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Middle East

The Fate Of The Hostages Consumes Israel

Israel should brace for bad news concerning the fate of the hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups in tunnels and private homes in the Gaza Strip. Six months after their abduction from kibbutzim, army bases and a music festival in southern Israel, the majority could well be dead. A few days ago, the […]

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Middle East

A Turning Point In Iran’s Hostility Toward Israel

Israel is now officially and ominously at war with Iran, its arch-enemy in the Middle East. After yesterday’s much anticipated and telegraphed Iranian drone and missile attack targeting Israel, the first by Iran from its own territory, the simmering and occasionally explosive shadow war between these warring nations has degenerated into a far more serious […]

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Books

The Many Lives Of Cy Endfield

Cyril (Cy) Endfield, an American movie and theater director, will be remembered for his intense action dramas and his flight to Britain to rebuild his shattered career after he refused to cooperate with a U.S. congressional committee investigating purported communist influence in the Hollywood film industry. Nearly thirty years after his death, Endfield’s star has […]

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Commentary

Nicaragua’s Politically-Inspired Case Against Israel

The case brought against Germany and Israel by Nicaragua at the International Court of Justice in The Hague this week was nothing less than ludicrous. Claiming that German arms sales to Israel have facilitated genocide during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, Nicaragua requested emergency measures ordering Germany to cease its military support of […]

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Television

Ripley Is Dramatically Captivating And Visually Appealing

Tom Ripley, the cunning villain in Patricia Highsmith’s novel, is the quintessential con artist, always poised to pounce on his latest victim. Matt Damon portrayed him with aplomb in The Talented Mr. Ripley in 1999. Andrew Scott plays him with crafty coolness in Ripley, which currently unfolds in eight episodes on the Netflix streaming platform. […]

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Middle East

The Palestinians Of Gaza Brought Destruction Upon Themselves

Palestinians returning to their homes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, following Israel’s abrupt withdrawal from it on April 7, found a landscape of utter devastation. Much of it was unrecognizable, with some returnees comparing it to cities in Germany that had been pulverized by Allied aircraft raids during World War II. […]

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Film

Israeli Arabs And Israel

How loyal are Israeli Arabs to Israel? It’s a compelling question that has yet to be settled conclusively because this is a devilishly complicated issue. Since the Muslim and Christian Arab citizens of Israel are essentially Palestinians, the descendants of the 160,000 Palestinian Arabs who remained in the country after Israel’s War of Independence in […]

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Middle East

The Israel-Hamas War Six Months On

Six months since the eruption of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, Israel is still coping with an overwhelming sense of grief, trauma, loss and uncertainty. October 7, the day some 3,000 Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel in the darkest day in its history and the deadliest single rampage against Jews since the Holocaust, […]

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Middle East

Biden’s Ultimatum To Israel

It was a tense telephone conversation marking what may well be a turning point in Israel’s conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip and in its relationship with its key ally, the United States. U.S. President Joe Biden, in a half-hour call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 4, issued what amounted […]

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Film

The Boy In The Woods

Strength of character, resilience and courage were often the hallmarks of Holocaust survivors. These were the vital qualities that enabled them to overcome daunting disadvantages and challenges. Oziac Fromm was one such survivor. Left to fend for himself at the tender age of twelve, following the murder of his parents and sister, he survived for […]