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Ben Cohen. Credit: Courtesy.

Ben Cohen

Featured Columnist

Ben Cohen is a senior analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) and director of FDD’s rapid response outreach, specializing in global antisemitism, anti-Zionism and Middle East/European Union relations. A London-born journalist with 30 years of experience, he previously worked for BBC World and has contributed to Commentary, The Wall Street Journal, Tablet and Congressional Quarterly. He was a senior correspondent at The Algemeiner for more than a decade and is a weekly columnist for JNS. Cohen has reported from conflict zones worldwide and held leadership roles at the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee. His books include Some of My Best Friends: A Journey Through 21st Century Antisemitism.

Music Festival Site
Opinion
The past is now the present
I have finally lived on this earth during an actual pogrom—one that brought to life in sickening detail the stories I had read as a child.
Oct. 13, 2023
Ben Cohen
Flags of Russia and Iran on a table in an international negotiation room. Credit: Melnikov Dmitriy/Shutterstock.
Opinion
Russia and Iran: ‘Room to grow’
A Moscow turn against Jerusalem, with echoes of the Cold War, cannot be discounted.
Oct. 6, 2023
Ben Cohen
Soviet POWs cover a mass grave after the Babi Yar massacre just days earlier, Oct. 1, 1941. Credit: Johannes Hähle via Wikimedia Commons.
Opinion
Russia, Ukraine and Holocaust memory
There is no excuse for downplaying history, even if it’s in the name of an ostensibly noble cause, like supporting Ukraine’s resistance to Moscow’s attempts to wipe it from the map.
Sep. 29, 2023
Ben Cohen
Tunisian President Kais Saied. Credit: Houcemmzoughi via Wikimedia Commons.
Opinion
The ‘Antisemitism Month’ of Arab leaders
In the Middle East, antisemitism emanates from the corridors of power, walking hand in hand with corruption, political repression, torture, racism and other reprehensible features of authoritarian rule.
Sep. 22, 2023
Ben Cohen
Flooding in Derna, Libya
Opinion
‘Israelis Without Borders’
Nearly 10,000 people have died in Morocco and Libya in a matter of days. Of course, it’s advisable to use the first-responder expertise of their regional Jewish neighbor.
Sep. 15, 2023
Ben Cohen
Hubert Aiwanger
Featured Columnist
A Bavarian scandal shines a light on Germany’s ‘Holocaust guilt’
“Anyone who thinks, writes down and spreads such thoughts must not bear any political responsibility in Germany,” declared Saskia Esken, chair of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). But not everyone would agree.
Sep. 1, 2023
Ben Cohen
The Southern Lebanon border showing the Arab village of Ghajar, open to Israelis since the 2000, Sept. 7, 2022. Photo by David Cohen/Flash90.
Opinion
To weaken Hezbollah, you have to weaken Iran
There was one small yet welcome development on that front when the United States announced sanctions against an ostensible environmentalist NGO (actually, a front for Hezbollah) called “Green Without Borders.”
Aug. 18, 2023
Ben Cohen
Jean-Luc Mélenchon in 2013 in Toulouse. Credit: Pierre-Selim via Wikimedia Commons.
Opinion
Antisemitism still haunts the European left
Simply by looking at the record of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of France’s main far-left party La France Insoumise, we can quickly conclude that he is someone who needs educating.
Aug. 11, 2023
Ben Cohen
Soccer, Saudi Arabia
Opinion
Saudi Arabia’s ‘sportswashing’ strategy
There is a widely held belief that the influx of athletes, along with their luxury brands and glamorous lifestyles, will transform Saudi Arabia, turning it into a more open, tolerant society.
Aug. 4, 2023
Ben Cohen
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 25, 2019. Credit: Kremlin Presidential Press and Information Office via Wikimedia Commons.
Featured Columnist
The North Korean threat remains live
Most Jews around the world rarely have occasion to think about it. But make no mistake: The regime is fanatical enough to deliver on its lurid warnings.
Jul. 28, 2023
Ben Cohen
An open book on fire. Credit: Sergeyxsp/Shutterstock.
Featured Columnist
Sweden must prevent public burnings of religious books
After historical precedent, can this legitimately be regarded as constitutionally protected free speech?
Jul. 7, 2023
Ben Cohen
A Russian civilian hugs a soldier of the Wagner Group private military company on a tank with flowers in the muzzle after the end of an attempted mutiny on Vladimir Putin's regime, June 24, 2023. Credit: Fargoh via Wikimedia Commons.
Opinion
It’s time for Russia’s remaining Jews to leave
A weak regime can still be a dangerous one, particularly when said regime is armed with nuclear weapons.
Jun. 30, 2023
Ben Cohen
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