Most Jews in Russia after the 1917 communist revolution were anti-Bolshevik. But within two years of that historic upheaval, which transformed tsarist Russia into the Soviet Union, the majority of Russian Jews had flocked into the Bolshevik camp. At the root of this transformation were the 1,500 pogroms unleashed by the Russian civil war from […]
The Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, should be expelled at once from the International Judo Federation after their insulting behavior on the first day of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Nourine withdrew from the under-73 kilogram event when he learned that his opponent would be Tohar Butbul, an Israeli. In line […]
Julia Haart, formerly known as Julia Hendler, is at the core of My Unorthodox Life, a new nine-part Netflix reality series. Haart, 50, is a success story, one of the founders and the co-owner of the Manhattan-based Elite World Group, a global modelling and talent agency. A liberated women today, she once lived a cloistered […]
The Tokyo Olympic Games began with the usual flourishes, but the abrupt dismissal of Kentaro Kobayashi as the creative director of its opening ceremony lends some credence to the theory that it may be jinxed. Kobayashi was sacked on July 22, only one day before the start of the summer Games, after a disturbing video emerged in […]
A classic of the Israeli cinema, Eran Riklis’ Cup Final is still as fresh and relevant as it was in 1991, the year of its release to critical acclaim. Currently being presented online by the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation, Cup Final is a reference to the much anticipated World Cup match that would determine the […]
Israeli politicians are up in arms over Ben & Jerry’s decision to end the sales of its ice cream products in the occupied territories held by Israel. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett lambasted it as “morally wrong” and claimed that the American company had decided to brand itself as “the anti-Israeli ice cream.” Interior Minister Ayelet […]
Lebanon was once a shining star in a dark constellation, a thriving democracy in an Arab sea of autocracy, but today it is little more than an increasingly dysfunctional state lurching from one crisis to the next. Almost a year ago after a massive and mysterious explosion in the port of Beirut killed more than […]
Two months after Jordanian parliamentarians unanimously passed a motion demanding the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador in Amman and the recall of Jordan’s envoy in Tel Aviv, Israel and Jordan have begun to take the first steps toward improving their contentious relationship. The resolution was passed on May 17 in protest over Israeli “crimes” against Palestinians in […]
Ami Ayalon describes himself as “a strange bird” and an “outsider” in his frank and heartfelt memoir, Friendly Fire: How Israel Became Its Own Worst Enemy And The Hope For Its Future (Steerforth Press). Ayalon’s self-portrait is true, yet false. Having held top-level governmental posts in Israel, he is very much of an insider. But […]
Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the prime minister of Iraq, is due to arrive in Washington next month to discuss the future of the U.S. military presence in his country. His discussions with President Joe Biden could well be testy in light of recent events. Since Biden’s inauguration in January, pro-Iranian militias have increased the frequency of their […]