Articles by Kenneth Bandler

If there is an issue on which the Trump administration and Congress should agree, it is reaffirming longstanding American policy on preventing nuclear proliferation. Given the history and extent of the US-Saudi relationship, the Saudis should be persuaded to accept the American 123 gold standard terms, or abandon their nuclear ambition altogether.

The AJC national poll on the topic of antisemitism confirms that confronting this continually evolving evil in American society requires urgent attention by American leadership and society in general.

A senior Hamas delegation’s visit to Tehran gave a boost to Iran’s goal of establishing a bridgehead on the Mediterranean in Gaza that would complement Hezbollah’s perch in Lebanon.

The need to step up efforts to strengthen relations between American and Israeli Jews, to deepen mutual understanding when so much is in flux, is becoming more urgent. The AJC poll, released in June, found that the number agreeing that “caring about Israel is a very important part of my being a Jew,” dropped in one year from 70% in 2018 to 62% in 2019.

The latest European Union report on antisemitism begins with a stark warning. “These findings make for grim reading,” writes Michael O’Flaherty, director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), in the foreword.

The facts that the targeted politician, Ari Hoffman, is an Orthodox Jew, that the threats are laced with blatantly antisemitic comments and that this is happening amid a rise in reported assaults on Jews across the United States is distressing.

A new AJC survey of French Jews is both enlightening and disturbing. A majority of Jews in France have both personally experienced antisemitism in their own country and believe that their government is not effectively combating antisemitism.

Hate was not solely a Jewish concern in 1999, and it still isn’t today.

One election in Israel, or for that matter in the US, does not fundamentally alter the foundation of the Israel-Diaspora relationship. Keeping it close and strong must be a shared priority for both American Jews and Israelis.

Redoubling efforts to identify concrete measures to effectively confront this menace and to begin to reduce the numbers of antisemitic incidents must be a joint and urgent US-Europe priority.

Currently, most Syrians live as refugees, most of them in their own country but away from their homes.

That the FRA report was barely mentioned at all in the American media and got little coverage in Europe suggests that a certain numbness has set in, an unfortunate acceptance of antisemitic normalcy.

Syria and Iran are entwined tighter than an intricately woven Persian carpet. Unless Syrian President Bashar Assad has a change of heart and decides to expel Iranian forces, his most treasured foreign guests are staying.

Mahmoud Abbas has a mantra: keep repeating the words “State of Palestine,” persuade other leaders around the world to join in the refrain, and then, magically, a new country will materialize.

For now, the US, Israel, the EU and some Arab states appear more willing to help the Palestinians in Gaza than their own leaders. This, of course, is not new. It is the tragic ongoing curse of Palestinian history.

Is Holocaust denial becoming an accepted norm in American public discourse? Even with the passage of 73 years, one should expect a visceral reaction to anyone publicly denying the Holocaust and promoting antisemitism. Inadequate responses only encourage the haters.

Indecision has consequences. Leaving vacant the key State Department position in the US effort to fight antisemitism globally has generated perceptions that inevitably question Washington’s commitment on this issue.

Aiman Saif has a dream. He envisions a day in the not-so-distant future when the needs of Israel’s Arab minority are fully reflected in the government budget, signifying that they are considered as much a part of the Israeli population as the Jewish majority.

The Palestinian civil war descended further towards disaster with the recent attempted assassination of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. The struggle between Fatah and Hamas is an important reason why the coastal territory’s nearly 2 million residents live in a situation of permanent instability and uncertainty.

Experience hateful bigotry, say something. That should be the watchword for victims of antisemitism.