By any yardstick, Emanuel Ringelblum was a heroic figure. As the Nazi occupation of Poland deepened, he began keeping a diary of daily events in the Warsaw ghetto, where he lived. As the oppression intensified and he came to the realization that the Germans were intent on exterminating Polish Jews, he brought together fellow Jews […]
Israeli and Russian interests in Syria — Russia’s closest ally in the Middle East and Israel’s longtime enemy — have been on a collision course for the past few months. Nonetheless, Israel and Russia have managed to maintain a constructive dialog to soften the edges of their differences over Syria. Since last September, when Russia […]
An important document was released on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27. The Holocaust Revisionist Report, sponsored by Yale University, Grinnell College and the European Union of Progressive Judaism, addressed a problem found, in particular, in four European Union member states: Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Lithuania, all of which have cordial relations […]
Israel has never been as safe, prosperous and internationally accepted as it is today. Yet its future is uncertain, Gregg Carlstrom argues in How Long Will Israel Survive? The Threat From Within (Oxford University Press). According to Carlstrom, the Israel correspondent of The Economist and The Times of London, the Jewish state has never been so […]
The Israeli adventure drama, When Heroes Fly, has arrived at the Netflix streaming network. The 10-part series, set in Israel and Colombia, unfolds in Hebrew, Spanish and English. Four Israeli buddies, who fought together in the 2006 war in Lebanon, team up in a daring mission to find an Israeli woman supposedly killed nearly a decade ago. […]
Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody immortalizes the late, lamented pop singer Freddie Mercury. This exuberant biopic rises to sublime heights at times thanks to Rami Malek’s star turn as Mercury. Malek portrays the iconic British musician as self-confident yet vulnerable, flamboyant yet lonely, heterosexual yet gay, secular yet attached to his Zoroastrian faith. It is apparent […]
Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, warned the Security Council on January 22 that Syria would attack Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel if Israeli air strikes against Damascus International Airport do not cease. In response, Israel deployed the Iron Dome missile defence system in the greater Tel Aviv area. Jaafari’s threat is very serious and […]
Dick Cheney, George W. Bush’s two-term vice-president, emerges as the power behind the throne in Adam McKay’s sardonic film, Vice, which takes a dim view not only of Cheney but of Bush and many of the major figures in his administration. Superbly portrayed by Christian Bale, a British actor who imitates his monotone mid-western accent with […]
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a notorious and shameless antisemite, claims he has a “right” to deny Israeli athletes the chance to compete in a forthcoming swimming competition in his predominately Muslim country. Speaking recently at Oxford University’s debating club, the Oxford Union, he argued that governments have “the right to keep their borders closed […]
On his last visit to Israel earlier this month, John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, allotted a few hours of his time for a special tour. Weather permitting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would show him the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since the Six Day War and which it annexed […]