The once fearsome Islamic State group, also known by the acronym ISIS, has fallen off the front pages. The big news from the Syrian battlefield is Russia's air campaign to prop up the regime of President Bashar Assad by attacking... Continue Reading →
Those interested in Palestine/Palestinians and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict should note the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University. The Center runs a series of events throughout the year, the calendar is accessible at the website address above. A few days... Continue Reading →
A few months ago, at the height of the Greek debt crisis, I wrote in this space that the lesson of history is that the EU is a survivor. In other words, Europe's integration process was not going to collapse,... Continue Reading →
A few months ago at the height of the Greek debt crisis, I wrote that the lesson of history is that the EU is a survivor, i.e. European integration wasn’t going to collapse no matter what the outcome. The Eurozone... Continue Reading →
When the Chinese Communist party took power in 1949, Mao Zedong declared to a party conference, “The Chinese people, comprising one quarter of humanity, have now stood up. The Chinese have always been a great, courageous and industrious nation; it... Continue Reading →
In the 1990s “blood diamonds” financed often barbaric civil wars in West African countries. Today, what one archaeologist calls “blood artifacts” are a prime source of finance for members of the Islamic State. Their looting of ancient sites occurs primarily... Continue Reading →
Is there a useful analogy to make between the streams of Syrian refugees and the Biblical Israelites? After all, analogy is the weakest form of proof. It only means that this seems to be like that and it can be... Continue Reading →
American-China Public Affairs Institute screens “Shanghai Ghetto” On Tuesday, September 8, the American-China Public Affairs Institute (ACPAI) organized an evening program around the 2002 documentary, “Shanghai Ghetto,” which chronicles the little known (at least in the U.S.) World War II... Continue Reading →
A prophet's grave is often a myth. Abraham, the Ur-prophet of all three monotheistic faiths, is said to be interred in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, in the West Bank, along with his sons Isaac and Jacob, and... Continue Reading →
Tiersky's Viewpoint 