When people like Ronald Lauder publicly worry about the political and social direction in which Israel is heading, it is high time for Israeli leaders, especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to pause and take stock. On March 18, The New York Times published a thoughtful op-ed piece by Lauder, the president of the World Jewish […]
Israel’s embassy in Jordan — one of only two Arab countries with which Israel has diplomatic relations — still remains closed, eight months after the Israeli ambassador and her staff fled Amman following an eruption of shooting during which two Jordanians were killed. This incident brought Israel’s important relationship with Jordan to a virtual standstill […]
Canada’s only overseas “representative office” is located in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority, and is headed by a Canadian diplomat who joined the Department of External Affairs 31 years ago. Douglas Scott Proudfoot, the Representative of Canada to the PA, has been in charge of the Representative […]
The Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas since its election victory in 2006, may yet drag Israel into another war. Last month, Israel’s chief of staff, General Gadi Eisenkot, warned the Israeli cabinet that deteriorating humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza — electricity, water and food shortages — are driving Israel and Hamas toward armed conflict […]
Israel and its northern neighbor, Lebanon, are embroiled in three disputes that could spill over into violence. On February 12, Lebanese President Michel Aoun warned they could yet trigger a war. Despite the gravity of the situation, major newspapers in North America have virtually ignored the brewing tensions, possibly because they were overshadowed by a sudden […]
Benjamin Netanyahu, serving his fourth term since first being elected prime minister in 1996, is on course to set an Israeli record for political longevity. If he’s still managing Israel’s affairs of state in July 2019, he will surpass David Ben-Gurion in terms of time served in this position. Netanyahu also may be cruising toward […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to balance Russia’s conflicting interests in war-ravaged Syria. It’s a devilishly difficult exercise that requires nerves of steel and formidable diplomatic skills. Putin’s competency was put to the test on February 10, following a series of deadly clashes during which Israel downed an Iranian drone in its territory, attacked an […]
Military tensions on Israel’s northern front reached a boiling point yesterday, prompting speculation whether a new Middle East war is inevitable. In the early hours of February 10, an Israeli Apache helicopter shot down the first Iranian drone to penetrate Israeli airspace. It was downed in the Jordan Valley, near the Jordanian border. By way […]
One of the world’s least progressive countries may at last be on the cusp of meaningful change. Saudi Arabia, the seat of Islam, was until very recently a major exporter of Wahhabism, an austere and intolerant strain of Islam which Al Qaeda adopted for its own malicious ends. Lest we forget, 15 of the 19 […]
Without divulging names, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has let it be known that Israel has established informal and unofficial bilateral relations with Sunni Arab regimes fearful of Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East, particularly in Syria and Lebanon. It’s no big secret that Saudi Arabia, an oil-rich conservative ally of the United States, […]