Category Archives: Russia

April 24, 2022 · 10:25 pm

TWO UPDATES FROM ISRAEL

BLOG 563

April 25, 2022

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

TWO UPDATES FROM ISRAEL

Here’s a couple of items from Israel worth noting. Remember the “little girl in red” who was filmed in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. Guess what? She’s still around.

Now grown up, the Polish woman who played the standout part of the girl in a red coat has been helping Ukrainians fleeing to her country, and says she hopes her iconic role as an innocent victim of war will help draw further attention to the plight of modern-day refugees.

Oliwia Dabrowska, 32, as a child participated in the famous scene in the middle of the Holocaust movie when she was three years old. Oskar Schindler watching the dissolution of the Krakow Ghetto, suddenly notices the small child walking down the street. Strikingly, the girl’s red coat is the only bit of color in the entire black and white film. Later in the movie, Schindler sees the girl’s body loaded onto a cart.

Dabrowska, who lives in Krakow, told The Washington Post on Friday that when the war in Ukraine started and refugees began streaming into the country, she felt she had to do something. She convinced her mother to go with her to volunteer at the border, and has spent weeks helping to connect refugees with families who could host them, as well as driving them to various destinations across the country.

The numbers from Poland remain staggering. Over 11 million Ukrainians reported Friday. Nearly six out of 10 Ukrainian refugees — 2,867,241 so far — have crossed into Poland.

Here’s the other item. In Jerusalem the situation remains troubling. A Palestinian man who suffered a serious head injury during clashes on the Temple Mount on Friday has lapsed into a coma and is in a critical condition, his family stated. Palestinians say that the man, Walid a-Sharif, 21, was hit by a sponge-tipped bullet. However, police said he was injured after he fell and hit his head while throwing rocks.

Clashes and unrest broke out early Friday at the Temple Mount following both morning and afternoon Ramadan prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Calm was eventually restored, and evening prayers — attended by at least 100,000 Palestinians according to reports — passed with no major incident.

As the Muslim month of Ramadan continues, Israelis remain concerned for more outbreaks turning into a full- scale war. Rockets have been fired from Gaza and that’s not a good sign.

We’ll see. Stay tuned.

Readers of my Wise on the Middle East blog will be fascinated by my latest book MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

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April 17, 2022 · 9:32 pm

UKRAINE AND ISRAEL

BLOG 562

April 18, 2022

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

UKRAINE AND ISRAEL

With my grandson Mike in Jerusalem, I am receiving eye-witness reports on what is happening on the street as well as in politics. The uproar in the Temple Mount this week was almost predictable as Passover, Ramadan, and Easter came in the same period. By and large, Israelis blew it off as just another “one of those things” caused by Palestinians throwing rocks and seeking confrontation.

However, the United States expressed its “deep concern” over the Friday morning violence at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where hundreds of Palestinian worshipers clashed with Israeli police in scenes akin to those that prefaced last May’s Gaza war. “We call on all sides to exercise restraint, avoid provocative actions and rhetoric, and preserve the historic status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount,” the State Department reported. Under the current 54-year-old status quo, Muslims can pray at the holy site while Jews are allowed to visit  under heavy restrictions, in a predetermined route and only for several hours on weekdays but not pray there. 

On the European front, the view was distinctly different.

The final hours before Passover found the chief rabbi for Kyiv and Ukraine in a cemetery. Before he could mark the Jewish people’s escape from slavery in Egypt thousands of years ago, he was burying a man felled by a more modern danger: a Russian bullet.

Rabbi Moshe Azman doesn’t know how many Jewish people have been killed in Russia’s invasion. But on Friday, on a rural hillside, he buried one more. “People of all nationalities, they are in this tragedy,” he lamented. This Passover, “I pray to God he will make miracles, the way he made miracles for the Jewish people in Egypt,” the rabbi said.

Viktoria Kovalenko bore witness to the death of her husband and elder daughter when their car was hit by a shell in northern Ukraine. By the time her loved ones got a proper funeral, she was 500 kilometers (310 miles) away, able to watch the burial only on a cellphone video sent to her by relatives. Even in the relative peace of Lviv, a city little touched by violence in the war with Russia, it was an ordeal she couldn’t endure.         

“Tears do not let me watch until the end,” she  cried as she played the video in a wooded area where she was pushing her one-year-old daughter Varvara in a stroller.

On this Easter Sunday, over 2,000 years after the crucifixion and resurrection we are still witnessing the battle between destruction and resurrection. Gives one a sobering thought.

Readers of my Wise on the Middle East blog will be fascinated by my latest book MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

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April 3, 2022 · 10:01 pm

THE FIGHT TO SAVE LIVES

BLOG 560

April 4, 2022

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

THE FIGHT TO SAVE LIVES

Strange how life is seen in the Middle East. In Israel, they celebrate the “chaim,”  “to life!” Others don’t. Here’s two stories that illustrate the contrast.

Doctors at the Israeli field hospital in Ukraine delivered the first baby born at the medical site set up amid Russia’s invasion of the country, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced Friday. “After a very difficult week, finally some good news,” the ministry stated, adding that both the baby, born Thursday, and mother were doing well.

The baby was delivered by Caesarian section, according to a public relations official at Sheba Medical Center, which is helping operate the hospital in Mostyska, outside the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

The hospital is named “Kohav Meir” (“Shining Star”) in honor of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, who was born in Ukraine and was the founder of the Foreign Ministry’s Agency for International Development Cooperation aid program, which is leading the project.

Housed on the grounds of an elementary school, the NIS 21 million ($6.5 million) facility fills 10 outdoor tents and has also converted multiple classrooms into hospitalization wards.

Here’s the other side of the story.

Three members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group who were killed during an overnight arrest operation in the West Bank may have been en route to carry out an attack in Israel, according to Hebrew-language media reports on Saturday.

Security officials said that a number of scenarios were being examined, with the most probable being that the cell planned to cross into Israel from the West Bank and carry out a shooting attack similar to the one earlier this week in Bnei Brak in which five people were killed.

Less likely scenarios were thought to be that the cell planned to infiltrate into a settlement in the West Bank and kill a family, or to carry out a shooting attack on a passing vehicle. The latter was thought to be of low probability due to a reduced number of vehicles with Jewish passengers on Shabbat in the West Bank.

What a strange paradox. One group travels across the world to set up a hospital to save people. Another group travels a few miles to kill people. That’s the world we live in today!

Readers of my Wise on the Middle East blog will be fascinated by my latest book MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

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March 20, 2022 · 7:15 pm

UKRAINE And ISRAEL – Pt. 3

BLOG 558

March 21, 2022

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

UKRAINE And ISRAEL

Part 3

The world continues to be  horrified by Russia’s unprovoked  and brutal attack on Ukraine. Certainly, this is true in the Middle East. In addition, to what you’ve seen in the media, here is what is being reported in that part of the world.

British Chief of Defense Intelligence Lt. Gen. Jim Hockenhull stated Russian forces have changed their approach after failing to take major Ukrainian cities during the three-week invasion. He said that the battle of attrition “will involve the reckless and indiscriminate use of firepower. This will result in increased civilian casualties, destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure and intensify the humanitarian crisis.”

Western officials say Russian forces have enough artillery ammunition to keep up the bombardments for weeks or even longer. Despite the fact that there have been thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties, Russia denies targeting civilians during what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine.

The UN migration agency estimates that nearly 6.5 million people have now been displaced inside Ukraine, on top of the 3.2 million refugees who have already fled the country.

Also on Friday the head of the Russian delegation in talks with Ukrainian officials claimed the parties have come closer to an agreement on a neutral status for Ukraine. Of course, no one believes or trusts Russian declarations with their constant “dis-information” campaigns.

Putin insisted Russian forces were doing “everything possible” not to target civilians, though action on the ground such as a strike on a theater sheltering civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol belies this claim.

Authorities in Kyiv reported one person was killed when a Russian rocket struck residential tower blocks in the capital’s northwestern suburbs, and a school and playground were also hit. A body lay under a sheet, near a huge crater, after the blast blew out every one of the school’s windows.

Fourteen-year-old Anna-Maria Romanchuk’s lip trembled after the missile exploded outside her school, the Gymnasium No. 34 Lydia. “Scary,” she lamented in halting English, her face pale with shock as her mother comforted her. “I just hope that everything will be OK.”

Ukraine feared the biggest single toll yet from Russia’s invasion in the port city of Mariupol, after the Drama Theater was bombed on Wednesday despite signs proclaiming that children were sheltering there. Officials said that up to 1,000 people may have been taking refuge in a bomb shelter underneath the theatre. At least 130 were rescued safely by Friday evening, but the fate of the rest was not yet clear.

Russian missiles struck an aircraft repair site close to Lviv’s airport in Ukraine’s far west, extending the war to a relatively unscathed region near the border with NATO member Poland.

Putin meanwhile held a triumphalist rally in Moscow about capturing the Crimea despite signs that his ground offensive is failing. He even quoted a biblical saying of Jesus to rally his captive audience.  A sign that he must becoming somewhat desperate.

Western governments have condemned Putin’s vision for peace. In Odesa, on the Black Sea, civilians are braced for attack, with tanks deployed at road junctions and monuments covered in sandbags.

“Our beautiful Odessa,” exclaimed Lyudmila, an elderly woman wearing bright lipstick, as she looked forlornly at her city’s empty, barricaded streets. “But thank God we are holding on! Everyone is holding on!”

From a Middle Eastern perspective, the situation is not good.

I have new books coming out!

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

by Robert L. Wise

You can obtain a copy through Amazon.

 This compilation of miracle stories will inspire, challenge, and give you new insight into divine interventions.

Order today!

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 
I hope you’ll avail yourself of this inspiring story!
Also these fine books are available now:
I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II
Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!
by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)
You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable
Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!
You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.
by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable

Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

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March 13, 2022 · 8:45 pm

UKRAINE AND ISRAEL Pt. 2

BLOG 557

March 714 2022

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise e has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

UKRAINE AND ISRAEL

Part 2

Surprisingly enough, the Middle East has surfaced as possibly having a role to play in halting the Russian attack on Ukraine. The suggested involvement came from Ukrainian President Zelensky himself.

Volodymyr Zelensky suggested on Saturday that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end the war could be held in Jerusalem. The Ukrainian leader also told media he believed Israel could provide security guarantees for his country, and said he hoped Prime Minister Naftali Bennett would have a positive influence on negotiations. He said he told Bennett he did not believe negotiations could take place in Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus. Zelensky spoke at a special briefing for reporters from Kyiv, under heavy guard.

“We generally support mediation by anyone,” he said in an answer to a question about Israel’s potential role. “But I wouldn’t call Prime Minister Bennett ‘anyone.’ You can play an important role because Israel is a country with a rich history.”

Zelensky added that Ukrainian immigrants were among Israel’s founders, “who brought with them their history and their desire to build a great country, as it is now. So, it’s not bad at all for us to have such mediation.”

Zelensky said his government assessed that some 1,300 Ukrainian troops had been killed in the fighting so far. He insisted that Russian losses were far higher. He also said Russia “will conquer Kyiv only if they kill all of us. They’ll need to live in a world without us. They won’t find friends among Ukrainians.”

Israel has been engaged in diplomatic efforts to try to end the war in Ukraine, with Bennett traveling to Moscow last Saturday for hours long meeting with Putin. He was the first foreign leader to sit down with the Russian president since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Asked how the city was significant in this context, Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky said: “As a city of all the faiths. A city where individuals and people of different faiths live in coexistence. A city that is equally important for Ukrainians and Russians.”

Earlier in the day, a top adviser to Zelensky denied a report that Israel had pushed the Ukrainian leader to accept an offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin that would see Kyiv make significant concessions to end Russia’s invasion.

Mikhail Podolyak tweeted that Bennett did not urge Ukraine to agree to the Russian demands, as was reported Friday by two Hebrew-language outlets.

Any light at the end of the tunnel? Not yet, but keep your flashlights on.

I have new books coming out!

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

by Robert L. Wise

You can obtain a copy through Amazon.

 This compilation of miracle stories will inspire, challenge, and give you new insight into divine interventions.

Order today!

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 
I hope you’ll avail yourself of this inspiring story!
Also these fine books are available now:
I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II
Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!
by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)
You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable
Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!
You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.
by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable

Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

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March 6, 2022 · 9:20 pm

UKRAINE AND ISRAEL

BLOG 556

March 7, 2022

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

UKRAINE And ISRAEL

Israel’s lack of response to the aggressive invasion of Ukraine has raised questions within Israel as well as with the Ukraine leadership. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was his wishy-washy defense of Ukraine for fear of antagonizing Russia.

One of the first signs that Israel was making a mistake was on Sunday, shortly after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett finished a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The official statement put out by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office was short and concise. The two leaders, it said, spoke on the phone and discussed the “situation” in Ukraine.

And what was that situation? As the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office put out the statement, Russian missiles were raining down on Kyiv, Kharkiv and other parts of the embattled European country. A convoy dozens of miles long was making its way into Ukraine, aimed at the capital, and Israel’s leader had a call with the Russian invader about the situation?

In public comments since, Bennett has expressed sympathy with the people of Ukraine who have been killed and displaced due to indiscriminate Russian attacks. He says he prays for peace and urges dialogue. A condemnation of Russia? That you won’t hear from Israel’s prime minister.

Who will you hear some words of censure from? Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. Last week, hours after the invasion, Lapid called the Russian attack a “serious violation of the international order” and said that “Israel condemns the attack.” But a few days later, after missiles struck near the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv, Lapid was more careful. He said that Israel condemns the strike and calls for the memorial to be respected. Who attacked? Why they attacked? That, Lapid did not mention.

Government officials admit that the two heads of the coalition are playing something of a good cop/bad cop routine with Russia. When there is no alternative, Lapid is tough, while Bennett, who is responsible for direct ties with Putin, never mentions Russia.

Even though it is factually true that Israel officially condemned Russia in Lapid’s original statement when war erupted and at the United Nations General Assembly, that narrative is not sticking.

It’s hard to believe Israel hasn’t joined the rest of the world in being irate about Russia’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine.

I have a new books coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 
I hope you’ll avail yourself of this inspiring story!
Also these fine books are available now:
I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II
Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!
by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)
You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable
Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!
You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.
by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable

Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

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February 27, 2022 · 4:02 pm

UKRAINE FROM ISRAEL’S POINT OF VIEW

BLOG 555

February 28, 2022

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

UKRAINE FROM ISRAEL’S POINT OF VIEW

The world has been shocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Middle Eastern view point gives us more insight to consider what is happening at this moment. Here’s what Israel media is now saying.

The Jerusalem Post reports this story for American readers.

Christians, wake up: If the world doesn’t stop Putin, NATO and Israel are next. Putin’s alliance with Iran and Syria tells us all we need to know about his ambitions in the Mideast.

The world was blindsided by World War II and the abject horrors of the Holocaust because it didn’t understand the evil nature of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime in Berlin.

The US was blindsided by the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor in 1941 because Washington didn’t understand the evil nature of the Imperial Japanese regime in Tokyo.

The world was blindsided by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 because it didn’t understand the evil nature of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. Likewise, the US was blindsided by the 9/11 attacks in 2001 because it didn’t understand the evil nature of Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terror network.

Today, the world is being blindsided again because it doesn’t understand the evil nature of Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Leaders in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels and beyond seem completely baffled by Putin’s lust to attack, crush and re-occupy Ukraine.Do Western government officials truly not understand what is at stake here? Are Christian leaders really so willfully ignorant of the threat Putin poses to both Jews and Christians?

At his core, Putin is a mafia boss, obsessed with power and wealth, and willing to rob, kill or destroy to obtain both.

Using the Red Army, he already seized control of 20% of Georgia, all of Crimea, the eastern section of Ukraine and all of Syria. And murdered and imprisoned Russian dissidents. And co-opted Belarus. The list goes on and on. 

At the same time, Putin sees himself following in the tradition of the Russian czars, believing he has a divine right to rule with an iron hand and is permitted to use any means necessary to rebuild the glory of Mother Russia.

What a chilling combination.

That’s an Israeli perspective on today’s critical situation. Think it over.

My Facebook page. Please join me for special book offers and updates to all my endeavors.

I have a new books coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 
I hope you’ll avail yourself of this inspiring story!
Also these fine books are available now:
I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II
Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!
by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)
You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable
Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!
You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.
by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable

Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

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February 6, 2022 · 8:27 pm

MORE INSIGHT ON IRAN

BLOG 552

February  7, 2022

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

MORE INSIGHT ON IRAN

With the American preoccupation with the possibility of Russia attacking the Ukraine, the media’s focus has not been on the Middle East. In addition, the Olympics consumed whatever space was left. Nevertheless, Iran’s relentless pursuit of a nuclear weapon remains a critical issue across the region. Here’s the latest that comes from behind the scenes.

The Biden administration reportedly believes that a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran would no longer achieve the key condition of keeping Tehran one year away from amassing enough nuclear fuel for a bomb.

US officials told The Wall Street Journal Thursday that Iran’s so-called breakout time would be significantly less than a year due to the advancements it has made in its nuclear program since former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018.

The exact length of the breakout time will depend on the manner in which Iran agrees to return to compliance with the deal, be it by dismantling its stockpiles of enriched uranium and relevant pieces of equipment, destroying them or shipping them abroad.

However, enough nuclear material for a bomb is not the same as having the capabilities to build the core of the weapon and to attach it to the warhead of a missile, which Iran is not believed to possess and would likely take many more months to achieve.

Despite the former treaty’s more limited impact, US negotiators are still committed to returning to the deal, guided by the belief that some restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program are better than none at all.

As a result, they have told world powers negotiating with Tehran in Vienna that they are prepared to lift most of the sanctions put in place by Trump after he withdrew from the 2015 accord. The Wall Street Journal reported some administration officials warn that if the breakout time is less than six months, it will be much more difficult for the US to respond to a rapid acceleration of Iran’s nuclear program.

A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the US breakout assessments reported by the Wall Street Journal, but said that a revived agreement “would address our urgent nonproliferation concerns.”

“As we have said, we have only a few weeks to conclude an understanding, after which the pace of Iran’s nuclear advances will make return to the former treaty impossible,” the government spokesperson said.

In Israel, the tension remains high because of Iran’s insistence that they will eventually strike the Israelis. On the other hand, Israeli leadership in all parties have made it clear that they will not allow Iran to reach a nuclear weapon. The stage remains set for confrontation.

That’s where we are today. Let’s see what comes next.

Stay tuned!

I have a new books coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 


MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 
I hope you’ll avail yourself of this inspiring story!
Also these fine books are available now:
I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II
Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!
by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)
You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable
Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!
You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.
by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable

Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

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January 2, 2022 · 10:29 pm

A NEW YEAR WITH OLD PROBLEMS

BLOG 547

January 1, 2022

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

A NEW YEAR WITH OLD PROBLEMS

As the promise of a new day unfolds, the approaching year is dragging old issues in that we can’t avoid in the months ahead. Putin and Russia are poised on the Ukraine border with the worst intentions in mind.  Ukraine President Volodynyr Zelensky claims that Putin intends to assassinate him.  Don’t underestimate Vladimir Putin. He has never been a friend of the West. The year 2020 will have to face this problem.

Equally troubling is the situation in the Middle East. Iran continues to issue threats against Israel. Officials in Jerusalem warn world powers of the fact as negotiations to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program continue.

“Sanctions must not be lifted from  Iran,” Foreign Minister Yaie Lapid said recently. ”Sanctions should be tightened. A real military threat must be put before Iran, because that is the only way to stop Iran’s race to become a nuclear power.”

In a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Lapid indicated that Israel views the talks as an attempt to stall military action by Israel while Tehran advances its unilateral action.

What it boils down to is that no action — is an action on Iran’s part.

The issue lurking behind the scenes is the supply of oil. With their fiscal year beginning on March 1,  the assumption is that Iran would sell 1.2 million barrels of oil a day . The removal of sanctions would raise this figure to 2.5 million a day.  No matter what anyone says, this issue lurks in the background.

You can bet a settlement with Russia also hinges on economic implications.

I have a new books coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

I hope you’ll avail yourself of this inspiring story!

Also these fine books are available now:

I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II

Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!

by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable

Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

Leave a comment

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November 7, 2021 · 7:38 pm

PRIME MINISTER BENNETT MEETS WITH PUTIN

BLOG 541

November 8, 2021

WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Having traveled and worked in the Middle East since l968, Robert L. Wise has journeyed through the region, giving him insights from behind the scenes. Two of his sons taught in Jordan and Lebanon. Each week he attempts to present an objective view of current events.

PRIME MINISTER BENNETT MEETS WITH PUTIN

Insight into what is transpiring in the Middle East often comes from clandestine meetings that the public only learns about years later. However, the recent conference between two heads of state may give us some clues.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s October summit with Vladimir Putin ran overtime. Its unscheduled five-hour duration meant that the prime minister could not return to Israel before Shabbat, and was stuck in Sochi until Saturday night. Yet Bennett’s time with the Russian president was well spent.

Bennett needed to maintain Israel’s freedom of action in Syria. Since the outbreak of the civil war a decade ago, and the ensuing growth of Iran’s presence, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has repeatedly targeted Iranian positions and those of its proxy Hezbollah. Tehran’s pretext for involvement was to bolster its ally Bashar Assad, but the larger goal was to transform Syria into an Iranian satellite, a forward position from which to threaten Israel.

Israel decided not to merely observe the growing Iranian buildup, but to adopt a policy of active preemption. The logic of the Israeli strategy mirrored that of the United States in the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when President John Kennedy declared that the mere positioning of Soviet missiles in the Western Hemisphere was an unacceptable provocation, irrespective of a decision on their actual use. From Jerusalem’s perspective, the Iranians’ deployment was in itself illegitimate, necessitating a robust Israeli response.

However, in September 2015 a new factor arose. The Kremlin made a decision to intervene directly in Syria with its own forces in support of Assad. The Iranians and Russians were now fighting on the same side of the civil war. In these circumstances, it could no longer be a forgone conclusion that Israel would still be able to continue striking against Iranian positions without incurring the wrath of Russia.

Then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu understood that Russia’s upgraded role in Syria was a game-changer. Prudently, he made the uncharacteristic decision not to join the United States and other NATO countries in publicly criticizing the Kremlin’s decision. Instead, Netanyahu expeditiously flew to Moscow for a face-to-face meeting with Putin, where he successfully reached a series of understandings that safeguarded Israel’s freedom of action.

Avoiding such a clash  (“deconfliction” in the language of the experts ) was crucial, but Prime Minister Bennett’s dialogue with the Russian leader held greater implications. It was vital to start a conversation with the Kremlin about developments in Syria and the future of that war-torn country, an exchange that sought convergence between the dictates of Israel’s national security and Russia’s interests in the Middle East that date back to the days of the czars.

Such a discussion was possible because unlike Iran, Russia is not overtly hostile toward Israel. On the contrary, Putin has declared his friendship toward the Jewish people and the Jewish state, solidarity he emphasized during his various official visits to Jerusalem in January 2020.

All in all, a  good step forward for the Middle East.

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