Robert A. Blum

Apply for a Blog

Jan 26, 2023, 1:35 PM

Explainer: Israeli Judicial Reform – Threat to Democracy?

Israel Supreme Court

You probably have seen recent critiques in various mainstream media publications about “the threat to Israel’s democracy” presented by judicial and legal system reforms proposed by the Netanyahu coalition government. This piece will attempt to describe some of the...

Nov 19, 2015, 8:11 PM

Double Standards That We Would Rather Not Understand

Our world is full of double standards, and today, more than ever, we see the most blatant double standards applied with regard to the Middle East. These double standards drive me absolutely apoplectic, perhaps because of the irritability of...

Apr 2, 2015, 7:36 AM

The Palestinian “Right of Return” Issue

There are many barriers to Israeli-Palestinian peace. Some barriers are theological and can probably only be resolved theologically, e.g., the difficulty faced by Muslims and Jews in compromising over control of holy land granted to each of them by...

Mar 16, 2015, 9:50 PM

Don’t Fear for the US-Israel Relationship In Any Long Term Way

There has been a lot of handwringing lately about the strength of the US-Israel relationship, whether it has been irreparably damaged by the apparently toxic relationship between Obama and Netanyahu, and how it is impacted by Obama’s creeping abdication...

Mar 4, 2015, 4:31 PM

In a New Era, How Does Bibi Begin to Deter the Iranian Threat?

In my last post, “Can Bibi Be More ‘Winston Churchill’ and Less ‘Edvard Benes’”?, I discussed disturbing, Munich Agreement-like historical parallels to Netanyahu’s situation in his attempt to prevent Iran, an enemy sworn to Israel’s extermination, from obtaining international...

Feb 22, 2015, 5:33 AM

Can Bibi Be More “Winston Churchill” and Less “Edvard Benes”?

For wise leaders, knowledge of history has proven to be an essential tool in predicting the worst of human behavior and how to prevent it. Bibi Netanyahu, as the son of a historian, seems to think from that perspective....

Load more

About Me

After earning his B.A. in International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania, Robert Blum went on to obtain his law degree at the University of Chicago, practiced law, worked on Wall Street and eventually built several successful asset management businesses. However, he never lost his first love of thinking and writing about international affairs, nor of his love of Zion, best developed during eight summers at Camp Massad in the Poconos. He is active in several Jewish charities, including as chairman of the board of HonestReporting, a media watchdog group, which is not responsible for the content of this blog.