Issue 25

April 2015
The Tower Magazine

Iran Has a Serious Human Rights Problem

A new UN report paints a scathing picture of Iran as one of the worst regimes on earth. So why is America engaging? BEN COHEN takes a look.

continue reading >> A woman walks near the Azadi Tower in Tehran. Photo: Morteza Bahmani / flickr

In Iraq, the U.S. and Iran Really Do Fight as Allies

American officials insist that despite fighting a hot war against the same enemy in the same place, the U.S. and Iran are not allies. MICHAEL PREGENT looks at the evidence.

continue reading >> Two EA-18G Growlers fly in formation above the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, February 27, 2015. Carl Vinson is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, which conducts airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. Photo: MCS 2nd Class John Philip Wagner, Jr. / U.S. Navy / flickr

How We Lost Stanford University

Hidden intentions, deceptive tactics, aggressive radicalism, and above all, outside help—all these led the students at one of America's top universities to boycott Israel. MIRIAM POLLOCK '16 offers the anatomy of a defeat.

continue reading >> Stanford University on a rainy night. Photo: Peter Thoeny / flickr

Israel's LGBT Community Keeps Moving Forward

Pinkwashing was never a real thing. As CORINNE BERZON shows, progress for gays in Israel seems like an unstoppable force—and a symbol of hope.

continue reading >> LGBT rights activists protested during a speech by Israeli Minister of Economics and Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett at a conference in Tel Aviv, February 24, 2015. Photo: Tomer Neuberg / Flash90

What If Israeli-Palestinian Security Cooperation Stops?

As attention shifts back to the Palestinian problem, leaders mull the PLO's call to stop cooperating with the IDF on security--the central pillar of the relative calm in the region. NERI ZILBER games out the scenarios moving forward.

continue reading >> Palestinian men burn tires during clashes with Israeli border police at the Qalandiya checkpoint, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, late on July 24, 2014, following a massive march attended by 10,000 Palestinian protesters against Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Issam Rimawi / Flash90

PHOTOS: This Is What Democracy Looks Like

There is only one place in the Middle East where freedom truly rings. AVIRAM VALDMAN shows us the Jewish State on election day 2015.

continue reading >> DSC_6271