U.S. officials attempted to spin the tripartite meeting yesterday between President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a success that managed to re-infuse urgency into a stalled peace process. Moreover, direct negotiations with no preconditions between Israeli and Palestinian officials may formally resume within the next couple of months. […]
The newest INSS report examines the complex relationship between Israel and Russia alongside recent efforts for increased cooperation between the two countries. Russia, and previously the U.S.S.R., always sought a prominent role in the Middle East, at times forging alliances with Arab countries to counteract the U.S.-Israel relationship. Further, as Russia attempts to regain its […]
A recent op-ed in Al-Ahram is not notable for any intellect in the writing, unmatched analysis, or strong arguments proving any one particular point. Instead, the shear, unbridled hatred is the only noteworthy aspect of the article, which concludes that Israel perpetrated an unprecedented hoax during 9/11 to blame Islamic fundamentalists for the terror attacks and embed the United […]
Even though Palestinian and Israeli officials announced their refusal to meet at this week’s United Nations General Assembly, the obstinate statesmen reluctantly agreed to tripartite talks between President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Special Envoy George Mitchell spent all of last week in negotiations in the Middle […]
This video is pretty telling of Israeli humor. It’s more a combination of confusing and awkward as opposed to roll-on-the-floor laughing. The video mocks the recent diplomatic rifts between Israel and some northern European countries. Norway recently cut ties with an Israeli firm after objections to the border barrier (wall and fence) between mainland Israel […]
Happy new year and hopes for a great holiday to everyone. Hopefully, this year will focus on peace and reconciliation, with prosperity and hope flourishing in both Palestinian and Israeli societies. Be-ezrat Hashem and Inshah Allah. Shanah tova and Ramadan kareem. Image taken from here.
Young Israelis often perform a mass exodus from the country upon completing compulsory military service in their early twenties. The Israel Defense Forces provide departing soldiers with a small stipend to supplement the meager pay they received while serving. Instead of saving the cash, many Israelis take a trip to South America, Thailand, or India […]
We’ve heard mainly groans from Israeli politicians on the recently released Goldstone report on alleged Israeli human rights violations in the Gaza Strip. However, U.S. officials began chiming in with criticisms of the document. Notably, U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary P.J. Crowley attempted to deflect discussion of the report at today’s press conference onto the […]
While troubling in some of its findings, the recently released United Nations Goldstone Report on Israel’s recent strike in the Gaza Strip represents flawed methodology and one-sided bias against Israel. The President of the U.N. Human Rights Council provided a commission headed by Justice Richard Goldstone with a mandate to “to investigate all violations of […]
It appears that Israeli women just might be among the most incredible females out there. Earlier this year, Sports Illustrated featured Israeli model Bar Rafaeli on the cover of the Swimsuit Issue. Now, another Israeli woman won a major international contest when she triumphed as the winner of Fox’s hit dating show “More to Love” […]
Bitterlemons has another great series, this time about the renewal of a U.S.-brokered peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Two of the scholars in the series seem to differ on the need for an immediate renewal of negotiations. George Giacaman expressed urgency, calling the current proposals a “last chance,” in attempting to solve the […]
When we think of religious conversions in U.S. prisons, we conjure up images of Islamic fundamentalism infused with the roots of anti-Americanism. The issue resulted in high-level officials issuing worried statements about the phenomenon, with Congress even holding hearings with expert testimony on the radicalization of prisoners. However, just last week, prisoners began embracing a […]
Israeli directors seem to have a knack for making great films about Israel’s wars with Lebanon. The latest film, “Lebanon,” won the top prize at this year’s Venice film festival and received wide acclaim as an “astonishing piece of cinema.” Director Samuel Maoz personally experienced the first Lebanon war from inside a tank, a claustrophobic atmosphere […]
A Palestinian Authority-funded radio station launched a new televised satire that pokes fun at the government, religion, and sex. Actors on the “Homeland on a Thread” show imitate government officials, including PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Chief Negotiator Saeb Erakat. Even though the television station requested permission from the PA to run the most controversial […]
Former Israeli Diplomat Alon Pinkas supported the idea of Palestinian state-building from the “ground up” but rejected as unfeasible a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood, he said in an interview with Middle East Progress. Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad recently expressed the need for Palestinians to develop preliminary institutions needed for a future independent state, including […]