Khaled Abu Toameh: The Hate Business

Posted on: March 2nd, 2012

The presence of Israel physicians in Ramallah drew furious reactions from workers at the Palestine Medical Compound and many Palestinians, including the Western-backed Fatah faction headed by Mahmoud Abbas. The fact that thousands of Palestinian patients receive medical treatment in Israeli hospitals each year did not stop their vociferous oppostion.

Rubin Reports: The New Middle East – Arab Versus Non-Arab Muslims, Sunni Versus Shia

Posted on: March 2nd, 2012

The new Middle East strategic battle is heating up and this is only the start. It has nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with two more serious lines of battle: Arabs versus Persians and Sunni versus Shia Muslims.

Israel: The ‘Apartheid State’ That Palestinians Keep Struggling To Enter

Posted on: March 1st, 2012

Why has it become the dream of many Arab Christians and Muslims to immigrate to the "Apartheid State"? Is it possible that all of these people are uninformed? Or do they really know the truth about Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East? In Egypt, Syria, and Iran, for example, government officials put journalists in jail, but Israel is the only country in the region where a single obscure journalist nobody can put a government official in jail.

Confronting the Knesset’s Anti-Israel Caucus

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

More than anything else, the likes of Arab MKs Hanin Zoabi and Ahmed Tibi frame the tension of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in stark terms, and reveal what is in store for the country should it shift more towards modern liberal democracy and away from a state that reflects a Jewish character culturally and politically.

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Ten Years Ago This Week: An Icon Exposed

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

Billy Graham had for decades been one of America’s most admired figures, a national icon, a man respected across the board for his seeming sincerity, rock-solid faith and openness to working with those whose beliefs differ from his own. He was also a staunch friend of Israel. But a different side of Graham emerged during the 90-minute White House meeting with Nixon. Graham was particularly exercised by what he saw as the “stranglehold” Jews maintained on the American media.

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Syrian Crisis May Top Agenda At Bibi-Obama Meeting

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

The Iran issue may be moved somewhat down the agenda as flailing Syrian dictator Bashar Assad is being pressured by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to move both his WMD cache and long-range Scud missiles to well-protected Hizbullah bases inside Lebanon.

2/29/12: Will Israel’s Supreme Court Tilt Right Under New Chief?

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

The Supreme Court’s interventionist approach was pioneered by Aharon Barak, who served as the court’s president from 1995 till 2006. Dorit Beinisch, who is retiring from the court this week after serving as president since her mentor's retirement, upheld the tradition of judicial activism, keeping the court at the center of Israeli public debate and making it a lightning rod for Orthodox and right-wing critics. That could change as Beinisch is replaced by Asher Grunis, a conservative justice who has made a name for himself as a supporter of judicial restraint.

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.

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What is the Muslim Brotherhood?

Posted on: February 28th, 2012

The Muslim Brotherhood's logo exhibits a Qur'an, with two swords underneath; below that, the Arabic word for "prepare" -- from Quranic verse 8:60: "Prepare against them [the enemy] whatever you are able of power and horses by which you may strike terror into the [hearts of] the enemy, of Allah, and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows." The Brotherhood's motto, only available in Arabic is - "Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death in the way of Allah is our highest objective."

Khaled Abu Toameh: Hamas and Fatah Want a New Intifada

Posted on: February 28th, 2012

The two parties are telling Palestinians that Israel does not want peace or a two-state solution and is only interested in maintaining control over Palestinian lands and "Judaizing" Jerusalem. The stepped-up anti-Israel rhetoric has resulted in a sharp increase in Palestinian violence soldiers, policemen, and civilians in Judea and Samaria and east Jerusalem.

J.E. Dyer: Strategic Ambiguity Watch – The Maritime Version

Posted on: February 28th, 2012

Iran is making full use of strategic ambiguity on the high seas to advance its interests and dictate outcomes. Unless each new measure is directly challenged, strategic ambiguity would be a lot more fun for Iran than for the rest of us.

Are the Arabs of Judea and Samaria really suffering?

Posted on: February 27th, 2012

Anyone who travels through Judea and Samaria and sees the Arab cities and villages there will discover a highly-westernized living standard and rapid expansion, belying the the claims of suffering and discrimination.

Rubin Reports: Debate in Mainstream Arabic Media – Only One Flavor Available

Posted on: February 26th, 2012

One factor that is not taken into account in Washington, or at least in the White House, is how U.S. policies and actions are distorted, often on purpose, in the Arabic-speaking sphere. When someone says that Arabs or Muslims hate America because of its policies, the proper wording should be: because of what they think those policies are, regardless of what is actually happening.

Mahmoud Abbas’ Other Peace Process

Posted on: February 26th, 2012

Abbas's peace process will only lead to a Palestinian government or state controlled by Iran or the Muslim Brotherhood.

Israeli Left Throws Stones at Former Yesha Council Director From Glass Houses

Posted on: February 26th, 2012

There are certainly substantive questions and concerns that can be raised about Naftali Bennett’s proposal to annex Area C in Judea and Samaria, but when people associated with Oslo, the Geneva Initiative, and Peace Now trash the idea on the grounds that it is out of touch with reality, one can only respond: “look who’s talking.”

Yoram Ettinger: Palestinians and Arab policy

Posted on: February 26th, 2012

The red carpet, with which the West welcomes Palestinian leaders, is transformed into a shabby rug when the same leaders land in Arab capitals. What do Arabs know about the Palestinians that the West has yet to learn?

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Syrian People pay for Western inaction with their lives

Posted on: February 26th, 2012

The Obama administration needs to lead the world in providing direct aid to the Syrian people to stop the genocide in Syria

‘Effective Sanctions’ Against Iran? Not an Option

Posted on: February 23rd, 2012

Refraining from preemption would gravely destabilize the Mid-East and beyond. The only effective way to prevent Iran’s nuclearization and its devastating cost is to preempt!

Rubin Reports: An Islamist President for Egypt?

Posted on: February 23rd, 2012

It is now conceivable that the two leading presidential candidates will be Islamists and thus Egypt will have an Islamist president. That would mean the timetable for turning the country into an Islamist Sharia state could be vastly accelerated.

The “Israel is expected to…” syndrome

Posted on: February 23rd, 2012

Countries whose immediate danger from Iranian bombs is far less than Israel's are remarkably hypocritical and insulting when they warn Israel against a military strike. Telling Israel that it should not defend itself is like saying “just die, but don’t make a mess.” When have Jews heard this before? It’s become a cliché, but one that still resonates. The difference is that then they had no choice because they had no power to defend themselves. Today there is a Jewish state, which should not be expected to act as though it is as powerless as the European Jews of WWII. All this is part of the “Israel is expected to…” syndrome.