Author Archives: Victor Rosenthal

How Israel is finally becoming a true democracy

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

Aluf Benn, the editor of the Israeli Left’s flagship publication Ha’aretz, has done a wonderful job of explaining to the rest of us the frustration and fury of those who used to run the country and don’t anymore. Here’s his … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics, Israeli Society, Zionism | 4 Comments

Bibi and Vlad: “it’s complicated”

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

Today Israel’s PM Binyamin Netanyahu is concluding a two-day visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is the fourth time within a year that Netanyahu and Putin have met. Russian-Israeli relations now are probably the best they have been since … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East politics | Comments Off on Bibi and Vlad: “it’s complicated”

America crosses the line

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

A 25-year old woman who is running for Congress in California has been the target of a remarkably ugly campaign of anti-Jewish abuse. After Erin Schrode’s personal information was posted on a neo-Nazi website, she received hundreds of messages of … Continue reading →

Posted in American Jews, American politics, Jew Hatred | 6 Comments

The case for paranoia

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

I am sitting at my desk on a quiet day. There are no screaming sirens. Hezbollah isn’t bombarding us with its tens of thousands of missiles, and Hamas tunnels aren’t disgorging terrorists near kibbutz dining halls. Nobody has been stabbed … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe and Israel, Information war, Jew Hatred, US-Israel Relations | 3 Comments

Lessons from the schoolyard

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

When I was about 12 years old, I got into one of those schoolyard fistfights. Surrounded by a circle of boys cheering us on and hoping for as much blood as possible before a teacher noticed, we threw relatively ineffective … Continue reading →

Posted in War | 3 Comments

Kissinger’s Promise and Obama’s Fulfillment

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

Old realpolitiker Henry Kissinger was in the news recently when he sat down with Donald Trump, to give him the benefit of his experience. It brought to mind Kissinger’s numerous attempts to get Israel out of the territories it conquered … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East politics, US-Israel Relations | Comments Off on Kissinger’s Promise and Obama’s Fulfillment

Adjusting the Moral Compass, Part II

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

…European universalist ethics no longer promotes the survival of cultures that espouse it in the environment that is present-day Europe. We certainly see in present-day Europe all of the above responses to this pressure: adaptation, migration and cultural failure. – … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Society, Terrorism, War | 2 Comments

Adjusting the Moral Compass, Part I

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

News item: [Ya’alon] said Thursday that he has been “surprised” of late at a “loss of moral compass on basic questions” in Israeli society. “We need to steer the country in accordance with one’s conscience and not whichever way the … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics, Israeli Society, Zionism | 1 Comment