Opinion

Qatar, Turkey, and a deal undone: How Doha, Ankara are taking over Trump's Gaza plan - opinion

The Trump plan can still work – but only if the US abandons its ideological blinders and recognizes that Qatar and Turkey are exploiting American goodwill to rescue Hamas from defeat.

US SECRETARY of State Marco Rubio speaks with US military personnel at the Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat in October. The US is ignoring the plainly anti-Western ideological motives of its supposed partners, the writer asserts.
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump speaks aboard Air Force One, returning to the US in October 2025 after a trip to Israel and a world summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on ending the Israel-Hamas War.

Trump’s ‘defeat’ of Hamas is a shallow peace - opinion

THE FOREIGN MINISTERS of Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Indonesia, and the UAE stand before a meeting on Gaza in Istanbul last month.

Why the new Group of Eight Arab-Muslim coalition is bad for Israel - opinion

Photo held of Thai farm worker Sudthisak Rinthalak, murdered by Hamas. Taken at his farewell ceremony.

The unattended farewell ceremony of a Thai murder victim - comment


Herzog Irish dynasty is unbowed; we won't allow them to erase it - opinion

The Herzog name is precious to Ireland’s Jews, and we will not allow the haters to win.

A PLAQUE on a stone reads ‘Herzog Park’ in Dublin, commemorating Chaim Herzog, Israel’s sixth president, who was born in Belfast.

America or Israel: You can’t have both - opinion

As unexpected and bizarre as all this sounds, Jewish Americans may very well be facing the choice of America or Israel, because if Moreno has his way, they will no longer be able to have both.

US SENATOR Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is ceremonially sworn into office in January 2025.

Forget embassies: How trains, tunnels could link Israel and Saudi Arabia - opinion

The IMEC will not solve everything. But as an off-ramp from stalled normalization and an on-ramp to a shared strategic future, it may be the rare piece of timing the region actually gets right.

SAUDI CROWN PRINCE and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman attends the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington in November 2025.

US democracy's decline is a warning to Israel - opinion

America is being tested as to whether it can keep its republic, just as we are being tested as to whether we can retain our democracy. Let us all hope that both of us can pass the test.

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress in March 2025.

Iran's axis of resistance is crumbling - opinion

What was once a relatively coherent strategic network seems to have devolved into a collection of entities pursuing parochial interests while maintaining loose ideological and material ties to Iran

HOUTHI TERRORISTS carry weapons as they stand near the site of Israeli airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, in September. Iran has reportedly lost control of the Houthis, the writer notes.

Hezbollah under Israel’s scalpel: The redrawing of Lebanon's power architecture - opinion

In reality, Lebanon will not begin its reform before addressing the roots of Hezbollah’s armed power through either a grand settlement or long-term attrition

HEZBOLLAH LEADER Naim Qassem delivers a speech via video at a ceremony on the outskirts of Beirut in September 2025.

Hollywood’s latest cause: Freeing terrorists like Marwan Barghouti - opinion

This generation of stars has gone to bat for a man convicted of murdering civilians, insisting that the price of “peace” is his release.

MARWAN BARGHOUTI is tightly guarded as he leaves a hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court in 2012. He played a leading role in organizing and directing terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada, the writer asserts.

Israeli bluntness masks a rich moral code that Western politeness lacks - opinion

Israel’s rough social style reveals a lived morality and authenticity that is often absent in Western politeness.

Outside a restaurant in Jerusalem, last month: There is a simplicity to life here, and a form of humility, says the writer.

As Israelis deal with wounds of war, people with disabilities show the way - opinion

Israel’s current war has left deep emotional wounds still in need of healing. Yet we can take pride in knowing that Shalva fulfilled its national responsibility with devotion and dignity.

 Shalva building

Venezuela, the Jews, and the ‘Axis of Resistance’: Antisemitism rises as dictators falter - opinion

When societies struggle, many leaders find it easier to blame Jews than fix their own problems, as Venezuela demonstrates today

VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT Nicolás Maduro attends a rally against a possible escalation of US actions against his country, at a military base in Caracas in November 2025.

No one will do Israel’s dirty work: Why PA, int’l orgs. can’t finish off Hamas - opinion

This is the moment to dismantle Hamas’s remaining capabilities. Israel can and must finish the mission, not out of ambition, but out of necessity.

MK Ohad Tal attends a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.