A string of credible reports suggest that Israel recently targeted Iranian forces and infrastructure in Syria. Reporters broadly describe these strikes as a continuation of the "War Between Wars," a campaign whereby Israel erodes the capabilities of its enemies to forestall the next major conflict.

In a December interview shortly before he retired, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot revealed that Israel had destroyed thousands of military targets in Syria, taking credit for very few. Open-source reports suggest that Israeli strikes have continued apace since then. One high-ranking Israeli official, when asked for the exact number, responded: Who's counting?

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Tehran is turning east. Last week, Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, disclosed to the country's parliament that the regime was in the final stages of negotiations with China on a mammoth new 25-year trade and cooperation accord. The agreement, a follow-on to a quarter-century roadmap for cooperation formulated four years ago, will reportedly tether the two countries closer together politically and militarily, and throw the ailing Islamic Republic a much-needed economic lifeline. For Iran, now reeling under the growing pressure of U.S. sanctions, the deal is a much-needed shot in the arm. Since its start over a year-and-a-half ago, the Trump administration's campaign of "maximum pressure" has hit the Iranian regime hard. The country's once-robust oil exports have dwindled precipitously, taking with them the revenue that the regime desperately needs in order to stay afloat. Meanwhile, the country's national currency, the rial, has cratered and now stands at its lowest point in the Islamic Republic's forty-one year history. Against this backdrop, aid from Beijing has become nothing short of essential for Iran's ayatollahs. But that support will be accompanied by what amounts to a massive erosion of Iranian sovereignty.

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The Cold War was an endless war until, to the surprise of most political scientists, intelligence analysts and astrologers, it abruptly ended.

Was the Cold War necessary? After World War II, it seemed preferable to the alternatives: A new hot war to drive the Soviets out of Central and Eastern Europe, or leaving the Western European countries we had liberated from Nazi totalitarianism to the tender mercies of Communist totalitarianism.

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A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that more than two-thirds of Americans support the Black Lives Matter movement. The high level of backing raises the question of how much the public knows about BLM.

On the surface, BLM presents itself as a grassroots movement dedicated to the noble tasks of fighting racism and police brutality. A deeper dive shows that BLM is a Marxist revolutionary movement aimed at transforming the United States — and the entire world — into a communist dystopia.

This is the first of a two-part series, which reveals:

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Amid all the talk in recent weeks regarding the future of Judea and Samaria, there is a critical issue that has been largely overlooked, one which goes to the very core of our national and historical identity as a people.

If the conceptual maps being bandied about in the media regarding the extension of Israeli sovereignty and the borders of a possible Palestinian entity are accurate, then the Jewish state may be poised to turn its back on priceless parts of our ancient patrimony.

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It didn't take long after the riots began across the US to hear expressions of solidarity from Palestinians in both the Middle East and the US connecting the horrific killing of George Floyd to the Palestinian tale. Palestinian artist Waleed Ayyoub illustrated the connection by painting and posting on the US Twitter feed of the Palestine Museum a picture of George Floyd dressed in a kaffiya in front of a banner of the Palestinian flag.

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In a flash, Gone with the Wind, the 1939 American film classic, was gone. So, too, was Cops, the pro-cop reality show about to start its 33rd season until Paramount Network banished it. Days later, A&E pulled from its schedule Live P.D., which follows cops on the job. All three have fallen victim to the prevailing politically correct winds that have already engulfed journalism, causing senior staff shifts at the New York Times, ABC News, Variety, Bon Appetit, and Refinery 29, among other less well-known outlets.

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America is in a state of collective angst, one that hasn't been seen since perhaps the Second World War. Every crisis since then, whether it was war, the 9/11 attacks, flu pandemics, or financial meltdown, had left most Americans unaffected. But now, few are economically, medically, or emotionally untouched. The SARS-CoV-2 virus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, pose threats or extreme inconvenience of one sort or another to virtually everyone.

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In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, America enjoyed a sense of unity that was, if short-lived, a dramatic reminder that we are a single people with a strong and good national spirit.

Like so many of us, I was reminded of that spirit in what so far has been one of the most hopeful and unifying public moments of the American response to the pandemic, former President George W. Bush's recent eloquent and moving plea for unity.

But the reality today is so much different. This time around, we can't seem to put away partisan vituperation during the crisis itself. Our national politics seems as toxic as ever, our divisions more deeply rooted and widespread.

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The partisan political sniping over Covid-19 is completely predictable and counter-productive. There's plenty of fault to go around, but the blame-gaming should be ignored or discounted for what it is: self-aggrandizing grandstanding.

It is, however, worthwhile to examine a tension that has been brewing in the public health world for decades. That dichotomy is: should we focus on communicable diseases, as has long been the mission of public health institutions, or do we have enough bandwidth and resources to venture out into the much more controversial area of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)?

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