Douglas Bloomfield

Now is the time for Obama to visit Israel

Published on November 13, 2012

President Obama leaves Saturday for a three-day trip to Burma, Thailand and Cambodia. On the way home he should stop in another Asian country, Israel. It's a trip he should have made early in his first term and is long overdue.

The top foreign policy questions for Obama and Romney

Published on October 15, 2012

I concede that Mitt Romney and Barack Obama love Israel, are committed to its security and survival and they don’t want Iran to get nuclear weapons.

Tea Party: Will 2013 be payback time?

Published on August 29, 2012

Chances for the partisan gridlock in Washington to get even worse next year increased last week with the victory in Texas of the Tea Party-backed candidate for the Republican Senate nomination.

How Ryan will motivate Jewish voters

Published on August 13, 2012

Mitt Romney's choice of Rep. Paul Ryan to be his running mate on the Republican ticket will help win Jewish votes. For the Democrats.

What is Assad trying to tell us?

Published on June 11, 2012

Don’t ignore the Iranian nuclear program, but bear in mind it is still in the development stage and probably years away from producing weapons that can be delivered on missiles, and start worrying more about the largest WMD stockpile in the Arab world and the thousands of ballistic missiles that are real and ready to go. And they’re just a very short distance from Israel in Syria.

Opinion: Our man in Havana

Published on April 24, 2012

I just returned from a week in Cuba on a people-to-people exchange tour to meet with members of Jewish communities in several cities and to learn about the country.

Can't buy me love

Published on March 15, 2012

It feels like spring, but there's little love in the air for Mitt Romney. The GOP frontrunner expected to have his party's nomination sewn up by now so he could focus on sending Barack Obama back to Chicago. But too many Republicans just can't find it in their hearts to embrace the former Massachusetts governor and are still hoping someone will come along who can make them fall in love.

Opinion: Will Beit Shemesh lead to erosion on Capitol Hill?

Published on January 3, 2012

A compelling threat to the survival of a democratic Jewish state does not come from the Arabs or the Iranians but from within. Its repercussions threaten to reach far beyond the gender segregated sidewalks and buses of some Israeli cities to the heart of the Diaspora.

Opinion: That was the year that was

Published on December 26, 2011

It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times around the world. Dickens' famous line aptly describes a wide swath of the Arab world in 2011. It was a good year for the Arab Street as popular uprisings, fueled by the social media, swept across the Middle East toppling some despots and threatening others.

Opinion: Unintended consequences... or not

Published on November 29, 2011

In his zeal to punish Mahmoud Abbas for assorted affronts real and imagined, Benjamin Netanyahu may be Hamas' most important benefactor.

Opinion: Will Israel attack Iran?

Published on November 8, 2011

When it comes to attacking enemy nuclear installations, Israel has an excellent record for springing surprises and getting the job done. Just ask the Iraqis and Syrians. So why is everyone from the prime minister on down talking so much these days about paying a visit to Iran?

Opinion: A time for national dialogue

Published on October 17, 2011

Even before the prisoner swap agreement was wrapped up, Hamas began boasting of its victory and vowing to kidnap more Israeli soldiers. The Gilad Shalit abduction is proving a profitable enterprise for the Islamic terror group that controls Gaza.

Opinion: Blowing in the wind

Published on October 4, 2011

Israel gave a conditional "Yes" to the Mideast Quartet's latest proposal to resume negotiations but the Palestinians are sticking to their demands for a settlement freeze and more before Mahmoud Abbas will sit down with Benjamin Netanyahu.

Opinion: Is Obama Israel's enemy or defender?

Published on September 13, 2011

Two interesting emails arrived about the same time on Sunday morning.

Who wants to be President?

Published on June 13, 2011

Newt Gingrich last week became the first candidate ever fired by his staff, as one wag noted, and if that proves a lethal blow to a doomed presidential campaign no one will be more disappointed than his old friend and collaborator Benjamin Netanyahu. The two worked closely in the 1990s to thwart Clinton administration peace policies and no doubt were looking forward to doing the same to President Obama.

Was Mubarak a Zionist?

Published on May 10, 2011

Was Hosni Mubarak a Zionist, as his critics within Egypt and across the Arab world suggest?

Will Rep. Cantor hurt Israel?

Published on October 26, 2010

Aid to Israel has long been the locomotive that pulls foreign aid through the Congress, and for just as long as some lawmakers have been saying they'd vote for aid to Israel only if it were separated from the rest of the world.

Netanyahu, Obama and the Truth

Published on July 6, 2010

I’ve been getting a lot of e-mail, and you probably have been, too, hysterically accusing the Obama administration of deliberately and dangerously undermining Israel’s security. It comes from friends, family and people I barely know, and from around the globe. The original source is usually missing, identifying only those sending the messages under their own names without having any clue as to the accuracy, much less meaning, of what they’re sending.

Charlie Wilson’s other war

Published on February 16, 2010

Charlie Wilson loved Israel almost as much as he loved the U.S. Marines.

Hitler’s Pope Was No Saint

Published on January 20, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI’s appearance at Rome’s Great Synagogue on Sunday did nothing to quell the controversy over plans to confer sainthood on Pius XII, the wartime pontiff who has been called Hitler’s Pope. In fact, he may have made matters worse when just two days earlier he took a further step in the process by declaring Pius’ “heroic virtues.”

Top Ten Signs we’re making progress towards peace

Published on April 10, 2008

Since none of them is offering any evidence to back up their optimism, here is my Top 10 list of signs of progress to look for in your cup of Mideast tea leaves to help you judge whether this peace process is serious:

Bush flirts with peace talks but won’t commit to Palestinians

Published on July 26, 2007

President George W. Bush kicked off the week by reaffirming his vision of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it was widely seen as an attempt to divert attention from his debacle in Iraq rather than a commitment to sustained diplomacy.