Latest Analysis and Commentary
by Lawrence Kadish • June 3, 2025 at 1:00 pm
Pictured: American astronaut David R Scott stands on the Moon's surface, beside the 'Falcon' Lunar Module, during the Apollo 15 mission on August 2, 1971. (Photo by James B. Irwin/Space Frontiers/Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The last visitors from the planet Earth departed the Moon in December of 1972. No one has returned to that distant destination, and yet there is now a Moon-mining startup that has signed contracts to excavate and return to Earth thousands of liters of an element called helium-3 that sits just beneath the lunar surface, starting in the year 2029. The company, Interlune, has entered into an agreement to provide this rare and expensive resource to Maybell Quantum, a company whose CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick "wants to use Interlune's helium-3 for his company's special refrigerators that cool quantum devices to near-absolute zero temperatures." Technicians say helium-3 has amazing properties, among them, the ability to supply incredibly efficient cooling to ultra-low temperatures.
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by Drieu Godefridi • June 3, 2025 at 5:00 am
Brussels, the self-proclaimed capital of the European Union, is no longer the beacon of a united Europe, but an advanced symptom of its disintegration. The normalization of radical Islamic and anti-Semitic discourse we are witnessing in Brussels is the result of 15 years of leaders abrogating their responsibility. Brussels, through its inability -- or unwillingness -- to make unpleasant but necessary choices, is setting itself up as the first potential locus of protracted European unrest. The Islamist Team Fouad Ahidar party embodies a new situation: a political Islam that no longer hides its identity. Instead, it advocates that a religious identity be the underpinning of national cohesion. This fragmentation reflects a profound breakdown in the social contract, between the old European society, which confines religion to the private sphere, and the "new Europeans" (Muslims), who want everything to be subject to their religious doctrine. Crime rates are rising everywhere in Brussels, particularly in an area in the spotlight for its frequent shootings: the Bruxelles-Midi Zone (Saint-Gilles, Forest, Anderlecht). Between 2022 and 2023, notes the newspaper L'Echo, robberies and extortion rose by 23%, robberies without weapons by 34%, pickpocketing by 27%, and armed robberies by a staggering 53%. The Brussels-Capital Region is not merely on the brink of bankruptcy; it is already at the bottom of a financial abyss. Jew-hatred, often marketed in unconvincing, transparent disguises as "anti-Zionism," flourishes in many other Islamic-centered and radical left-wing circles.... in Brussels, Jew-hatred enjoys almost total impunity. As of 2023, 74% of Brussels' population is of foreign background, compared to a European average of 10%.... This demographic transformation or "great replacement," far from being accompanied by an effective integration policy, has saturated Brussels -- overcrowded schools, overwhelmed hospitals, sorely inadequate housing -- and exacerbated communal tensions. In 2022, a report revealed that 35% of young people with an immigrant background in Brussels were living in households where nobody has a job -- a breeding ground for delinquency and radicalization. Brussels is not only a city in crisis, it is a city on the brink of implosion.
Pictured: The Brussels Federal Judicial Police display some of the 110 illegal firearms that were seized in a major operation, at a press conference in Brussels, on September 13, 2024. (Photo by Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/AFP via Getty Images)
Brussels, the self-proclaimed capital of the European Union, is no longer the beacon of a united Europe, but an advanced symptom of its disintegration. For the past 15 years, the signs of a deep crisis -- political paralysis, an explosion in crime, fiscal bankruptcy, the rise of Islamism and migratory engulfment -- have been piling up, heralding an inevitable tipping point. The normalization of radical Islamic and anti-Semitic discourse we are witnessing in Brussels is the result of 15 years of leaders abrogating their responsibility. Brussels, through its inability -- or unwillingness -- to make unpleasant but necessary choices, is setting itself up as the first potential locus of protracted European unrest. Even Politico recognizes the scale of the problem. The only question is: When will the Belgian state recognize the failure of a society that has given up on governing itself according to a common law? 1. Structural political paralysis
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • June 2, 2025 at 5:00 am
As talks between Washington and Tehran are underway to reach an agreement on Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, even if a deal is reached, unless it features "anywhere, anytime" inspections, to which Iran has never agreed, Iran will secretly continue to develop nuclear weapons and cheat, cheat, cheat. If such a deal is reached, Iran also is not going to stop its financial and military support for its terror proxies in the Middle East, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthi militia in Yemen. Iran, in short, is not going to abandon its declared goal of obliterating the "Zionist entity" ("the Little Satan") or the United States ("the Great Satan"). If Trump is serious about preventing war and bloodshed in the Middle East, he must insist that any agreement with Iran's mullahs include no centrifuges or uranium enrichment of any kind, and no support for Tehran's terror proxies. If something could possibly go wrong, unfortunately it will -- leaving Trump with the legacy of delivering yet another laughably fake peace deal and of his presidency being that of another failed Barack Obama. Trump must also demand that Iran's leaders stop calling for the annihilation of Israel. The same is true for the leaders of Qatar, as well Qatar's personal insults against Trump himself. The Iranian regime is determined to continue supporting [terrorist leaders] to help them achieve their goal of murdering Jews and eliminating Israel. "Iran's openly stated goal is to destroy Israel, but the broader game is its perception of the United States as the 'Great Satan.' Iran's strategy involves orchestrating various terrorist groups in the Middle East, with multifaceted objectives. Firstly, it seeks to dominate the Islamic world in the region, asserting its influence over other nations. Simultaneously, it aims to strike at the credibility of the United States, a long-standing adversary in Iranian foreign policy." — Shishir Gupta, executive editor, Hindustan Times, April 27, 2023. The Trump administration would do well to take these issues into consideration before signing any agreement with Iran. Such an agreement, if reached, unfortunately will not mean that the Iranian regime has become America's friend. As long as the mullahs continue to wish for the destruction of Israel and America, and to back Islamist terror groups, they should be treated as dangerous enemies of both Israel and the US.
It is wrong and unrealistic to assume that Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime, if and when they sign a nuclear agreement with the Trump administration, would abandon their dream of destroying Israel and America. Pictured: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on as a 'Qasem Soleimani' missile is displayed during a military parade in Tehran, on September 21, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
As talks between Washington and Tehran are underway to reach an agreement on Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, even if a deal is reached, unless it features "anywhere, anytime" inspections, to which Iran has never agreed, Iran will secretly continue to develop nuclear weapons and cheat, cheat, cheat. If such a deal is reached, Iran also is not going to stop its financial and military support for its terror proxies in the Middle East, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthi militia in Yemen. Iran, in short, is not going to abandon its declared goal of obliterating the "Zionist entity" ("the Little Satan") or the United States ("the Great Satan"). US President Donald J. Trump said on May 28 that he believes his administration is "very close to a solution" with Iran on a nuclear agreement. "Right now, I think they want to make a deal," Trump said. "And if we can make a deal, I'd save a lot of lives."
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by Lawrence A. Franklin • June 2, 2025 at 4:00 am
Syria's Christians, most of whom are either Catholic or Greek Orthodox, are viewed by Muslims as infidels and therefore resented by the Syria's Sunni majority. Syria's new constitution, published on March 14, stipulates that Islamic jurisprudence is the sole source of judicial decision-making. The constitution also asserts that Syria's president must be a Muslim and that the executive branch has virtually dictatorial powers. The constitution also includes no provision for protecting ethnic and religious minorities, which include Christians, Alawites, Kurds and Druze. Syria's Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X, citing the destruction of a church in Antioch, Syria, has challenged the benign view of the new Islamist regime. Israel, which has already attacked government targets in Syria to protect the Druze minority, may, as usual, turn out to provide the greatest protection for threatened minorities – as it has for, for instance, for Baha'is, Sudanese, Ethiopians and Kurds -- for which, of course, it receives no credit at all.
Syria's Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X, citing the destruction of a church in Antioch, Syria, has challenged the benign view of the new Islamist regime. He claims that Islamists killed many innocent Christians in recent fighting. Pictured: Jihadist gunmen deploy outside the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St George in Latakia on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Aaref Watad/AFP via Getty Images)
Sunni Islamist terrorist gangs are still slaughtering minority Alawites in coastal Syrian towns. Thes atrocities began on March 8, allegedly in response to attacks on government troops by remnant forces of the deposed Alawite Assad regime. Some Syrian Christians were also slain, but allegedly were not specifically targeted by Ahmed al-Sharaa's new government of Hayat al-Tahrir (HTS). During the Assad years, like the Alawites, Christians, were for the most part a tolerated minority. Syria's Christians, most of whom are either Catholic or Greek Orthodox, are viewed by Muslims as infidels and therefore resented by the Syria's Sunni majority. During the country's 14-year civil war, several churches were sacked and burned by jihadist enemies of the Assad dynasty. Some of these anti-Christian atrocities were also committed by foreign jihadists who hailed from Chechnya and Uzbekistan.
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by Robert Williams • June 1, 2025 at 5:00 am
[O]n May 20 they adopted the WHO Pandemic Treaty at the 78th session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. It will have to be ratified by at least 60 states, however, before it can come into effect, which means that it is up to citizens to prevent that from happening. The deadline to opt out of the International Health Regulations is July 19 – less than two months from now. It is time to notify your lawmakers to take immediate action in their parliaments and say NO to these regulations. So far, no country has opted out, and due to lack of media coverage most people appear completely unaware that a problem even exists. On June 1, 2024, the WHO's 194 member states agreed to sweeping amendments of the WHO International Health Regulations that give the organization's Director-General -- currently "Dr." Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is not a medical doctor and to all appearances is in China's pocket -- overwhelming authority to declare not only actual international public health emergencies, but also potential ones. ""[T]he WHO's proposed amendments to its international health regulations and its forthcoming pandemic treaty present the most serious threat to national sovereignty in a generation." — Suella Braverman, former UK Home Secretary, April 20, 2025. [P]ublic health, according to the WHO and its member states (your governments), is now intertwined with "climate change." If climate warrior Bill Gates and his WHO cohorts feel like it, they can declare a "climate pandemic," pronounce lockdowns and a rollout of whatever measures they might see fit "to save the planet." Sadly, [the WHO] made itself into a fully disgraced and corrupt body, so deeply in the pockets not only of Gates and the pharmaceutical industry, but also of Communist China. During Covid-19, the WHO and "Dr." Tedros actually praised China for its "extraordinary" handling of the pandemic. "If you liked how the COVID-19 crisis was handled – in large measure thanks to the incompetence and malfeasance of the WHO and the insidious influence of the perpetrator, the Chinese Communist Party... you're going to love this new world order. Among its consequences will be: universal health IDs, vaccine mandates, obligatory censorship, technology transfers, open-ended financial costs and the proliferation of viruses with the potential to cause pandemics – all 'managed' by greatly empowered and unaccountable international bureaucrats." – Frank Gaffney, X, April 17, 2025 There is, however, another, newly acquired, instrument in the UN's toolbox, the "Digital Global Compact" (DGC) that seeks to make it impossible to criticize this new UN/WHO reign of terror. Without an ever-present, imminent and terrible-sounding "pandemic" there would be no legitimacy for WHO to seize all this power and gain access to so much control. This arrogation of power to itself could reasonably turn into runaway totalitarianism unless lawmakers step up immediately and demand that their governments object to the amendments to the International Health Regulations -- and opt out of them.
Sadly, the WHO has made itself into a fully disgraced and corrupt body, so deeply in the pockets not only of Bill Gates and the pharmaceutical industry, but also of Communist China. And now, the WHO might finally be getting just what it wanted: Unlimited power and control. Pictured: WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pays a visit to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on January 28, 2020. (Photo by Naohiko Hatta/AFP via Getty Images)
The World Health Organization (WHO) might finally be getting just what it wanted: Unlimited power and control. The deadline to opt out of the International Health Regulations is July 19 – less than two months from now. It is time to notify your lawmakers to take immediate action in their parliaments and say NO to these regulations. So far, no country has opted out, and due to lack of media coverage most people appear completely unaware that a problem even exists. On June 1, 2024, the WHO's 194 member states agreed to sweeping amendments of the WHO International Health Regulations that give the organization's Director-General -- currently "Dr." Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is not a medical doctor and to all appearances is in China's pocket -- overwhelming authority to declare not only actual international public health emergencies, but also potential ones.
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by Amir Taheri • June 1, 2025 at 4:00 am
There are areas of life, some would say the most important, that cannot and must not be subjected to cold scientific logic. These include love, friendship, taste, talent and, of course, joy and pain. Why do we fall in love with those two particular black eyes and not others in the world? Why do we feel the grace of friendship with this or that particular individual out of billions of human beings? Why do we like the voice of this singer and not the other, and the poetry of this poet and not another? How is it that we can paint reasonably well but sing worse than a frog? Some areas of human existence must be allowed to retain the mystery that they have always enjoyed in the mystical chiaroscuro of the human condition. We should not decree love, friendship and talent. Nor should we try to decree death. Euthanasia, a Greek word, means "mercy killing," and was initially coined to describe the administration of the coup de grâce to badly wounded horses. Human beings, however, cannot be treated the same way as horses. Nor can a doctor of medicine act like a stable boy.
Pictured: Deputies applaud the adoption of the bill on assisted suicide, following the vote in France's National Assembly in Paris, on May 27, 2025. (Photo by Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images)
In one of his memorable comments on the current state of Europe, the late Pope Francis expressed the wish that, in a world gripped by turmoil and war, the old continent becomes a field hospital for victims from the four corners of the globe. The comment implies that real or imagined victimhood provides anyone with a seat at the high table of privileges cast as human rights. In other words, the unorthodox comment put the pontiff on the side of those who have tried to transform their definition of human rights into a secular religion, unencumbered by the traditional concept of duty upheld by traditional religions. Last week, the French parliament passed a bill that will enshrine a new right in the law of the land: "the right to die." The issue was first raised in Europe almost 30 years ago, and led to Switzerland and Holland to become the first havens for the right-to-die. At first, the new "right" was presented as "mercy killing".
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by Majid Rafizadeh • May 31, 2025 at 5:00 am
Iran knows exactly what it is doing. It is playing a game it has mastered for decades: stall, confuse, buy time, bring in the well-intentioned but toothless International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). All the regime needs to win the negotiations is to entrench enforceability and retain the ability to work in secret down the pike. Iran could, at any moment, declare itself part of the nuclear weapons club. The mullahs could also negotiate a deal that grants them partial sanctions relief, re-entry into the global financial system, and access to international trade — all while keeping key parts of their nuclear program intact. Giving Iran any daylight to enrichment is not diplomacy — it is surrender. US President Donald Trump seems shocked that he is being duped by the superstar of KGB (now the FSB) whose entire purpose is to dupe Americans and the West: You mean he is not really my good friend Volodya? Russian President Vladimir Putin has not gone crazy; we were crazy for believing him. The same holds true for Communist China's President Xi Jinping. Iran does not want "peace." Iran wants victory. Why don't we? The only "peace" Iran is interested in is one strictly on its terms. With nuclear weapons, there will be "peace," all right -- the Iranian regime's survival, power and domination -- that kind of peace. Meanwhile, Trump's "deadlines" with Hamas and Iran have come and gone, thoroughly eroding his credibility with Putin, Xi, Kim, NATO and everyone else. There have been no consequences, no accountability and no results. This is not about compromise or Munich 2.0. This is about survival. Ours, not theirs. Stop being played.
Iran does not want "peace." Iran wants victory. Why don't we? The only "peace" Iran is interested in is one strictly on its terms. With nuclear weapons, there will be "peace," all right -- the Iranian regime's survival, power and domination -- that kind of peace. Pictured: A Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile is displayed during the annual military parade in Tehran, on September 22, 2023. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
Once again, the United States has sat down with Iran for yet another round of nuclear negotiations — this time the fifth. And once again, we are told that there will be another round in the "near future." Sound familiar? It should. Iran's cat-and-mouse diplomatic theater is not a breakthrough; it is a rerun. Just as the past rounds, this latest episode concluded without any meaningful agreement, while Iran continues to advance in its nuclear program, intercontinental ballistic missiles -- not needed to attack Israel -- and rebuild its air defense. Iran knows exactly what it is doing. It is playing a game it has mastered for decades: stall, confuse, buy time, bring in the well-intentioned but toothless International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). All the regime needs to win the negotiations is to entrench enforceability and retain the ability to work in secret down the pike.
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by Robert Williams • May 30, 2025 at 5:00 am
While it is understandable that President Donald Trump is eager to bring business deals to America, since when has Qatar been "a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East"? The answer is: Never. "Qatar is the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world, more than Iran." — Dr. Udi Levy, a former senior official of Israel's Mossad spy agency who dealt with economic warfare against terrorist organizations, Ynet News, April 18, 2024. There is hardly an Islamic terrorist group, in fact, that Qatar does not support. Meanwhile, it acts as both the arsonist and the firefighter. "Qatar has been playing a deadly double game with the U.S. for many years. It supports all Islamist terrorist organizations (ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Hamas, and Hezbollah). Worst of all, in 1996, it hid future 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) in Doha, and when the FBI came to arrest him, informing only the Qatari Emir, KSM disappeared within hours." — Yigal Carmon, MEMRI, November 15, 2023. The Muslim Brotherhood's "Explanatory Memorandum" explicitly states: "The Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions." Qatar's media empire, Al Jazeera, is the mouthpiece for the Muslim Brotherhood. It is this Arabic-language television network that has spread the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood throughout much of the world. Even Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which agree on virtually nothing, both banned Al Jazeera – as have Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain. When the US sells advanced weapons to Qatar, it is literally arming an organization that openly funds terrorism, spreads radical Islamic ideology and straightforwardly seeks to undermine America, Israel and the West. The Trump administration, in seeking to make America great again, was supposed to move away from the policies of the Obama and Biden administrations, which appeased terrorist and rogue states such as Iran and Russia. But regarding Qatar, the Trump administration appears to be pursuing effectively the same extremely dangerous policies that endanger not only US allies in the Middle East such as Israel, but the United States itself. "[US] colleges and universities have accepted $6.25 billion from Qatar since 2001. However, Qatar's total spending likely exceeds that figure... Qatar is a major exporter of Islamist ideology, which it amplifies on the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera network. By pumping money into the American higher education system and across the United States, Qatar avoids scrutiny as it advances hostile ideologies." — Natalie Ecanow, of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, in testimony to the Texas Legislature House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs, April 2, 2025. A good place to start would be not to sell weapons to Qatar and not to pretend they are a friendly ally. Instead, the US should start looking for an alternate place, such as the United Arab Emirates, to relocate American forces from Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base.
It is high time for the United States to free itself of the subversive forces working to destroy it from within, especially if America is to remain a beacon of freedom in the world, let alone "making it great again." A good place to start would be not to sell weapons to Qatar and not to pretend they are a friendly ally. Pictured: Qatar Emeri Air Force F-15 fighter jets escort President Donald Trump's Air Force One into Doha, Qatar on May 14, 2025.(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The Trump administration will apparently sell Qatar a large weapons package, including eight long-range maritime surveillance drones and hundreds of missiles and bombs worth around $2 billion. A document from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, notifying Congress of the initially approved sale, stated: "This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. "The proposed sale will improve Qatar's capability to meet current and future threats by providing timely intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, target acquisition, counter-land, and counter-surface sea capabilities for its security and defense. This capability is a deterrent to regional threats and will primarily be used to strengthen its homeland defense."
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by Gordon G. Chang • May 29, 2025 at 5:00 am
The Trump administration, which had previously displayed a lack of interest in the conflict, then quickly intervened and brokered a ceasefire. "[T]he possession of nuclear weapons may have incentivized risky confrontations that pass just below the ambiguous nuclear threshold." — Aqil Shah, Foreign Affairs, May 23, 2025. Pakistan did not have to detonate one of its nuclear warheads to shake the world. Now, an emboldened Islamabad will almost certainly hit India again. Nukes are supposed to moderate national leaders and make them cautious. When it comes to India and Pakistan, however, the opposite now looks true.
Pakistan did not have to detonate one of its nuclear warheads to shake the world. Now, an emboldened Islamabad will almost certainly hit India again. Pictured: The remains of the house of Ahsan Ul Haq Sheikh, an Islamist terrorist involved in the Pahalgam attack, after Indian soldiers blew it up on April 25 in Murran, Kashmir. (Photo by Tauseef Mustafa/AFP via Getty Images)
"We stopped a nuclear conflict, I think it could have been a bad nuclear war, millions of people could have been killed, so I'm very proud of that," President Donald Trump told reporters on May 12. Proud he should be. Although New Delhi refuses to acknowledge Washington's role in brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, the Trump administration was nonetheless instrumental in stopping fighting that could have escalated, as Newsweek wrote, "to the brink of all-out war." On April 22, gunmen murdered 26 Hindu tourists and others at Pahalgam, in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan also claims that territory. New Delhi blames Islamabad for harboring militants who staged the attack. Pakistan denies involvement.
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by Nils A. Haug • May 28, 2025 at 5:00 am
So here we have it: when radical activists are no longer in power, their hatred for conservative governments and their leaders apparently transcends respect for democracy. Golan's suspiciously self-serving ruminations, are, of course, pure fantasy, and uttered at great potential cost to Israel's credibility... "if elections were held today, The Democrats would win 16 [out of 120] Knesset seats..." Even before the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948, Jews had a long history of trying to establish a state in the land of Israel according to a European template built on believing you can make peace with people whose goal in life is to destroy you. These efforts only gave birth to policies like the Oslo Accords, which turned out to be disastrous for Israel. The schism, between the peace-wishers and the gimlet-eyed, is nothing new. Despite its internal and external challenges, modern Israel remains stronger than ever. In 1969, then Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said, "we have a secret weapon and our secret weapon is: no alternative." The Jews will triumph over all their enemies – including the foxes in their vineyard. They always have.
Despite its internal and external challenges, modern Israel remains stronger than ever. In 1969, then Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said, "we have a secret weapon and our secret weapon is: no alternative." The Jews will triumph over all their enemies – including the foxes in their vineyard. They always have. Pictured: Meir meets with U.S. President Richard Nixon at the White House in Washington, on March 1, 1973. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
When Yair Golan, an IDF reserve Major-General and former member of Israel's parliament, falsely implies that the nation's soldiers "kill babies as a hobby" in Gaza, something is serious amiss among Israel's leaders at this critical time of an existential war. Golan continued in his May 20 remarks, "[I]t is time to replace this government as soon as possible so that this war can also come to an end." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his cabinet colleagues and even his political opponents, were outraged at Golan's "blood libel" against the heroic warriors of Israel, who for nearly two years, have been defending their country and sacrificing their lives for it. Nearly 900 Israeli soldiers have been killed so far in the war begun by Hamas on October 7, 2023,
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by Guy Millière • May 27, 2025 at 5:00 am
In 2022, the European Union adopted the Digital Services Act (DSA), which is supposed to "protect the rights of social media users" and "provide a safer online environment" by "limiting the spread of illegal and harmful content." What constitutes "illegal and harmful content" was not defined and could be anything the European Commission defines as such, along with the right to impose fines and shut the websites down. The reason given by Germany's domestic intelligence agency for designating AfD an "extremist organization" is neither fascism nor racism. In fact, not a single AfD leader advocates fascist or racist positions, and, what actually may be objectionable to many Europeans, is that AfD is "the most pro-Israel and philo-Semitic" party in Germany. This anti-democratic drift has taken hold in several European countries. Politicians and parties who disagree with the worldview of the officials in power are increasingly being excluded from any possibility of running for an official position... In France, Marine Le Pen, who polls show is in first place for the 2027 presidential election, was sentenced to five years of election ineligibility and four years in prison for allegedly embezzling public funds. Le Pen did not embezzle public funds.... The Democratic Movement, a centrist party led by French Prime Minister François Bayrou, did exactly the same thing as the National Rally with its MEPs' assistants, but Bayrou was acquitted by a judge. Most European leaders today refer to the parties and politicians they wish to exclude as "far right." The term is used to refer to racist, xenophobic and authoritarian parties. None of the parties mentioned above shows the slightest tendency toward racism, xenophobia and authoritarianism half as much as their opponents do. Many European leaders today appear blind to the consequences of ever-increasing immigration, and a growing Muslim presence in Europe. They are dismissive of the Muslims' continuing mass-migration, enthusiastic birthrate, and they remain stubbornly deaf to the concerns shouted by their non-Muslim citizenry.
European leaders and governments have moved away from what once bound Europe and the United States, such as freedom of speech and free and fair elections, the results of which are actually enacted. Can the anti-democratic drift that has gripped several large European countries be stopped? (Images source: iStock)
February 14, 2025. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance delivers remarks in Germany, at the Munich Security Conference. The audience expects him to talk about foreign policy, geopolitics, and threats facing the world. Instead, he says that the most worrying threat today is "the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values." He adds that European countries and institutions are undermining democracy and freedom of speech -- and gives examples. "A former European commissioner," Vance states, "went on television recently and sounded delighted that the Romanian government had just annulled an entire election."
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by Bassam Tawil • May 26, 2025 at 5:00 am
After the 2007 Hamas takeover, the Gaza Strip became an independent Palestinian state controlled by Hamas, with its own government, parliament, police force, and multiple armed groups. The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip, in addition, had exclusive control over the border with Egypt, which was also abandoned by Israel. In the absence of any Israeli military or civilian presence inside Gaza, Hamas had a chance to turn the coastal strip into a prosperous area, a "Singapore" or "Dubai" on the Mediterranean. Instead, the terror group chose to manufacture and smuggle weapons, including rockets and missiles, and invest tens of millions of dollars in building a vast network of tunnels for stockpiling its weapons, facilitating the concealed movement of terrorists, and providing shelter for its leaders and members. [T]he war is continuing because of Hamas's refusal to release the remaining Israeli hostages, relinquish control over the Gaza Strip and lay down its weapons. Hamas, backed and armed by Iran, is determined to fight to the last Palestinian because its primary goal is to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamist state. For more than a decade, these payments [to the Palestinian "pay-for-slay" program] have amounted to more than $300 million annually. Last year, the PA's payments increased by $1.3 million per month. The murder of Jews is what the European Union and many European countries have been funding. By advocating a "two-state solution," France, Canada and Britain are essentially authorizing a genocide. Before reviving their idea, the French, Canadians and British need to look at the results of all of the polls. They consistently show that most Palestinians support Hamas and the armed struggle against Israel. The last thing Palestinians and Israelis need now is to transplant the failed Gaza model onto the West Bank.
After the 2007 Hamas takeover, the Gaza Strip became an independent Palestinian state controlled by Hamas, with its own government, parliament, police force, and multiple armed groups. The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip, in addition, had exclusive control over the border with Egypt, which was also abandoned by Israel. Pictured: Khaled Mashaal (2nd L), head of Hamas' "political bureau" holds hands with Gaza's Greek Orthodox Archbishop Alexios (L) and Hassan al-Jojo (2nd R), president of the Islamic Sharia Appeals Court, along with Hamas' then leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh (R), at a government rally in the Gaza Strip on December 9, 2012. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images)
As the Hamas-Israel war in the Gaza Strip enters its 20th month, France, Britain and Canada have revived the talk about the need to establish a Palestinian state. In a joint statement in mid-May, the leaders of the three countries proclaimed: "We are committed to recognizing a Palestinian state as a contribution to achieving a two-state solution and are prepared to work with others to this end."
Next month, the United Nations is scheduled to host an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, to advance the idea of a "two-state solution" between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the UN: "As outlined in General Assembly resolution 79/81, the Conference will produce an action-oriented outcome document entitled 'Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and implementation of the two-State solution.'"
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May 26, 2025 at 4:00 am
Gatestone Institute wishes to thank all the brave men and women of America's armed forces who sacrificed their lives -- and all of you who continue every day to defend our freedom -- so that we may sleep soundly in our beds at night. We are in your debt. — The Editors.
Pictured: An honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Arlington National Cemetery. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)
by Con Coughlin • May 25, 2025 at 5:00 am
Far from helping to end the war in Ukraine, all the indications suggest that US President Donald Trump's mediation efforts are not only prolonging the conflict, but increasing the likelihood that Russia will ultimately emerge victorious. Indeed, far from showing any interest in ending Russia's military offensive in Ukraine, the Russian leader has given every intention that he intends to continue fighting until victory has been achieved. Nor does there appear to be any serious prospect that Trump will be willing to hit the Kremlin with further sanctions, let alone military encouragement, if it fails to show any serious interest in peace negotiations. The problem with Trump's hands-off approach to the Ukraine conflict is that it could ultimately prove counterproductive for the US and its allies, as the more Washington indicates it is losing interest in the conflict, the more encouraged Moscow becomes that it will ultimately achieve victory. This outcome would be a disaster for the entire Nato alliance -- including the US, which would see its extensive trade ties with Europe threatened by Russian aggression. In addition, Trump walking away from the conflict would be seen worldwide as a green light to other US adversaries, such as Iran and China, that it is open season, as the US is not serious about defending any allied territory. As someone who shows a keen interest in expanding America's trade ties, Trump of all people should understand the disastrous implications another Putin-inspired war would have for the US economy.
Far from showing any interest in ending Russia's military offensive in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has given every intention that he intends to continue fighting until victory has been achieved. Pictured: Putin in Moscow on March 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexei Nikolsky/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Far from helping to end the war in Ukraine, all the indications suggest that US President Donald Trump's mediation efforts are not only prolonging the conflict, but increasing the likelihood that Russia will ultimately emerge victorious. Trump's pledge to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office now seems but a distant memory. Instead, his belief that he could use his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin to implement a lasting ceasefire has amounted to nothing, with Trump now conceding that the Russian autocrat has shown little interest in negotiating a peace deal. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump has informed European allies that Putin is not ready to end the war because he believes he is winning. Trump apparently made the acknowledgement during a call with European leaders that followed a May 19 phone call with Putin, with whom he claims to have a special relationship.
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by Amir Taheri • May 25, 2025 at 4:00 am
[T]he hypocrisy of those grand principles and sentiments is illustrated by the fact that 24 hours after Macron, Barrot and de Villepin invoked them to justify their trompe-l'oeil anti-Israel posture, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau unveiled a 76-page report designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a present and imminent threat to France's national security. The report, compiled over two years, labels the Muslim Brotherhood as an international organization that promotes extremism and covers terrorist activities across the globe. De Villepin and his ilk see Hamas as a "liberation movement" that cannot be eliminated. Yet, Hamas has never dubbed itself such. It sees itself as part of the Muslim Brotherhood, with global ambitions, and has deliberately kept the very word "Palestine" out of its identity. It doesn't want to "liberate" Palestine, however defined; its stated goal is to wipe Israel off the map. No one can deny France's right to take sides in this tragic conflict. But there are two things that cannot be accepted. The first is to hide or redefine the identity of the side you take. The second in this particular case is to use explicit or implicit sympathy for Hamas as a cover for a crackdown on real or imagined "threatening" outfits in France itself. The French leaders only state what they want Israel to do; never what Hamas should do. They forget that Hamas could instantly end this war by releasing all remaining hostages and surrendering its arms.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot have been doing nothing but invoking grand principles and grand sentiments in a rather quixotic way with regard to the ongoing tragedy in the Gaza Strip. Pictured: Macron speaks, flanked by Barrot, at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on April 17, 2025. (Photo by Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
If you are under pressure to do something but know that you can't do anything, what do you do? Well, you do nothing but to appear to be doing something. You invoke grand principles and grand sentiments. This is what French President Emmanuel Macron and his Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot have been doing in a rather quixotic way with regard to the ongoing tragedy in the Gaza Strip. The French leaders are talking of taking "concrete measures," not realizing that in philosophical parlance, a measure that isn't concrete isn't a measure but a "henid," a concept that dissolves into nothing in contact with reality. So far, they have talked of three concrete measures.
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