Stephen Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, might be a fresh face for followers of world affairs. But for students of New York real estate, he’s an old familiar presence. The 67-year-old has been buying, leasing, selling, and modifying buildings …
Trump’s Riviera would tear the Middle East apart
Only Donald Trump can unselfconsciously talk about one of the world’s most obstinate political and humanitarian crises in terms of its real estate opportunities. Only Trump can be taken seriously while doing so. And so here we are.
“We’re going …
How the ceasefire helps Hamas
War is a terrible thing — but historically it did have the merit of conclusively ending conflict and bringing peace by exhausting the will or capacity to fight of one side or the other. That is how wars have always …
The war in Gaza isn’t over
Any evaluation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas should, in fairness, start on a charitable note. It’s devilishly difficult to cajole parties that have been butchering one another, and loathe each other deeply, to stop fighting. Besides, there’s …
Netanyahu’s war isn’t over
After the horrors of October 7 and 15 gruelling months of war, we finally have a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But the pause in fighting may cause more problems than it solves. It breaks new ground in conflict resolution: …
Hezbollah has weakened Iran
It’s finally over. After 14 months of fighting, including the worst the country has seen in decades, the guns of Lebanon have fallen still. Nothing, of course, is certain: the Israel-Hezbollah agreement may yet flounder, and both sides have already …
Is this Ukraine’s last chance for peace?
Nearly two weeks into the invasion of Ukraine, observing from a distance, it still feels as if there are two different wars, which barely overlap, taking place.
The first is the war on social media: in this war, a combination …