Among the handful of world leaders who could always be relied upon to support the United States unstintingly, the name of Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, stands out. Blair energetically advocated for American engagement and warned of the negative global consequences of an America in retreat. In April 1999, at the height of the NATO operation against the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo by Serbian forces, Blair, in a speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, said: “We cannot turn our backs on conflicts and the violations of human rights in other countries if we want to be secure.” more

Like a mini-series staggering to the end of its 10th season, the latest probe into the alleged murder of Yasser Arafat, the former Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader who died in Paris in … more

What makes us happy — or unhappy? The 2018 edition of the World Happiness Report, published annually by a group of United Nations-linked development experts, asserts that a … more

A comprehensive survey of European attitudes to anti-Semitism released last week by the European Union displays what its authors call a “perception gap.” The term means that … more

In one of his anti-Jewish tracts, Martin Luther, founder of the Protestant faith in Germany, wrote, “Here in Wittenberg, in our parish church, there is a sow carved into the stone under … more

Overall, I’ve been heartened during the last week by the response of key NATO leaders to the blood-drenched Hamas assault on Israel on Oct. 7. From President Joe Biden … more

A newspaper interview with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, billed by publishers as an opportunity for Israeli and international readers to learn about the new Hamas, ended up confirming that the old Hamas … more

The anti-Zionist activist Roger Waters, who also doubles up as the bassist of veteran rockers Pink Floyd, gave a ringing endorsement last week to one of the candidates in the Chilean presidential … more

BBC Jerusalem correspondent Tom Bateman noted that “the history matters here,” in a report on the Israel Defense Forces operation in the West Bank city of Jenin last Thursday that … more

In the litany of complaints offered up by Jewish opponents of the State of Israel, two themes are most common. Firstly, they like to claim that their critiques of the Jewish state are “muzzled” by Jewish establishment leaders and organizations. (“Jewish Voice for Peace,” an anti-Zionist group based in the Bay Area with an amusingly kumbaya name, even has a blog dedicated to exposing such intrigues, entitled “Muzzlewatch.”) Secondly, they are fond of pointing out that political debate among progressives in Israel is freer and more open than in the stodgy, cautious circles of American Jewry. more