The Israeli government faces international disputes with some countries in the region, and this time they are Israel’s allies. It started with Turkey. And now, it has expanded to Jordan. King Abdullah of Jordan cautioned Israel to avoid the consequences of excessive force in Jerusalem during recent protests by Palestinian and Muslim demonstrators. The word […]
Turkey is loving the limelight. Today, another Turkey-related story emerged, this time characterizing Ankara as the hero. Turkish news reported that Turkish authorities thwarted a terrorist plot against Israeli, NATO, and U.S. targets. An elite police squad from Istanbul arrested 32 individuals with terror links in eight different provinces throughout Turkey. Additional information has yet […]
First, it was a dispute on the Gaza War between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Then, an IDF General rebuked Turkish criticisms of Israel by conjuring images of the Armenian genocide. Now, the Turkish military ousted the IDF from a joint military exercise. But wait, its still going. A new Turkish […]
The controversial Goldstone report on the Gaza War has ripple effects within Palestinian society, with some groups condemning Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for not taking a tougher, hard-line stance on condemning Israel for the findings in the report. Ghassan Khatib writes in his latest piece about the weight of the report within Palestinian society. […]
While Turkey and Armenia seem to be mending their relationship, a growing rift is still developing between Turkey and Israel, largely over disagreements on the Gaza War earlier this year. The Turkish government ousted Israel from participating in an international joint military exercise scheduled to include the air forces of Turkey, Israel, the United States, […]
The prospects of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s “economic peace” leading to a comprehensive political two-state solution may actually result in another intifada. Sever Plocker’s latest op-ed in Ynet traces economic growth within the Palestinian Authority prior to the outbreak of the last two intifadas, in 1987 and 2000. Similarly, both intifadas erupted following specific […]
An Israeli women won a prize much more important than being the champion of “More to Love” (see a previous blog post) Ada Yonath won this year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry for discoveries in the structures of ribosomes that help them function. The work has implications in developing antibiotics and preventing bacteria from becoming resistant to antibiotics. […]
Imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti maintains his position as a potential future Palestinian Authority President and likely increased support for him following a recent interview publicized on Sunday. Even though Barghouti remains a Fatah member, his advocacy of resistance grants him support from a broad swath of Palestinians, including Hamas members. Because of Barghouti’s popularity, […]
The recently released video clip of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit reinvigorated rallies in support of a prisoner exchange and placed a major dilemma on the shoulders of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Instead of maintaining a refusal to trade over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Shalit, Netanyahu faces renewed pressure to agree to an exchange […]
The first exchange is complete. Israel swapped 19 female prisoners for a one-minute video of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. The video, shot recently with Shalit holding the September 14 2009 issue of a Palestinian newspaper, shows Shalit in decent health and assuages concerns that the soldier died long ago. Many analysts and officials contend […]
Hamas and Israeli officials, via Egyptian and German mediation, agreed to swap on Friday a video of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit for 20 Palestinian female prisoners currently held in Israeli jails. A German mediator with access to the video attested that the footage includes segments with Shalit moving, thereby reassuring Israeli officials that Shalit […]
In the midst of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s clandestine trip to Moscow earlier this month, initial rumors surfaced falsely indicated that the Israeli leader met with Arab leaders. These rumors raised some eyebrows of potential coordination between Israel and Arab countries without ties to the Jewish state, particularly Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf […]
On the rarest of occasions does one event trigger the complete shutting-down of an entire country. Every once in awhile, members of a country observe a moment of silence, where a majority of the state’s citizens inject a one-minute pause into their daily routine. Such events also occur in Israel, particularly on Israeli Memorial Day […]
Jews around the world are preparing to atone for their sins during the festival of Yom Kippur, a 25-hour day of fasting filled with self-reflection and prayers for the strength to improve oneself in the coming year. Yom Kippur is not about oppression like Passover or overcoming adversity like Hanukah. This festival is the one […]
Following months of mutual cooperation on anti-terrorism initiatives and attempts to secure the release of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, Israeli-Egyptian relations seem to be taking a hit this week as multiple events accentuated the perpetual tension between the two nations. The countries concluded their decades-long war under the guidance of U.S. President Jimmy Carter […]