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Articles by Richard L. Benkin
Bangladeshis Hand Islamists a Setback
Bangladeshis thwarted Islamists’ attempt to control the South Asian nation of just under 177 million people in its February 12, 2026, elections. Many analysts expected Jamaat-e-Islamito capture enough seats in the Bangladeshi parliament to join the ruling coalition. Bangladeshis instead rejected Islamists and gave the Bangladesh Nationalist Party a landslide victory and an outright majority of seats in the parliament, negating any need for a coalition.
Bangladesh Must Avoid China's Debt Trap Diplomacy
Multiple sources tell the Daily Asian Age that with the elections of 2018 over, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government seriously considered a change in Bangladesh's geopolitical orientation: away from the United States, India, and the west; and towards China. That would be a mistake. China certainly makes the move seem attractive. Its immediate lure is to promise infrastructure funds through its "Belt and Road" project.
How Can Bangladesh Maximize its People's Benefit?
In 1978, I was teaching at a university in Chicago. One evening after finishing my day, I got on the subway train to return home; all quite routine. But what followed was not routine. One of my students followed me onto the train and sat down next to me. I liked when that sort of thing happened because my students represented such a wide range of cultures, faiths, and nations.
Israel, Saudis in Marathon Recognition Talks: Affirming That the Conflict Is Geopolitical, Not Religious
The issue of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia can be a sensitive one given the centrality of the Kingdom in the history of Islam, its being the home of the Kaaba and the site of the Hajj, and the religious overlay attributed to the Israel-Arab conflict; but that sensitivity has changed.
Security, System Issues, and a Flood of Refugees Make Getting Afghan Allies to Safety a Challenge
The Debate | Society | South Asia The process, always slow and cumbersome, is now overwhelmed. Even as cases move through the system, safety remains a grave concern for Afghans forced to wait. It’s been over a year since the United States left Afghanistan, and despite the best efforts of many good people on the ground and elsewhere, a lot of other good people were left behind, both U.S. citizens and Afghans who assisted the U.S.-led coalition during its 20-year mission.
Pogroms a fact of life for Bangladeshi Hindus, but now Dhaka can’t escape scrutiny by blaming radicals
The ethnic cleansing of Bangladesh’s Hindus have frustrated many for years by the complicity of every Bangladesh government, and the international community’s failure to recognise the atrocities Hundreds of Hindus protesting against attacks on temples and the killing of two Hindu devotees in another district shout slogans in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Who will win the US Elections?
For the past weeks, I have been watching, listening to, and reading material from election "experts" and pollsters, as well as partisans from both sides, and the only clear message is that no one is confident that they know who will win the 2020 US Presidential elections. Here is a great example. For years, Texas has been considered a reliably Republican state. Texas also has the second most Electoral College votes in the nation.
Muslims Stand With Jews at Buchenwald
Survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp arrive in Israel in 1945. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. While antisemitism is on the rise in the West, it’s declining in the East. In Bangladesh’s capital, people urged me to convince their government to recognize Israel. Indians were standing in line for me to arrange visits to Israel. In Germany, while with Pashtun Muslims living in exile from Pakistan, I decided to say kaddish for a relative, Leon Gross, who was interned in Buchenwald.
Antisemitism in Bangladesh
By Richard L. Benkin It would be a mistake to confuse anti-Jewish sentiments in Bangladesh with historical Christian or Muslim antisemitism. That is not to excuse it or explain it away as less virulent than the other forms. It can be. Antisemitism in Bangladesh is rooted in non-theological elements with less penetration in a cultural narrative.
As We Say ‘Never Again,’ Bangladesh’s Hindus Are in Imminent Danger
Email a copy of "As We Say ‘Never Again,’ Bangladesh’s Hindus Are in Imminent Danger" to a friend A recent op-ed at The Algemeiner suggested that my recent article about Danish heroism during the Shoah was naïve, because no country accepted Jews fleeing the Nazis. However, there are no recorded incidents of Danes turning away Jewish refugees, and it is not equitable to fault a country a bit larger than Maryland for not being proactive in accepting Jewish refugees.
Danish royal family was courageous during Holocaust
On Feb. 13, Prince Henrik, husband of Danish monarch Queen Margrethe, died at the age of 83. Many Jews recall the courage of the Danish royal family and the entire Danish people during the Holocaust, and how they saved approximately 99 percent of all Danish Jews from the Nazis. Danish Jews were relatively safe until Oct. 1, 1943, when after increasing effectiveness by the Danish resistance, Berlin ordered them arrested and deported.
The Trump Factor and the Pashtuns
On February 6, 2018, the New York Times published a piece about social unrest by Pashtuns in Pakistan. It gave some background on how the Pakistanis have been perpetrating human rights abuses against the Pashtuns for decades. Of course, it also missed completely the big story for Americans: the protesters, their leaders, and many of the minority populations there have been inspired by President Donald Trump and his new, tough policy toward Pakistan and his support for human rights in the area.
Remembering the Danes’ Heroic Holocaust Actions
Email a copy of "Remembering the Danes’ Heroic Holocaust Actions" to a friend On February 13, 2018, Prince Henrik — husband of Danish monarch Queen Margrethe — died at the age of 83. Many Jews recall the courage of the Danish royal family, and the entire Danish people, during the Holocaust — specifically how they saved approximately 99 percent of all Danish Jews from the Nazis.
WORLD WAR 3: Turkish Ground Forces Cross Into Syria, Now in Direct Combat with Kurds
It has begun. With one single directive to the Turkish forces, the Turkish ground forces stationed near Afrin have crossed into Syria and pushed the self destruct button on NATO as we know it. Reports out of Afrin are clear, Turkish armored divisions and troops have moved into Afrin and are now engaged in direct clashes with heavily armed American backed Syrian Kurds. If the above tweet is accurate, the Turkish forces are already experiencing serious casulties.
India’s Modi Abandons Legacy of Appeasement
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has earned a deserved reputation as a no-nonsense opponent of appeasement. His expansion of the India-Israel relationship and personal affinity with President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have strengthened that perception. The latest evidence that it is more than a perception came this week, when Modi's government discontinued half-century-old government subsidies provided to Muslim pilgrims going on the Hajj.
One single pro-US, pro-Israel Pakistani stands up against his countrymen
Earlier this month, the Pakistani National Assembly (N.A.) slavishly followed suit with most of the Muslim world and the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly in condemning United States president Donald Trump's declaration that recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "Debate" on the resolution was characterized by threats of violence and knee-jerk condemnation of the U.S. and Israel.
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