Opinion

Voices from the Arab press: Iranian calamities, Netanyahu's rule, and state legitimacy

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

Military equipment targeted at an unknown location, during what US CENTCOM says are strikes on Iran, in this video screengrab released July 20.
National Assembly in Belgrade hosts the "Partners in a Changing World: Central & Eastern Europe, America, Israel, and the New Middle East.

Israel, Serbia deepen alliance with landmark conference on US, CEE ties and security

 LIOR BEN YAAKOV with his wife, Revital, and their children on a family trip to Vienna a year before the war. After his army service, Lior had worked as a security guard for the Viennese Jewish community for a year and a half, dreaming of taking his kids there one day. ‘We’re lucky we managed to do

Over 1,000 days have passed since October 7, mourning feels 'harder than before' - opinion

The Knesset plenum is seen during a vote on the communications reform, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026

The 'most right-wing government' just outed itself as leftist - opinion


After a decade building acceptance for LGBTQ Orthodox Jews, it's now unraveling - opinion

For the past decade, I have been working with my colleagues at Eshel to increase acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in the Orthodox Jewish world.

Rainbow unwelcome mat

The Rebbe's vision of human potential lives on through Friendship Circle - opinion

No, not every autistic child is a card-counting savant. Not every blind person can play piano at the age of three. But every human being has something to offer.

MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON, the beloved Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Hasbara explains, but Zionism must sell - opinion

The problem may not be that the world lacks information about the Jews, but rather that the Jewish world has forgotten to inspire loyalty, admiration, participation, and belief.

A man is seen holding an Israeli flag in the Old City of Jerusalem on Jerusalem Day.

The West funds its own executioners in ideological war it barely realizes it is fighting - opinion

Institutional capture, ideological conformity, and foreign-backed authoritarian movements are challenging the individual freedoms that once formed the core of Western civilization.

A fullmoon rises over the Temple of Poseidon, the ancient Greek god of the seas, in Cape Sounion, east of Athens, Greece, July 8, 2017.

AI won't replace magicians, but it may reshape live entertainment - opinion

AI may not master sleight of hand anytime soon, but it could weaken the human desire to gather, watch, and wonder together

Creative director/magician Douglas "Lefty" Leferovich fans out a deck of cards before teaching magic tricks on Facebook Live with magician/comedian Murray SawChuck from SawChuck's home to entertain people under stay-at-home orders to fight the spread of the coronavirus on April 25, 2020 in Las Vegas

How Israel’s and America’s enemies weaponize the New York Times’ prestige - opinion

Enemy governments do not merely quote the Times; they convert its institutional authority and standing into an American credential for claims against the United States and its allies.

The New York Times building in Manhattan, New York City, pictured September 16, 2025; illustrative.

Trump's Iran negotiations walk him into a $300 b. extortion scheme by the IRGC - opinion

Terrorism is a business. Bombing Iran is significant, but bankrupting Iran is even more significant.

People walk past an anti-U.S. billboard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026.

Beyond the Headlines: Finding our personal portion in the Torah after Shavuot - opinion

Our Sages explain that Shavuot is considered a “Rosh Hashanah” for the Torah. It is an appropriate time to dedicate ourselves to learning a specific part of the Torah or to join a Torah class.

Kibbutz members take part in traditional Shavuot Festival celebrations in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, May 22, 2026.

How Hamas’s internal cracks are becoming impossible for Gazans to ignore - opinion

Questions are now growing inside Gaza about whether Hamas still possesses the same solid popular base that once gave the movement its legitimacy after taking control of the Strip in 2007.

Gunmen stand guard at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, February 7, 2025.

Israel slams NYT opinion article on Palestinian abuse, ignoring Oct. 7 sexual violence

While labeled as an opinion, the piece was several thousand words long and included claimed testimonies from alleged Palestinian victims of Israeli prison sexual abuse.

The New York Times building in Manhattan, New York City, pictured September 16, 2025; illustrative.