The Name of the Lebanese Play? The Aristocrats!
The country’s recent election was a masterpiece of counterfactual Kabuki theater—and there wasn’t a dry Western eye in the house
Christianity
Bad neighbors
Russia is not the only nation threatening the existence of nearby nations
Op-eds
Accommodating Iran Will Be No More Successful Than Accommodating Russia
Putin’s horrifying war in Ukraine shows the likely results of the West continuing to ignore Iran’s nuclear quest
Op-eds
Solomon Islanders need freedom from PRC, not Australian troops
What we have is an expeditionary force seemingly acting at the behest of a despised local administration backed by a callous and rapacious foreign power. Beijing must be sitting back, munching on popcorn and enjoying the show.
Op-eds
Russia’s Power Games Extend to the Orthodox Church
Pushing back against Russia’s multipronged assault on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which includes Putin and Erdogan’s coordinated pressure on an institution they see as posing a threat to their respective illiberal projects, requires devising and implementing a concerted transatlantic strategy.
Op-eds
Spectacles of Tolerance: The Precarity of Turkey’s Religious Minorities in the Era of Neo-Ottoman Delusions
Excerpt Turkey watchers continue to debate whether neo-Ottomanism, an ideological proclivity to exalt and revive an imagined Ottoman past and its traditions of religio-political authority and domination,...
Op-eds
Making sense of German electorate’s shift to the Left
Israel should not be under any delusion that the Social Democratic Party has its back. If anything, the slide to the Left, as it is being called in Germany, has serious implications for the Jewish state.
Op-eds
Introducing How to Fight Anti-Semitism in Arabic
Ideas Beyond Borders asked me to write a forward to Bari Weiss’s book How to Fight Anti-Semitism, which the organization is translating to Arabic. The lines below are a rough translation to English of...
Op-eds
Turkey’s Anti-Kurdish Measures Violate Religious Freedom
Turkey has a long history of discrimination against its Kurdish citizens as well as restrictions against using the Kurdish language. While this systematic exclusion has drawn international attention, its...
Op-eds
How to Use Antisemitism Against Antisemites
Jewish power in America? When Sapir approached me to contribute an essay to this issue, my first instinct was to decline. I was born in South Africa and raised and educated in Canada. I became a U.S. citizen...
Op-eds
Turkish-Israeli rapprochement is a great idea, if not for Erdogan
Israelis and Turks interested in closer ties between their nations will likely have to wait until 2023 when – if the latest polls are accurate – a disgruntled Turkish electorate is expected to vote the hardline ruler out of office.
Op-eds
Is German Chancellor Angela Merkel Endangering Jewish Life?
Vicious, often Muslim-animated antisemitism—including violence—has engulfed German cities.
Op-eds
State Department Should Deliver an Honest Message about Turkey’s Religious Freedom Record
The US Department of State’s annual report on international religious freedom, released on May 12, documents the ongoing erosion of freedom of religion or belief in Turkey. The report echoes the concerns...
Op-eds
The Realignment
On Iran, Biden is finishing what Obama started. And his top advisers are all on board.
Op-eds
Human Rights Watch crosses a threshold
Its latest attack on Israel goes beyond antisemitism.
Op-eds
Turkey Needs to Change its Policy and Rhetoric Toward Religious Minorities
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan stunned his country’s Christians and Jews by publicly using the slur “gavur” (infidel), a pejorative designation for non-Muslims, to criticize...
Op-eds
Diplomatic Arson in the Middle East
The Biden administration’s torching of U.S.-Saudi relations
Op-eds
The Middle East’s religious minorities are facing extinction. The world must act.
Pope Francis began his first-ever papal trip to Iraq on Friday, marking a watershed moment in relations between the Catholic Church and the Middle East. Yet for all the optimism of the Pope’s message,...
Op-eds
Russia-Turkey Pincer Movement Threatens Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Survival
It is time the West offered robust support to the Istanbul-based Patriarchate – now being squeezed by Ankara and Moscow, both of which see it as a threat to their illiberal projects.
Op-eds
Washington Can Help Free Turkey’s Highest-Profile Prisoner of Conscience
Among advocates for Turkey’s minorities, Osman Kavala is a secular saint. As a philanthropist, he has been the benefactor of initiatives to document and restore heritage sites, support arts and...