Israeli Memorial Day leads right into Independence Day, thereby creating an interesting shift from a somber attitude and into exuberance. Well, the focus has been on independence, but Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech is interesting, with Bibi issuing a strong message that Israel is here to stay.
The Obama administration has been notoriously cast as anti-Israel. But, at least Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is a fan. She spoke at the AIPAC conference last month and just issued a video commemorating Israel’s 62nd anniversary. The State Department tends to issue short statements in response to the anniversary of a country’s independence. However, […]
The rhetoric on the Iran nuclear program is all falling into place, and it appears that Israel, the United States and even Iran are bracing for a military confrontation. On the eve of Memorial Day, the Israeli government has warned that it will not face destruction. The United States military is weighing all its options. […]
Some new facts have recently come to light regarding Syria’s sale of missiles to Hezbollah. Both Israeli and U.S. intelligence have been watching Syria replenish Hezbollah’s stock pile of weapons for some time. Shipments from Syria have included rockets and anti-tank missiles. Estimates of said weapons arsenal number approximate 30,000 missiles and rockets. This number […]
According to reports Syria has been selling numerous munitions to Hezbollah, a militant group that currently controls the border between Israel and Lebanon, as well as most of South Lebanon. Hezbollah is sworn to the destruction of Israel and is mostly funded, trained and supplied by Iran. The U.S. has recently confirmed President Shimon Peres’s […]
As Iraq enters its post-parliamentary election phase, the situation resembles that which Lebanon faced after its own parliamentary elections last June. The two countries have much in common and it might be useful to compare them. Their Shia Iraq and Lebanon have similar heterogeneous sectarian breakdowns. For Lebanon, the Shia, Sunni, and Christians represent the […]
Economic development in the West Bank has largely been used as an indication that rejecting terrorism and accepting Israel’s legitimacy can transform Palestinian society into a viable independent state. The economic situations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip differ substantially, in part because the Gaza Strip has no economy, complicated by the closure of its borders […]
Israelis tend to love vacationing in Sinai, a small peninsula situated in Egypt that was once occupied by Israel before its return as part of a peace deal. Sinai is somewhat like the Israeli beach town of Eilat — they’re both on the Red Sea and boast some of the world’s best scuba diving. But, that’s about […]
The 2010 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty goes to………Akbar Ganji! (Photo taken from Cato Institute) Ganji is a well- known Iranian writer and journalist. He spent 6 years in an Iranian prison for being a vocal supporter of secular democracy in Iran and exposing government involvement in the assassination of individuals opposed to Iran’s theocratic […]
Sean Murphy of FPA’s Global Film Review blog has posted a review of an intriguing documentary called The Glass House. This documentary follows lives of four young Iranian women over an 18 month period at a center in Tehran called Omid e Mehr, where women living on the margins of Iranian society can come for […]
As news headlines on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict center on civilian casualties and the Obama administration’s efforts to reboot negotiations, some tragic stories are lost in the shuffle, even though they highlight some interesting nuances on regional politics. Over the last two weeks, a saga has unfolded to save the lives of the first conjoined twins […]
Two ministers from the rival groups of Hamas and Fatah met today in Gaza. Some of the points discussed included the persecution of Fatah and Hamas leader in the opposite group’s territories, as well as creating a supervisory police force for the upcoming elections. It is likely that the two opposing parties have moved because […]
The BBC is debating the merits of whether Israel is getting a free pass from the United States and the world regarding its nuclear program. You know my thoughts from yesterday’s post, but others seem to disagree. Read the discussion here and feel free to defend (or, if you must, refute) your Israel blogger’s position. […]
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is embroiled in a series of corruption scandals, could face arrest when he returns to Israel as authorities are cracking down on his associates and placing a gag order over domestic media to limit leaks about the investigation and pending arrests. At issue is a corruption and bribery investigation […]
As the United States and Russia sign a nuclear arms treaty and the world’s leaders are preparing to discuss nuclear weapons at length next week, Israel isn’t interested to chat about the sensitive subject of its nuclear arsenal. Complicating the issue reportedly are key Israel allies that could be attempting to gain legitimacy in the […]