Jews are the chosen people. God promised us the land of Israel, the only place we can truly be safe. These were among the ideas drilled into me at an early age in Hebrew School, a program of afternoon and weekend education operated by many synagogues. I jettisoned...
Foreign Policy
America’s Syrian Gulag
by Brad Pearce | Aug 1, 2024 | Criminal Justice, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
At the beginning of last month the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Ethan Goldrich, granted an interview to Rudaw, which is something like PBS for Iraqi Kurdistan. He emphasized that the United States has no plan to end its occupation...
Israel’s Imperial Techno-Optimism
by John Weeks | Jul 31, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
On Saturday, a rocket struck a soccer field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least twelve people were killed, mostly teenagers and children. Israel blamed the Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah for the attack. Hezbollah denied the charge and claimed...
Two Decades Later, the Applause Continues…
by James Wile | Jul 30, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel spoke before a joint session of the United States Congress on July 24 to address the terror attacks of October 7 and ask for continued support for his war on Gaza. Before Netanyahu even arrived in Washington DC, my thoughts...
TGIF: Damn Consumers!
by Sheldon Richman | Jul 26, 2024 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Global free trade is about individual, not national, freedom—for consumers and producers who import raw materials, tools, and semi-finished products. Aside from its role as an aspect of personal liberty, free trade's efficiency benefits have been well-established...
A Temporary Calm in the South China Sea
by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jul 22, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
After a particularly fraught period, complete with water cannons, near collisions, and an actual melee where a Filippino sailor apparently lost a thumb, things in the South China Sea look set to settle down following Manila and Beijing’s reaching of a "provisional...
TGIF: The Populist Trap
by Sheldon Richman | Jul 19, 2024 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
If you care about individual freedom and general prosperity, you'll want to avoid all shades of populism like the plague. It is economic illiteracy proudly proclaimed and writ large. As an alternative to libertarianism, it is bad in its own right—freedom is not on its...
The U.S. Continues to Undermine Its Own Interests in Iran
by Ted Snider | Jul 17, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
The American-led isolation of Iran is springing leaks all over. It seems that wherever Iran knocks, everyone answers. Except the United States. Instead, the U.S. continues to close the door, following a long pattern with Iran of undermining its own interests. In 2016,...