With with 89 percent of the votes counted from the March 7 election, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s coalition has edged ahead of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Nuri al-Maliki’s coalition is currently leading Allawi’s bloc by about 40,000 votes. However, Votes are still being tallied and the race is still too close to call. […]
The annual Arab League summit is being held this year in Libya, and Lebanon’s attendance at the meeting is doubtful. Libya and Lebanon have been at odds since the highly influential Imam Musa Sadr went missing on a 1978 visit to Tripoli. Many Lebanese blame Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi for Sadr’s disappearance, and tensions between […]
A new study in Nature released this week indicates that your pooch is most likely a descendant from Middle Eastern wolves. The study evaluated genetic traits from 85 breeds of dogs and 200 wild wolves, and researchers found that dogs are probably most closely related to the Middle Eastern gray wolf. Israelis are nicknamed ‘sabras’ […]
I’ve written extensively on Israel as a model for airline security, particularly following the failed Christmas Eve terror plot. While the Obama administration has changed some policies that shift the security profile toward a system that mirrors some elements of Israeli policies, the technologies developed by Israeli firms are the top of the line. This […]
The pro-Israel establishment, including Israel’s allies in Congress, are fuming over the recent row between the White House and the Netanyahu administration. They are condemning the Obama administration for inappropriately chastising Israel and holding the Jewish state to higher standards. These criticisms of U.S. policy are nothing new, and only took a new form following […]
Over the weekend Hamas declared a Day of Rage for Tuesday because of an Israeli dedication of the Hurva Synagogue which was restored over the past five years and which was destroyed by the Arab Legion in 1948. The Hurva Synagogue is located in the Jewish Quarter. Ostensibly the Muslim community should have had no […]
One commentator likened what happened to vice-president Joe Biden in Israel to what president Bush endured during his visit to Iraq. This was the shoe moment for Mr. Biden, only this time, a “strategic ally” perpetrated the attack. We have had few days to contemplate and assess the damage of the “ insult” (as described […]
12Petals Media Group is an Iranian-American organization based in San Francisco. 12 Petals strives to be a union of creators and social entrepreneurs of media and visual arts working together to promote and encourage respect for those rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is 12 Petals’ first major production in its […]
Long time observers of the Middle East were not surprised by the events that transpired during Vice President Biden’s visit to Israel earlier this week. It is well known that Israeli politics is a multifaceted conglomerate of opinions ranging from the far- right supporters of armed conflict with the Palestinians to the Far- Left supporters […]
Even though cigarette smoking in the United States is on the decline, the Middle East is rife with individuals who just want to light up after a long day of work, an excessively delicious meal, or an exhilarating night of… Israel recently introduced a ban on cigarette smoking in bars and restaurants. But, as anyone […]
The President of Lebanon Michel Suleiman will not attend the Arab League Summit later this month in Libya. There are also unconfirmed reports that the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not attend. The Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is recovering from a gallbladder surgery in Germany. his chances of attending the summit are also small. The […]
While Lebanon worries about another attack from Israel, two other issues have been consistently popping up on the radar: the question of Hizballah’s arms, and the prospect of ending sectarianism. Not surprisingly, the three are closely related. — During the run-up to the 2009 parliamentary elections in Lebanon, a cloud of anxiety blanketed the country. […]
The State Department released today its 2009 Human Rights Report that outlines freedom of the press, religion, democracy, and a slew of other issues throughout the world. The section on Israel is quite lengthy and, while one would expect the bulk of the report to deal with Israeli actions toward Palestinians, significant sections are devoted […]
Update: It didn’t undermine them, it destroyed them. What shows more chutzpah- making the prime minister of an ally wait for an hour and a half for your arrival or insulting an ally’s vice president by announcing a new policy welcomed by that ally, before subsequently undermining it? Vice President Joe Biden is nearing completion […]
It is amazing how fast the news stream from the Middle East. Less than a day after the Arab league approved another round of indirect talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the indirect talks that were at the behest of the U.S. mediator in the region. Israel snubs the world and declares it will […]