Unilateral decisions to scupper the Iran nuclear deal and move the US embassy to Jerusalem could have dangerous consequences that the president's inexperienced advisers failed to anticipate.

Evidence of growing divisions within Lebanon is not necessarily good news for the effectiveness of Israel's deterrence.

An infusion of hope is needed in the midst of despair, a supply of ammunition in the war of ideas for those in the region who, deep in their hearts, reject the militants' way, but are sickened even more by their own daily humiliation.

The framing of issues between Israel and the Palestinians in religious terms, fueled by the question of Jerusalem, has led to the beginning of a transformation that has begun to mobilize Arabs within Israel, and Arabs and Muslims worldwide. Increasingly the conflict is no longer only Palestinian-Israeli, but also Arab-Israeli, and even Muslim-Jewish.