A rising tide of nationalism in Germany has seen the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) vault into third place in the German parliament after last year’s federal election. It now holds 92 seats in the Bundestag. Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats have formed a coalition with the Social Democrats to run the country, after both major […]
Author: Henry Srebrnik
Categories
It All Began Forty Years Ago
On March 11, 1978, the worst single act of terrorism on Israeli soil since independence, resulted in the deaths of 38 Israelis, including 13 children. Another 71 were wounded. The specific incident, though hardly remembered today, had, as it turned out, long-lasting consequences. A game changer with respect to Israel’s future involvement in Lebanon, it led […]
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the state-orchestrated “anti-Zionist” campaign in Poland, then under Communist rule. At the time, Jews numbered no more than 30,000 members out of a Polish population of 32 million. Cold War politics and a power struggle within the Polish Communist party would result in a purge […]
From the antisemitic and fascist movement of Charles Maurras’ Action Francais, through the collaborationist wartime Vichy and the Algérie Française eras, reactionary thought has a long history in twentieth century France. It was one of the mainstays of a current which vigorously opposed the revolutionary and Republican traditions. Since the disaster of World War II, in […]
Categories
Why Turkey Attacked Syrian Kurds
Turkey’s recent incursion into Kurdish-held areas along its border with Syria puts it further at odds with the other players in the Syrian civil war. Beginning with air strikes on January 20, Ankara announced that the campaign, “Olive Branch,” had been launched, targeting the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Islamic State (IS) jihadists. The […]
It’s no secret that U.S. President Donald Trump thinks Americans have for decades been taken for a ride by fair-weather friends when it comes to foreign aid. They are glad to take the cash, but become no-shows when asked to provide help when Washington needs it. Pakistan is among the countries he considers freeloaders. In […]
Categories
Iran On The March In The Mideast
Two interlinked wars may be coming to the Middle East. Either could break out within a few years’ time. One conflict will pit Israel against an Iranian-led coalition based in Lebanon and Syria. Another may well erupt between Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies in the Persian Gulf on the one side, and Iran and […]
Categories
The Muslim Minority In Greece
People know that the status of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, partitioned between Greek and Turkish Cypriots since 1974, is the main impediment to good relations between Greece and Turkey, their respective mainland co-religionists. But there are other contentious issues between Athens and Ankara, dating back decades, and something that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan […]
Thanks, in part, to people like Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, we have a picture of Ukraine as a plucky democracy, fending off the Russian bear. But you may not hear about the following from her, as she continues to provide total support to the Ukrainian regime. Ukrainian war hero-turned-lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko came under fire last […]
Categories
Jerusalem’s YMCA Is A Serene Oasis
Jerusalem is, as always, much in the news these days, contested between Jews, Muslims and Christians, and fought over by Israelis and Palestinians. This has especially been the case in recent days, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that Washington will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move its Tel Aviv embassy there. There are, […]