Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted indignantly to the recent announcement by Fatou Bensouda, the outgoing chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, that a formal investigation would be launched into allegations that Israel — and the Palestinians — committed war crimes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Bensouda, who steps down from her […]
Syria has been in agony for the past ten years, its self-inflicted torment expected to fester indefinitely. A decade ago, on March 15, President Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime violently crushed peaceful demonstrations around the country, setting off a civil war in this predominately Sunni Muslim nation. Syrians in large numbers took to the streets to […]
The circumstances of Robert Levinson’s abduction, arrest and probable death in Iran remain a deep mystery. The former FBI agent disappeared on the Iranian island of Kish on March 7, 2007 and has not been seen in person since that dark day. Several days ago, though, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called upon Iran “to provide […]
Egypt’s Ministry of Education recently made an important announcement: a new course on common values from the three Abrahamic religions — Islam, Judaism and Christianity — had been approved and will be phased in at schools throughout the country. This is an encouraging development. For the first time ever, Muslim students in Egyptian schools will […]
Israel’s chilly bilateral relations with Jordan may be thawing following a series of recent meetings between Israeli and Jordanian leaders. In the past few weeks, Defence Minister Benny Gantz has met King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi has conferred with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to discuss a range of political and economic issues […]
With the March 23 election in Israel looming, Merav Michaeli, the new leader of Israel’s once dominant Labor Party, is working to restore it to its former preeminence. “The Labor Party is back on its feet,” she said during a Zoom lecture on February 25 sponsored by the American Friends for Peace Now. “We’re at […]
As expected, the Palestinian Authority expressed satisfaction with the International Criminal Court’s decision on February 5 to consider an investigation of allegations concerning war crimes by Israel in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Muhammad Shtayyeh, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, praised its ruling as a victory for justice. Israel, of course, […]
Most Palestinians in the West Bank support a two-state solution, despite the glaring absence of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, say the leaders of two Palestinian non-governmental organizations. Nidal Foqaha and Mohammed Asideh, both residents of the West Bank town of Ramallah, conveyed this message at a webinar on January 31 sponsored […]
Israel has amassed an exemplary record in vaccinating its population against the Covid-19 virus. Since December, three out of nine million Israeli citizens have been immunized with the Pfizer vaccine. Nonetheless, the pandemic has killed nearly 5,000 Israelis, and Israel has gone through three lockdowns to contain its deadly effects. Israel, a hub of the […]
Israel has launched an orchestrated campaign to induce the United States to either stay out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement or completely revamp it to its satisfaction. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a vehement opponent of the accord, fired the first shot across the bow even before Joe Biden succeeded Donald Trump as U.S. president […]