Peculiar?

European governments are unhappy with Russia funding Communists and Nazis in their own countries but they do not seem to understand why Israel is unhappy with Europe funding Anti-Semites in Israel. Whoah? Are European governments and the European Union funding Anti-Semites in Israel? Yes, according to the EU-approved IHRA definition of Anti-Semitism and its 11Continue reading “Peculiar?”

Israeli Civil Society Should not Rely on Foreign Governments

It is very unhealthy that foreign governments on a massive scale fund Israeli NGO’s which lack popular basis in Israeli society. It is legitimate to raise funds from private organizations and individuals at home and abroad but to mostly rely on foreign governments means corrupting the very notion of ”non-governmental organization”. Are those organizations actuallyContinue reading “Israeli Civil Society Should not Rely on Foreign Governments”

Learn From the Past

When Israel under US pressure rerouted the Jerusalem Day Flag Parade it led to war with Hamas in Gaza; whenever the regular route was followed there was no war. Rerouting the Flag Parade is extremely dangerous because it is perceived as a victory for terrorism and as such it encourages terrorism and therefore may leadContinue reading “Learn From the Past”

What is the Ideology of the Israeli Deep State?

The approach of the Israeli Deep State is Zionist pragmatism. This means that Israeli governments of various political colors are used to realize strategic projects conceived by the Israeli Deep State which after all is responsible for Israeli long-term strategic planning. How is it possible, you may ask, that the Israeli Deep State was behindContinue reading “What is the Ideology of the Israeli Deep State?”

Israel’s Deep State

What is Israel’s reputed Deep State? Like any Deep State, it is an intelligence agency. How does it operate? It is able to pull strings, e.g. is there no question that most members of Knesset are assets of the Deep State. The Deep State is neither right nor left and appears to include both religiousContinue reading “Israel’s Deep State”

Misinterpreting Smotrich

The State Department out of sheer ignorance misinterprets Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and misses the distinctive nuances of Israeli discourse. What Smotrich meant by saying that there is no Palestinian culture is that there is no specifically Palestinian Arab culture distinctive from other Levantine Arab cultures such as Jordanian and Syrian culture. When sayingContinue reading “Misinterpreting Smotrich”

Liberal Democracies Should Care for Each Other

The Israeli government is wrong in rejecting the European Union expressing concerns regarding the judicial overhaul considering that it has problematic aspects that need to fixed, preferably through a consensual comprise. The intention of Brussels is pure, they care about Israeli liberal democracy and any patriotic Israeli or friend of Israel certainly ought to welcomeContinue reading “Liberal Democracies Should Care for Each Other”

The PA Should Act and Stop Complaining

The PA as usual complains loudly about Israeli counter-terrorist operations in Jenin and Nablus. However, the reality is that if the PA dealt with the terrorists then Israel would not have to eliminate them. Israel tries to arrest the terrorists and when they try to kill the Israelis, they are the ones who end upContinue reading “The PA Should Act and Stop Complaining”

Palestinian Statehood has Become a Fixation

Those in the international community who issue condemnations against Israel for authorizing young indigenous communities and for increasing construction in established indigenous communities live in the past. Neither side is interested in the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel and even if they wanted to create a Palestinian state they could certainly notContinue reading “Palestinian Statehood has Become a Fixation”

The Security Council got it Right

“The Security Council reiterates that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-State solution based on the 1967 lines.” UNSC Presidential Statement, February 20, 2023 It has long been claimed that construction in indigenous Israeli communities of Judea and Samaria endangers a two-state solution. The fact is that it only preventsContinue reading “The Security Council got it Right”

Arab Honor Culture and Geopolitics

Honor culture is the single most underestimated geopolitical factor in the MENA region. On the one hand does “honor” require Arab governments to officially support the PA despite detesting it and Israel being the actual ally of most Arab governments. On the other hand, confidence in America is undermined whenever the US does not standContinue reading “Arab Honor Culture and Geopolitics”

The Arabists Want to put Israel in its Place

The Arabists at the State Department are at it again, trying to put Israel in its place. The unfortunate message the US sends to its allies in the MENA region is that no one in the region can trust Washington if not even Jerusalem can trust America. While diplomats of Muslim nations are pressuring AmericaContinue reading “The Arabists Want to put Israel in its Place”

A UNSC Resolution Won’t be Helpful

The Israeli public elected a rightwing government to increase construction in Judea and Samaria and recognize unauthorized indigenous Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. This is the democratic will of the people in order to secure the future of the people of Israel. If that does not happen Israel would effectively be reduced to PuertoContinue reading “A UNSC Resolution Won’t be Helpful”

Median Jewish Aliyah is Necessary to Save Israeli Democracy From Theocracy

We already see that the anti-democratic Orthodox pro-theocratic political parties control more than a quarter of the Knesset. The demographic trends are clear although Western mass Aliyah prompted by a continued high annual economic growth rate in Israel could somewhat delay the Haredi takeover. Median Jewish mass Aliyah is definitely the demographic redemption of Israel.Continue reading “Median Jewish Aliyah is Necessary to Save Israeli Democracy From Theocracy”

Human Rights Promotion in Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Serve American Interests

It is generally a truism that promotion of human rights serves American interests, but this is not always true everywhere. One place where this is usually not the case is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. What are the American interests in Saudi Arabia? 1) First, Riyadh controls the global price of oil and so irrespectiveContinue reading “Human Rights Promotion in Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Serve American Interests”

Counter-Terrorism is the Correct Paradigm in Samaria

Israel’s counter-terrorism operations in Samaria have been described by UN officials as a perceived need for stopping an ostensible “cycle of violence”. US officials on their side make the case for what is described as “de-escalation”. The problem rather is the existence of Palestinian terrorism which must be preempted by Israel. If there are noContinue reading “Counter-Terrorism is the Correct Paradigm in Samaria”

Not Realizing Jewish Rights on the Temple Mount Poisons Arab-Israeli Relations

Successive Israeli governments have since 1967 presumed that it is not in Israel’s interest to restore Jewish rights on the Temple Mount. The issue has consistently been regarded as one of religion, nostalgia, sentimentalism and even messianism. The view consistently taken has been that the Israeli national interest requires maintaining the status quo. However, theContinue reading “Not Realizing Jewish Rights on the Temple Mount Poisons Arab-Israeli Relations”

Israel Should Incorporate Parts of Judea and Samaria

The new Israeli government is committed – under the right conditions – to incorporate parts of Judea and Samaria into Israel proper. This most likely means that the Netanyahu government will wait and see if a Republican president is elected in the United States in November 2024 before deciding on applying Israeli sovereignty to partsContinue reading “Israel Should Incorporate Parts of Judea and Samaria”

There is no Danger of Religious War

The notion that events on the Temple Mount, specifically, unexpected body movements by Jews there and more broadly hypothetical Israeli reassertion of Jewish rights on the Mount would trigger a religious war is completely baseless. This old scarecrow is complete and utter nonsense. Could anyone please describe a real and detailed  realistic scenario? No oneContinue reading “There is no Danger of Religious War”

No More Racism Please

Are Muslims really wild animals who go on killing sprees murdering “infidels” for no reason at all? That seems to be the view of the so-called “international community” which believes that the apocalypse will commence if an Israeli cabinet minister visits the Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism. They should be reminded that theContinue reading “No More Racism Please”

It’s About the Jews Stupid!

Turkey occupies parts of northern Syria including what was the predominantly Kurdish Afrin (Kurdish: Efrin) region. The Kurdish population was largely expelled and much of their olive trees have been cut down. Turkey as the aggressor and occupying power operates a settlement program funded by Gulf states to Arabize the region and settle it withContinue reading “It’s About the Jews Stupid!”

What is a Genocidal Nation?

Germany during the Nazi period was once a genocidal nation and what is known as the Palestinian people (which is a historically recent colonial construction) have developed into something far worse. I am not arguing that the Palestinians are committing a Second Holocaust but rather that they intensely desire and intend to perpetrate one. NeverContinue reading “What is a Genocidal Nation?”

Not for Sentimental or Religious Reasons

Israeli state strategists have treated the issue of the Temple Mount as a mere sentimental and religious one. This has also been the line promoted by national-religious advocates of reappropriation of Jewish heritage and Jewish rights on the Mount. For Palestinian strategists in contrast is this a matter of immense strategic importance. For Palestinian strategistsContinue reading “Not for Sentimental or Religious Reasons”

What is the Most Shocking?

Israeli state strategists are no doubt mostly male, Ashkenazi and secular. For them the Temple Mount is mere real estate like any other real estate in Jerusalem. They have overlooked the strategic-symbolic value of a permanent Jewish presence on the Temple Mount in terms of persuading the Islamic world that Israel is here to stay.Continue reading “What is the Most Shocking?”

Honor is About Self-Respect

Honor is extremely important in the cultures of the broader Middle East. What is honor? It is about self-respect and so genuine peacemaking in the region therefore takes place between mutually honorable parties. The honorable is strong and self-respecting. This is the basis of the Abraham Accords. This was never the case with the coldContinue reading “Honor is About Self-Respect”

Defending the Status Quo

There is no reason whatsoever why new Israeli police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir should not visit the Temple Mount. Will such a visit cause bloodshed? Palestinian terrorists do not need an excuse to cause bloodshed and so no peaceful act of visiting the most sacred site in Judaism can be the cause of bloodshed. It isContinue reading “Defending the Status Quo”

The New Israeli Government Represents an Opportunity for Peace

The Biden administration often repeats its commitment to resolving the Palestinian issue through an infamously failed formula which was always dead on arrival due to being founded on outright false premises constituting on the American side simply wishful thinking and refusal to learn from recent Israeli history. What is peculiar is that the Biden administrationContinue reading “The New Israeli Government Represents an Opportunity for Peace”

The International Community Need not Worry About Legalization

This of course is a time when many in the international community are worried about the long overdue legalization of unauthorized outposts constructed on public lands in Area C of Judea and Samaria. These outposts lie between authorized indigenous Israeli communities. These are areas which were always intended to become part of sovereign Israel. OfContinue reading “The International Community Need not Worry About Legalization”

The Mediterranean Mirage

Hassan Nasrallah made a televised speech expressing cautious praise for the US proposal for a new border line between the exclusive economic zones of Israel and Lebanon in the Mediterranean sea. However, he notably did not explicitly accept the proposal. It is important to be cognizant that Lebanon or rather “Hezbollahstan” is an Iranian protectorateContinue reading “The Mediterranean Mirage”

The State Department Does not Get It

The State Department has recently made pronouncements on the violence in Samaria, calling on “both sides” to refrain from “provocations” and “return to the peace process”. This is peculiar since the Palestinian Authority is certainly not behind the violence and the parties which are, namely the designated Jihadist terrorist organizations of Hamas and Palestinian IslamicContinue reading “The State Department Does not Get It”

The Two-State Solution is Dead on Arrival

Why is the Palestinian Authority trying to promote UN membership for the non-existent “State of Palestine” despite an assured US veto in the UN Security Council? The apparent purpose is to pressure liberal democracies into recognizing Palestinian statehood with the goal of torpedoeing peace.  The PA is quite comfortable with the status quo and itsContinue reading “The Two-State Solution is Dead on Arrival”

What Will Happen After the Destruction of the Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program?

A weekend interview in the Israeli daily Israel Hayom provided an insight into the perspectives of Israeli decision-makers. The interview was with one colonel T; the head of the IDF General Staff Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate. Ostensibly was the interview a sales pitch in order to persuade Israeli elected politicians to engage more in Iran-relatedContinue reading “What Will Happen After the Destruction of the Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program?”

Why the World Lost Interest in the Palestinian Issue

When will Median Jews immigrate to Israel in the tens of millions? This is only a matter of time. What is at stake is whether President Erdogan and the AKP will lose power in Turkey in the June 2023 elections and approximately 20 million Turkish Median Jews will be allowed to leave for Israel. ForContinue reading “Why the World Lost Interest in the Palestinian Issue”

What is Behind the Gaza Blood Libels?

During and after Operation Breaking Dawn in Gaza, the usual blood libels proliferated. Jews are once more accused of murdering (i.e. intentionally killing) children and Israel is accused against all evidence of targeting civilians. Some governments are simply as usual echoing the standard Anti-Semitic propaganda of the Palestinian Authority while others are making independent Anti-SemiticContinue reading “What is Behind the Gaza Blood Libels?”

The PA Will Learn Neither From the Past nor From the Future

There was once upon a time when the fate of ten Assyrian-deported tribes of the northern Kingdom of Israel was unknown, but no longer so, the entire international community is keenly aware of the whereabouts of the tens of millions of their endogamous descendants although this is not yet known to the general public. WhatContinue reading “The PA Will Learn Neither From the Past nor From the Future”

Genocide Begins with Words

Genocides are discursive phenomena in the sense that they begin with words and end in bloodshed. The war on Israel has always been about exterminating the Jews although that goal is usually not explicitly spelled out. How is that so? There is a consensus in Palestinian society that the Jews will have to be completelyContinue reading “Genocide Begins with Words”

Nothing Except Military Action Will Stop Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program

There was a disagreement during the meeting in Israel between President Biden and Prime Minister Lapid on the question of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Prime Minister Lapid insisted that only deterrence would persuade Iran to sign a nuclear agreement while President Biden insisted that diplomacy was still the best way forward. Both are wrong sinceContinue reading “Nothing Except Military Action Will Stop Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program”

Israel’s Indigenous Restoration Project is Rational

The Palestinian problem will be resolved when at least 10 million Median Jews have immigrated to Israel and the Jewish state redeems and enfranchises the entire Judea and Samaria with Jordan subsequently annexing Gaza and any plans for partition are thus redundant. It is nevertheless interesting to know the outline of how Israel kept theContinue reading “Israel’s Indigenous Restoration Project is Rational”

Will the International Community Bestow Recognition upon the Peace?

There is now widespread understanding in the international community that the two-state solution was always stillborn and no one likes being fooled a thousand times. International leaders and diplomats still pay lip service to the “two-state solution” and hypothetical “Palestinian statehood”, yet few informed people in the international community sincerely believe in those things nowadays.Continue reading “Will the International Community Bestow Recognition upon the Peace?”

Israel’s Demographic Future

The resolution of the Palestinian issue is dependent upon very significant Jewish demographic growth in Israel. There would have to be a ten million growth in Israel’s Jewish population considering that most potential immigrants have lower fertility rates than Muslims in Israel and Judea/Samaria. Israel would subsequently redeem and enfranchise the entire Judea and SamariaContinue reading “Israel’s Demographic Future”

BDS is not a Civil Rights Movement

The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) “movement” (a PA intelligence outfit) claims to be a civil rights movement but is this really so? BDS does not engage in any civil rights advocacy in Israel nor does it do so in Judea/Samaria and Gaza. BDS is explicitly unconcerned with the civil rights of Palestinians elsewhere inContinue reading “BDS is not a Civil Rights Movement”

The Role of Allah in Palestinian Views of the Future

Most Palestinians are convinced with absolute confidence that Israel will eventually be vanquished and that 7 million Israeli Jews will be removed from Israel. Why is this so you may wonder? 1) First there is the belief that God is on the side of the Muslims and that this is the reason for the historicalContinue reading “The Role of Allah in Palestinian Views of the Future”

It’s the Consensus Stupid!

There is much international hope pinned to a future successor to Mahmoud Abbas making peace with Israel. However, to personalize this issue, to think that the problem of Palestinian rejectionism is limited to first Yasser Arafat and then Mahmoud Abbas is myopic at best. Palestinian society is thoroughly rejectionist. The Palestinian consensus states that aContinue reading “It’s the Consensus Stupid!”

The Danger of Preemptive Apocalypse

Tehran is currently moderately convinced that America and Israel will not dare to destroy the Iranian nuclear weapons program. This is one of the reasons for its rejectionism in Vienna. Nevertheless, on Quds Day, Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah threatened that Iran might attack Israel directly if Israeli sabotage operations against the Iranian nuclear weapons programContinue reading “The Danger of Preemptive Apocalypse”

Open Letter to Israel’s Arab Allies

Israel has received official diplomatic protests from Jordan and the UAE for cracking down on rioters on the Temple Mount who threw down rocks on Jews near the Western Wall.  It is the longstanding Arab position that the Temple Mount and East Jerusalem should be part of a future Palestinian state. Notwithstanding that this forContinue reading “Open Letter to Israel’s Arab Allies”

The Foot-Dragging Must End

Unfortunately, the West does not want Ukraine to fully defeat Russia. Before the invasion was the universal assumption in the West that Ukraine was doomed and would only be able to survive through guerilla warfare. The heroic ZSU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) stunned an entire world in being able to hold back against the RussianContinue reading “The Foot-Dragging Must End”

Why was the Palestinian Authority Established?

Neither Israel nor the PLO signed the Oslo Accords in good faith. The PLO was founded to destroy Israel and has never abandoned its Anti-Zionist zeal to destroy the Jewish state. Israel of course was keenly aware of this fact but sought to unburden itself of military administration of millions of Palestinians. Palestinian autonomy wasContinue reading “Why was the Palestinian Authority Established?”

What do the Palestinians Want?

Palestinians of course are diverse and not all Palestinians are the same but we should nevertheless ask ourselves what the Palestinians want based on analyzing Palestinian media, Palestinian education, Palestinian politics, Palestinian opinion polls and Palestinian historiography.  Do the Palestinians want a Palestinian state alongside Israel? The Palestinian movement has rejected many diplomatic offers forContinue reading “What do the Palestinians Want?”

Israel Too Wants to Survive

Last year an Anti-Semite was elected president of Chile. The same thing could happen in the United States. Gone are the days when it was assured that it would always be a moderate who would be elected president of the United States. Support for Israel is declining dangerously among young Americans, including among young RepublicansContinue reading “Israel Too Wants to Survive”

The Strategy of Mansour Abbas

The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 by Egyptian school teacher Hassan al-Banna to establish a worldwide caliphate run under an Islamist version of sharia law. The global Muslim Brotherhood has three pillars. 1) The original underground fraternal organization as organized into national branches. 2) The front organizations including NGOs, mosques and political partiesContinue reading “The Strategy of Mansour Abbas”