More than ten days have elapsed since the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was shaken by allegations that King Abdullah II’s estranged half brother, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, was involved in a plot to undermine the government. In the hours after this news rocked Jordan, a beacon of stability in the Middle East for the past […]
Israel’s education minister, Yoav Gallant, stumbled badly when he temporarily blocked a distinguished Israeli scientist from receiving the Israel Prize — the country’s most prestigious award — over his supposedly unacceptable political views. Gallant, a member of the ruling right-wing Likud Party, is withholding the prize due to his belief that Oded Goldreich — a […]
During the dying days of Donald Trump’s turbulent four-year presidency, hundreds of his supporters stormed Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. in a brazen attempt to stop Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. A disturbing proportion of the demonstrators who participated in this unprecedented event on January 6, 2021 were far-right extremists who belonged […]
EcoPeace Middle East, a unique regional organization, is trying to create what its Israeli co-founder describes as a “coalition of the willing.” Gidon Bromberg, whose project-oriented, non-governmental organization brings together Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian environmentalists, seeks to advance sustainable regional development to advance lasting peace between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. “We’re using the environment […]
Nearly 60 years after his suicide, the American novelist, short story writer and journalist Ernest Hemingway is still a formidable, even legendary, figure. Hemingway, a three-part PBS biopic by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, explores his life and legacy through forceful words and evocative photographs and newsreels. This absorbing documentary, narrated by the actor Peter […]
Helmut Oberlander’s Canadian citizenship has been revoked no less than four times by the government of Canada, yet the last known Nazi war criminal is still here, reminding us all that something is terribly amiss. Most recently, the Federal Court of Canada convened a hearing on his motion to end all deportation proceedings against him. […]
Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister, recently reminded Israelis that the tantalizing prospect of Arab normalization with Israel has been on the table for nearly two decades now. As he suggested on April 2, Arab states offered Israel full normalization of relations at an Arab League summit in Beirut in March 2002. […]
There was a disturbing disconnect in Jerusalem yesterday. A day after lead prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari opened the evidentiary phase of Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial on charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud, President Reuven Rivlin asked the sitting prime minister to try to form a new government. With Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party having emerged from […]
As Germany conquered one Western European country after another in 1940, Britain and Italy fought ferocious battles in Libya and Egypt, while the Italian Air Force bombed Tel Aviv and Haifa. Germany intervened in the desert war in 1941, dispatching General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps to assist its Italian ally, which had begin […]
Danish career diplomat Henrik Kauffmann was one of the unsung heroes of World War II. A fervent anti-Nazi, he generated newspaper headlines when he declared Denmark’s embassy in Washington independent of the Danish government following Germany’s invasion of Denmark on April 9, 1940. With Denmark cooperating with the German occupying force, he decided he could […]