Shortly after Islamic State terrorists finished their deadly rampage in Paris on November 13, a black Friday in the annals of the City of Light, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message to France. “The terrorists who attack us have the same murderous intent as those in Paris,” he said, adding that Israel stands […]
Category: Middle East
Friday, November 13 was a black day for France as nine Arab terrorists ruthlessly killed 129 people in Paris in the deadliest attacks in the French capital since World War II. But is there a silver lining in this tragedy? The bloodshed may well spell the beginning of the end of Islamic State. Perhaps a […]
The European Union Labelling Problem
Israel’s official reaction to a European Union ruling that Israel can no longer attach made-in-Israel labels to some goods produced in the occupied West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem is nothing less than overblown and self-serving. On November 11, the European Commission — the EU’s executive body — issued guidelines mandating that certain products […]
In one of its biggest gambles in decades, Russia has plunged headlong into the raging civil war in Syria. The price it is paying for its armed intervention is already staggering and may yet grow worse. On September 30, the Russian Air Force began bombing rebel strongholds in western Syria, its planes taking off from […]
Benjamin Netanyahu was on his best behaviour when he met Barack Obama on a fence-mending mission at the White House on November 9. It was an important meeting, given the United States’ status as Israel’s chief ally and benefactor. Netanyahu, who last met Obama more than a year ago, had his work cut out for […]
The Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin
I remember that day as clearly as yesterday. Twenty years ago on November 4, on a typically cool autumn afternoon in Toronto, I greeted my Israeli friends, Arie and Ida, at my front door with terrible news. They had been out shopping and hadn’t heard what had happened just hours earlier. Yitzhak Rabin, the prime […]
A Bleak Moment In The Middle East
Mark Rosenblum, the founder of Americans for Peace Now, used to be cautiously optimistic about the prospect of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The Olso peace accords in 1993 and 1995 gave him reason to be hopeful. But yesterday in Toronto, Rosenblum sounded a pessimistic note. Speaking at a Canadian Friends of Peace Now […]
Combating Muslim Extremism In Britain
The British government recently announced plans to blunt the allure of Islamic extremism in Britain. The announcement came not a moment too soon. By all accounts, more than 700 radicalized British citizens have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join jihadist organizations at war with the Syrian and Iraqi governments. Islamic State, that barbaric Sunni outfit […]
Security Challenges Facing Israel
The Iran nuclear agreement and the disintegration of Arab state structures pose significant security challenges for Israel, says one of Israel’s most prominent political analysts. Speaking at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs on October 19, Efraim Inbar said the accord curbing rather rolling back Iran’s nuclear program will have dire repercussions […]
The Roots Of The Violence
The timing of the latest outburst of Palestinian unrest in the West Bank and Israel is hardly surprising. With the peace process having shuddered to a screeching halt and the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank continuing apace, the probability of a Palestinian reaction was inevitable. I’m frankly surprised it didn’t happen much […]