t still controls the sequester pain meter. His argument was: The “unilateral” “across-the-board” sequester cuts seemingly absolve government of any responsibility. Actually, the opposite is true. While some decreases in the growth of government are mandated,...

Posted by David Gerstman on February 25, 2013 8 Comments

Intifada: then and now In response to a recent news program in Israel, Col. Jonathan D. Halevi wrote The Palestinian Authority’s Responsibility for the Outbreak of the Second Intifada: Its Own Damning Testimony for the Jerusalem Center of Public Affairs. Even now, as Halevi writes: More than...

Posted by David Gerstman on February 24, 2013 11 Comments

What happens when the legendary investigative reporter at The Washington Post investigates Obama and reaches findings that do not fit the pro-Obama media narrative? Yesterday Prof. Jacobson tweeted: Woodward basically calls Obama a liar who moved goal posts washingtonpost.com/opinions/bob-w…— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) February 23, 2013 (more, including some...

Posted by David Gerstman on February 24, 2013 15 Comments

There is a discussion in the Talmud about which is the dominant facet to the Megila (The Book of Esther.) Is it the story from the beginning, the story of Achashveirosh, the Persian king at the center of the drama; the story of Mordechai (beginning...

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