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Commentary

Israel’s Belated Recognition Of The Armenian Genocide

In a decision presumably driven by its currently abysmal relations with Turkey, Israel recently recognized the Armenian genocide. “It’s never too late to do the right thing,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote on X after the Israeli cabinet unanimously adopted this resolution, which has yet to be approved by the Knesset. Calling the recognition a […]

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Middle East

Israel’s Framework Agreement With Lebanon May Not Endure

Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, called it a “major milestone,” heralding what could be a new chapter in Israel’s often rocky bilateral relations with Lebanon. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, described it as “a major achievement” that could well open the door to an eventual peace agreement between Israel and its northern neighbor. […]

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Books

Propaganda And Persecution

The French resistance movement battling the pro-German Vichy regime and its ally, Nazi Germany, was a source of hope to persecuted Jews in France. The resistance condemned Vichy’s antisemitic edicts and Germany’s genocidal policy toward Jews, yet the whiff of antisemitism persisted in its ranks. This, in essence, is the overarching theme of Renee Poznanski’s […]

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Commentary

Israel Demonized in Democratic Party Circles

Three left-wing candidates endorsed by New York’s anti-Zionist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, won Democratic Party primaries on June 23, upending politics in the city and underscoring Israel’s rapidly declining image and standing in the United States. In what was described as a pro-Palestinian sweep, Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier won progressive districts in […]

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Middle East

Iran Scores A Diplomatic Victory In Lebanon

Iran appears to have won a strategic diplomatic victory over Israel, having succeeded in placing Israel’s current conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon at the center of its talks with the United States to officially terminate their war. During the opening round of U.S.-Iran negotiations in Switzerland on June 21, which was aimed at turning a […]

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Books

Holocaust: German History And Our Half-Jewish Family

Germans of mixed race ancestry fared badly in Nazi Germany. Thomas Paul Bernstein was one of them, a half-Jew who barely survived the brutalities of the Third Reich. He and his sister, Barbara, tell their story in Holocaust: German History And Our Half-Jewish Family (Cherry Orchard Books/Academic Studies Press), a book of distinction in terms […]

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Middle East

Trump Signs A Weak Agreement With Iran

Donald Trump lambasted the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which placed severe restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. He called it “one of the most incompetently drawn deals I’ve ever seen.” After he unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018, he assured Americans that he would forge a far better deal than his predecessor, […]

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Middle East

Trump Shifts Away From Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has learned the hard way that his political relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump comes at a high price. While Trump has often been supportive of Israel, the United States’ chief ally in the Middled East, he has occasionally differed with Netanyahu on such hot button issues as Iran and […]

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Television

Israel’s Next Leader

Israel’s forthcoming general election is due to take place in September or October, and if the pollsters are correct Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fail to capture enough Knesset seats to cobble together yet another right-wing coalition. Public opinion surveys released by the Times of Israel and Channel 12 on June 11 predicted that the […]

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Middle East

A Memorandum Of Understanding Ends The Iran War

There has been a negotiated end to the war in Iran, but the volatile issues that triggered it have yet to be resolved. After nearly three months of arduous negotiations punctuated by periodic armed clashes, the United States and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement within the parameters of a memorandum of understanding on June 14. […]