Sheldon Kirshner

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Jan 16, 2025, 6:04 PM

A Ceasefire/Hostage Deal In Gaza At Last

Fifteen months after the outbreak of the cross-border war in the Gaza Strip, Israel's longest, Israel and Hamas have finally reached a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, though the Israeli cabinet has yet to ratify it. The deal, the product...

Jan 14, 2025, 5:36 PM

Turkey Regaining Its Influence In Syria

The downfall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month has clearly benefited Turkey, one of Syria's neighbors. A key regional state, Turkey will most likely be a major player in Syrian politics from this point forward. For years, however, Turkey...

Jan 12, 2025, 5:30 PM

The US Civil War And Jews

An inflection point in American history, the US Civil War erupted less than a century after the formation of the United States. Resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers, or six million by today's calculation, it was the costliest...

Jan 10, 2025, 5:44 PM

Donald Trump’s Territorial Ambitions

Donald Trump, the US president-elect, is still ten days away from his inauguration in Washington, D.C., yet he is already causing shock waves in foreign capitals. In the past few weeks, he has unleashed a series of contentious comments strongly...

Jan 8, 2025, 9:37 PM

Jean-Marie Le Pen: A Racist Rabble-Rouser

He was a divisive and corrosive force in French politics, and he will not be missed by the majority of voters. A rabble-rouser who pandered to xenophobia, racism and resentment, Jean-Marie Le Pen was the founder of the National Front...

Jan 7, 2025, 2:48 PM

Post-Assad Syria — A Work In Progress

Syria has been a work in progress, a nation to be rebuilt, since the downfall of its autocratic president, Bashar al-Assad, a month ago. It is far too early to ascertain in what political direction Syria is heading, but if...

Jan 5, 2025, 6:59 PM

Islamic State Churns Out Jihadists

Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, the lone wolf terrorist who rammed a pickup truck into street crowds in New Orleans on January 1, killing 14 pedestrians, was radicalized by Islamic State, the jihadist organization which has left a legacy of death...

Jan 3, 2025, 7:24 PM

Israel Has Improved Its Strategic Position

As 2025 gets under way, Israel appears better off strategically than in the previous two years. Israel was dealt a stunning blow when Hamas terrorists breached its high-tech fortified border fence along the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023 and...

Jan 1, 2025, 11:43 PM

The last movie I saw starring Adrien Brody was The Pianist, which was released in 2002. Directed by Roman Polanski, it related the harrowing story of a Jewish pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who survived the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland. Turning in...

Jan 1, 2025, 5:52 AM

Jimmy Carter: A Consequential U.S. President

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, established a consequential record, at least insofar as the Middle East was concerned. Carter, who passed away on December 29 at 100, was the only former president to reach that age....

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About Me

Sheldon Kirshner is a journalist in Toronto. He writes at his online journal, SheldonKirshner.com