As tension mounts after Syria’s alleged—though clearly evident—use of chemical weapons to systematically slaughter civilians, outreach against the regime emerged most vocally from the White House and State Department, as well as their counterparts across Europe. Some voices — namely those from China and Russia — are, as expected, silent or deflecting criticism from the […]
Dr. Reza Aslan is an internationally acclaimed American writer and scholar of religions and author, most recently, of the Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. Dr. Aslan is also the founder of Aslan Media, an online journal for news and entertainment about the Middle East and the world, and co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of […]
It’s a rare occurrence for a nation to act altruistically in its humanitarian engagements, and even rarer when a state does so, knowing all there is in return is potentially heightened security risks in a conflict setting. I want to use this post as a brief pause from my usual focus on chronic disease care […]
Secretary of State John Kerry has the Israelis and Palestinians talking again. In the context of all that is happening in the Middle East, that qualifies as a positive. Kerry does not give up. That has been well documented before. While many see the Israeli-Palestinian issue as a morass, Kerry believes the United States […]
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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 […]
Credit: Jewish Telegraphic Agency On Monday, June 24, a new law that would regulate Bedouin settlement in Israel’s Negev region passed its first reading in the Knesset with a slim 43-40 margin. The bill, commonly referred to as the Prawer plan, provides a comprehensive solution to the issue of Bedouin villages in the Negev by […]
Meir Javedanfar on Israel’s View on Iran’s Elections Meir Javedanfar is an Iranian-born Israeli Middle East expert. He lived in Iran until eight years after the revolution. He was educated in British universities and now lives in Israel. Asia Times called him “one of the best informed observers” of the Middle East. Mr. Javedanfar is the publisher and editor of the website Iran–Israel Observer. Previously, he […]
A turning point may have been reached in Jerusalem with the development of a recent plan to offer a sacred area each to two separate groups. Alas, even before implementation of that plan could occur, though, a riot and violence erupted. That paradigm has torpedoed peace processes between Israel and the Palestinians time and time again. Whether […]
In Israel, Yom Hazikaron, the country’s Day of Remembrance, commemorates the lives of fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. At eleven in the morning a siren sounds throughout the country. For two minutes life stands still as people stop to remember those who died as a result of violent acts. Drivers stop cars and emerge […]
For years, the U.S. has seemed determined on preventing an Israeli attack on Iran. Both Presidents Bush and Obama stood firm in their opposition to Iran becoming a nuclear state. But Bush outright vetoed Israel’s request in the final months of his presidency, and Obama has stood resolutely opposed to green lighting a military option […]
The hacker collective Anonymous this week launched a massive cyber attack against thousands of Israeli webpages–including sites for the Prime Minister’s Office and the Holocaust memorial museum Yad Vashem. Despite the efforts of hackers around the world to deface Israeli websites and the social media accounts of the country’s citizens, the cyber onslaught was largely […]
By Sarwar Kashmeri It would be a mistake to view President Obama’s visit to Israel as just a fence-mending exercise. It is in fact part of a planned redesign of U.S. foreign policy that will change the face of American leadership around the world. The redesign began with the appointment of John Kerry as Secretary […]
Anniversaries are dangerous days. There is often a flash of attention, lots of words and supposedly deep thought and meaningful promises. Then the sun goes down, and life goes on as before. The world often notes an anniversary without real thought or determination on how to take the steps needed to make it meaningful. As […]
The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a global Jewish human rights organization that confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promotes human rights and dignity and among other things, stands with Israel and defends the safety of Jews worldwide. For the past three years, the SWC has been putting together an annual list of the “Top Ten […]