Fighting and hugging in the Middle East

1. In March 2019, the Syrian jihadi groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and National Liberation Front clashed, leading to about 75 deaths. Two months later, they joined forces to fight Syria’s central government. By October, they were fighting each other again. Read more

Explaining Israel’s security establishment

We who argue for Israeli victory watched with dismay as Qatar’s government threatened Israel with ending its financial donations to Gaza, insinuating that Hamas will resume its incendiary balloons attacks. Read more

Should Israel invade Gaza?

As Israeli frustration mounts about violence coming out of Gaza, the idea of a ground invasion, and once and for all to finish with Hamas aggression, becomes more appealing. Read more

Europe’s Jews vs. Israel

Note the contrast: When Matteo Salvini, Italy’s interior minister, recently visited Jerusalem, which he hailed as the capital of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him a “great friend of Israel.” Back home, however, Italy’s liberal Jews denounced Salvini for, among other things, his Roma policy and his alleged “racism against foreigners and migrants.” Read more

Will Trump divide Jerusalem in three?

Writing in Al-Monitor, Ben Caspit has leaked details of the Trump administration’s “ultimate deal” to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict…writes Daniel Pipes/JNS. Read more

Poland’s Muslim ban

On being designated prime minister of Poland this past December, Mateusz Morawiecki made the extraordinary statement that he and his government want to “transform [the European Union], to re-Christianise it.”…writes Daniel Pipes/JNS. Read more

Enjoy the embassy but don’t get giddy

The opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem marks a peak emotional moment for anyone wanting a secure and prosperous Israel; in that spirit, Donald Trump has been hailed as “the best thing that has happened to Israel in a long time.”…writes Daniel Pipes/JNS. Read more

A Palestinian defeat is good for all…writes Daniel Pipes

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was photographed Dec. 21 carrying a copy of “Nothing Less than Victory: Decisive Wars and the Lessons of History,” by John David Lewis (Princeton University Press, 2010). In that book, Lewis looks at six case studies and argues that in them all “the tide of war turned when one side tasted defeat and its will to continue, rather than stiffening, collapsed.” Read more