If there is ever to be real peace between Israel and the Palestinians, both sides will be obliged to make painful concessions and compromises with respect to a whole host of prickly issues. But to reach that point, the Israeli government and its Palestinian interlocutor will have to establish a measure of mutual trust, of […]
Category: Middle East
A year after the eruption of the third war in seven years between Israel and Hamas, an uneasy calm prevails in the Gaza Strip. The combatants observe an informal ceasefire, but the truce has been broken by periodic bouts of cross-border fighting, most recently last month, and both sides are preparing for a new round […]
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Egypt’s Struggle Against Terrorism
Ever since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi deposed his Islamist predecessor, Mohammed Morsi, in a coup on June 30, 2013, Egypt has been awash in terrorism. Not since the late 1990s, when Egypt was ruled by Hosni Mubarak, has it faced such an upsurge of terrorist violence. Terrorists have killed hundreds of soldiers, members of […]
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The Scourge Of Our Times
It was another stomach-turning day on the terrorist front. Within a matter of hours on June 26, terrorists wreaked death and destruction in three far-flung countries — France, Tunisia and Kuwait. The attacks remind us yet again that Islamic radicalism has morphed into the scourge of our times. Like the toxic fascist movements of the 20th […]
Whatever you think of the report released yesterday by the United Nations Human Rights Council on last summer’s Gaza war, take a moment to reflect on its causes. In a nutshell, it was the result of aggression on the part of Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip with an iron hand since the spring […]
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Jewish Extremism In Israel
Extremism in Israel, whether manifested in deed or through rhetoric, should be a source of grave concern to decent Israelis who care about the future direction of their country. In recent days, vandals have desecrated the Church of the Multiplication, near the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, while a United Torah Judaism parliamentarian […]
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Netanyahu’s Simplistic Truth
The anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is gaining ground at a fairly rapid pace. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, some pro-Israel supporters who had previously downplayed this clear and present danger to Israel’s well-being have pressed the alarm button with alacrity. The most recent lover of Zion to do so is the outspoken […]
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The Tragedy Of Ehud Olmert
Standing on the cusp of becoming Israel’s first former prime minister to be packed off to jail and stamped with the infamy of a criminal record, Ehud Olmert is making history for entirely the wrong reason. On May 25, a district court in Jerusalem sentenced him to eight months imprisonment on charges of breach of […]
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Major Nuclear Issues Still Unresolved
With the six major powers struggling to meet an end-of-June deadline for attaining a comprehensive and historic nuclear deal with Iran, two formidable issues remain to be settled — the timing of sanctions relief and the extent to which international monitors would have unrestricted rights to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities. Judging by the rhetoric emanating […]
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A Thorn In Israel’s Side
Fifteen years after its unilateral withdrawal from southern Lebanon, this combustible area remains a thorn in Israel’s side and a potential threat to regional peace. Since completing its hasty pullout on May 24, 2000, Israel has fought a war with Hezbollah — the Lebanese Shiite movement aligned with Iran and Syria — and may yet […]