Natalie Hilder


Finding Unity in a Divided Middle East
The sun was partially visible through the cloudy April sky on Koh Samui, Deen’s favourite vacation spot in the Gulf of Thailand. Opting for a coffee before his late morning ritual of driving around the small lush island, Deen pulled his rental car up to a Starbucks....

The ‘Old-New’ Peace Agreements (And Its Adversaries)
On this day 102 years ago, two visionaries sought to create an Arab-Jewish alliance to combat their mutual enemy of colonialism and to ensure that both Arabs and Jews would collaborate for their reciprocal self-actualization, when they signed the Faisal-Weizmann...

Why we are all diplomats (even if we are not all diplomatic)
In our globalized world of divisive politics and strained interpersonal relationships, the remedy to animosity must meet both the challenges and the opportunities available to us today. According to Aristotle, we are all either “political animals” or outcasts that...

Reviving the Faisal-Weizmann hopes for peace after 100 years
The emergence of the Abraham Accords was met with global astonishment—and jubilation, for the most part—but did this seemingly unprecedented peace agreement actually materialize much later than it could have? Perhaps it was the necropolis of unsuccessful Western...

The Abraham Accords: The Reconciliation of Arabs and Jews
Hope — long deferred — materialized on the South Lawn of the White House on September 15, when leaders from the UAE, Bahrain, and Israel officially normalized relations. The Arab nations publicly recognized Israel’s right to exist, and all concerned parties...

Why Arab States Are Making Peace With Israel Now
The challenges surrounding the Arab-Israeli conflict have become so mythologized in our collective mentality that the idea of actually implementing viable and widespread mutually beneficial peace agreements between these groups was often considered to either be...

Those in Powerful Positions Must Be Held Accountable for Their Anti-Semitism
A new wave of virulent anti-Semitism — elevated by those in positions of power — is reaching critical levels in the United States. Amid the backdrop of disproportionate rates of anti-Jewish hate crimes, political institutions and elected officials — both Republican...

Iran’s Prisoners of Conscience Bear the Brunt of COVID-19
Despite Iran being severely hit by the coronavirus — with a death toll likely much higher than officially reported — the country’s use of subterfuge and contempt for due process has made its prisoners of conscience its most vulnerable citizens. Notorious for their...

Palestinian Leaders Continue to Hold Their People Hostage Despite Global Pandemic
Despite COVID-19, Palestinian leaders keep neglecting and abusing their own people in favor of their agitprop and anti-Israel incitement. Hamas arbitrarily detains journalists and peace activists, and tortures and kills its citizens, while the Palestinian Authority...

Plague Libel: Blaming Jews For COVID-19
The COVID-19 era brand of anti-Semitism has resulted in worldwide claims that the Jews or Israel are responsible for manufacturing and spreading the coronavirus. While attending AIPAC in March, I was confronted with the reality of extremist Islamists calling for us...