Years ago, a rabbi I greatly admire confided in me how he worried that an Israeli government with Benjamin Netanyahu at the helm might lead to the destruction of the Jewish people. His concern surprised me. As a young ordained cantor at the time, I was not nearly as well-versed in Middle Eastern geopolitics or [...]
Many migrants embark on dangerous sea journeys in search of better lives in foreign countries. Too often, these voyages end in tragedy, with lives lost in the middle of the ocean far from any help. For migrants fleeing conflict or persecution, boarding an un-seaworthy boat may seem like their only option when safer routes are [...]
It was a cold case. Fifty-four-year-old Esther Williams was found dead at her home on April 28, 2014, in Cumuto, Trinidad. Her common-law husband and daughter, Sewak Jagroo and Shastri Jagroo, told police that they had discovered Williams’ body hanging, indicating that she had taken her own life. However, a post-mortem examination revealed that Williams’ [...]
Is this the last time you’ll hear from me? It could be, as the Taliban’s crackdown on all of our rights has extended to internet technology. A ban on fiber optic internet has begun its slow trickle from province to province, and it could be only a matter of time before the whole country is [...]
This article examines the legal and political significance of the enlarged partial agreement provision within the statute of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. It argues that this mechanism not only enhances the tribunal’s operational feasibility but also elevates its institutional stature by enabling flexible international support, circumventing traditional diplomatic impasses, [...]
The earth shook beneath Afghanistan once again, and as rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble, one devastating truth became clear: half our population remains invisible even in our darkest hour. As aftershocks continue to rattle the earthquake-stricken regions, the images and videos emerging from the disaster zone tell a familiar, heartbreaking story. Men dig [...]
On June 18, 2023, the Canadian government publicly accused the Indian government of killing Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and a prominent leader in the Khalistan movement that advocates for an independent homeland in the Punjab region of India. This case illustrates an extraterritorial killing—a form of unlawful killing related to extrajudicial killings. Even [...]
Vengeance. It undeniably infects human affairs. Parents observe it as their toddlers navigate playground dynamics: one child hits another; the other strikes back. Domestic feuds and old grudges can metastasize into jealousy, schadenfreude, and—if unchecked—retaliation. Belligerent drivers yield microaggressions that can morph into road rage. In the extreme, assault and murder seem to beg for [...]
The concept of messianic multipolarity, as articulated in the context of Russian foreign policy, offers a powerful lens through which to understand the foreign and domestic strategies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Messianic multipolarity fuses a realist multipolar vision of global power—one where multiple centers of influence compete—with a quasi-religious or ideological mission. In [...]
In addition to its as-yet undetermined consequences for a potential US-Iran nuclear deal, “Operation Midnight Hammer”—the US military operation that involved aerial strikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities in June—has brought a long-standing legal debate with considerable implications for US foreign policy to the fore: the scope of executive war powers under the US [...]
