International

NY Times ignores Arabs favoring national service in Israel

 By Robert Cherry, PhD BROOKLYN, N.Y — The issue of Israeli Arabs and alternative service has been covered prominently recently in the U.S., both as a front page July 11 New York Times story and on the widely-viewed Yahoo! main page.  Both stories emphasized those Israeli Arabs who are strongly against participation.   The title of a Yahoo! […]

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Middle East

Is Moshe Silman the Thích Quảng Đức of Israel?

Editor’s Note: Thích Quảng Đức was the Buddhist monk who set himself afire on June 11, 1963 at a Saigon intersection to draw the world’s attention to the abuses of South Vietnam’s President Ngô Đình Diệm. Self-immolations thereafter became a regular form of protest in South Vietnam. By Ira Sharkansksy JERUSALEM–We are seeing the reality

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Protests against Abbas regime mounting

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — In one of the lesser-reported stories from the Middle East, Palestinians are out in the streets ostensibly to protest the Palestinian Authority’s plan to meet with Israeli Minister Shaul Mofaz. However, Palestinian complaints are primarily focused on the PA’s increasingly authoritarian crackdown on internal Palestinian dissent, specifically on the internet and

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Middle East, Shoshana Bryen

This is not my grandma’s Israel

By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO– It was reported in the international media that a huge, luxury Cineplex is being constructed in the suburban Israeli community of Kfar-Saba. I have some sensibilities regarding this matter. It’s not that I’m opposed to the admirable development that is a trademark of this miracle nation-state, its edgy high-tech

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Middle East

Why Congress holds Holder in contempt

By Isaac Yetiv, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — It was revealed by whistleblowers that the Department of Justice had sold, or given, 2000 weapons to the Mexican drug cartels which ended up killing one American Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry, and hundreds of Mexicans. This ill-conceived, and apparently ill-executed, adventure involved spending taxpayer money –we

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USA

Israel grows stronger as neighbors unravel

  By Gabriel Max Scheinmann WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israelis understandably feel imperiled by the misnamed “Arab Spring.” Their country’s three-decade peace treaty with Egypt is under assault, its strategic alliance with Turkey has dissolved, and its closest regional ally, Jordan, is withering from domestic protests. The breakdown in political authority has flooded Israel’s borders with

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Middle East

Will Hollywood soft pedal messages to win China’s business?

 By Danny Bloom CHIAYI CITY, TAIWAN — Media mavens both East and West are locking horns in global discussions about the effects of Hollywood’s attempts to appeal to the ”Chollywood” market. Will China’s ”soft opening” (scare quotes mine) to the West create more opportunities for Hollywood studios to market their wares inside the communist behemoth,

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International

Yeru-Shalem Coalition seeks to harmonize Jerusalem and Diaspora

By Elan Ezrachi JERUSALEM — Cities most essentially belong to their residents.  The residents shape the character of cities in which they dwell.  The cities, in return, provide them shelter, employment, community and identity.  Jerusalem defies this traditional model. While 800,000 individuals can be labeled “residents,” there are literally millions of additional far-flung stakeholders around

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Middle East