Calling it a “recognition of reality” and “the right thing to do,” President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the US was recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and that the American Embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to the contested city.　The announcement leaves many questions, two of which are primary. The first is whether violence will ensue. The Palestinians and Turks are making threats, and Israel’s security establishment is said to be on alert. But many Israelis are dismissing th

From Liechtenstein and Bulgaria to Norway and the Czech Republic, it was a good year for far-right parties in Europe. While none of the strong election results were sufficient for a full takeover, it was enough to allow most of them to become a full-fledged part of government. So are they leaping at this opportunity? And if not, why not?　It’s not such a crazy thing to expect. Even in Germany, extreme parties have become an accepted part of the political landscape. Die Linke, the successor of the

What if your profession has never required much computer literacy -- and then all of a sudden it does. Should you be fired? Should your license be yanked? That’s the question raised by the bizarre case of Anna Konopka, a physician who claims that New Hampshire has barred her from the practice of medicine because she does not know how to use the internet.Konopka, 84, received the bulk of her medical training overseas. She voluntarily surrendered her license this fall after allegations that she wa

Almost daily, newspapers in the US, Europe and China release eye-catching headlines about China’s technological advances and economic prowess. The accomplishments are real. But they’re not necessarily evidence of Western failure or Chinese invincibility.In touting such achievements, commentators too often overlook the structural factors that have shaped them. Economists now recognize just how much of economic interaction is driven by such forces. For instance, the gravity model in international

The suicide of Croatian war criminal Slobodan Praljak in open court last week was bizarre. Sure, Hermann Goering famously cheated the executioner at Nuremberg by swallowing cyanide. But Praljak wasn’t going to be executed, no matter how many innocent civilians he was found guilty of killing. In the highly civilized, highly bureaucratic world of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the worst thing that can happen is a long jail sentence -- like the 20 years awarded to Pr

Glyphosate, the ubiquitous herbicide, may not really be poison, but it could well be the most politicized substance in Europe. In recent days, a glyphosate controversy has revealed much about the continent’s decision-making processes.　Most European countries don’t allow the cultivation of genetically modified crops. But glyphosate, the effective weed killer produced by US-based Monsanto specifically for those kinds of crops, just survived another round of approvals.　From a scientific point of vi

Ambassador Nikki Haley’s remarks this week at the United Nations after North Korea’s latest missile test sounded like what a superpower should say. If war comes, “the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed.” If China doesn’t cut off oil to the Hermit Kingdom, “we can take the oil situation into our own hands.”　It would have been a great speech in 1997. That was when signatories to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty were loath to violate it. It was before North Korea had tested its first

Travel to the edge of any Chinese city and eventually you’ll find a parking lot full of idling trucks and suffocating diesel emissions. In bigger cities, such as Shanghai, these lots sprawl for tens of acres and can lead to paralyzing traffic jams when they overflow. Even as China embraces ride sharing and delivery drones, and builds vast networks of airports and high-speed rail, it still depends on long-haul trucks to carry 80 percent of its cargo.　It’s a dirty, low-tech and inefficient industr

Oskar Groening, a former Nazi, is going to jail in Germany at age 96. Tony Hovater, 29, a current Nazi sympathizer, has lost his job in the US after being profiled by the New York Times. It’s a shame the two will never meet or even talk via Skype.After the Hovater profile ran, its author, Richard Fausset, admitted the existence of a “hole at the heart” of the story. He couldn’t understand how the former heavy metal drummer’s radicalization occurred. Behind this incomprehension lurked another que

In their bid to reduce risk, China’s financial regulators are cracking down on a promising business: online micro-lending. Although the industry has some serious problems, killing it off would be a big mistake.　Last week, state media announced that broad changes were coming to the sector. Approvals of new lenders have been halted, and existing firms are likely to be severely curtailed.　To an extent, this crackdown reflects valid concerns. Outstanding loans offered on peer-to-peer platforms ballo

France is emerging as a major European tech hub: La French Tech, as it is known, is improbably beating out Germany and rivaling London for funding levels and company valuations. A significant portion of France’s most talented young people now want to work in an innovation ecosystem rather than in secure jobs in government or traditional industries. The reason for the shift is not Emmanuel Macron, the reformer who has become French president. It long predates his rise.　Instead, it has its roots i

Nothing infuriates China’s online masses more than the belief that the powerless have been victimized by the powerful. The fury was particularly intense late last week, when allegations against a Beijing-area kindergarten blew up online. According to Chinese state media, kids as young as 3 years old were “reportedly sexually molested, pierced by needles and given unidentified pills.” The news came at a particularly raw time: Just two weeks earlier, China’s internet had convulsed in anger over vi

In September, the French Socialist Party took a practical decision freighted with symbolism: It put the party headquarters up for sale. Situated on Rue de Solferino, some hundred meters from the National Assembly and the iconic Musee d’Orsay, the imposing building had been acquired by the party in 1980, one year before Francois Mitterrand became the first Socialist president of the French Republic.　The decision, a sign of the party’s deep troubles after a crushing election, has been hotly debate

According to recent reports, President Donald Trump is going to unveil a Middle East peace plan early next year. Last month’s unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia by three top White House aides -- Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt and Dina Powell -- to discuss this plan, along with Vice President Mike Pence’s announcement that he will visit Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo next month, give the reports credence.As Israelis who have served at the forefront of our country’s security, diplomatic and economi

Immigration has lots of economic benefits and few economic costs. Immigrants pay for native-born Americans’ retirement, start companies and make the US a desirable destination for investment, while not taking away jobs or depressing wages of the native-born. But people care about more than dollars and cents -- culture is important. Immigration skeptics -- including a few on the political left -- often fret that immigrants won’t adapt to American culture. But they shouldn’t worry. The great Ameri

Seventy-five years ago, in the summer of 1942, four friends decided to while away the afternoon playing bridge in a Baltimore city park. Instead of enjoying their game, they found themselves under arrest. The city had an ordinance that forbade the use in a public park of any device that might be used for gambling -- such as a deck of cards. They didn’t know about the rule, of course. But under a longstanding tradition of our jurisprudence, ignorance of the law is no excuse.　Maybe it shouldn’t be

In the run-up to the UK’s 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union, and immediately after it, the “remain” campaign was much derided for fearmongering. People are sick and tired of experts warning about doomsday scenarios, said Conservative politician and lead Brexiter Michael Gove. Those warning that Brexit would cost the economy were dubbed “remoaners”; Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond was compared to Eeyore for his caution.　It was, granted, a disastrous campaign strategy: Focus

These days, you need steady nerves to join the Brazilian political conversation. Ask Judith Butler, the University of California, Berkeley, comparative literature professor known for her provocative ideas about gender. Two weeks ago, she was hectored by street protesters in Sao Paulo, burned in effigy, and chased by contrarians all the way to the airport.　Butler wasn’t the only target. In recent weeks, sois-disant protectors of public morals attacked a museum and a cultural center in two cities

A Russian high school student expresses sympathy for a German soldier who died in a Soviet prisoner camp after World War II. A wave of condemnation rises on Russian social networks and spills over into parliament. At first glance, nothing to be excited about: Russia is the troll capital of the world. But it also looks an awful lot like a sobering harbinger of what Russia may be like after President Vladimir Putin.On Sunday, a high school student from the Siberian city of Novy Urengoy made a conc

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently laid out a bold vision for transforming his country into a fully developed economy by 2050, with a particular emphasis on spurring innovation and technology. Given China’s current level of human capital -- and some looming changes in the world economy -- that may be harder than he expects.A widely held view in the West is that China’s schools are brimming with math and science whizzes, just the kind of students that companies of the future will need. But thi