| | | | | Israel and the region are teetering on the edge of possible all-out war following back-to-back assassinations of a senior Hezbollah leader and a top Hamas leader in the last day. And even before that it was an especially news-filled week. An Haaretz Editorial argues that the far-right mob that broke into two IDF bases, accompanied by lawmakers from the government coalition, is another red line crossed, and that the state must employ the full force of law against it. Tal Steiner, executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, declares that Israel is at a crossroads, in which it must decide whether it's a country where the rule of law remains, or a country controlled by armed gangs who come to the defense of soldiers even when they're suspected of shocking crimes. Writing on the Hezbollah attack that killed twelve Druze children in the Golan, Noa Limone argues that the same people on the right who incited against the Druze are now engaged in a show of shameless hypocrisy as they rush to suddenly and very publicly care about their fate when it is politically expedient. Douglas Bloomfield writes about Netanyahu's speech to Congress, arguing that instead of protecting the U.S.-Israel alliance, it was an unnecessary appearance and hurt bipartisan support for Israel among Democrats and U.S. Jews at a time it can afford it least. Tom Dine, a former executive director of AIPAC, argues that Kamala Harris' explicit intention to move past a binary conversation about Israel and the Palestinians should be welcomed by all sides of the conflict. Bernard-Henri Levy, the French philosopher, writes that antisemitic comments by a pair of extreme left lawmakers declaring Israeli athletes and the country's flag "not welcome" at the Olympics in Paris are a post-election wake-up call of how deep the spider webs of hate against Jews are being woven by their party. Alissa Pavia writes that Tunisia's remaining 1,500 Jews face a dire future, subject to the whims of a quasi-dictator who barely hides his antisemitism, and targeted by violence which has intensified during the Gaza war. Dennis Ross, a former U.S envoy, looks back at Martin Indyk who spent decades working for a breakthrough in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. He said that even just before he died, Indyk had faith in a two-state solution, telling him: "I've seen the Promised Land, I've negotiated the details. I know where they end up, even though I won't cross over." | |
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