Mordechai Kedar: The Syrian Crisis Spills Over into Lebanon

Posted on: May 20th, 2012

From the tragedy of Tripoli and Lebanon we can draw several conclusions: in the Middle East it is not possible to establish a state with an Arab society and Western political characteristics; Iranian involvement - even the economic and cultural – will ultimately undermine Western cultural and political influence in the Middle East; and whoever legitimizes jihad against Israel receives terror in his own streets in return.

Mordechai Kedar: The Frustrated Intellectual – Tariq Hagi

Posted on: May 14th, 2012

Egyptian intellectual Tariq Hagi speaks frankly and openly about the many deep flaws that exist in Arab cultures. His message is different from that of most Arab spokesmen, because most Arab spokesmen strive to cover up the flaws in their societies, to conceal them and repress them - mainly because of the shame and the feeling of inferiority that these flaws arouse in them.

Mordechai Kedar: The Failure of the Palestinian Venture

Posted on: April 23rd, 2012

There exists in the world, and even in Israel here and there, the desperate notion that if only the Palestinians can get their state, they will accept Israel's legitimacy and respect its right to exist in peace and security. But no one is willing to address the question: What will the world do when the Palestinian state, with territorial contiguity in Judea and Samaria, turns into a Hamas state?

Mordechai Kedar: Syria, Iraq, the Gulf, and the Iranian Octopus

Posted on: April 22nd, 2012

Whoever wants to bring Iran down must support those rebelling against Asad. The leaders in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan understand this, and their support for the rebels may save them and the Gulf from the Iranian octopus. The question is how much time will it take for the sleeping Europeans and the dreamers in the White House to understand the complicated Middle East reality, and when will they begin to take action in order to bring Iran down?

The Failure of the Palestinian Venture

Posted on: April 11th, 2012

Palestinian spokesmen have it easy: they just have to blame Israel for their failure. It's convenient and it provides an explanation that the West will buy, because the West doesn't have a deep understanding of the problems of the Middle East. The truth of the matter is, there never was a chance for the Palestinian Authority to succeed, because of the innate problems that stem from the nature of the political culture of the Middle East. We will focus on a few of them.

Mordechai Kedar: Radical Islam in Africa

Posted on: March 25th, 2012

The population of Africa is involved in a series of disputes with a tribal background, where the Islamist and ethnic components play an important, and sometimes critical, role. Saudi Arabian money, Wahhabi propaganda, the presence of terror organizations, and wide distribution of weapons do not contribute to a calming of tensions between the various demographics in Africa.

Mordechai Kedar: What’s Really Going on in Gaza?

Posted on: March 16th, 2012

The Gaza Strip is no different from the rest of the Arab world, so tribal culture is alive and kicking there. Ever since the Hamas movement took control of Gaza trip in 2007, it has transformed itself from a gang of jihadists into a ruling government, a standard Arab state. The minor movements - Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Resistance Committeess - function like tribes, challenging the authority of the state. Today, these groups are doing to Hamas what Hamas did to the PLO twenty years ago when it was in power.

Mordechai Kedar: Is Jordan ‘The Alternative Homeland’?

Posted on: March 7th, 2012

Since its establishment, the Kingdom of Jordan has suffered from a split personality between two identities, the Jordanian and the Palestinian, that are intertwined like a pair of Siamese twins who hate one another, but cannot part from each other. The source of the problem is the fact that most of the citizens of the Hashemite Jordanian monarchy define themselves as "Palestinians", but their state is "Jordanian". So how should they relate to it - as their country or as a foreign interloper?

Mordechai Kedar: Tribalism in the Middle East – The Real Thing

Posted on: February 28th, 2012

Any real and workable solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict must be based upon this sociological fact: tribalism and loyalty to traditional religious and sectarian frameworks are the prevailing cultural and political framework of the Middle East.

Mordechai Kedar: The Division of Syria

Posted on: February 21st, 2012

What will Syria look like the day after Bashar al-Assad's downfall?