Benny Avni
Latest Articles
Iran is putting its hopes on a Democratic president
Observing America’s politics from Tehran must feel like sitting courtside at the US Open: Your head pivots side to side as you cheer your favorite player, hoping he’ll win the...
Unpredictable Arab Spring 2.0 is sweeping North Africa
Arab North Africa is in turmoil, and Americans are too tired, disillusioned or self-absorbed to do anything about it. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In Sudan, discontent has...
In a neck-and-neck Israeli election, does Netanyahu have enough allies to survive?
Both sides declared victory Tuesday night as Israelis voted in what looked like a placeholder election, but by early morning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to emerge on top. “There...
Turks finally start standing up to Erdogan
Turkish voters punished their ruling party in municipal elections over the weekend. That could be a good omen for America — unless the strategically crucial country has already drifted too...
What Hamas really wants from its latest attacks on Israel
A rocket launch from Gaza on Monday destroyed a house north of Tel Aviv, injuring six family members, including three children as young as 18 months old. The attack triggered...
Mexico’s new prez has it on Venezuela’s path to doom
In his first 100 days in office, Mexico’s new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, seems intent on steering the country toward an idealistic, but ultimately ruinous, future. Known as AMLO,...
The Arab World’s next killing field?
Thousands of Algerians poured into the streets Tuesday, and Americans should watch carefully as Arab Spring 2.0 threatens to wreak havoc on North Africa and beyond. The uprising first erupted...
How can the anti-Zionists pretend the world would be better off without Israel?
Anti-Zionism manifests itself in many forms — and it isn’t any better than its older cousin, anti-Semitism. Britain’s opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has elevated it to an art form, describing...
Iran's trying to cover up its internal crisis
For the Iranian regime, the internal scrambling started in the middle of the night Monday, just moments after its foreign minister, Javad “Smiley” Zarif, posted a curious resignation announcement on...
Meet the new axis of oppression
Two split-screen events in one day last week displayed new global alliances ready to clash, Cold War-style. In Poland, America tried to push Mideast peace. At the same time, a...
Why Venezuela’s struggle for freedom has Iran’s rulers worried
They’re intently watching Venezuela in Iran. The revolutionary regimes in Tehran and Caracas are birds of a feather. True, one is Islamist green, the other socialist red, but in some...
The right answer to Palestinian 'pay to slay'
To fight terrorism, America may have just forced a cut in aid to the most useful arm of the Palestinian Authority, its security apparatus. That may cause problems for Israel,...
Team Trump is building a potent anti-Maduro alliance
In one of his most decisive foreign policy moments, President Trump recognized Juan Guaidó, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, as the country’s interim leader. Free countries from the Western...
Terrorism is making Europe think again about appeasing Iran
Et tu, Angela? Tehran must be quite confused this week, as Germany, until now the most enthusiastic Iran enabler among the Western powers, hopped on the sanctions wagon. So, is...
Trump can't just let the Treasury do the fighting
At least four US troops and 15 allied Kurds were killed in northern Syria Wednesday in a suicide bombing claimed by ISIS. Yes, that ISIS. The one Turkish President Recep...
Netanyahu is his own worst enemy
The contest in Israel’s general election in April will likely be between a successful statesman named Benjamin Netanyahu and a failing, small-ball tactician named Bibi. On Monday, small-time Bibi asked...
The perils of Trump's foreign policy approach in Asia
As Asian strongmen sound siren songs of “peaceful” unification with Pacific neighbors, President Trump should resist his inner isolationist impulses and make sure everyone knows America will defend our allies....
An ‘America First’ strategy for Trump in 2019
As the year comes to a close, and as President Trump’s foreign policy suddenly veers in the wrong direction with wild and ill-advised moves on Syria and Afghanistan, here’s a...
The Syria withdrawal may be Trump's biggest blunder to date
In what will likely mark the worst foreign policy decision of his presidency to date, President Trump on Wednesday announced that he is ceding Syria to the jackals. “We have...
Trump's UN ambassador nominee is more credible than the UN itself
Instead of worrying about the foreign policy chops of Heather Nauert, President Trump’s nominee for America’s next United Nations ambassador, critics may want to examine the ever-diminishing returns for America’s...