Dr. Mordechai Kedar, the director for the Center for the Study of the Middle East and Islam (under formation) and a lecturer in the Arabic department at Bar Ilan University, believes that the two-state for two-people solution is out of touch with the Middle East reality. He believes that an eight-state solution better reflects the […]
For the second time in two months, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has had to apologize for publicly criticizing the United States. Lecturing at Tel Aviv University on Monday, Ya’alon delivered a speech saying that the U.S. “shows weakness” on the world stage and that Israel should not rely on U.S. efforts to deal […]
In a recent post on this site, Samantha Quint intelligently analyzed the recent poll on peace issues (among other topics) carried out by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI). There was one finding in the survey in particular that I would like to expand upon here, because I believe it bears significant weight and could have […]
There has been a recent escalation in the level of violence between Gaza and Israel. The IDF attacked Gaza and Southern Israeli cities have been bombarded with qassam rockets. The root of this recent escalation is the level of incitement that presently exists within Palestinian society. Life in Southern Israel as we speak is very […]
Levana Zamir, President of the International Association of Jews from Egypt, and the Egyptian Jewish community generally suffered greatly as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the wake of the 1948 war. For this reason, Zamir and other members of the Egyptian Jewish community are extremely grateful to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry […]
In 2010, public attention was focused on a supply flotilla originating from Turkey making its way to Gaza. Israel claimed the shipment was illegal and demanded the Mavi Marmara turn back. The ship continued and, about 80 miles off the coast of Gaza, Israeli soldiers boarded. Conflict ensued. Nine Turkish activists were killed. Dozens were […]
A unique humanitarian effort to shed light on and offer hope to those affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria harnessed the power of art. From November 3-6, areas along the Syrian border became canvases for international graffiti artists. In this demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria, deep in the area known as the Golan […]
Quick quiz. Which of the following are forbidden in Iran? Walking a dog in public Having a pet cat Twitter, Gmail, Facebook and YouTube Reading (or watching) Harry Potter Barbie Being gay Rocking a mullet Wearing jeans If you answered all of them, you would be almost correct. While skinny jeans have been officially banned […]
To say this documentary puts the Israelis in a bad light is a great understatement. It is hard, watching this film, to not want to ally oneself with the Palestinians portrayed in it. The documentary is about the erection of the wall Israel was building in 2002 that hems in the West Bank. We see […]
Below is an article by Roger Cohen in the New York Times, which favorably references an op-ed by David Harris, the head of the American Jewish Committee. Cohen means to demonstrate that even Harris thinks that Netanyahu “blustered” too much about Iran in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly this week. (Incidentally, he […]
Credit: frontporchaustin.org In just the past ten days, irate Palestinian negotiators briefly suspended peace talks after an Israeli army raid in the Qalandiya refugee camp ended with the deaths of three Palestinians, the pro-peace organization Minds of Peace held a public summit between regular Israelis and Palestinians in the streets of Jerusalem and signed a […]
After many years and a lot of prodding from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the Israelis and the Palestinians will be resuming peace talks. Both sides are moving forward reluctantly, and with little optimism toward a successful outcome. Abbas had initially demanded an official settlement freeze before coming to the table, something that Netanyahu […]
Source: Wikimedia Commons Ever since United States Secretary of State John Kerry revealed to international media on July 19 that he had reached an agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government to resume direct negotiations, there has been a torrent of reactions and commentary on the issue. Some of this has focused on […]
Credit: The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs In the past couple of months, two interesting polls have been published on Israeli and Palestinian public opinion. The first (published in late May), which was commissioned by the Israel Peace Initiative and conducted by the Israeli company New Wave Research, found that 55 percent of Israelis […]
Jews have lived in the land of Israel for thousands of years. They faced several forced expulsions, the most recent lasting nearly 2,000 years. Even throughout that time, Jews lived in the Levant continuously, albeit in much reduced numbers. Two stories appeared this week in the press about archeological discoveries in Israel. In December 2012, […]