Bloomberg Israel has blacklisted 20 groups from around the world that support the Palestinian-led boycott campaign against it, barring their members from entering the country. The organisations identified include the Association France Palestine Solidarite, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and US-based Jewish Voice for Peace. It follows up on a law passed last year that bars visits by non-citizens and non-residents ...

Since 2009, as policy makers have sought to return the global economy to normal, ‘stability’ has usually been their byword. Unfortunately, their actions have only created a false calm — a ‘stable instability,’ to coin a paradoxical phrase. Although a repeat of the financial crisis has so far been avoided, this relative tranquility has had the effect of derailing normal ...

As we begin a new year, it’s worth reflecting on the paradoxical and frustrating nature of progress. Progress is often disappointing, because even when it indisputably occurs (as it often does), it spawns new problems or reveals that old problems were underestimated in their complexity or inertia. Gains are forgotten and taken for granted. They become part of society’s norms, ...