Call it what you want -- bald-faced pandering to rich Jewish donors and pro-Israel voters (a lot of whom, by the way, aren't actually Jews), or even racist, which is how the Palestinian government's Saeb Erakat termed it -- but the Republican candidate's comment during a speech in Jerusalem about the primacy of Israeli culture as compared to Palestinian culture was a fair point.

The settlements may have just gone too far. It's time for North America's Jewish communities to finally realize what a toll the settlements are taking on Israel's moral, legal and practical realities and the extent to which they threaten a just peace and two-state solution between Israel/Palestine.

In 1972, 11 athletes representing Israel in the Olympics were murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the Munich Olympics. The family members of these victims have asked the International Olympic Committee to mark the 40th anniversary of their death with a minute of silence. Their request has been rejected. The Olympics cannot be a source of peace and unity to the world if the IOC blatantly disrespects the memories of the murdered Israeli athletes.

In 1994, while in the employ of the United Jewish Appeal and Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto, I was given the task of overseeing former Israeli prime minister Yitzchak Shamir's trip to Toronto. But of course, as fate would have it, Saudi Arabian sheiks were staying in the same hotel as he was. What was I to do?

This week, history will revisit the Church of the Nativity as UNESCO's World Heritage Committee convenes in St. Petersburg, Russia, to consider whether the birthplace of Jesus should be recognized as a world heritage site. Palestinians await with anticipation the decision in St. Petersburg this week to share this valuable cultural, religious and historical heritage with all the peoples of the world.

If you aren't sure whether you are part of the "Jewish establishment," I submit to you: Do you belong to a synagogue? Do you send your kids to Jewish camp? Jewish school? Do you work out at the JCC? Do you donate to the Jewish Federation?

In old age, Shimon Peres is more dove-like than hawkish. But when he spoke in Toronto, in early May to a sold-out crowd, we were in the presence of greatness. There was no question he would not answer. Little wonder why, he's one of the few to have seen it all in the Middle East.

Netanyahu's proposed coalition government strikes some as ominous, others as encouraging. Some see it as Israel preparing to do something about Iran and its developing nuclear weapons, whereas others sees it as a tool to pass mandatory military service for all -- Ultra-Orthodox Jews included.

The Jewish lobby is given a lot of media attention. But what people should really focus on is the so-called pro-Palestinian lobby, a lobby that is, when one looks closely, more anti-Israel than pro-Palestine. And one that promotes values that are the polar opposite of Canada's. One can support the existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East and support the Palestinians' legitimate national aspirations.

In a massive defeat for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' campaign to delegitimize Israel, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled that Palestine is not a "state" and it therefore does not have jurisdiction to investigate alleged "war crimes" committed by Israel in the "territory of Palestine since 1 July 2002."

As Khader Adnan, the Palestinian prisoner held in Israeli administrative detention, ends his 66-day hunger strike, the conversation during these last few days (especially on Twitter) was made all the more tense by the fact that Adnan's death seemed imminent.

This is a space for both Israeli and Arab students to coexist at school and at home. The conversations at Project Harmony in Jerusalem usually start organically because, after all, the campers were born into the conflict: sixty years of failed peace treaties, losses on both sides, destruction of lives and heartbreaking stories.

Whether to pull a seat up to the table and evoke change from within or protest and try to bring change from the outside is something we should all regularly be asking ourselves in whatever capacities we operate communally. It is also a question with which I personally and frequently grapple.

In the Arab-Israeli conflict, disputes over borders, Jewish settlements and even the status of Jerusalem are all peripheral. Like their brethren in Nazi Europe, Israel's Jews are struggling for the physical survival. When the popular Arab animus against Jews is shed, all other disputes could be resolved easily.

Mahmoud Abbas are seeking UN recognition of Palestinian statehood: statehood without peace. Already they have gained one victory: acceptance as a full member of UNESCO. Yet this victory may be their last.

When "we" stop congratulating ourselves for how much we honour and value human life, so much so that we are willing to risk future soldier abductions and terrorist attacks for bringing the captured Jewish boy home, can we try to think more deeply and honestly about how best to honour those values?

Many Israelis are asking themselves how they could release so many Palestinians who carried out or were involved in violent terrorist activities. Would they return with a renewed vengeance? Will the release of one Israeli soldier result in future Israeli civilian and military casualties? Will more Israeli soldiers be kidnapped?

Simple game theory shows that the drive for perceived "fairness" in outcomes can leave players much worse off than they would otherwise be if they could swallow some of their pride.

Like Yom Kippur of 1973, we are in an emergency situation. While Israel's enemies continue to plan war against the state or fund terrorism from a distance, others are warring against Israel from across continents.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas missed an opportunity to gain the confidence of Israel and international Jewry by recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. Instead, Abbas achieved the exact opposite. He took every opportunity to defame Israel and label it a criminal state on the world stage.

With the Palestinian bid for statehood looming at the U.N., how we deploy laughter -- or avoid it altogether -- can serve as a barometer for the willingness of societies to consider change.

In announcing the Ottawa Protocol to Combat Anti-Semitism, Foreign Minister John Baird expressed Canada's unequivocal support for the State of Israel. Canada's stance on Israel is based on the principle of standing by your friends -- especially when they are democracies and advocates for human rights.