Latest Articles

The Church of Scotland's War on Judaism

May 13, 2013  •  JNS/The Algemeiner

In a recent, exhaustive study of anti-Semitism, the German scholar Clemens Heni explains the significance for Christian theology of the story of Ahasver, a Jewish shoemaker in Jerusalem who, legend has it, refused Jesus a resting place as he made his way to Golgotha bearing the cross on his back. Ahasver's punishment, says Heni, was to wander the world for eternity, an image that formed the basis for what the Nazis famously called "der ewige Jude"—"the eternal Jew."

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Stephen Hawking Signs Up to the Academic Boycott of Israel

May 8, 2013  •  "Contentions" @ Commentary Magazine

There was much relief when, earlier today, a spokesman for Cambridge University in England released a statement denying that Stephen Hawking, the renowned British physicist, had invoked the academic boycott of Israel as the reason for his decision to withdraw from the "Facing Tomorrow" conference, which will be hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem in June.

As it turns out, Cambridge spoke too soon. Tim Holt, the spokesman who said that Hawking had backed out for health reasons, was compelled to issue the following clarification:

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Orban Whitewashes Hungarian Anti-Semitism

May 5, 2013  •  "Contentions" @ Commentary Magazine

As I read Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's speech to the delegates of the World Jewish Congress, who assembled in Budapest this past weekend, I found myself visualizing the furrowed eyebrows and anxious seat shuffling going on in the audience. For not only was Orban's speech a chain of platitudes from beginning to end, it was downright dishonest.

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What is the Motivation Behind Erdogan Visiting Gaza and Snubbing Kerry?

April 30, 2013  •  JNS/The Algemeiner

Of all the half-truths and misconceptions that mar the American debate over the level of influence exercised by Israel on U.S. Middle East policy, the most irritating has to be the manner in which Israel's foes ignore the behavior of our Arab and Middle Eastern allies when it comes to confounding America's national interests in the region.

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Korea, Iran and the Dual Loyalty Myth

April 24, 2013  •  The Jerusalem Post

Here's a term that rarely crops up in discussions of American policy toward northeast Asia: the Korea Lobby. And as for the pejorative term "Korea Firsters," that isn't one I've come across.

It's not as if a cluster of organizations working to enhance the US's relationship with South Korea, or highlight the danger posed by the communist North, doesn't exist. There's a group called Korean American Civic Empowerment, whose website boasts a photo of its supporters with the refreshingly combative US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL).

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