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Renee Garfinkel

Renee Garfinkel

rgarfinkel@123washingtontimes.com

Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D., is a psychologist, author and radio host. She currently co-hosts "The Armstrong Williams Show" on Sirius XM Radio. Formerly, Renee hosted a national radio program, "Danger Zone," which aired weekly on Sirius XM Radio and on stations in the U.K. "Danger Zone" dealt with counterterrorism, security and intelligence issues. Renee writes a blog for Psychology Today and divides her time between Washington, D.C., and Jerusalem.

Articles by Renee Garfinkel

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, people stand by the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul. These days, with a string of terror attacks targeting Istanbul still fresh in his memory, some residents say they are adapting their daily routines because of fears they could become the latest victims of violent extremism. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Can democracy continue without norms?

2017 is only 10 days old and it has already seen mass murder events across the globe: in Florida and Iraq, in Israel and Turkey, in Egypt and Somalia.

January 10, 2017
In this Dec. 11, 2016, photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem. Netanyahu lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, Dec. 24, accusing him of a "shameful ambush" at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his "friend" President-elect Donald Trump. Netanyahu's comments came a day after the United States broke with past practice and allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a "flagrant violation" of international law. (Abir Sultan, Pool via AP, File)

Obama’s U.N. betrayal: Who benefited?

In the Orwellian reality that is the United Nations, peaceful housing construction is criticized as a "flagrant violation" and violent housing destruction is not worth mentioning

January 2, 2017
This photo provided by Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, shows David Friedman, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for ambassador to Israel. (Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP via AP)

Shaking up the Middle East

President-Elect Donald Trump promised to shake things up, and his appointment of David Friedman as U.S. Ambassador to Israel has certainly stirred up the media and the chattering class.

December 19, 2016
"I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it," President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview on the "Fox News Sunday" program. "Every week, it's another excuse." (Associated Press)

Trust in American institutions at historic low

Donald Trump ran a populist campaign of distrusting our institutions, and no institution was exempt from that distrust - not the CIA, not the generals, not the Federal Reserve, not Congress, and not even the institution of the presidency itself.

December 12, 2016
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a NATO parliamentary assembly meeting in Istanbul, Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Erdogan has called on the United States and other nations to re-assess his country's proposal for the creation of a no-fly zone in northern Syria. Addressing the NATO meeting, Erdogan again criticized allies' reliance on Syrian Kurdish fighters to battle the Islamic State group.(Kayhan Ozer, Presidential Press Service, Pool photo via AP)

Thanksgiving, Trump, Turkey

Throughout the long trance of the presidential campaign, the earthquake of an election, and the aftershocks since, America kind of lost focus on the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the planet has continued to spin, and much of it not in a good way.

November 21, 2016
U.S. President Harry S. Truman holds up an Election Day edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune, which mistakenly announced "Dewey Defeats Truman" on Nov. 4, 1948. Associated Press photo

The media, polls and the election

"Why didn't we know?" is the question most often heard since last week's stunning election results. Dozens of daily polls were all wrong: why didn't we know? Trillions of words filled billions of web pages - so why didn't we know?

November 14, 2016
Screen capture from YouTube video of Rush Limbaugh from his August 1, 2016, broadcast, in which he celebrated 28 years of syndication. Accessed via RushLimbaugh.com on August 2, 2016.

How to kill a zombie

I hope someone teaches the new president how to kill zombies. They are running amok.

November 8, 2016
Robert D'Andrea, a retired Army major and Iraq war veteran, holds a frame with a photo of his team on his first deployment to Iraq on Friday, Oct. 21, 2016 in his home in Los Angeles. Nearly 10,000 California National Guard soldiers have been ordered to repay huge enlistment bonuses a decade after signing up to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon demanded the money back after audits revealed overpayments by the California Guard under pressure to fill ranks and hit enlistment goals. If soldiers refuse, they could face interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens, D'Andrea said he was told to repay his $20,000 because auditors could not find a copy of the contract he says he signed. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP)

Give military veterans more than a thanks

"Thank you for your service" has become the conventional way to greet a uniformed soldier you might meet in an elevator or in line at Starbucks. So when the public learned that the government was demanding refunds of the enlistment bonuses soldiers received for signing up to serve in the Iraq war, the injustice was simply too much to bear. Public outcry reached the ears of members of Congress, and they responded.

October 31, 2016
UNESCO, the U.N. body that designates cultural treasures, ignored Israeli ties to the Temple Mount in favor of Palestinians, who refer to it as the Al-Aqsa Mwosque. (Associated Press)

Like Islamists, UNESCO erases history

Islamism is characterized by elements we have sadly come to know too well: brutal violence, terrorism, misogyny, suppression of "infidels," and destruction of history and culture. That is their MO.

October 16, 2016
President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987 to ban missiles with ranges of 310 miles to 3,400 miles. Key members of Congress have told President Obama that Russia is material breach of the treaty. (Associated Press/File)

Election, debate predictions

We've seen debates, we've been fed spin, and most of us have a case of campaign indigestion. We're all counting down to Election Day, and not just for the chance to choose the next president.

October 10, 2016
In this Feb. 20, 1962 file photo, an elder warrior with a stone axe over his shoulder stands over the Baliem Valley in the central mountain range of Papua New Guinea. New research published Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016 suggests that the genetic ancestry of people living outside Africa can be traced almost completely to a single exodus of humans from that continent long ago. But some native islanders of Papua New Guinea may also carry a tiny legacy from an earlier exit. (AP Photo)

Out of Africa: Science unites what politics divide

Science lovers like me take particular delight when new scientific findings harmonize with ancient narratives. That's just what happened last week, with the publication of three major genetic studies that showed a common African root for all living branches of the human family tree.

September 27, 2016
New Yorkers pass a shattered storefront window on W. 23rd St. in Manhattan, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, in New York. The window was hit by shrapnel from the terrorist bomb that exploded across the street Saturday evening. An Afghan immigrant wanted in the bombings was captured Monday after being wounded in a gun battle with police. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Terrorism encroaches on America: Learn from Israel

What a weekend! A bomb exploded in one Manhattan neighborhood, and an unexploded pressure-cooker device was found just blocks away. Meanwhile, across the country at a mall in Minnesota, a man calling out the word "Allah" stabbed nine people before he was shot dead by an off-duty police officer.

September 20, 2016
Illustration on the changing nature of Labor Day by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Labor Day: What do we really think?

Happy Labor Day, we say on our way to score bargains at the mall. Happy Labor Day, we think, exchanging summer shorts and sandals for back-to-school and work uniforms. Happy Labor Day, we hear from political candidates professing concern for American workers.

September 5, 2016
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Akron, Ohio, Monday, Aug. 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Memo to Donald Trump: Here’s how to apologize

Check with your pastor, rabbi, imam or Friend of Bill -- they will agree that there are several essential components to a meaningful apology -- all absent from Mr. Trump's remarks. The elements are designed to begin a process of change in both the injured person and the perpetrator of the injury.

August 22, 2016