Middle East

J Street ‘profoundly disappointed’ by new construction in East Jerusalem

WASHINGTON, 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.

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Middle East

Life on the boundary of a Jewish neighborhood and an Arab one

 By 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

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Attack on Baghdad Church part of pattern of Muslim hostility towards Christians

By 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

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Middle East

Israel may be in for a period of international calm

By 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

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Will Obama be pragmatic or an idealogue in second half of term?

By 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

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Middle East, USA

Israel suspends official travel to the United Kingdom

JERUSALEM (WJC)–Israel’s Foreign Ministry has suspended  trips of government officials to Britain out of fear that they might be arrested there for alleged war crimes. The news was announced during a visit by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague in Jerusalem. Despite assurances, successive British government have not yet repealed universal jurisdiction laws allowing private war

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Middle East

Civil marriages in Israel for non-Jews approved by Knesset committee

JERUSALEM (WJC)–A Knesset committee has made it possible for a civil marriage law to be implemented in Israel. The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Wednesday, Nov 3,  approved a registration fee of about US$ 165 for couples to obtain a civil marriage. The law, passed in March and set to be implemented next

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Middle East

Schumer criticizes Obama on his policy on Jewish settlements on the West Bank

NEW YORK (Press Release)–The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has praised Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) for his recent speech taking the Obama Administration to task for fixating on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as constituting an obstacle to peace when the truth is that Jews living and building homes there poses no obstacle to

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Middle East

Nobel prize winners say anti-Israel boycotts and divestment hurt rather than advance peace

CHICO, California (Press Release) — Led by Nobel Laureates Roger Kornberg, Stanford University, and Steven Weinberg, University of Texas at Austin, 38 Nobel colleagues have endorsed the following statement written under the auspices of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) regarding worldwide attempts to boycott, divest from or sanction Israeli academics, institutions, and

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Middle East

Study: Longer experiences in Israel lead to greater Jewish identification

NEW YORK (Press Release)–Participation in semester or year programs in Israel is directly linked to stronger Jewish affiliation and leadership – regardless of the Jewish background growing up, a study commissioned by Masa Israel Journey finds. Masa, a joint project of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israeli government which serves an umbrella for

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Middle East

Conference of Presidents, ADL denounce UNESCO resolution on Rachel’s Tomb

NEW YORK (Press Release) — Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations strongly criticized the resolution passed recently by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, in which it labeled the historic and sacred Jewish burial site of Rachel’s Tomb a mosque. “The UNESCO resolution is an affront to

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Middle East

U.S. apparently has no idea what to do about Syria

By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — If you think I’m exaggerating about the current administration’s cluelessness toward the Middle East just read the State Department daily press conference transcripts. Even journalists covering these events are often shocked by what they hear. Today’s topic is Syria, but it’s just an example and many others could be found. State Department

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Middle East, USA