Middle East

ENCINITAS, California (Press Release)– The Agency for Jewish Education announces a new 10-week class on the history of the Mid-East conflict beginning on October 13th. Led by J.J. Surbeck, this course will provide students with new tools for understanding and critiquing texts and events as the conflict continues to unfold. “Beyond Borders: Understanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict”

By Bruce S. Ticker  PHILADELPHIA — Editors at Time Magazine may be unfairly accused of anti-Semitism, but they are reckless with their semantics. As experienced journalists, they should understand that misleading language can be dangerous. The magazine’s Sept. 13 cover headline – “Why Israel Doesn’t Care About Peace” – brought its editors condemnation from supporters

By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — It’s not hard to agree that the settlement movement in Israel—a hybrid of indigenous religious zealots and immigrant fundamentalists from places like Chicago, Toronto, and Johannesburg—is something of a complication for the peace process.  This is true even though the overwhelming majority of Israelis—people making car payments, trying

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It was they who put on the table the demand for a total freeze in Jewish construction throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The result was to increase the political demands of the Palestinians, as well as the Israeli settlers and their supporters.  Increasing demands of both sides before the start of

NEW YORK (Press Release)–Following is a transcript of remarks made by President Barack Obama to the General Assembly of the United Nations on Thursday, Sept. 23: THE PRESIDENT:  Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, my fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen.  It is a great honor to address this Assembly for the second time, nearly two years after my

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration has announced a $60 billion sale to Saudi Arabia, including include 84 F-15 fighter planes, 70 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, 72 UH-60 Blackhawk utility helicopters, and 36 MH-6 Little Bird surveillance helicopters. The package also includes HARM anti-radar missiles, more precision-guided JDAM bombs, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles

NEW YORK (WJC)–Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has signaled that a renewal of settlement construction in the West Bank might not necessarily mean the end of the current peace talks with Israel. Abbas met on the sidelines of the UN summit in New York with American Jewish leaders for dinner. According to a transcript of

LONDON (WJC)–The British intelligence service MI6 used bombs and covert tactics to try to thwart the settlement of Palestine by Jewish refugees in the aftermath of World War II, according to a new book by Keith Jeffery on the history of  MI6 during the first part of the 20th century. Jeffery, a historian from Northern

NEW YORK (WJC)–President Shimon Peres has told the UN Millennium Development Goals summit in New York that Israel was ready to enter peace talks with Syria “straight away”. He offered to share Israeli technological advances with other nations, including countries without diplomatic ties to Israel. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman left

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)–The Quartet of the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia on Tuesday, Septe. 21, issued the following statement regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations: “The Quartet expressed its strong support for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which can resolve all final status issues within one year. The Quartet reaffirmed its full