Denying the undeniable, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on May 30 that the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad had nothing whatsoever to do with the recent spate of deadly chemical weapon attacks in Syria. “According to our information, there is no proof that chemical weapons were used by Assad,” Putin told the French newspaper Le […]
Much to the disappointment of the right-wing nationalist camp in Israel, U.S. President Donald Trump may yet turn out to be something a dud. Israeli right-wingers, buoyed by his staunchly pro-Israel statements and comments during the presidential campaign, expected him to grant Israel carte blanche in its dealings with the Palestinians, display a tolerant attitude […]
Diverging from his predecessor’s policy, U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted a tougher approach to Iran, a position that pleases major American allies in the Middle East. Israel and Sunni Arab states were upset by Barack Obama’s advocacy of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear agreement signed by the six major powers and […]
The Holocaust was not a single, monolithic event but rather a series of events that unfolded in different places at different times, a theme British scholar Tim Cole deftly pursues in Holocaust Landscapes, published by Bloomsbury. Cole, a social historian at Bristol University who’s written several books about the Holocaust, explores it from various vantage […]
I was a young man when the Six Day War broke out on June 5, 1967, a date stamped indelibly into my memory. In the life of a person, there are only a handful of select events that one never forgets, and the Six Day War is one of them. On that warm, sunny morning in […]
I could hardly believe my eyes. Tucked into a crevice deep in a craggy canyon in a desert adjacent to the Dead Sea was an incredible sight — a natural pool and a gushing waterfall. I came upon them on a hot day after a fairly strenuous hike in one of Israel’s most alluring nature […]
The rhetorical flourishes flew thick and fast during U.S. President Donald Trump’s 28-hour whirlwind visit to Israel. Describing his trip as “unforgettable,” Trump, in sonorous language, hit the right notes. He spoke of the profound attachment of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. He reaffirmed the United States’ close bond with Israel. He […]
I rarely agree with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose brand of right-wing politics and opportunistic regard for political self-preservation alienate me profoundly. But I found myself in agreement with him the other day when he lambasted a decision by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem not to play the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah, at a […]
Nearly eleven years after the eruption of the Second Lebanon War, tensions are rising yet again between two old bitter enemies, Israel and Hezbollah. In the past few months, as Israel has fortified its border with Lebanon in preparation for a possible fresh round of fighting and bombed weapons convoys destined for Hezbollah warehouses, both […]
Neither Israel nor the Palestinians are ready to engage in full-fledged peace talks, but in the meantime, the Israeli government should implement a series of unilateral interim measures to preserve the option of a two-state solution, Michael Koplow, the policy director of the U.S.-based Israel Policy Forum, told a luncheon in Toronto on May 17 hosted […]