Addressing his cabinet yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu said that Israel does not want a war in Gaza. One of Netanyahu’s aides said, “There’s a sensitive situation in the Middle East, which is one big boiling pot; there’s the international arena; [and] there’s the Palestinian move in the United Nations in September… On […]
The recent outbreak of violence along the Egyptian-Israeli border has momentarily diverted the Israeli public’s attention from the “tent” protests sweeping the country over the last few months. However, it appears that the protest movement will sustain its inertia. Although student-union led protests scheduled to occur over the weekend were cancelled, sizable protests took place […]
Israel’s periphery has rarely had a large voice in Israeli politics. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv make the noise; those in the north and the south typically just keep their heads down and try and go about their business. But today, a hundred thousand people throughout Israel’s periphery marched in solidarity with the current protests that […]
Like most of the other uprisings going on in the Middle East and North Africa, Israel’s month long protests were started by the youth. One month ago, 26 year-old video-editor from Tel-Aviv, Daphni Leef, was informed that her rent was going to go up. Being a product of the 21st century, she did what any […]
Over two dozen House Democrats are preparing a week-long trip to Israel and the West Bank only a month out from Palestinian attempts to unilaterally declare statehood and days after reports surfaced that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has reversed his opposition to using 1967 borders as the baseline for negotiations. The group of Democrats […]
Both Israeli and U.S. politicians often discuss the shared values and interests of the two countries, but shared outcomes are also a big part of that package and emerge time and time again in the economic, foreign policy and security realms. As Washington struggled to cobble together a debt limit increase and deficit reduction […]
I have recently been fortunate to conduct several interviews with some very influential and interesting figures, the latest being with the former U.S. Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, David J. Dunford. Ambassador Dunford was appointed to Oman in 1992 and served until 1995. He has since retired to Tucson, Arizona, where he is an […]
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing author Joseph Braude speak in New York City. He was interesting and his perspective on the Middle East was unique, and I felt compelled to do an interview with him for my readers. Just to provide some background, Joseph comes from an Iraqi-Jewish family and […]
In a striking turn of events last week, Greece came to the rescue of Israel by curbing the highly anticipated “Freedom Flotilla II.” The contingency of 350 activists on 10 boats, mostly from the U.S. and Europe, was determined to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. All boats were either intercepted by the Greek coastguard […]
Update: Knesset passes anti-democratic BDS law, with many members absent, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Israel has the most vibrant democracy in the Middle East, with the Knesset (parliament) including representatives from Jews and non-Jews alike. However, once more, extremists in the Knesset are trying to use the democratic process […]
One of the less publicized issues going on during Egypt’s rebuilding process is the trouble in the Sinai Peninsula. Since the revolution toppled the former autocratic government, lawlessness and chaos have taken hold of society. The nomadic Bedouin of the Sinai, who under Mubarak were controlled and coerced in to cooperating with the regime, have […]
Abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has been in Hamas captivity without access to international humanitarian assistance for nearly five years. In a courageous, albeit potentially treacherous, move by the White House, the administration condemned the detention in the “strongest” of terms and called for his release. Shalit’s abduction, and the vigor of requests for his […]
As it stands today, Israel’s government is a system of extreme proportional representation. There is hardly an ethnic minority or political group lacking representation. While at face value this may seem to be the fairest system, it is in fact a deeply flawed way of governance. The way it works is the public votes for […]
Israelis often pride themselves as being the only democracy in the Middle East. Israelis compare their actions to those of their neighbors, often using the clause, “Well, Hamas did worse” as rationale for an Israeli action. For Israel to take the high ground, the Jewish state must act like it by actually being more democratic, […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently posted a job opening, that of chief managing director. Their outgoing chief left in a hurry and a search is currently underway to replace him. Several names have been tossed around in consideration of the position, including the head of Israel’s central bank, Stanley Fischer. Despite his high qualifications, […]