US
Ann-Marie Slaughter argues in favour of President Obama’s attempts at bilateral engagement with isolated countries:
Obama rejected his predecessor George W. Bush’s policy of isolating “rogue states,” recognizing that America’s only hope for influencing isolated countries’ behavior was to engage directly with them in a bilateral context. And, as a bilateral strategy, engagement has proved to be astonishingly successful, having led to historic openings, first to Myanmar and now to Cuba, while driving progress toward an enduring nuclear agreement with Iran.
William Kristol would like to see a more serious debate about the Iran deal:
Nothing would be more natural for the U.S. Senate than to have, over the next few weeks, a full and detailed debate about our Iran policy. But nothing is more impressive than the forces now arrayed against such a debate. Not just the Obama administration but the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the leading establishment pro-Israel lobbying group all prefer quiet acquiescence to a toothless bill rather than a serious debate and series of votes over our Iran policy.
Israel
Sever Plocker discusses Netanyahu’s growth-first economic vision for Israel:
Bibi only has one major economic goal – national growth. By the end of his new term, Israel must reach a GDP of $400 billion – or $45,000 per person. This is the Netanyahu's vision, and it is of equal importance to him as preventing the Iranian nuclear program. The candidate for finance minister in the next government must take this into account, both politically and personally. If the prime minister is not satisfied with the economic growth rate – a little less than 5% per annum – he will not let it go. Bibi will breathe down his neck until he announces that he can take no more and resigns.
Jodi Rudoren examines the recent outcry about public transportation on Shabbat:
“It is a chapter in a much bigger book,” said Aviad Hacohen, a constitutional law professor. “We’re speaking about a Jewish and democratic state, but what does it mean, exactly? This is the debate. Do we mean a religious state, does it mean a traditional state, do we mean an Orthodox state?”
Middle East
Elliott Abrams compares General Sissi to Chilean dictator Pinochet (and declares that Sissi is worse):
Sissi has been president for only 10 months, and he did not create the gigantic problems Egypt faces. Moreover, he no doubt must contend with enormous pressures from the army, big business, various political movements and the violent Islamist extremists who commit acts of terror and murder regularly. Finally, Egypt 2015 is not Chile 1973, when Pinochet launched his coup: Chile was a more advanced country with a lengthy history of democracy.
Still, the Sissi-Pinochet comparison is enlightening, though it is not encouraging. Thus far, Sissi appears to be doing everything Pinochet did wrong and little that Pinochet did right.
Pinar Tremblay writes about the public outrage in Turkey following the government’s decision to give serious jail time to users of pornography featuring ‘unnatural behavior’:
Turkey's Constitutional Court handed down a decision April 20 ruling that the production, ownership or distribution of pornographic materials containing “unnatural sexual behavior“ is punishable by one to four years in jail and a fine of some 100,000 Turkish liras ($35,000). These “unnatural” acts were determined to be oral, anal, group and gay and lesbian sexual encounters. The highest court in Turkey thus upheld a lower court decision, rejecting the appeal of an unidentified man from Aydin who had been caught with pornographic images on a flash drive.
Jewish World
Jay Michaelson tries to explain the failure of the Birthright Next program:
From my perspective, having worked with some of those staff members and having been brought in as an advisor before the initiative was even launched, Birthright Next is/was a case study in how not to spend millions of philanthropic dollars. Despite the sincere efforts of some truly excellent individuals, it was top-down, bogus, and superficial.
Former Polish foreign minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, an Auschwitz survivor who helped save Jews during WW2, died on Friday (and you should really read about this extraordinary man):
The Polish media also paid homage to him, remembering his achievements and some of his notable quotes, including: “It is worth being honest, though it doesn't always pay off. It pays off to be dishonest, but it isn't worth it.”
