Sorrow and Hope

Current Issues

The Dark Side of the Web: The Battle against Anti-Semitism on Social Media

The coronavirus has instigated a new world in which much of daily life is done online: work, shopping, fellowship and for some, voicing hate. Amid real concern about transparency and double standards, the treatment of Jews and Israel online remains a disturbing sore spot even as tech giants such as Twitter and Facebook try to

Continue Reading »

Israeli Apartheid? No Way!

For many South Africans, every discussion of apartheid is akin to tearing open an old wound. It was a time in their history when a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination was implemented, creating a societal divide that to this day has not been overcome. Based on a strict legislative framework, the government at

Continue Reading »

Denying a History

The history of the Land of Israel and the Jewish people are inextricably linked. You can hardly relate the narrative of the one without telling the story of the other. The connection was first established millennia ago when Abraham followed the call of the Almighty to a Land God would later pledge to the father

Continue Reading »

Resurrection of the Iran Deal?

“There must be no return to the 2015 nuclear deal,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a December 2020 speech. “We must maintain an uncompromising policy to ensure that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons.” In light of Iran’s intransigence and the international community’s indecisiveness, his words rang with desperation. Israel, perhaps more than

Continue Reading »

Life Above All Else

On October 18, a new patient arrived at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center coronavirus ward in critical condition. Saeb Erekat—chief Palestinian negotiator, right hand to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the man hailed as the public face of the Palestinian people—had tested positive for COVID-19 days earlier. The disease quickly ravaged Erekat, who suffered from

Continue Reading »

Something Old, Something New

One of my favorite things about living in Jerusalem is the seemingly never-ending layers of history that coexist with the style and energy of the modern capital of Israel. This city is a treasure trove of ancient history ever present amidst the contemporary everyday hustle and bustle of life. Let’s take a look at a

Continue Reading »

Trouble Brewing for Hezbollah

Hezbollah terrorists have been the primary power in Lebanon for years, and that force has been for anything but good. The terror group has used the Lebanese towns and countryside as their own human shield-laden missile array for a future war against Israel. Hezbollah has also wielded disruptive, if not controlling, political power in Lebanon’s

Continue Reading »

Indoctrinated for Hate and Death

The Palestinian powers-that-be are masters of doublespeak, adapting their message to stir the emotions of the audience they happen to address. When the audience is the United Nations, international funding agencies, the world media or English-speaking college students, the message is one of harmony, painting the Palestinian people as a victimized, misunderstood group yearning for

Continue Reading »

Unpacking the Abraham Accords

Most people would agree we are living in pretty remarkable times. However, some might not recognize that one of the hallmarks of life today is a very short collective memory. Yesterday’s news seems to disappear in the clamor of today’s headlines, and somehow, as important as it might have seemed when it was read yesterday,

Continue Reading »

Profiling the First Peacemakers: Getting to Know the UAE and Bahrain

It had been almost 27 years since the last peace treaty was signed between Israel and an Arab state. Then, starting in August, two Arab nations reached peace accords with Israel in less than a month: the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. While Sudan followed in October with the promise of yet more peace

Continue Reading »