Washington Watch Articles From 2025
Trump’s Plan: Now the Hard Work Begins
If US President Donald Trump really wants to earn a Nobel Peace Prize, he’s going to need to do better than his 20-point “Comprehensive Plan to End Gaza’s Conflict.” While in his characteristic style of exaggeration, Mr. Trump called the release of his plan “one of the greatest days in human history,” poring over Arab, Israeli, and US press reveals that most analysts are not inclined to see it that way.
Trump and Netanyahu: Masters of Duplicity
Meetings between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are more akin to a master class in posturing and duplicity than in diplomacy. Last week’s meetings were no exception.
Israel’s Impact on Palestinians Must Be Addressed
Last week, the UN was scheduled to convene a special session promoting a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Israel’s attack on Iran and the deadly exchanges that followed resulted in a postponement.
At the UN: Netanyahu vs the World
The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu is setting the stage for the upcoming United Nations’ International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.
Attention Must Be Given to Healing the Psychological Wounds of the War on Gaza
One thing of which we can be certain is that there will be consequences to the genocide in Gaza.
The Importance of Connecting Means and Ends
Followers of policy and political developments in Israel/Palestine must be struck by the degree to which the tactics employed are disconnected from desired ends and by how some leaders’ and movements’ obsession with their mistaken path distracts them while they dangerously march themselves and their followers off a cliff.
New Poll: Republican Voters Want Trump to Press Israel to End War and Occupation
American voters want an end to the war in Gaza and for President Trump to withhold US aid, if necessary, to pressure Israel to end it.
The Israel/Palestine Exception
From 2013 to 2017, I served as a White House appointee to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Annually we would review the practices of countries around the world as they impacted the ability of their citizens and residents to freely practice their faiths. We would then issue reports that would identify countries (about two dozen) that violated religious freedom, together with our recommendations for actions the US government could take to bring these countries into compliance.