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Dovrat Commission tinkers while education system burns
Originally published 5 Jan 2005 in The Jerusalem Post

Israel claims to offer free education, but in fact parents pay not only once, but twice: high taxes finance a bloated educational bureaucracy, then poor teaching and various fees create a costly “gray education”. The recently published Dovrat Commission report attempts to solve these problems, but no mere administrative and technical reform can save a system whose failure is rooted in misguided objectives and a faulty ethos.

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Institutions of lower learning (II)
Originally published 9 Dec 2004 in The Jerusalem Post

Some readers questioned the contention in my last column that Israeli academicians are largely responsible for inculcating an anti-market mind-set in elites.

For those who need further persuasion, allow me to provide several additional examples.

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Our institutes of lower learning
Originally published 10 Nov 2004 in The Jerusalem Post

At the recent Sderot Social Conference, various groups from academia, the government and other “social agency” bureaucracies (such as the Jewish Agency) assembled with NGO advocacy groups to promote what they call “a civil agenda” – as distinct from the economic and security agenda that they claim dominates two other famous gatherings, the Herzliya and the Caesarea conferences.

And what is this “civil agenda”? You guessed it: poverty, the income gap, minority “rights” – anything that calls for more government intervention and expenditure. Poverty’s root cause – our anti-productive system – was not mentioned.

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The editor as demi-god
Originally published 22 Apr 2004 in The Jerusalem Post

A recent piece by Ha’aretz’s former editor Hanoch Mamari (“A Fine and Fragile Balance”, April 16th) unintentionally helps explain how much of the Israeli media has become an intolerant ideological mouthpiece for a small and increasingly radical elite.

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Poisoning the American mind
Originally published 11 Mar 2004 in The Jerusalem Post

My recent piece “NPR’s Bias against Israel” demonstrating how National Public Radio repeatedly promoted Arab propaganda line by distorting facts or ignoring them, and drew many responses. Most felt that a warning about NPR’s success in defaming Israel, especially among inexperienced, “idealistic” university students, was long overdue.

But even more instructive, perhaps, were the few angry responses I received from avid NPR listeners who identify strongly with the station’s message and who are convinced that NPR stance against Israel is justified.

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