The War between the Wars
Israel’s necessary strategic posture is ferocious, in addition to peace-seeking. Get used to it.
Sacks, Carlebach, and Kahane
Remembering 3 Remarkable and Relevant Rabbis
The Big Chill–Again
Israel must resist America’s fantasy framework for a swift, dangerously indecisive, end to the Gaza war.
Honoring Henry Kissinger at 100
Dr. Kissinger is most consequential figure in US foreign policy of the past century. His record regarding Jews and Israel remains controversial, but I think that on balance Kissinger deserves respect.
Abdullah Attacks Abraham Accords
Jordan seeks to influence the Biden administration to ice the Abraham Accords in favor of the Palestinians. That would be a mistake. Expansion of the accords can only improve, rather than impede, prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. The accords need not “sideline” the Palestinians if the Palestinians don’t sideline themselves.
Ascending the Temple Mount for the First Time
My first “aliyah” this week to “Har HaBayit” was scary, emotional, fascinating, and infuriating. And necessary.
Celebrating Cynthia Ozick at 95
The illustrious Jewish-American novelist is a penetrating and courageous critic of contemporary society and its attitudes to Jews and Israel.
Weapons, Weapons Everywhere – Why?
Oslo is the root cause of today’s terrible epidemic of terrorist and crime shootings.
Trump Will Win and Biden Will Bash Israel
In its dying days the Biden-Harris administration will be chomping at the bit to act on its most “progressive” impulses: To clobber insolent Israel and to reset US Mideast policy away from Israel.
No Moral Equivalence
There is no moral equivalence whatsoever between Palestinian terrorists and Israeli troops. Falsely balanced diplomatic formulations like those that “call upon all sides to end the cycle of violence” must be rejected. This is prattle that covers for Palestinian extremism and rejectionism, and retards the cause of peace.
When the Going Gets Tough…
… the tough get going. When this country is under attack, Israel’s friends need to be more determined than ever to defend it.
Good Morning, President Biden
Wakey, wakey! Time for a course reversal. Consider the grand drama of Israel reborn, and don’t go weak-kneed on Iran.
Dicey Diplomacy with Israel’s Gulf Allies
I told interlocutors in the Arabian Gulf last weekend that Israel firmly will assert its sovereignty and governance in the face of Israeli Arab and Palestinian lawlessness. That is what most Israelis expect of their new government! At the same time, I assured Israel’s Emirati and Bahraini allies that Israel will do so without racist incitement and delegitimizing rhetoric, and without crude demonstrations of its power, but rather with finely calibrated tools and from an approach of maximum willingness to dialogue. (I hope that I am right….)
Israel at 75: The Sun is Shining
On the 75th Yom Haatzmaut, focus on the brilliance bursting forth from the nation of Israel in realms galore.
Save the Bennett Government!
The Bennett-Lapid government answered the desire of many Israelis for leadership that is neither radical left nor radical right. And it has real achievements.
Israel: A Tale of 2 Parallel Universes
Israel seems to exist in two parallel, contradictory worlds. One is a false, hackneyed, out-of-date, and threatening universe where recalcitrant and violent Palestinian leaders are venerated, and admirable Israeli leaders are criminalized. The other universe is real, promising, forward looking, and stabilizing, and is marked by a peace dynamic that runs from Jerusalem to Dubai, Manama, Rabat, Cairo and Amman; and from Jerusalem to the most important leaders in the world.
Reawakening to the Iranian Threat
A comprehensive picture of Iranian belligerence and its tectonic threat to Mideast and global stability.
Israel’s Democratic and Jewish Soul is NOT at Risk
Beware false election narratives from both the left and right. Do not let radical electioneering disfigure a noble reality. Israel continues to be a free, enlightened, creative and exciting place.
Radicals with “Ben-Gvir-Phobia” Committed to Crashing Israel’s Diplomatic Relations
I'm less concerned about the direction of the emerging direction of the new government than I am about the hysterical reactions to it from foreign governments and hard-left observers.
The ‘Refusal-to-Serve’ Festival
Lost in the anti-Netanyahu netherworld are manifold affirmations of commitment to IDF service despite the judicial reform juggernaut.
Targeting the “Head of the Octopus”
The tectonic threat of Iran to Mideast and global stability must be countered head-on.
Why Bother?
President Biden should not come to the Mideast without a useful agenda that includes truly confronting Iran.
Nobody to Vote For?
Consider one of the lesser-known parties running for election to Knesset. They serve as an antidote to widespread cynicism about Israel’s political system.
Can Israel be Unified?
Israel’s future depends more on repairing a modicum of national unity and even global Jewish accord than it does on countering Iran
Beware Turkish Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
Erdogan needs to be handled cautiously and, yes, respectfully. He also needs to be cut down to size.
Cool it!
Beware the doomsday discourse about irreparable depredations in Israel’s democratic moorings. The poison it pumps into Israel’s soul and standing is far worse than its proximate cause.
Rosh Hashanah 5784: Prophesies and Prayers
Take this Rosh Hashanah political-security quiz and prognosticate on the future for the Jewish new year. (My predictions are recorded at the bottom of the article.)
Judea and Samaria are on Fire – Literally
Escalating Palestinian terrorism, surging illegal Palestinian construction in zones of strategic importance to Israel, and wildly out-of-control arson attacks must be stopped.
Give Saudi Peace a Chance
Chances for a deal are high, the risks manageable, and the value overwhelming. The doubters and naysayers, as well as those who actively are trying to sabotage such an agreement, are wrong.
Biden Spares Iran and Scolds Israel
The US president is neighing about Israeli democracy and stiffing Netanyahu to counter Israel’s insistence on acting against Iran.