Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein is a MintPress analyst who has written the Tikun Olam blog since 2003, specializing in Israeli politics and US foreign affairs. Silverstein works to expose the excesses of the Israeli national security state. He breaks major news stories that are often under judicial gag or military censorship, and which may not be reported in Israel. He has been published in Haaretz, Al Jazeera English, the Forward, Christian Science Monitor, Middle East Eye, and the Seattle Times. He speaks Hebrew fluently and incorporates the Hebrew-language press into his blog and other publications. He earned a BA from Columbia University, a BHL from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and MA in Comparative Literature from UCLA. He did two years of undergraduate and graduate study at the Hebrew University. He lives in Seattle. Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richards1052

Michael Oren’s Terrible Case Of Obama-Envy

There’s penis envy and then there’s whatever condition Michael Oren is afflicted with. I call it Obama-envy, and it consists of an outsized need to smear a powerful leader of your nation’s leading ally because he doesn’t share your own phobia-driven view of your place in the world.

Richard Silverstein
By Richard Silverstein
Michael Oren pauses during an exclusive interview

There's penis-envy and then there's whatever condition Michael Oren is afflicted with. I call it Obama-envy, and it consists of an outsized need to smear a powerful leader of your nation's leading ally because he doesn't share your own phobia-driven view of your place in the world. It would be one thing if this affliction were confined to a

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Israel’s Heavy Hand In Syria’s Civil War

When Israel conquered the Golan in 1967, it launched a 50-year occupation of the Syrian Golan in which tens of thousands of Syrian Druze lived.  Though an armistice line now separates the Druze in Syrian and Israeli-occupied zones, both communities are deeply intertwined.  The sense of solidarity now, in the midst of a raging civil […]

Richard Silverstein
By Richard Silverstein

When Israel conquered the Golan in 1967, it launched a 50-year occupation of the Syrian Golan in which tens of thousands of Syrian Druze lived.  Though an armistice line now separates the Druze in Syrian and Israeli-occupied zones, both communities are deeply intertwined.  The sense of solidarity now, in the midst of a raging civil war, is no

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Israel’s Religious Hatred Is Branching Out

While most extremism with Jewish extremist roots targets the Palestinian and Muslim communities, a fire that recently burned through one of Israel’s most historic Catholic churches may be a sign that religious hatred is branching out.

Richard Silverstein
By Richard Silverstein

Last week, Jewish terrorists set fire to the Church of the Multiplication, a historic Catholic church located in the ancient village of Capernaum, where Jesus is believed to have divided the loaves and fish on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The fire destroyed substantial portions of the church complex, including the gift shop, an assembly

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Israel’s Pulling Out All The Stops To Prevent Iran Deal, And The EU, UN Are Taking Note

Israel is gunning hard to curtail Iran’s rising star. Indeed, if the Iran nuclear deal goes off without a hitch this summer, major diplomatic ramifications are likely in store for Israel — ramifications that not even the U.S. can stop.

Richard Silverstein
By Richard Silverstein

WASHINGTON --- Maariv's New York correspondent, Shlomo Shamir, reported last week that senior Western diplomats based in Washington and New York told him that after the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran is completed at the end of this month, a major diplomatic offensive is expected against Israel. This new campaign, which will coincide with the annual

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Israeli Government Abandons Ethiopian-Israeli Reportedly Held Captive In Gaza

Indeed, Israel has completely abandoned its responsibilities for almost all African refugees under international humanitarian law. But should that come as any surprise?

Richard Silverstein
By Richard Silverstein
In this Friday, June 27, 2014 file photo, African migrants clash with Israeli soldiers after they left Holot detention center in southern Israel and walked towards the Border with Egypt near the southern Israeli Kibbutz of Nitzana.

In this Friday, June 27, 2014 file photo, African migrants clash with Israeli soldiers after they left Holot detention center in southern Israel and walked towards the Border with Egypt near the southern Israeli Kibbutz of Nitzana. In October 2014, just after Operation Protective Edge ended, an Israeli Facebook friend of mine reported a

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