On May 28, Syria assumed the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, a non-governmental organization which, among other achievements, was instrumental in the promulgation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, an arms-control treaty that prohibits the use, production and stockpiling of chemical weapons. The presidency is rotated among its 65 members, and now it is Syria’s turn […]
Is bipartisan support for Israel in the U.S. Congress slipping? This appears to be the case, judging by a series of recent events. A festive ceremony in Jerusalem on May 14 marking Israel’s 70th anniversary of statehood and the opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem attracted a small delegation of Republicans from the Senate […]
Once again, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is shooting from the hip, creating a diplomatic crisis with one of Turkey’s most important neighbors. The volatile and authoritarian Turkish president did it again this week when he denounced Israel as a “terror state,” reiterated his allegiance to the Palestinian cause and downgraded Turkey’s loveless relationship with Israel, at […]
Tellingly enough, Russia refrained from condemning Israel after it carried out massive air strikes in Syria against Iranian and Syrian targets on May 10. Russia, which has cordial relations with both Israel and Iran and a special relationship with Syria, issued an innocuous statement rather than a condemnation after Israel’s ferocious attack. Its deputy foreign minister, Mikhail […]
It was a day of jubilation and bloodshed, a surrealistic commingling of events. As the United States officially opened its embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, thereby fulfilling President Donald Trump’s campaign promise, Israeli troops, acting in self-defence, killed 60 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,300 from the Gaza Strip who had charged toward Israel’s […]
It was a momentous moment in the Middle East, a dangerous turning point fraught with uncertainty. On May 9, a day after the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Moscow on one of his periodic trips to Russia to discuss current Middle Eastern issues with Russian President Vladimir […]
In what is probably a strategic blunder, U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn from the 2015 landmark Iran nuclear agreement, having denounced it as a “disastrous” and “horrible one-sided deal” that was “defective at its core.” Trump, however, offered to negotiate a new deal with Iran, but Iran is very likely to reject his proposition. […]
A few days ago, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered what he described as a “history lesson” to the Palestinian National Council in Ramallah. Some history lesson! During the course of a long and rambling speech, he made false and grotesque claims. They will surely diminish him in the eyes of peace-loving Israelis and Jews […]
As Israel celebrated its 7oth anniversary on April 19 by the Hebrew calendar — the day the doomed but heroic Warsaw ghetto uprising erupted in 1943 — it grappled with a paradox. Never has Israel been as militarily strong, yet so insecure. Israel is the only nuclear power in the Middle East, with a humming […]
The United States is torn by indecision in Syria, and recent events illustrate this pattern of confusion. On April 7, Syrian government forces launched a chemical attack in Douma, a suburb of Damascus, and it immediately placed the United States on the horns of a dilemma. President Donald Trump was reluctant to intervene, in line with his […]