Categories
Film

Lost Transport

Inspired by a true story, and dedicated to “all who suffered and sacrificed,” Lost Transport fleshes out an intriguing footnote of World War II. Saskia Diesing’s Dutch feature film, which is now available on the ChaiFlicks streaming platform, is set in Germany in April 1945 as the Third Reich crumbles. In the waning months of […]

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Middle East

Back To War In The Gaza Strip

A few days ago, Israel’s incoming chief of staff, General Eyal Zamir, predicted that 2025 would be “a year of war.” His prediction has proven to be correct. On March 18, Israel’s tenuous two-month ceasefire with Hamas broke down as Israel ferociously resumed the war in the Gaza Strip. “Israel will, from now on, act […]

Categories
Books

The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum

Fredericka Mandelbaum was no ordinary immigrant. A German Jew, she arrived in New York City in a near penniless state in 1850. Within a few years, she had created one of the first organized crime rings in the United States. One of the most infamous underworld figures in the last half of the 19th century, […]

Categories
Commentary

The Mahmoud Khalil Affair

Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist at Columbia University in New York City, has caused a furor and ignited a controversy. His case has triggered an impassioned debate about the limits of free speech and the boundaries of political activism. A 30-year-old Algerian national, a permanent resident of the United States, and a recent graduate of […]

Categories
Commentary

Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away

An exhibition on Auschwitz-Birkenau has landed at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto for an extended stay. Created by Musealia, co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland, and developed by an international panel of curators and historians, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions ever presented […]

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Middle East

Israel Expands Its Footprint In Syria

Israel’s “temporary” occupation of territory in southern Syria is turning into something more permanent. With the the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime last December, Israel went into high gear in an attempt to weaken Syria, one of its arch enemies. Israel bombed Syrian military assets, most of which are Russian in origin, and unilaterally […]

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Middle East

Israel’s October 7 Failures

Seventeen months after the October 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still stubbornly refuses to create an independent commission to review the events that culminated in the deadliest single day in Israel’s history. On that morning, some 3,000 Hamas terrorists attacked a string of kibbutzim, towns, army bases and a […]

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Middle East

What Will Become of Gaza?

The fate of the Gaza Strip hangs in the balance. Gaza, invaded by the Israeli army after Hamas’ massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has descended into a twilight zone since January 19, the day the ceasefire negotiated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt kicked in. While the Israel-Hamas war has stopped, […]

Categories
Film

Bad Nazi, Good Nazi

Wilm Hosenfeld, a German army officer during World War II, was a silent hero. Once a fervent Nazi, Hosenfeld parted ways with Adolf Hitler’s fascist regime while serving in German-occupied Poland from 1939 to 1945. During this period, he kept a secret diary in which he expressed his rage toward Germany’s mistreatment of Polish Catholics […]

Categories
Commentary

Trump Would Be Wise To Cancel Tariffs

President Donald Trump has unwisely declared economic warfare on Canada. In doing so, he is recklessly upending and potentially ruining the United States’ historically cordial and mutually profitable relationship with its closest neighbor and ally. Trump’s destabilizing policy is causing volatility, chaos, pain, puzzlement and uncertainty in both countries. True to his threats, he has […]