In this piece Messrs. Sam Shoamanesh and Hirad Abtahi of the International Criminal Court (ICC) argue for a united Western Asia that, in their opinion, could form one of the most influential and prosperous regional blocks in modern history. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-sasan-shoamanesh/not-a-emnew-middle-eastem_b_514469.html
Passover, whether you’re in Israel or in the Diaspora, generally connects families around the Seder table. The little ones scurry into the far reaches of the house looking for that hidden clump of cracker known for eight days as matzah. Siblings, some of which may have not seen one another all year, come together and […]
Iyad Allawi Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s bloc has won the most seats in Iraq’s parliamentary elections, which took place earlier this month on March 7th. According to a briefing by the BBC, Allawi’is coalition won two seats more than that of incumbent PM Nouri Maliki, making the race extremely tight at 89:91 seats. […]
Fellow FPA Blogger Sean Patrick Murphy recently drew my attention to an upcoming project by British-Egyptian actor Khalid Abdalla, which I thought readers of this blog would also find interesting. Murphy profiles Abdalla, who is best known for what some have to referred to as his ‘war on terror’ trilogy. In the past, Abdalla has […]
On Valentine’s Day 2005, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed as his motorcade traveled near the Beirut seaside. To date, Hariri’s killers have yet to be identified, and like many other high-profile cases in the this part of the world, it might never happen. After Hariri’s death, the United Nations Security Council set […]
The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority don’t seem to agree on much these days. In fact, the two governments are regularly at odds with one another, refusing to sit down and even discuss how to move forward on a peace process, let alone the details of what a final agreement would entail. Well, it […]
Generally, meetings between high-level officials from allies involve joint statements and appearances. Well, the relationship between Israel and the United States is somewhat tense of late, particularly following Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the region that coincided with Israeli approval of settlements in a contentious area of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to […]
The Arab League will convene next Saturday in Libya to discuss several issues facing Arab countries. The issue of the Palestinian reconciliation and Israel’s latest plans to take over Jerusalem will be the highest on their agenda. Iran, will also be among the talking points. The common denominator between all the attendees in the Arab […]
As the American Israel Political Action Committee annual policy conference winds down, the group concluded a major show of force, all against the backdrop of growing tensions between Israel and the United States and the rise of a rival lobbying shop more in line with the Obama administration. The group’s three main legislative thrusts are […]
The British government has expelled an Israeli diplomat in connection with the asasination of Al-Mahbouh. The British government claims to possess compelling evidence that Israel has misused at least one British Passport in the affair. Please read more here. Europe in general and especially Britain has long been a hotbed for the operations of various […]
The cards for a strike on Iran are slowly falling into place, with the White House potentially seeking outside help from a somewhat unlikely ally. Let’s set the scene. The White House has deemed that negotiations with the Iranian regime are futile and, in order to thwart the Iranian nucleaAr program, the United States must […]
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has ranked thwarting the Iranian nuclear program as its top priority. Even though the Obama and Netanyahu administrations have disagreed of late, you wouldn’t have guessed any tension during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech today to the pro-Israel group at its annual convention. In her speech, Clinton focused […]
With the health care reform vote under the spotlight, another major and positive development is going unnoticed in the Middle East. The possible winner in the Iraqi elections could be Ayad Alawi. The results thus far are questioned but not rejected by Nouri Al-Maliki, the current Prime Minister. If the results are accepted and led […]
The following piece was originally published in Iran Times International’s annual Special Nowruz Edition. On March 20 Iranians the world over will start Nowruz celebrations, the first day of spring, marking the start of the Persian new year. Since the time of Achaemenids Empire the centuries-old Nowruz tradition, which literally means ‘new day’ has been practiced […]
The recent tiff between the White House and the Netanyahu administration has reignited a long-running debate on the terms of cooperation between the United States and Israel. Officials of both countries have repeatedly harped about the shared values and mutual interests of the two countries. The United States supplies Israel with military might and aid, […]