https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-843411
What is shattering is not Hamas’ depravity. What is shocking, and disheartening, is that this inhumanity has cheerleaders in major cities and at elite universities in the US and around the world.
Monday, February 24, 2025
A Brief History of Broken Russian Promises to Ukraine
Here’s why Ukrainians want security guarantees in a cease-fire deal.
Monday marks the third anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the Kremlin marked the weekend with the largest drone attack of the war. President Trump says Vladimir Putin wants “peace,” but Ukrainians have hard experience about what such a promise means in practice. The anniversary is a good moment to recall the post-Cold War history of Russia’s broken promises.
They began with the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 amid the illusion of the “end of history.” Ukraine yielded its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S., U.K. and Russia. Moscow explicitly promised to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and refrain from economic coercion. So much for that, and here’s a trail of Russia’s other broken commitments.
Pentagon Tells Staff to Disregard Elon Musk's Demand
https://www.newsweek.com/pentagon-tells-staff-disregard-elon-musks-demand-2035027
The Department of Defense posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, telling Pentagon staff to disregard an email from billionaire Elon Musk that asked government employees to document in an email what they'd done in the last week.
The Pentagon is now led by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who was appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in late January. Sunday's message suggests the Trump appointee is not fully on board with Musk's efforts. Trump's FBI director Kash Patel previously sent a similar message to his staff telling them not to respond to Musk's email.
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Germany’s rising far-right AfD is split over Israel. Jews call party ‘a danger’ either way
As millions of German voters head for the polls on Sunday, pollsters predict historic success for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party. Since its inception in 2013, the AfD has been plagued by antisemitic incidents and the leadership appears to be split over its attitude towards Israel and the war in Gaza.
This struggle within the AfD came to light in October last year, when parliamentarian and AfD co-chair Tino Chrupalla criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his ongoing support for Israel in the form of weapons exports to the Jewish state.
The Observer view of US foreign policy: A dangerous new international order is unfolding
The incoherence and disdain for facts that characterises Trump’s approach is seen again in his handling of Ukraine. He says he wants to end the war with Russia – a laudable aim that most people share. But instead of supporting impartial, independent mediation, the US president has turned against Ukraine’s leader, Volodymr Zelenskyy, labelling him a dictator, and falsely implying that he profits from the war. Such projection is revealing. Trump’s ire stems in large part from Zelenskyy’s rejection of a $500bn minerals deal Trump wants as “repayment” for US aid. He seemed at one point to issue a de facto ultimatum: “Give me the cash, or I’ll back Russia.” Facing a loss of US support, Kyiv is reconsidering the deal under duress. But the war is no closer to ending.
Race policies or Israel - what's really driving Trump's fury with South Africa?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn04lpe38rwo
One job is to work out what is really driving Donald Trump. Nomvula Mokonyane, Deputy Secretary General of the ANC, does not believe this is solely about the issue of land and thinks South Africa's position over Israel may well be the driver.
She says: "Our view is that we need to let our government engage the American administration, so that then we understand whether are we dealing with the issue of the expropriation of land, or are we dealing with many other issues… related to Palestine and so on and so forth."
Hungarians will decide whether Ukraine can join the European Union, Orbán says
Orbán, considered the Kremlin’s closest partner among EU leaders, has been the bloc’s primary impediment in its efforts to assist Ukraine in the country’s struggle to defend against Russia’s full-scale invasion. He has frequently criticized, and threatened to veto, EU sanctions against Russia over its aggression, but has ultimately always voted for them.
Orbán, a Trump ally, has applauded the U.S. administration’s actions to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, claiming, with no evidence, that the agency was used to fund liberal causes in Hungary aimed at toppling his government.
Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing ‘humiliating’ handovers of hostages
Families and others rallied again Saturday night in Tel Aviv to pressure Netanyahu’s government for a deal.
“How is it possible that President Trump and special envoy (Steven) Witkoff are more committed to the return of Israeli hostages than you are?” said Naama Weinberg, cousin of deceased hostage Itay Svirsky. “Netanyahu, these are your citizens who were abandoned on your watch!”
Hamas later released a video showing two hostages still held, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dallal, as they sat in a vehicle and spoke under duress at the handover for Shem Tov, Cohen and Wenkert. A group representing hostages’ families called the video “sickening.”
Laughing Off Trump’s Agenda Would Be a Fatal Error
https://www.thedailybeast.com/laughing-off-trumps-agenda-would-be-a-fatal-error/
Since Donald Trump first took office in 2016, we have struggled to answer whether his defining characteristic—and that of his administration—is ignorance, incompetence, greed, or malevolence.
You might ask whether choosing among these base traits is useful, given that each clearly plays some role shaping the outcomes with which we must now contend. But it matters. If Trump and those around him are merely not up to the job, or they are just bumbling clowns, then it’s easier to shrug off what they say and do. If they lack the capacity to achieve their goals, then we needn’t worry so much— all we need do is cringe and wait for it all to collapse beneath the weight of its own stupidity.
But it has become increasingly clear that the roots of the current U.S. administration are not just reckless. Recent developments have shown that laughing off Trump & Co. is a dangerous miscalculation.
How a U.S. President Pivoted Toward Russia
https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-relationship-4decfe96?mod=hp_lead_pos7
When President Trump met Russia’s Vladimir Putin for their first bilateral summit, in the Finnish capital of Helsinki in July 2018, the two men cloistered themselves for hours with no advisers present.
Once they emerged to a packed news conference, Trump tossed a gift from the Russian president—a soccer ball meant for Trump’s son Barron—to the front row where America’s senior-most officials sat. Trump then stunned his team by saying he believed Putin, and not America’s own intelligence services, about whether Russia interfered in the 2016 elections that brought him to power.
Israel delays release of terrorists until humiliating ceremonies stop
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/404338
Prime Minister's Office announces that it has been decided to delay the release of the terrorists due to the humiliating ceremonies held by Hamas. Terrorists who were set to be released were returned to their prison cells.
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