Image 01 Image 03

Author: Vijeta Uniyal

Profile photo

Vijeta Uniyal

Vijeta Uniyal is a writer based in Germany. He is Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Gatestone Institute and founder of the "Indians For Israel".

A latest incident of school bullying has again highlighted the issue of antisemitism among Germany's Muslim youth. The case involves a second-grade Jewish girl at a Berlin elementary school who was bullied by her Muslim classmates.

Ahead of the parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has called for 'reconciliation' with the Islamist terror militia Taliban. The German Defense Minister made those statements while visiting German troops stationed in Afghanistan over the weekend.

President Donald Trump is expected to announce new tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States later today. The decision comes after a seven-month-long investigation by the Trump administration into the U.S. intellectual property theft orchestrated by Beijing. The move is expected to hit $50 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Hundreds attended the funeral of Adiel Coleman, a 32-year-old married father of four children, who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday. He was laid to rest in Kochav Hashachar, north of Jerusalem. The attack came two days after a Palestinian terrorist killed two Israeli soldiers in a car-ramming attack.

Earlier this week, the government of Israel organised  the three-day #DigiTell18 conference aimed at formulating strategies to counter anti-Israel campaigns, hosting 60 pro-Israel advocates from 15 different countries in Jerusalem. I had the privilege to represent my grassroots group Indians For Israel at the event. “For the first time, BDS [anti-Israel boycott campaign] groups are on the defensive,” said Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, highlighting the recent successes of the pro-active approach adopted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to combat these vicious and well-coordinated online campaigns.

Rattled by President Trump's proposal to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, the European Union is threatening the U.S. with a full-blown trade war. "We will now impose tariffs on motorcycles, Harley Davidson, on blue jeans, Levis, on bourbon," Jean-Claude Junker, President of the European Commission, warned earlier this week. "Should Trump follow his words with actions, Europe will reply proportionately," German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said in response to the proposed move.

Sri Lanka's government imposed a nationwide emergency on Tuesday after days of clashes between Buddhists and Muslims across the country. Under the state of emergency, authorities can detain suspects indefinitely and deploy the military to clamp down on the riots.

A Polish group is suing an Argentine newspaper for violating a new law that makes it a criminal offence to suggest Poland was complicit in the Holocaust. Warsaw-based Polish League Against Defamation (RDI) filed a case against the newspaper Página 12 shortly after the law came into effect on Thursday.

With Germany still struggling with the endless migrant influx, yet another German city has imposed a ban on refugee intake. Pirmasens in southwestern Germany became the latest town to block new migrants from moving in, German newspapers reported on Wednesday. German cities of Cuttbuss, Salzgitter, Delmenhorst, and Wilhelmshaven have also placed similar restrictions in the recent months.

Israeli Economic Minister Eli Cohen said in a speech aired on country's Army Radio on Monday that the country warned 30 countries on specific terror threats in 2017. Minister Cohen's revelation comes almost a week after Australian authorities acknowledged the role of Israeli intelligence in averting an ISIS terror plot to bring down an airliner last year. Israeli military's intelligence branch, known as “Unit 8200,” told the Australian authorities about a hidden explosive device destined for an Etihad Airways flight leaving Sydney for Abu Dhabi last July. Earlier this month, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Israel's role in helping Germany and European countries in combating Islamist terror. It revealed that Israel is part of a covert multinational counter-terrorism operation named “Gallant Phoenix” that gathers intelligence on Islamic State war criminals returning from the Middle East to Europe.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's first official visit to India is grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons. "Why India is being really rude to Justin Trudeau," lamented Washington Post in an opinion piece. "There seems to be no end to the Indian snubbing of the Canadians, even as the Trudeaus are trying their best to disarm the Indians with a charm offensive," the newspaper continued. Indian Prime Minister Modi remained conspicuously absent during his Canadian counterpart's eight-day visit to India.

Of all the topics I cover for Legal Insurrection, stories related to India-Israel relations are closest to my heart. It was, therefore, a pleasant surprise when I was invited to address a large pro-Israel rally in the Indian city of Calcutta. The invitation for the last week's event was extended by Hindu Samhati, a prominent Hindu organisation active in eastern India.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has finally reached a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) four months after her conservative bloc failed to win a majority in German elections. The deal forced Merkel to hand over key ministries and make painful concessions to her left-wing coalition partner. The details of the final agreement triggered criticism from both the media and the conservative bloc -- made up of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

The United States and Argentina are to work together to cut off Lebanese terrorist outfit Hezbollah’s funding networks in Latin America. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Argentinian Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie declared their intention to cooperate in this regard during a press conference in Buenos Aires on Sunday. Argentina is home to a large Lebanese expatriate population and U.S. authorities believe that the Iranian-backed terrorist group has been raising funds for it activities through organised crime in the region, including drug trade.

With the Islamic State (ISIS) heading for collapse, Belgium is bracing for the return of hundreds of jihadi fighters deserting the ranks of the Islamic Caliphate in Syria and Iraq. The western European country, which pursued a liberal immigration policy in recent decades, produced the highest number of foreign ISIS fighters per capita of EU countries -- up to 700 in total.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rolling out the red carpet for the leaders of Southeast Asian countries on the eve of India's Republic Day. What is being described by the Indian media as a diplomatic 'coup' in India's ongoing territorial row with China, ten heads of states from Southeast Asian countries will finalize the details of a new maritime mechanism with New Delhi and attend tomorrow's Republic Day parade, an annual event that showcases India's military prowess.

With the oil-rich Arab states too distracted with their feuds and infighting to champion the 'Palestinian cause', and the Trump administration turning up the heat with its Jerusalem move and cuts to Palestinians aid, the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has launched a diplomatic offensive to secure the EU backing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began the fifth day of his six-day India tour with a 'power breakfast' with a select group of Indian business leaders and CEOs. Later he joined Prime Minister Nerendra Modi at the India-Israel Business Summit hosted at the iconic Taj Hotel, one the sites hit by the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. Later in the day, he accompanied 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg at Mumbai's Nariman House and Chabad Center. Moshe's father Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and mother Rivka were killed by Islamic terrorists at the Nariman House in the 2008 terror attacks. During his July visit, Prime Minister Modi personally invited Moshe to visit India.