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Middle East

The Houthis Continue To Disrupt Red Sea Shipping

Despite its best efforts, the United States and its allies have failed to stop the Houthis from disrupting the flow of commercial shipping in the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes. Hundreds of tankers thereby have been redirected to the longer and more expensive Cape of Good Hope route around South Africa, […]

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Commentary

Far-Right German Political Party Causes Angst

A wave of protests denouncing an extreme right-wing political party swept through major German cities earlier this year, with several million Germans turning up in peaceful demonstrations to vent their fear of and disgust with the growing popularity of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party. Protesters carried placards reading “Never Again Is Now,” “Against Hate,” […]

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Books

Nazi Mercenaries During The Cold War

When The Third Reich collapsed in 1945 after 12 miserable years of existence, the victorious Allies vowed to hunt down Nazi war criminals “to the ends of the earth.” Fixated on this objective, the Nuremberg war crimes trial went ahead and a de-Nazification process was launched in the newly-created Federal Republic of Germany. But as […]

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Commentary

Trump’s Toxic Talk

Donald Trump has a bad habit of shooting his mouth off. He did so during his four-year term as U.S. president, and he is doing so again as the putative Republican Party presidential nominee. Several days ago, he hurled an outrageous accusation against American Jews who vote for the rival Democratic Party.  Appearing on an […]

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Middle East

Parliamentary Motion Leaves Canadian Mideast Policy Mostly Intact

A non-binding motion in support of peace in the Middle East was endorsed by Canada’s parliament on March 18 by a margin of 204-117. Brought to the floor by the left-wing New Democratic Party, it could hardly be described as a seismic shift in Canadian policy. Acknowledging its toothless character, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said […]

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Middle East

Israel Has No Choice But To Invade Rafah

Israel has no alternative but to invade Rafah, Hamas’ last urban bastion in the Gaza Strip, despite objections from its chief ally, the United States. Having successfully decimated or disabled nearly all of Hamas’ 24 battalions since the start of its ground offensive on October 27, the Israeli government is obligated to finish the job. […]

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Commentary

Guernica’s Thought Police

Two words come to mind to describe the rash and unreasonable decision by Guernica to retract a personal essay by Israeli author Joanna Chen: disgusting and disgraceful. It reminds us all that cancel culture is thriving in America. This prominent online literary magazine, based in New York City, is reeling after a self-inflicted wound. On […]

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Film

This Land Is Mine

Jean Renoir’s rousing anti-Nazi drama, This Land Is Mine, was a boilerplate propaganda film intended to whip up patriotic fervor and strengthen U.S. public support for the ongoing war against Germany. During its production, the German army was still in conquest mode. But when the picture was released in May 1943, the tide had turned, […]

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Commentary

Chuck Schumer Went Out On A Limb

Chuck Schumer, the top-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Congress and the Senate majority leader, went out on a limb yesterday, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being a major obstacle to peace, calling for a fresh election and a new leadership in Israel, and endorsing a two-state solution. Schumer’s 40-minute speech was seen as yet […]

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Middle East

Gaza War Exposes U.S.-Israel Disagreements

The rift between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu over the Israel-Hamas war is growing wider and is looking increasingly worrisome from Israel’s perspective. The tensions that have erupted in the last few months feel like a replay of Israel’s duels with the United States over the past six decades. David Ben-Gurion and Dwight Eisenhower clashed […]