Syria supposedly destroyed its stock of chemical weapons, all 1,300 tons of it, under an agreement reached by the United States and Russia two years ago. But there are strong indications that Syria, embroiled in a civil war that has claimed the lives of some 250,000 combatants and civilians since 2011, has not relinquished its […]
Proceeding on the assumption that the best defence is a good offence, President Barack Obama has launched an aggressive public relations campaign to sell the Iran nuclear agreement to the divided U.S. Congress. Congress has until September 17 to review the controversial accord and decide whether it should be approved or rejected. The Republican Party, […]
John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state, had a clear message for Egypt, a key Arab ally, when he visited Cairo on August 1. Warning the authoritarian Egyptian government that it could lose its battle against domestic terrorism unless it shows far more respect for human rights, he said, “The success of our fight against […]
Israeli leaders have universally condemned the brutal murder of 18-month-old Palestinian toddler Ali Saad Dawabsha, who was killed on July 31 when terrorists firebombed his home in the West Bank village of Duma, near Nablus. The firebombing injured his parents and four-year-old brother as well. This ghastly incident evokes memories of the kidnapping and murder […]
In a long overdue development that speaks to Germany’s ongoing efforts to acknowledge its Nazi past and achieve a historic reconciliation with Jews, a major university in Germany plans to establish a permanent academic chair in Holocaust studies in 2017. The scholar who’ll fill the position will also be in charge of Frankfurt’s Fritz Bauer […]
Many Israelis have welcomed the news that Jonathan Pollard, the long-imprisoned spy, will be released on parole on November 20. Pollard has the dubious distinction of having been the only American to receive a life sentence for passing classified information to a U.S. ally. He has spent the past 30 years in jail on charges […]
The landmark nuclear agreement signed by the six major powers and Iran on July 14 was fundamentally an exercise in compromise, requiring Iran to curb and mothball its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. According to U.S. President Barack Obama, it cuts off Iran’s pathway to joining the exclusive nuclear club, of which Israel […]
The late Saul Bellow was a colossus in American literature, the son of Yiddish-speaking Russian Jews who immigrated to the United States by way of Canada. In the estimation of his latest biographer, Zachary Leader, he was the most decorated writer in U.S. history, having won the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and three National […]
Much to U.S. President Barack Obama’s annoyance and even anger, the Israeli government is pressing ahead with efforts to derail the nuclear agreement the United States and five other major powers signed with Iran in Vienna on July 14. Israel, having denounced the accord as a long-range threat to its national security, is working with […]
Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, both in the state of Utah, stir the soul with their incandescent beauty. The rock formations and mountains in these parks north of the Grand Canyon, part of the 130,000 square-mile Colorado Plateau, speak eloquently of the power and glory of nature. My daughter and I travelled a long […]