The Kishinev Pogrom as a Catalyst to the Russo-Japanese War

Historians covering the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 tend to focus on the strategic and regional ramifications deriving from the unexpected victory of the Japanese. Less attention is paid to the motives behind Japan’s decision to launch a surprise attack on Russia. An article written in 1935 by Israeli historian Prof. Joseph Klausner may solve this mystery. Based upon the testimony of a Japanese intelligence agent, the article points to the 1903 Kishinev pogrom as the decisive factor that led the Japanese to initiate war with Russia.

Is the Muslim Brotherhood Helping Iran Skirt US Sanctions?

Many western analysts wonder how much longer the Iranian regime will be able to survive under the weight of backbreaking US sanctions. What they are missing is that the regime has been skirting the sanctions through the aid of long-time collaborators around the world. Evidence strongly suggests that the Muslim Brotherhood is chief among those collaborators.

The Strategic Benefits to the US and Israel of Offering F-35s to the UAE

The official normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a rare victory for the United States’ overall political and military strategy in the Middle East and has significant global implications. Should Israel elect to accept a measure of risk by supporting the sale of F-35 fighters to the UAE, both parties could see immediate as well as longer-term benefits.

Despite Everything, Another Lockdown

In attempting to handle an elusive global pandemic that is rife with unknowns, experts must often make decisions based on the worst-case scenario. Israel’s upcoming three-week lockdown is a legitimate and necessary tool that can curtail the surging rate of infection, just as lockdowns did during the first wave in Israel and around the world. There is no escaping the impression that many critics of this measure, particularly those ascribing it to PM Netanyahu’s self-serving interests, are aiming at a general breakdown as a means of removing him from office.

Repairing the World by Embracing Antisemites: American Jews and Black Lives Matter

In a recent public letter permeated with distortions published in The New York Times, 600 Jewish signatory organizations identified themselves with Black Lives Matter (BLM). This decentralized movement was founded by Marxists and had in its original platform expressions of extreme anti-Israel incitement. BLM is a racist, anti-capitalist, anti-democratic movement that should be exposed as such and fought. It intends nothing good for Jews or Israel, regardless how many Jews proclaim their allegiance to it.

The Serbia-Kosovo Agreement Is a Result of the Israel-UAE Agreement

The US-brokered Israel-UAE normalization agreement was swiftly followed by a similar agreement between Serbia and Kosovo, as well as an Israel-Bahrain agreement. The Trump administration has momentum as it continues to work toward a reformulation of formerly combative relationships. The Israel vs. Arab perception is rapidly changing to an Israel-Arab vs. Iran perception, and that dynamic will create further new alliances on both sides.

Hezbollah: Caught on the Horns of a Deterrence Dilemma

Hezbollah wishes to both maintain and change the status quo vis-à-vis Israel, a circle it is attempting to square by threatening retaliation while simultaneously doing what it can to avoid escalation. This inherent contradiction has left Hezbollah with few viable options, leading to a series of tactical failures and an increased need to deliver some kind of success, however cosmetic. The result is a greater likelihood of inadvertent escalation along Israel’s northern border.

The UN’s Treatment of Israel Continues to Belie Its Lofty Ideals

With the opening of the UN General Assembly on September 15, the international body will mark 75 years since its founding. The celebrations will assuredly be accompanied by extensive Western media discourse on the need for the US to return to multilateralism and rely on international institutions for “legitimacy.” However, Western progressive discourse regarding the UN and other international institutions is based upon a myth: that such institutions reflect elevated ideals, objective standards, and a genuine commitment to human rights.

The Moral Failure in Israel’s Approach to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Israel is different from other democracies in two ways: it has moral political values that are set forth in its Basic Laws; and its values are derived from Jewish morality. This means that Israel is not just a democracy; it is a Jewish democracy. The fight against COVID-19 requires difficult decision-making, and those decisions should be based on the country’s moral values. Instead, Israel is acting in contravention of its own moral values. Because those values are contained in its laws, this means the law is being violated as well.

Can France Bring Stability to Crisis-Plagued Lebanon?

France’s longstanding diplomatic involvement in Lebanon was intended to promote Lebanese stability, sovereignty, and democracy, but it has failed to achieve any of those goals. As long as Paris continues to consider Hezbollah integral to Lebanon’s democratic life and denies that it is a terrorist organization controlling Lebanon with a private army, its ability to stabilize Lebanon will remain slim to nil.

Perspectives Papers