The Whirlwind Week

New York may be a harbinger of things to come, a possible deal in the Middle East and a victory lap in The Hague

As we are cruising into summer and the holiday week, it is maybe a good time to take stock here at the newsletter. First, a big thanks to all the new readers, in particular the new ones who have recently landed here. Thanks also to the new paying subscribers, it is really appreciated and if you don’t feel like taking a full paid subscription you can always ‘buy me a coffee’, see the button below.

The last two weeks were of course something else and I always have to refrain from the urge to become a news service, there are others that do a much better job. Analysis and background are my goal. That said, when something dramatic unfolds, like last week’s US bombing campaign in the heart of Iran, there will be a quick recap. Today, a few newsy updates, a bit of analysis and hopefully a smile to wrap it all up.

Zamdani

My lengthy exposé of how the left in The Netherlands tore itself apart over Israel and is now increasingly aligning itself with anti-Western voices is not a stand alone item of course. It is part of a broader trend. And unless you have been living under a rock you will know that in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York the winner is Zohran Mamdani. Not only does he represent the far-left and anti-Israel wing of that party, it was seemingly easy for him to defeat Democratic stalwart Andrew Cuomo. The panic that set in across the entire political spectrum over a guy who wants to set-up city-owned grocery stores, apply higher taxes to ‘white neighbourhoods’ and thinks that ‘violence is an artificial construct’ was palpable all over the world.

We have to see how things will go in the general election in November where no doubt hundreds of millions, if not more, will be thrown at any candidate that can stop Zamdani. So no need to panic just yet. But what this whole affair does indicate is that - and this is a global phenomenon - as the right came apart under populist trends, so will the centre-left now start to unravel where younger and very radical elements have a good chance of coming up on top.

A Middle East Deal?

No sooner did the ceasefire between Israel and US on the hand and Iran on the other take shape, or the rumour mill started churning out news over Gaza and the route back to normalization between Israel and some of its neighbours. And things may be getting a lot easier with Iran sidelined and the rough contours of the deal that is now in the works apparently are:

• The war in Gaza will end within two weeks;

• All Israeli hostages to be released ;

• Hamas will be replaced by a joint Arab force governance;

• Israel to retain certain roads and access points in Gaza;

• The Hamas leadership, or what is left of it, will go into exile;

• Gazans who wish can be given the opportunity to emigrate;

• Normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia, Syria and Israel;

• Israel to collaborate on a route to a future Palestinian state (against certain Palestinian conditions).

The goals were always clear: end the war, hostages free, normalization and some sort of road to a Palestinian state which, to be clear, none of the parties sees as a real priority now, but needs to be somehow addressed. Wrap it in some diplomatic formulas and the issue will not disrupt the more urgent issues at hand. If true and if this indeed comes to fruition it will be a diplomatic coup of epic proportions. It also signifies the groundwork done by Steve Witkoff and before him the team in the Biden administration. There is of course one man who will climb the podium and take the credit, the man who this week was on a global victory lap.

Daddy

Given my Dutch background it was hard to not pay extra attention to the NATO Summit in The Hague and Trump’s sleepover at the Royal Palace as guest of the King and Queen. Former Dutch PM and now NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had figured out that to please the US president in the extreme was the only way to keep him on board and happy. And kudos to Rutte: he unified and delivered all NATO members by getting them to agree to start spending 5% of GDP on defence, a long-held Trump wish. Of course the usual critics and much of the media lost it when the extent of Trump’s victory lap, on the heels of the bombing and ceasefire in Iran, became so visible and celebrated. Even erstwhile Trump critics happily chimed in.

And there was a beautiful nugget in all of it. Few will probably recall that in 2016 then ‘alt-right’ commentator Milo Yiannopoulos coined the term ‘daddy’ to address Trump. You may guess as to the origins of this, but it never stuck, in fact I think not many people even paid attention to it at the time. But of course these things carry some prescience and this week Mark Rutte, unwittingly or not, used it as part of his praise for Trump suggesting that Europe’s squabbling leaders needed ‘daddy’ to sort things out. Yes he went there and it all went viral. The White House, in a buoyant mood and never missing an opportunity, used it as its theme to wrap up the NATO visit: Daddy’s Home. It was quite the week indeed.

Photos: Coal Harbour in Vancouver, early summer 2025.

Be’er Sheva resident Naomi Shanan demonstrating for the release of the hostages. She was killed earlier this week by one of the last Iranian missiles to hit Israel.

Video: Trump gets asked about the ‘daddy’ reference. Watch Marco Rubio’s reaction.