In the peace process nothing can be said to be certain, except Israeli confidence building measures and blaming Israel for failure
I agree with one aspect of Jeffrey Goldberg’s, Kerry’s Mide...
Results for term: thomas friedman
Is USA indirectly arming Hezbollah?
1) Where did Hezbollah get American arms
Last month Lee Smith attempted to clarify if the administration had sent army to the Syrian rebels as it said it would, or not. All he (or anyone) got was studied ambiguity:
In fact, it’s still not clear what the White House is doing. In a...
Debating the Egyptian “Coup”
1) Debating the coup at the New York Times
Much of the editorial opinion and some of the reporting in the mainstream media has opposed the Egyptian military’s forcible removal of Mohammed Morsi as President of Egypt. Actually, surprisingly, there’s a debate about it on the opinion pages of the New York...
The Folly of the Peace Processors
1) When all else fails focus on Israel
I’m not sure that the editors of the New York Times realized how absurd the title of this recent article on the Middle East sounded, Chaos in Middle East Grows as...
Mideast Media Sampler – 06/12/2013 – Richard Falk running the UNHRC Asylum
1) How can you tell the difference between a terrorist organization and a liberal democracy?
The title is a trick question. In international fora, the terrorist organization gets a lot more respect.
Last week the Ireland led the way to prevent the European Union from designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Ireland is reportedly...
Mideast Media Sampler – 06/05/2013 – Erdogan’s straits
1) Talkin’ Turkey
Claire Berlinski provides the recent background for the foment going on in Turkey:
Of late, almost every sector of the electorate has felt unease about one part or another of Erdoğan’s agenda. Restrictive new alcohol legislation, rammed through parliament, as usual, with contempt for...
Obamacare innovation: who does it benefit?
The other day, when I was researching my post about Thomas Friedman and Obamacare, I contacted an old blogging buddy of mine – I was on the Watcher’s Council with him a few years ago – Scott Kirwin (aka The Razor).
Scott views Obamacare through the prism of his wife’s medical practice...
Electric car company “A Better Place” has gone to a better place
A Better Place, the Israeli electric car company, filed for bankruptcy after burning through over $800 million.
Painful Bankruptcy For Better Place: Dec 31 Cash $34M, Assets $149M. Liabilities $915M. Fin's http://t.co/4jtyp06jX7… pic.twitter.com/JxMXnAkfOX
— PrivCo (@PrivCo) May 27, 2013
Unlike other electrical vehicle makers, A Better Place was based on a concept of battery...
Mideast Media Sampler – 05/08/2013 – Where the terror supporters are
1) Guess the source
A) In its efforts to stop amateur rockets from nagging the residents of some of its southern cities, Israel appears to have given new life to the fledging Islamic movement in Palestine.
For two years, the Islamic Resistance Movement (known by its Arabic acronym, Hamas) has been losing support...
Mideast Media Sampler – 05/07/2013 – The “Syria is not Iraq” Conundrum
1) Bill Keller’s truism
Former executive editor of the New York Times, Bill Keller states the obvious, “Syria is not Iraq.” In short, Keller argues that he trusts President Obama’s instincts. However since he offered a mea culpa for having once supported the Iraq war, his arguments leave some skeptics unconvinced.
Bill Keller...
Mideast Media Sampler – 05/01/2013 – New York Times Op-Ed Index for April 2013
1) A Turkey-Israel Opening – Soli Ozel and Charles A. Kupchan – April 1, 2013
For the better part of a decade, Turkey and Israel have been growing apart politically. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has Islamist leanings; confrontation with Israel is part of its popular appeal. The A.K.P. caters to a...
Mideast Media Sampler – 04/15/2013 – Deflating J-Street
1) Bursting the balloon
When I saw the following headline at the Baltimore Jewish Times I was worried, ” J Street Carved Out A Place In The U.S.-Israel Advocacy.” The article, written by managing editor, Maayan Jaffe starts by faithfully recounting all of J-Streets claims. But, there’s more to the title, that...
Mideast Media Sampler – 04/10/2013 – The fading hope of the Arab Spring
1) Egyptian plagues
Last week Zvi Mazel wrote in the Jerusalem Post (h/t Leslie Eastman)
In a remarkable and enduring show of unity, non-Islamic opposition parties under the banner of the National Salvation Front are boycotting the regime...
Mideast Media Sampler 04/09/2013 – New York Times op-ed Index for March 2013
New York Times op-ed Index for March, 2013
1) Argentina’s About-Face on Terror – by Fabian Bosoer and Frederico Finchelstein – March 1, 2013
Mrs. Kirchner’s decision to abandon Argentina’s longstanding grievances against Iran is particularly galling because it comes just weeks after Bulgaria, another country victimized by Iranian-sponsored terrorism, accused Hezbollah of...
Mideast Media Sampler 03/21/2013 – Obama in Israel, can you feel the spin tonight?
1) Barack and Bibi
The Algemeiner has transcripts of President Obama’s and PM Netanayahu’s remarks at their joint press conference yesterday.
Writing in Tablet, Lee Smith covers the three issues that President Obama and PM Netanyau would be discussing: the Palestinians, Syria and Iran. (via memeorandum) However, Smith concludes:
As he has for the...
Mideast Media Sampler 03/19/2013
1) Is there any hope left for Mideast honesty in the New York Times
A few people have pointed out that I missed an op-ed by Rashid Khalidi, Is Any Hope Left for Mideast Peace? One paragraph really stuck out.
Until 1991 most Palestinians, although under Israeli military occupation, could nonetheless travel freely....
Mideast Media Sampler 03/13/2013
1) Being a reporter means never having to say you’re sorry
The New York Times has reported on the UN report that raised doubts about the death of Omar Masharawi.
