Netanyahu forms apartheid government Benjamin Netanyahu has formed the most right-wing government in Israeli history. Nobody should be surprised. But his right-wing coalition partners are pipers who will make him pay. They include Itamar Ben-Gvir. He was convicted of incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organization. Now he’s security minister, head of the… Read more.
Middle East
Israel Should Support Ukraine – If Only to Help Itself
President Biden declared the war in Ukraine a clash between democracies and autocracies. Sure enough, democratic countries are supporting Ukraine. Autocratic countries are supporting Russia. Israel is a Democratic country. It follows that Israel should be supporting Ukraine. Yet it stands out among the few democratic countries that are not doing so. But a quid pro quo between… Read more.
America’s Evacuation from Kabul Looks Too Much Like Its Evacuation from Saigon
The United States spent 20 years trying to build Afghanistan in its image. Yet, US soldiers suddenly surrendered it to the Taliban last month by sneaking away at night. America’s evacuation from Kabul News of the retreat shocked the world. It also humiliated the United States. But, just as in Vietnam, US military leaders in Afghanistan knew for years this war… Read more.
Intifada: Latterday David vs. Goliath
President Donald Trump made much ado about recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah reacted as expected. He called for a new Palestinian intifada, condemned America, and urged Lebanon to cut all ties with Israel. Call for Intifada To punctuate his clarion call, Nasrallah insisted that: If the Palestinians undertake an intifada, the Arab and Muslim… Read more.
Hail, Erdogan! Latter-Day Sultan of Turkey.
If you harbored any doubts about Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s dictatorial predilection, the referendum he orchestrated on Sunday should disabuse you of them. A defiant Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan denounced the West’s ‘crusader mentality’ on Monday after European monitors criticized a referendum to grant him sweeping new powers, won with a narrow victory laying bare… Read more.
Bush’s promise of peace in the Middle East goes up in smoke
I believe there’s going to be a signed peace treaty [between the Israelis and Palestinians] by the time I leave office . . . I’m on a timetable . . . I’ve got 12 months. (President George W. Bush, January 11, 2008) Just weeks ago, President Bush went to Iraq hoping to be serenaded with… Read more.
To Israel, 1 dead Jew is worth 100 living Palestinians…?
Kidnapping is the only language Israel understands [Gaza militant as reported by the Associated Press] The Israel government is being criticized at home and abroad for a prisoner swap it executed with the Hezbollah terrorist group yesterday, which involved exchanging one notorious terrorist, four Gaza militants and the bodies of 199 Arab fighters all for the bodies of just… Read more.
Archbishop of Canterbury rebukes US – as the “worst imperialist” in history?!
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is fighting an insurgency within his Anglican Church that makes the one President Bush is fighting in Iraq seem relatively mundane. In fact, here’s a little of what I wrote in a commentary on Williams’s internecine struggle a year ago: …the battle within the Anglican Church over the… Read more.
Hamas ‘Terrorists’ Wins Democratic Elections: The Irony Is Not Lost
Western democracies should be celebrating Gaza’s democratic elections on Wednesday. Instead, they’re acting as if Gaza morphed into a theocratic autocracy overnight. Hamas wins in Gaza Of course, Western democracies have branded Hamas a terrorist organization. And they accuse Iran and its “wipe Israel off the map“ president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, of funding the organization’s terrorist activities. That’s why Western democracies had… Read more.