Asaf Romirowsky on The Chosen: The History of an Idea, and the Anatomy of an Obsession
The Cost of Being the Favorite Son
The Chosen: The History of an Idea, and the Anatomy of an Obsession, by Avi Beker, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, 256 pp.
Reviewed by Asaf Romirowsky
The Struggle for Jerusalem
The issue of Jerusalem is particularly sensitive and a topic of dispute in every negotiation. Distortions, half-truths, and outright lies are frequently voiced about the struggle for and Israel’s right to Jerusalem. This runs counter to the reality that since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and even prior to that, Israel’s rights to sovereignty in Jerusalem were firmly anchored in history and international law. There are even many Israelis who are insufficiently aware of their rights according to international law.
Joel Fishman on Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World and Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization
Bunkum as History: The Revisionist Quest for Lost Innocence
Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World, by Patrick J. Buchanan, New York: Crown, 2008, 518 pp.
Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization, by Nicholson Baker, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008, 567 pp.
Reviewed by Joel Fishman
Muslim-Jewish Relations in Australia: Challenges and Threats
There are 350,000-400,000 Muslims in Australia, drawn from many countries with the largest sources of immigration being Lebanon, Turkey, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Pakistan, and Indonesia, while just over one-third are Australian-born. There are an estimated 120,000 Jews in Australia.
Al Jazeera and Qatar: The Muslim Brothers’ Dark Empire?
Al Jazeera, the most viewed satellite channel in the Arab world, has become a weapon in the hands of the ambitious Emir of Qatar who may be driven by the Muslim Brothers and who is threatening the stability of the Middle East. With the Muslim Brothers increasingly aligned in recent years with Iran, by repeatedly attacking the Sunni Arab regimes and inciting against them, Al Jazeera is serving as an important instrument for Tehran and its effort to undermine their internal stability.
Winston Churchill – A Good Friend of Jews and Zionism?
Churchill’s career, the author encompasses virtually the whole of Churchill’s experience and interaction with Jews from his earliest days.
Wolfgang G. Schwanitz on Haj-Amin el-Husseini and National-Socialism, by Jennie Lebel, translated by Paul Münch from Serbian, Belgrade: Čigoja štampa
The Mufti of Jerusalem
Haj-Amin el-Husseini and National-Socialism, by Jennie Lebel, translated by Paul Münch from Serbian, Belgrade: Čigoja štampa, 2007, 374 pp.
Reviewed by Wolfgang G. Schwanitz
Devising Unified Criteria and Methods of Monitoring Anti-Semitism
Awareness of the increase in racist and anti-Semitic violence has led the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union (EU) to settle agreements to monitor and combat the phenomenon. A European working definition of anti-Semitism and another on all forms of hate crimes will assist states to devise unified criteria for inclusion in their monitoring. Some governments, however, are failing to abide by the agreements into which they have entered to monitor such c
The Centrality of NGOs In Promoting Anti-Israel Boycotts And Sanctions
NGOs (non-governmental organizations) focusing on human rights are powerful actors in international politics in general, and in the Arab-Israeli conflict in particular. The NGO community has advanced anti-Israel agendas in the UN, including in the 2001 Durban conference, which adopted the strategy of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). NGO reports, press releases, and political lobbying campaigns constitute an important source of “soft power”.
The Origins of Christian Anti-Semitism
Christian anti-Semitism began much later than Jesus’ life. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which are the historically more reliable ones, Jesus views himself as a messenger of God to the Jews and as a member of the Jewish people.
Hizbullah’s Struggle to Change the Lebanese Regime
On April 3, 2009, Hizbullah published its political platform in advance of elections to the Lebanese parliament scheduled for June 7, 2009. The document calls for the abolition of sectarian politics and for the enactment of a new election law that would alter the equation of sectarian forces in Lebanon. The abolition of the existing political system will advance Hizbullah toward its fundamental goal: the establishment of an Islamic state and a complete Iranian takeover of Lebanon.
The Russian Handicap to U.S. Iran Policy
There are voices in the Obama Administration who believe that the Kremlin is able and willing to exert pressure on Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. However, perceived geopolitical and economic benefits in the unstable Persian Gulf, in which American influence is on the wane, outweigh Russia’s concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran. The Kremlin sees Iran not as a threat but as a partner or an ad-hoc ally to challenge U.S. influence.
The Growing Threat of Radical Islamic Groups in Germany
Germany has been increasingly forced to confront "homegrown" Islamist terrorism, the threat of radicalized converts to Islam, and the threat of non-integrated Muslim immigrants. In 2003, Iranian-backed Hizbullah was found to have identified Israeli, Jewish, and American facilities in Germany as terror targets. Which are the prominent radical Islamic groups operating in Germany?
Revisiting the 2008 Presidential Election: Reflections on the Jewish Vote
Despite a strong effort to portray this election as a watershed moment in redefining the Jewish vote, American Jews remain overwhelmingly Democratic and liberal.
Reviewing the Holocaust Anew in Multiple Contexts
The nonpragmatic character of the genocide of the Jews is one of the elements that differentiate it from other genocides. Other elements were the totality, that is, the desire to annihilate every single Jew defined as such by the Nazis; the universality, namely the idea, developed in stages, that Jews everywhere should be treated the same way that they were being treated in Nazi Europe; and the fact that special industrial enterprises were set up, in the death camps, for the purpose of producing
