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Middle East

The Regulation Law Should Be Struck Down

For the sake of peace, one can only hope that Israel’s ill-conceived Regulation Law, passed earlier this month by the Knesset by a margin of 60 to 52, will be declared null and void. Sponsored and promoted by Naftali Bennett’s far right Jewish Home Party, which calls for the annexation of much of the West […]

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Arts

Fanny’s Journey

Fanny Ben-Ami’s astonishing story of survival as a Jewish child in Nazi-occupied France has been brought to the screen by Lola Doillon in Fanny’s Journey. The movie, based on her harrowing experiences, will be presented by the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation’s Chai Tea series at the Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk (5095 Yonge Street) on Sunday, February 19 […]

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Arts

The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939-1945

How did the German people experience World War II? What did they think or know about their government’s plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe in the Holocaust? These are among the key issues that Nicholas Stargardt deftly explores in his sweeping new book, The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939-1945, published by Basic Books. […]

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Travel

Hong Kong’s Majestic Skyscrapers

Hong Kong is defined, in part, by its stylish skyscrapers, which rival those of Manhattan or Chicago. Rising majestically from the congested Central District and affording stunning views of picturesque Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong’s skyscrapers were designed by renowned architects such as I.M. Pei and Norman Foster. Viewed from Victoria Peak, 554 metres above sea […]

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Middle East

Islamic State, though In Retreat, Is Far From Beaten

Islamic State, the jihadist organization bent on establishing a caliphate in the Middle East, is being pounded relentlessly by the United States and its partners in a concerted military campaign to dislodge it from its bases in Iraq (torn by sectarian strife), Syria (bloodied by a civil war) and Libya (mired in anarchy). The new […]

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Arts

The Bieganski Stereotype In Polish-Jewish Relations

We should be beware of stereotypes, yet they persist from one generation to the next, twisting and distorting reality and causing misunderstandings and enmity. One of the oldest ones, concerning Poles, was perpetuated by William Styron in his novel Sophie’s Choice. Bieganski, a character in his book, is an antisemite. To some Polish Jews, especially Holocaust […]

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Middle East

The Real Face Of Netanyahu’s Government

Emboldened by Donald Trump’s election as America’s 45th president, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flaunting his true colours as an arch nationalist bent on expanding Israel’s borders at the expense of peace with the Palestinians through a two-state solution. No  longer constrained by Barack Obama’s critique of settlement construction, and heartened by the Trump […]

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Jewish Affairs

Puzzling And Troubling Omission

International  Holocaust Remembrance Day was created by the United Nations in 2005 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp on January 27, 1945. But on a deeper level, this solemn day is supposed to memorialize the Holocaust and combat Holocaust denial and antisemitism. It’s painfully true that […]

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Middle East

Trump And The Iran Nuclear Accord

As newly-inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump settles into his job at the White House, a host of thorny foreign policy issues are competing for his attention. How will he manage bilateral relations with China and Russia? How strong a position will he stake out in confronting the Islamic State organization? What will be his attitude […]

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Arts

Paterson: Jim Jarmusch’s Newest Film

The American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch seeks his material in the obscure, unheralded corners of America, focusing his gaze on the ordinary and the off-beat. Paterson, his latest movie, emerges from that quirky mould. Due to open in Canadian theaters on February 10, this is a quiet and appealing film which takes pleasure in elevating the […]