Middle East
Israel’s Ban Of U.S. Politicians Short-Sighted
Donald Trump barked and Benjamin Netanyahu caved in. One may be excused for wondering whether Israel is a banana republic, doing the bidding of its master. Israel’s decision to ban U.S. Democratic congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering the Israeli-occupied West Bank on a four-day fact-finding trip to examine the conditions of Palestinians […]
Iran Strengthens Ties With Hamas
Much to Israel’s discomfort, two of its staunchest foes, Iran and Hamas, have upgraded their bilateral relations. Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for the past 13 years, dispatched a high-level delegation to Tehran late last month, when tensions between Iran and the United States were on the rise and an outbreak of fighting […]
Netanyahu Pushes Annexationist Agenda
Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing ahead with his counter-productive election campaign promise to extend Israel’s sovereignty over the West Bank and thereby demolish the two-state solution. On August 8, the Israeli prime minister yet again reiterated his pledge to annex parts of the West Bank during a cornerstone-laying ceremony for 650 new housing units in the […]
Barak’s Comeback Could Well Fizzle
It could be one of the shortest political comebacks in Israel’s history. Ehud Barak, the former prime minister of Israel, has returned to politics after a seven-year hiatus. He hopes to play a starring role in unseating Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Israeli premier and his former boss, in the September 17 general election. It’s questionable, […]
Public Transportation On The Sabbath
The Israeli municipality of Ramat Gan recently passed a resolution permitting public bus service on the Sabbath. It’s a long overdue and welcome development, to say the least. Common sense prevailed when Carmel Shama-Hacohen, the mayor of Ramat Gan — a suburb of Tel Aviv — succeeded in convincing city council to approve a resolution allowing two bus lines […]
Netanyahu Breaks Ben-Gurion’s Record
Benjamin Netanyahu marked a historic milestone on July 20 amid speculation whether he will still be Israel’s prime minister after the September 17 general election. Having held office for 4,876 days, or slightly more than 13 years, he surpassed David Ben-Gurion — Israel’s first and probably greatest leader — as its longest-serving prime minister. Netanyahu, a […]
Turkey’s Relations With The U.S. Hit Another Low
Turkey’s troubled relationship with the United States took another hit on July 12 when the Turkish armed forces received the first components of the vaunted S-400 Russian air defence system. Just days after acting U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper warned Turkey that it would face economic sanctions if it went ahead with the controversial $2.5 […]
Israeli Air Raids In Syria Upset Russia
Israel’s bilateral relationship with Russia today is generally cordial. Certainly, it is far better than it was during the Cold War, when Russia unilaterally severed diplomatic relations with Israel twice, first in 1953 and then during the 1967 Six Day War. Nonetheless, given Russia’s close ties with Israel’s arch enemies, Syria and Iran, Israel must […]
Saudi Crown Prince Rides Out The Storm
It would seem that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the heir to the Saudi throne, has gotten away with murder. Nine months after reportedly ordering the assassination of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, an unusually grisly killing that shocked even hardened observers, Prince Mohammed, the de-facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is back on […]
The Bahrain Conference In Retrospect
Imagine a wedding without a bride or a bridegroom. The two-day “Peace to Prosperity” workshop in Bahrain, which took place in Manama from June 25-26, pretty much conformed to this scenario. Designed to promote the economic benefits of a peace agreement between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, […]
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