Israel

That Jesus Christ’s two advents are set against the backdrop of a region rarely associated with good news is ironic, but this year that irony is less obvious. Good things are happening in the Near East if you know where to look.

What is emerging is a return of three ancient regional power centers, would-be Persian and Turkish hegemons wishing to once more dominate in the domain of their past empires. In the middle is an Arab and Jewish coalition, anxious not to fall prey to their old masters.

The choice between attending or abstaining from September’s Durban IV conference in New York City—the twentieth anniversary of the anti-racism conference that quickly became a confluence of antisemitism—is the newest episode in Europe’s increasingly divided policy toward the Jewish state and combatting antisemitism.

Robert G. Morrison reflects on the fall of Afghanistan and the lack of religious freedom there.

On August 4, 2020, the world watched in horror as videos from the Port of Beirut blast flooded the internet. For one year, we’ve also watched politicians evade responsibility for the illegal storage of ammonium nitrate. The reality that most people, especially the Lebanese, have come to accept is that justice is extremely unlikely.

The Palestinian Authority has rejected desperately needed COVID-19 vaccines from Israel, and Palestinians deserve better from their leaders.

Last month, a disturbing headline from The Times of Israel proclaimed, “Support for Israel among young US evangelical Christians drops sharply — survey.”

Beijing aspires to be the new, responsible superpower that can mediate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and offer the Middle East stability.

Catholics have a unique and urgent responsibility to confront antisemitism wherever they find it.