Current efforts by the United States and Russia to achieve a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria’s five-year-old civil war hang by a thread. Periodic clashes are still breaking out. Two of the major combatants, Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front, have been excluded from the partial ceasefire and presumably will keep on fighting. The uncertainty […]
Reformers and middle-of-the-road conservatives in Iran have won majorities in parliament and the Assembly of Experts, the body which selects Iran’s supreme leader. But it’s doubtful whether their victories will soften Tehran’s hardline policies, particularly as they relate to Israel. Iranians who back the presidency of Hassan Rouhani — an Iranian-style pragmatist who seeks engagement […]
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, dedicated to the proposition that Israel’s existence is illegitimate, has achieved a string of successes since its founding eleven years ago. It’s no longer a marginal group in the shadows struggling for recognition. Created by a coalition of non-governmental Palestinian organizations, it draws inspiration and strength from a BDS […]
We live in an age of rampant terrorism, a grotesque phenomenon that manifests itself these days particularly in the Middle East. In countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Israel, terrorism has become pervasive, wiping out lives, destroying property and creating a climate of uncertainty and angst. With the rise of Al Qaeda and Islamic […]
As the prospect for peace between Israel and the Palestinians fades further away, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proffers yet more reasons why Palestinian statehood is not a feasible proposition. From my perspective, his arguments fall flat, sounding more like facile, self-serving rationalizations than rational explanations. Under pressure from the United States, Netanyahu supposedly endorsed a […]
The United States and Russia have reached an agreement to end the bloodshed in Syria, but it could easily fizzle and die. The accord, signed in Munich on February 12 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, is ambitious in scope but precarious and fragile. It calls for the delivery of […]
As expected, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has redefined Canada’s role in the U.S.-led military campaign to degrade and defeat Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. On February 8, at a press conference in Ottawa, he announced that Canadian advisors will no longer be involved in a combat mission in the Middle East. Instead, Canada […]
Jihadists love the Internet, as they should. It’s their portal to free publicity, a potentially vast audience and enhanced membership rolls. Islamic State, the jihadist organization that has wreaked havoc in the Middle East, has learned to its satisfaction that social media is a potent weapon to brainwash and radicalize Muslims and recruit them as […]
The impasse in the protracted civil war in Syria is so profound that even the prospect of successful peace talks to end the nearly five-year-old conflict seems outlandish and unrealistic. On February 3, after two days of preliminary discussions in Geneva, United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura threw up his hands in utter despair and […]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has tabled a bill that may well stifle, if not delegitimize, a precious gift — political dissent in Israel. The bill, known as the NGO Law, should be permanently shelved for the sake of Israeli democracy. Sponsored by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, it would require non-governmental organizations in Israel to […]