The Case For A Full Israeli Victory Over Hamas in Gaza

Israel is facing all-too-predictable global pressure to scale back its military operation in Gaza to spare innocent lives and prevent a regional conflict that could draw in Iran, the United States, and other nations. But critics have it backward. Those concerned about human rights and those seeking peace should be rooting for Israel’s full-scale destruction …

A Wake-Up Call for Israel’s Critics

With 1,300 Israeli Jews slaughtered and nearly 200 taken hostage, what’s more infuriating: that critics presume to tell Jerusalem how to conduct a war and run its government or that their views are shaped by blind ignorance and naïve hope? To its critics in America, Israel’s next steps are straightforward. Yes, hunt down Hamas, but don’t let …

Israel’s Critics Sidestep Bigger Threats Elsewhere

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week signaled a partial reversal of his coalition’s plan that would threaten the nation’s democratic character by letting the Knesset override judicial decisions, calling the effort a “mistake.” The signal was a heartening one to the plan’s opponents at home, and to nervous audiences abroad who fear Netanyahu and …

Israeli-Saudi Normalization Won’t Solve The Palestinian Problem

European Jews are not real Jews, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared the other day, and Hitler killed Jews not because of their religion but because of their “social role” in lending money. David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, didn’t want Jews from Arab countries to immigrate to Israel, according to Abbas, and he attacked Jewish institutions in Arab …

The Risks Of Israel’s Judicial Reform

“[T]he basis of [U.S.] support” for Israel, longtime U.S. diplomat and Israel watcher Dennis Ross wrote back in 2015, “is driven by the perception of Israel as a country that shares America’s values… The last thing Israel needs now is to have its basic democratic character called into question.” By that time, President Obama had clashed repeatedly …

Joe Biden keeps snubbing Netanyahu – here’s why

President Joe Biden’s state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist who is cracking down on opposition leaders, journalists and minorities, points up the compromises presidents make as they balance America’s security needs with its desire to promote freedom and democracy around the world. Biden seeks closer U.S. ties with India, which recently became the …

Israel needs to refocus abroad

“Never interfere with an enemy in the process of destroying himself,” Napoleon once said. That’s a lesson Jerusalem needs to learn quickly, and Washington needs to reinforce, as Israel’s regional challenges escalate while the Jewish state is splintering over an ill-timed debate on judicial reform. Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has paused his push for a judicial overhaul that critics …