יום ראשון, כ״ו אב תשפ״וSunday, August 9, 2026
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By Barry Rubin
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan once said that democracy was like a trolley. You ride it until you get to your destination and then get off. Presumably that’s at the point where you have consolidated power to the point you can do whatever you want and have turned Turkey into an Islamist state.
Time magazine's cover story about attachment parenting garnered a great deal of attention. Clearly, the shock value of showing an attractive young mother breast-feeding a child nearly four years of age was enough to excite worldwide conversation. The story inside focused on a controversial theory…
By Ann Snyder
The Human Rights Council concluded its nineteenth session on March 23, 2012 and adopted, without a vote, yet another resolution aimed at restricting freedom of speech throughout the world. While its title, as usual, suggests it is about combating intolerance based on religion, its plain language shows that, once again, speech is the real target.
At a time when many Western governments, the World Bank, and various international organizations are continuing to heap praise on the Palestinian Authority for implementing reforms, the deputy speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Hasan Khreishah, announced that financial and administrative corruption was now more widespread than ever.
By J. E. Dyer
If a civic or political group, meeting publicly, is not willing to have its activities and statements recorded truthfully by critics, its purpose is suspect. There can be no good purpose for preventing third parties – i.e., the whole of society, whether friendly or critical – from seeing what is said and done at a public event sponsored by the Palestine Society.
By Assaf Yair, Tazpit News Agency
An Israeli–Zionist success story: the story of two Ethiopian youths who immigrated to Israel from their village in 2007 and evolved into top notch high school students and youth group leaders.
What business does the government have entering a church, synagogue, or mosque to legitimize or define the spiritual nature of a person's marriage? We are supposed to have separation of church and state in America. Far from harming religion, this change would encourage non-religious people to entertain the concept of how religion can enhance and enrich one’s life, and be an invitation to engage in further religious learning, traditions, communities, and beliefs.
Egyptian intellectual Tariq Hagi speaks frankly and openly about the many deep flaws that exist in Arab cultures. His message is different from that of most Arab spokesmen, because most Arab spokesmen strive to cover up the flaws in their societies, to conceal them and repress them - mainly because of the shame and the feeling of inferiority that these flaws arouse in them.
The extreme-left Greek Syriza party became the second biggest party in the country on May 6, surpassing the socialist Pasok party. Syriza has a party platform which includes "disengagement from NATO" and "termination of the military cooperation with Israel."
By Barry Rubin
In his recent speech in Afghanistan Obama made the deadly error of claiming that, in effect, al-Qaida is America's only real enemy in the world. Even the Taliban is redeemable, though it answered him with a suicide attack in Kabul. As for Obama's other claims, he can't even get Pakistan to stop supporting the Taliban and concealing al-Qaida leaders. And India has been treated by Obama in a manner reminiscent of his policy toward Israel.
By Barry Rubin
When asked whether they preferred to model Egypt on Saudi Arabia or Turkey regarding religion’s role in government, thy chose Saudi Arabia by a 61 to 17 percent margin. Note that Western pundits and experts keep insisting that there is some kind of Turkish model of moderate Islamism. Aside from the fact that Turks aren’t Arabs, this is a sign of the base of support for a fully sharia state.
You will recall that over 1000 prisoners, including some multiple murderers, were released in the ‘exchange’ for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Many of the ones that are left were not part of the deal because they were considered more dangerous or because their crimes were more vicious.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate wants Palestinian journalists to serve as soldiers on behalf of the Palestinian cause. Journalists, according to the syndicate, should first and foremost be loyal to their president, prime minister, government, homeland, and cause. As for the truth, it appears at the bottom of the syndicate's list of priorities.
By J. E. Dyer
When Romney speaks of the US auto industry recovering, he is speaking in the language of big, dirigiste government, accepting at face value the short-term effect of a bailout process that has served mainly to perpetuate unprofitable but politically entrenched conditions. It guarantees that more subsidies will be needed down the road.
By Barry Rubin
O’Donnell says that “liberal” should not be a dirty word but a badge of honor. I agree. It should be, but it has been tarnished far less by conservatives’ attacks than by radicals who have hijacked that word and use it for an agenda that is bankrupting the United States, reducing liberties, and making a mess of U.S. foreign policy.
Several headlines recently caught my attention when I heard that a man who claims to have worked as Michael Jackson's bodyguard made the incredulous charge that Michael was a Nazi sympathizer. This kind of viciousness should usually not be indulged because it just gives it more credibility for the retelling. But the slander against Michael's name in this instance is so great that it deserves to be rebutted.
If the Western journalists and donors continue to ignore the reality on the ground, the West Bank could soon fall into the hands of gangsters and armed clans, as has been the case in Jenin -- among the main reasons the Palestinian Authority collapsed in the Gaza Strip in 2007, speeding the rise of Hamas to power.
By Barry Rubin
People don’t want to be told to sacrifice, especially because they suspect that the elite isn’t doing so and that this same elite is responsible for the mess. So they can be—easily?—manipulated into voting for those who tell them to eat, drink and be merry, with a minimal tax on billionaires and millionaires paying off the caterer.
By Soeren Kern
After releasing all but two of the Salafists responsible for the brawl on May 5th, the Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ralf Jäger, cast blame on the democratic -- and peaceful -- political party PRO NRW. He ordered police to prevent PRO NRW from displaying anti-Islam any more cartoons during the final phase of the state's regional election campaign, to be held on May 13th.
A unity government, which would give Netanyahu a massive 96 Knesset seats out of 120, would certainly clear the decks for military action against Iran. Early elections in September, on the other hand, carry a burden of uncertainty, even though Netanyahu’s Likud party is leading by a large amount in the polls. In any event, they would be disruptive.
The attempt to serve as an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians has defied reality and U.S. interests. While Israel has been an unconditional ally of the U.S. and a role model for countering terrorism, the Palestinians have actively and ideologically sided with U.S. enemies and rivals: Nazi Germany, the Soviet Bloc, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, North Korea, Iran, China and Russia.
By Barry Rubin
The 'Islam-is-good school' makes the West defenseless to understand and deal with the threat. The 'Islam-is-bad' school discredits serious critiques of Islamism and honest analysis of Islam, thus letting their opponents win the debates and blind the West to the best strategy and potential allies.
Tied as we are in Martin Luther King's 'single garment of destiny' where 'whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly,' courageous soldiers of the US military are forced to engage in war so that the rest of us might live in peace, to stain their hands so that our future might be clear. We do not gloat over the death of evil since its very existence must be mourned.
By J. E. Dyer
The whole world knows the peril Chen and his family are in. The right approach here is not to seek a “solution” that gets the governments of China and the US off the hook; it’s to stand by Chen and demand that he be treated with the respect for his rights as understood in the Helsinki Accords. While China is not a signatory to the Accords, their standard for freedom, travel and emigration, and reunification of families is the touchstone to be invoked in this instance.
The virus of antisemitism persists in haunting Europe. In recent months, antisemitism has been exhibited all too often in European countries, not just in theory but in practice.
By Barry Rubin
The Obama Administration's policy toward Syria is turning into a scandal on both strategic and humanitarian grounds.
Barack Obama and many of his appointees share a New Left sensibility, which includes the ideas that colonialism and imperialism — particularly ‘US imperialism’ is the root of all evil, that it is meaningless to suggest that one culture could be morally superior to another, and that national interests should be subordinated to multilateral cooperation.
With two leading Islamist presidential candidates that are backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, chances are high that Egypt will vote an Islamist into the office of president. This will undoubtedly be followed by an Islamist constitution.
By Barry Rubin
At times we seem to be living in the updated version of Ignazio Silone’s remark, “The final conflict will be between the Communists and the ex-Communists.” All too often, we cannot depend on Western-trained intellectuals in positions of power who either buy into leftist ideology or tremble in fear of being called racists or Islamophobes.
As far as most Palestinians are concerned, the "friend of my enemy is my enemy." Palestinians hate the US because of its continued support for Israel. The Palestinians want the US to endorse all their demands and force Israel to give them everything. As one of the leaders of a recent anti-US demonstration explained, "The US will remain our enemy for as long as it does not fully support the Palestinians."
By Barry Rubin
The great advantage of the Obama administration and the far left has been concealment and deniability. They deny their extremism and sugar-coat their message, helped by the mass media and other institutions. But the Occupy Wall Street movement isn’t this sophisticated “New New Left” but instead is like the Old Left and 1960s’ New Left in its rhetoric, methods, and symbols. It openly talks about anarchism, Communism, Marxism, and overthrowing capitalism.
Islamist Members of Parliament in Egypt are trying to deprive Egyptian women of their basic rights by introducing several controversial draft laws that, if passed, will bring Egypt back to the Middle Ages.
There is a reason that “the average Israeli” elected the son of Benzion Netanyahu, a man who shares his father’s values — because they too share his view of history. This is precisely why they believe that he would not sell out their interests.
The likelihood of Iran complying with its commitments is minimal. But there would be hundreds if not thousands of hours, days and weeks of new negotiations over whether and how the agreement is holding up. Once a deal is struck, the Western powers will be loath to cancel it, even when they know Iran is cheating.
By Barry Rubin
Israel is apparently going to have elections this autumn and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will almost certainly win by a big margin. Understanding why explains a lot about the country that people think they know the most about but in fact comprehend the least.
By J. E. Dyer
President Barack Obama's recent self-congratulatory comments on the killing of Osama bin Laden must be viewed against the backdrop of past presidents, and how they related to the role of the military.
Instead of going after top officials suspected of embezzling public funds and abusing their powers, the Palestinian Authority government has chosen to wage an unprecedented clampdown on those who dare to raise their voices in support of transparency and freedom of speech.
By Barry Rubin
As you know, just about everyone in the world outside of Israel has been claiming that an attack is imminent or that it is only being held back by the U.S. government. My argument has been that this is simply untrue. Most of the Israeli strategic and intelligence leadership oppose an attack, for the same reasons I do. Moreover, these people don’t believe it is going to happen in the near future.
The Bible consists of 613 commandments, one of which is for a man to marry and have children, and the other is for a man to avoid gay sex with another man. That leaves 611 commandments for gay men to observe. That should keep them pretty busy. Homosexuality should be treated like lighting fire on the Sabbath or eating non-kosher foods, both Biblical prohibitions
Perhaps an artist should be judged without regard to his/her political affiliations or actions, but the Metropolitan Museum's exhibit on the collection of Gertrude Stein and her family purports to present the story of the collection and of Gertrude's life in France. It ends with a misleading description of her activities during the war years, suppressing the fact that she collaborated with Nazism during the German occupation of France.
We have to believe in the superiority of our Western values. If we do not, we will not be prepared to defend them. That is why we have to end the biggest disease in the world today, the cultural relativism which posits that all cultures are equal. Our Judeo-Chrisitian, humanist civilization is more free, more democratic, more tolerant than any civilization the world has ever seen. We should not be afraid to say so.
Contrary to the statement in the NY Times obituary for Benzion Netanyahu that "ultimately, Israel was created as a result of the partition the revisionists opposed," Zionist Jews in the Land of Israel created the state, and not any UN resolution.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
Nir Barkat: "Google Street View is an important tool to increase the number of tourists to Jerusalem," which received a record amount of more than 3 million tourists in 2010. Still, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has in the past indicated that it made use of Google Earth technology to fire rockets into Israel.
Whatever the different formulations of Zionism, all proponents share the view that the area is the birthplace and the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, linked by historical ties and by religious and cultural traditions.
By Barry Rubin
The result may well be an Islamist versus Islamist run-off. In any event, it is likely that by the end of the year Egypt will have an Islamist president, parliament, and Constitution. Laws will be drastically altered, women’s rights will disappear, and Hamas will be backed up if it attacked Israel.
In the time that I spent with Professor Benzion Netanyahu, I discerned a Jewish nationalist of phenomenal determination. Zionism was in his DNA and I have rarely met a more passionate Jewish patriot or a prouder Jew. He had a sweeping view of history and could clearly argue the precarious state of the Jewish people throughout time.
By Soeren Kern
Geert Wilders, the controversial Dutch lawmaker, has authored a new book about Islam, Marked for Death: Islam's War against the West and Me. In it he offers a detailed criticism of Islam and its incompatibility with the West: "To preserve our freedom from the encroachments of Islam, we must do four things: defend freedom of speech, reject cultural relativism, counter Islamization and cherish our national identity."
By J. E. Dyer
President Obama recently unveiled the Atrocities Prevention Board, and appointed Samantha Power as its head; the same Samantha Power that has called Israel a "major human rights abuser." This is only one of the many troubling aspects of this new initiative.
The failure thirty-two years ago of Operation Eagle Claw convinced U.S. military leaders to rethink how they would conduct special operations in the future: formulating plans that were simpler, carrying them out under unified command, and managing the risk. While our military has learned the lessons of the failed Iranian hostage rescue mission, however, our political leaders have not.
By Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency
Boycotts on products from Judea and Samaria harm Palestinian livelihood. The simple truth is that industry in Judea and Samaria are imperative for Palestinian livelihood.
Anti-Israel messages and campaigns serve only the radicals in this region who do not want either peace or coexistence. The time has come for the emergence of a genuine pro-Palestinian camp in the West that would focus less on Israel and more on helping the Palestinians.
By Mike Cohen
We Jews are an extremely tight knit family. Families fight and argue, yell and scream, rant and rave – especially when things are stable. But push a family into the corner, or provide it with reason for celebration – and, usually, family members they will come together in profound and extreme ways.
The government's decision this week to grant zoning permits to Rechelim Beruchin is nothing more then repairing a wrong. After seven years in limbo, once again the residents of these communities can fulfill their dreams and the corporate dream of their nation – they can finally build their homes in Eretz Yisrael.
The comparatively small Jewish population of India – after the census of 1921 there were hardly 20,000 out of a general population of 352 million – fell into four groups: the Cochin Jews of the Malabar Coast, the Bene Israel, the fore-Asian Jews, mostly of Sephardic ancestry, and immigrants from various regions of Europe.
From the outset of the revolts in other Arab countries King Abdullah was very concerned that a similar revolt could threaten his regime. He was therefore quick to announce reforms. He has also been trying to divert the attention towards Israel by blaming the Jewish state for the shortcomings and failures of the Jordanian government, just like other Arab leaders have been doing for years.
By OneFamily
Oran, who lost five family members as well as his eyesight in the suicide bombing of Maxim restaurant in Haifa on October 4, 2003, has become an accomplished sailor, and a candidate for Israel’s disabled sailing team in international competitions. Addressing a packed crowd at the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah games in 2005, he said: “After what I have gone through, I know that even if they hurt you, they can’t defeat you."
By Yoel Meltzer
For anyone who is sick of the lies and hypocrisy - be it in Israel or the world - and really wants to work for change, it's not enough to simply stand on the street corner and shout the truth. How something is said or how someone looks while performing an act frequently has more impact than anything else in the eyes and ears of the viewer.
Seeing the dire necessity on the ground, a few young men have gotten together and established "Ha'Shomer Ha'Chadash," -"The New Guardian" - with the same objectives as the original. Maintaining a continuous physical presence, 700 volunteers at 21 locations help farmers secure their lands and property. Areas patrolled by the volunteers have experienced a significant drop in violent actions against farmers.
By Barry Rubin
Egypt will hold its presidential election May 23-24 with a possible run-off June 16-17. It is impossible at this point to predict what’s going to happen but I can make a good guess. Eight weeks from now Egypt will be led by either a radical anti-American Islamist who wants to wipe Israel off the map or by a radical anti-American nationalist who just hates Israel passionately.
I would like to see the vandals who desecrated Ammunition Hill and thereby spat on Jewish sovereignty banished to a place where it doesn’t exist. They have made their statement, let them live by it.
The track passes though and stops in both Jewish and Arab neighborhoods. I have taken the train and noticed that both Jews and Arabs are regular commuters. All of the train’s signs, tickets, ticket machines, and public announcements are made very clearly in both Hebrew and Arabic. Signs of station names are posted in both Hebrew and Arabic.
By Barry Rubin
Moynihan was one of the first people to try to deal with the lurch leftward of the liberal and Democratic streams that is now so dangerously dominant in America.
By Soeren Kern
Lars Hedegaard, the president of the Danish Free Press Society, has been acquitted by the Danish Supreme Court on charges of "hate speech" for critical comments he made about Islam. But the acquittal was based on a legal technicality; in its ruling, the Supreme Court stressed that the substance of the charges against Hedegaard -- public criticism of Islam -- is still a crime punishable by imprisonment.
There exists in the world, and even in Israel here and there, the desperate notion that if only the Palestinians can get their state, they will accept Israel's legitimacy and respect its right to exist in peace and security. But no one is willing to address the question: What will the world do when the Palestinian state, with territorial contiguity in Judea and Samaria, turns into a Hamas state?
In yet another sign of how the Palestinian Authority is radicalizing Palestinians and eventually dragging them toward another confrontation with Israel, the Palestinian Authority issued an order banning Palestinians from making direct contact with Israeli authorities in the West Bank on the same day that two Palestinian officials met in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu,
The failure of Mid-East Muslim regimes to adhere to intra-Muslim agreements attests to the provisional and fragile nature of agreements signed with “infidel” entities, such as the Jewish State. The critical issue then, is when and how – not whether – agreements will be shattered.
Whoever wants to bring Iran down must support those rebelling against Asad. The leaders in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan understand this, and their support for the rebels may save them and the Gulf from the Iranian octopus. The question is how much time will it take for the sleeping Europeans and the dreamers in the White House to understand the complicated Middle East reality, and when will they begin to take action in order to bring Iran down?
By Soeren Kern
A survey of recent events in Britain suggests that religious accommodation has given way to cultural submission. Before we know it, the 2012 London Olympics will be rescheduled because it clashes with Ramadan.
By Barry Rubin
How to respond to the misinformation and fear that makes a potential Romney voter a soft-core Obama supporter.
By Barry Rubin
It is astonishing to note how much the Obama Administration, supposedly so sensitive to the views of Arabs and Muslims, has ignored the concerns of America’s own Arab allies.
By Danny Danon
It is time that we recognize the reality with which we are faced. The State of Israel is at war. This war is being fought on a completely different battlefield than in the past, where the notion of 'de-legitimization' has replaced bullets and provocative actions such as the flotilla have replaced tanks and fighter planes. And, just as we did not hesitate to confront the violence perpetrated by our enemies in the past, we cannot waver in our resolve against this new threat.
By Lee Kaplan
A career officer is suspended by the IDF and his career may be in ruins because the ISM manipulated a video to once again defame the IDF. But ISM activists do more than just abuse free speech to interfere with the IDF, nor are they starry-eyed pacifists. They represent a definite security risk to Israel and are documented terrorist confederates.
By Barry Rubin
Romney must respond to attacks like Gingrich or New Jersey governor Chris Christie would. A gentlemanly, gloves-on strategy will not win this election. This does not mean Romney should call Obama a socialist or Marxist. Instead, he should show that he’s the mainstream candidate while the Obama administration is out of step with historic, successful American practice.
These people are in effect combatants in the Arab war against Israel, albeit without guns. They do their best to disrupt operations and protect terrorist fighters, who do have guns and explosives.
By Soeren Kern
Hannah Rosenthal, President Obama's Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and Malmö mayor Ilmar Reepalu share similar perspectives on the root cause of anti-Jewish hate crime in Europe - namely, Jewish support for Israel. Thus, over the course of Rosenthal's visit, they can be expected to downplay the severity of anti-Semitism in Sweden and focus their attention on Islamophobia instead.
More than 1,000 Palestinians who fled the violence in Syria and were hoping to find temporary shelter in Jordan, have been stranded along the border between Syria and Jordan for the past few weeks. The Jordanian authorities have thus far refused to allow them into the kingdom.
By Ben Scholom
A common theme among all these individuals and many of the other participants and endorsers is a hatred and preoccupation with Israel that borders on obsession. Consequently, it is no surprise that what seemed like a plea to support a downtrodden people was more of an opportunity to display a one sided view of the conflict. Increasing tension in a conflict situation is not known to help alleviate suffering.
Palestinian spokesmen have it easy: they just have to blame Israel for their failure. It's convenient and it provides an explanation that the West will buy, because the West doesn't have a deep understanding of the problems of the Middle East. The truth of the matter is, there never was a chance for the Palestinian Authority to succeed, because of the innate problems that stem from the nature of the political culture of the Middle East. We will focus on a few of them.
Israel can play a role in undermining the radicals among its Arab community. The best way to weaken the radicals is by embracing the Arab citizens rather than alienating them. If Israel does not build a kindergarten or school in Nazareth, someone else will. And in this case, the someone else could be secular extremists or Muslim fundamentalists.
By Barry Rubin
It is the year 2012, people are walking around with smart phones and all sorts of undreamed of gadgets, the "Arab Spring" continues, and an African-American is president of the United States. Times have changed. Yet the hysterical hatred for Israel in the Arabic-speaking world and among Muslims in general has only increased; the philosophy of rejectionism is as strong as ever, or maybe even stronger.
By Guy Millière
Once it emerged that the killer of seven people was a Muslim, French commentators ceased to speak of anti-Semitism. Anti-racist associations became silent. All attention focused on the killer, Mohamed Merah. He was presented as a "nice young man" by his neighbors, then as a "petty criminal" who inexplicably drifted, and finally as a "lone wolf" without any significant connection to terrorist organizations.
By Soeren Kern
As in many other European countries, multiculturalists in Italy hope that by promoting Islam, they will eventually succeed in destroying the country's Judeo-Christian heritage. Now, with the creation of the Italian Islamic Confederation, Italy may be one step closer to hosting yet another mega-mosque, this time in the northern Italian city of Bologna.
Last week, a Foreign Policy article by Mark Perry shows American military intelligence officials and diplomats being snide, cutting, and condescending – both toward Israel and toward Azerbaijan, a country that sits on Iran's border and has its own serious problems with the Iranian style of radicalism exported to it.
By Rabbi Shimshon HaKohen Nadel
It has been said ‘It is easier to take the Jew out of the Exile, than to take the Exile out of the Jew’. While in Egypt, the Jewish people could not even hear Hashem’s promise of Redemption because of their “shortness of spirit.” Their bondage wasn’t merely a physical bondage, but a mental one. And so, while still in Egypt, Hashem began the process of taking the Jew out of the psychology of Exile, ridding him of his slave mentality.
The Binyamin region, where the biblical tribe of Benjamin settled, is a collection of mountains. There is no flatland between these mountains. The process of Migron’s development could be seen by any complainant for the seven years preceding this suit. What’s more, the plaintiffs were not listed as the Arab "landowners", but rather as Peace Now on the complainants’ behalf.
Last week I was quoted as saying that President Obama is a strong friend of the Jewish people and that anyone who calls him anti-Semitic is guilty of character assassination. I stand by that quote. But being a great friend of the Jewish people does not automatically make one a great friend of Israel.
In 1620 and 1630, William Bradford and John Winthrop delivered sermons on the Mayflower and Arbella, referring to the deliverance from “modern day Egypt and Pharaoh,” to “the crossing of the modern day Red Sea” and to New Zion/Canaan as the destination of the Pilgrims on board.
By Barry Rubin
The diagnosis being offered by Peter Beinart and his ilk is false and slanderous toward Israel and the solution being presented is false and dangerous to Israel. The goal is to get American Jews to adopt the basic anti-Israel narrative that paints Israel as the villain responsible for the lack of peace and ultimately delegitimizes Israel’s survival.
In public, Fayyad tells his people and the rest of the world how much he cares about freedom of expression. He has gone so far as announcing an annual award for press freedoms to be conferred on a deserving Palestinian journalist. Behind the scenes, however, his security officers continue to arrest and intimidate journalists who expose corruption or voice criticism of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah.
One can argue that the status of eastern Jerusalem is in dispute, but all of Jerusalem? Apparently the US State Department thinks so. In the wake of the US Supreme Court's decision in the case of Menachem Zivotofsky, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland tried to wiggle and dance her way out of some expert questioning by AP reporter Matt Lee.
Libya lies in North Africa between Egypt and Tunisia and consists of Cyrenica and Tripoli. Even in the 3rd century before the Common Era, Cyrenica was a destination for Jewish emigration. Over the next century the Jewish population grew in numbers but was strongly Hellenized.
When Sigmar Gabriel wrote on his Facebook page that Hebron was “an apartheid regime for which there is no justification,” the chairman of Germany’s main opposition party sparked an outcry that reverberated beyond his virtual wall. But such a conclusion is inevitable when one relies on sources and organizations that present Hebron in an extremely skewed light, like the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH).
The question today is not whether Abbas is a peace partner or not. Rather, what Olmert needs to ask is whether the Abbas can deliver or not. The answer is very simple and clear: even if Abbas wanted to deliver a peace deal, he cannot. His term in office expired in January 2009, but he remained at the behest of the Obama administration. The result is that he is seen by many Palestinians as an illegitimate leader.
By Barry Rubin
To view government as a form of deity or an inevitable friend of the poor and downtrodden is an illusion. Government is not a magic box, but a can of worms. To see it as a player, with its own interests, that should be as distrusted as any bank or corporation is the purest form of common sense, the very triumph of common sense over ideology and dogma that made America great, its people free, and real democracy possible.
It is a familiar pattern. Whenever a terrorist commits an atrocity, his apologists start blaming society or, even worse, the victims. Hence, it was not surprising that after Mohamed Merah, a French jihadist of Algerian descent, killed a rabbi and three Jewish children in Toulouse last week, some immediately blamed the Jews.
By Soeren Kern
In country after European country, the post-modern charade of the bliss of multiculturalism -- the idea that all cultures can coexist peacefully side-by-side in any given country -- is unravelling.
Ahmed Qurei and those who are working to promote the "one-state solution" ignore the facts on the ground: that the Palestinians already have two separate "states" next to Israel - one in the West Bank and the other in Gaza. They also ignore the reality that the two Palestinian entities have been at war with each other since 2007.
The actual question has almost nothing to do with the Palestinian Arabs and whether they have a state. It has to do with whether the Jews can continue to have one. There is a huge amount of human energy and financial resources that are being wasted in support of the Palestinians. It wouldn’t be necessary if the world could simply get used to the idea of a Jewish state.
Recently, the court refused to accept the deal and annulled the Benny Begin agreement. In my opinion, this is a blessing that will lead to a better outcome for this community and for the future of other such communities in Judea and Samaria. Historically, the settlement movement in Judea and Samaria has always come out stronger when obstacles are put in its way.
By Barry Rubin
As the Turkish PM continues to undermine Turkish democracy, throw hundreds of moderates into jail, destroy the nation’s institutions, support Iran, throw hysterical tantrums about how much he hates Israel, promote Islamism in the region, and is fresh from yet another meeting with Hamas leaders, Obama continues to use Erdogan as his guru.
August 7, 2026 
