WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a program of financial aid to the Palestinian Authority in a joint news conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad via his television hook-up from Ramallah. Here is a text: MR. CROWLEY: Good morning and welcome to the Department of State. We have a […]
By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Here’s a really interesting op-ed piece on al-Jazeera by a moderate Muslim with some useful ideas. But it also shows the weaknesses of that standpoint. Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti (his transliteration, not mine) was born in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, so he isn’t strictly speaking a mainstream Arab. But
A moderate Muslim voice from Mauritania Read More »
International, USABy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Here are two developments that are important indicators about the Israel-Palestinian situation. First, the current Palestinian Authority (PA) strategy is to stall and avoid negotiations because making a deal with Israel requires giving concessions to get to a compromise peace. The leadership wants to make no concessions, both because
Why the P.A. has no interest in the current ‘peace talks’ Read More »
Middle EastSACRAMENTO (Press Release)–California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner on Tuesday, Nov. 9, announced that he is filing a lawsuit challenging a California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) determination, issued last month at the behest of the insurance industry, that the Commissioner’s efforts to stop insurers from investing in Iran constituted an “underground regulation.” The Commissioner’s lawsuit contests
NEW ORLEANS (Press Release)— The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) on Tuesday awarded Jay Feinberg, from Boca Raton, Florida, the 2010 Jewish Community Hero Award. The award marked the culmination of the second annual Jewish Community Heroes contest, in which more than 300,000 votes were cast online to recognize the selflessness and courage of those
Jay Feinberg, bone marrow foundation founder, named Jewish Community Hero Read More »
USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Again Israel was front and center on the web site of the New York Times, along with a picture and a headline: “Israel Plans 1,000 Housing Units in East Jerusalem.” Read the article. The content is more modest by far than the headline or the prominent placement. It reports that the area
New York Times headline overplays Jerusalem construction story Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastNEW YORK (Press Release)–The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has criticized reported plans being pushed by the Obama Administration for the creation of a Palestinian state on all of Judea and Samaria with parts of eastern Jerusalem and the strategically vital Jordan Valley to be “leased” by Israel from it. Media reports are discussing a
ZOA: Palestine-Israel lease-back plan a ‘non-starter’ Read More »
Middle EastWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)–J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami on Monday, Nov. 8, released the following statement upon the Israeli Government’s announcement of the construction of 1,300 new apartments in East Jerusalem: “J Street is profoundly disappointed that the Israeli government has chosen this moment to announce yet another large round of construction in East Jerusalem.
J Street ‘profoundly disappointed’ by new construction in East Jerusalem Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Living alongside the Arab neighborhood of Issawiya has its moments. Items from the weekend’s news: Israelis accompanying an Australian tourist made a wrong turn into the neighborhood, and narrowly escaped a lynching. In another incident, neighborhood folks stoned an ambulance that entered the area to tend a resident who had been injured
Life on the boundary of a Jewish neighborhood and an Arab one Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — It is rare for me to have a “Big Mac Attack.” While I did eat treif in my youth, I swore it off in my college years. I have observed Kashrut since then. Golden Arches no longer entice me. For me they do not exist. I pass by
A kosher ‘Big Mac attack’ in Buenos Aires Read More »
International, Travel and FoodBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Christians in Iraq have been, and not for the first time, deliberately targeted in a major terrorist attack. Indeed, from Indonesia to Pakistan to Iraq, from the Gaza Strip to Egypt to Sudan to Nigeria, Christians are being assaulted, intimidated, and murdered by militant Muslims. Yet virtually never do
Attack on Baghdad Church part of pattern of Muslim hostility towards Christians Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — We have had worse days. The not so friendly United Nations published its Human Development Index, ranking Israel number 15 among 169 countries. Norway is number 1 and the United States number 4. Israel scores higher than such decent places as Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Austria, and the United
Israel may be in for a period of international calm Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Lloyd Levy LONDON– The early Zionists were intent on creating a new Jew, one who would not be beholdento the non-Jewish majority. The new Jew would be free of the Diaspora mentality, which was perhaps most famously described by the Zionist poet Bialik, in his poem “The City of Slaughter .” The poem describes how
Hail Lieberman and Netanyahu, self-confident Jews Read More »
Lloyd Levy, Middle EastBy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel (Press Release)–What effect will the congressional elections have on U.S. foreign policy generally and Middle East policy in particular? It isn’t a matter of the individual candidates, since nobody lost or won who will have some big influence on U.S. policy in the next couple of years. The important factor
Will Obama be pragmatic or an idealogue in second half of term? Read More »
Middle East, USA