I and thou and death
The “Two State Solution” is a slogan not a solution. By David B. Kanin Washington has defaulted to the tried and failed idea... Read More
The Middle East
The occupation severely endangers, not enhances, Israel’s national security
The Israeli argument against the establishment of a Palestinian state on the grounds of national security concerns is baseless as it not only defies the... Read More
A rare chance to chart a new course toward peace
There has never been an Israeli government representing the entire political spectrum from the extreme left to the extreme right. This offers a rare chance... Read More
A third Israeli-Hamas war – what’s next?
Now that a third Israeli-Hamas war has ended as inconclusively as the two previous wars, will both sides prepare for the next one, or let... Read More
There will be no peace without a process of reconciliation
No one should have the illusion that once a ceasefire is established, Israel and the Palestinians should or can negotiate a peace agreement. Given the... Read More
Jerusalem: a flashpoint for conflict or microcosm of peace
Regardless of how the current and future violent conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians in Jerusalem will end, there will be no Israeli-Palestinian peace unless... Read More
Biden’s mideast strategy and its geopolitical implications
The Biden administration’s new Middle East strategy is forcing regional powers to reassess their geostrategic interests and act in a manner that might end several... Read More
Syria’s humanitarian crisis is a stigma on the world’s conscience
Regardless of who the perpetrators are that rained havoc on Syria, nothing should stop or inhibit any country that can assist to alleviate the massive... Read More
As a democracy, Israel shows no moral tenet: El-Halabi’s outcry for justice
It is a stain on Israel – a country that claims to be a beacon of democracy in the Middle East – to engage in... Read More
Normalization alone is not a path for Israeli-Palestinian peace
The current situation is not sustainable, certainly not in the long run. The sooner Israelis and Palestinians realize that they are stuck with one another,... Read More
The last chance for a viable two-state solution
The confluence of regional and international events offers the last chance for a viable two-state solution. Time favors neither side. The Palestinians must not miss... Read More
Israel and Palestinians: architects of their own destruction
If Israel proceeds with its plans of annexation and the Palestinians continue to hold onto their dead-end position, the result is all but certain. Continuing... Read More
The war in Yemen is a crime against humanity and Islam
It is time for the Saudi Arabia, the custodian of Sunni Islam, to stop making a mockery of the religion of the state, at the... Read More
Israel is engaged in systematic self-destruction
No one can impose any moratorium on the Israeli freedom to discuss any number of views on any issue. This is one of the central... Read More
The moral devastation of the continued occupation
To be sure, while Israel resorts to utilitarian arguments to justify its treatment of the Palestinians, in the process Israel reveals the classic pitfall of... Read More
Trump’s and Netanyahu’s folly
Preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state and enshrining the dream of Greater Israel that Netanyahu championed will be the nightmare of the right-wing Israelis,... Read More
Stepping back from the brink of war
In some ways, both Iran and the US need to lick their wounds and begin a new chapter, however long and arduous it may be,... Read More
Ending US-Iran impasse rests only on face-to-face negotiations
A new deal with Iran would inhibit proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region, pave the way for finding a solution to the war in... Read More
Netanyahu personifies the corrupting force of power
In an open letter to Netanyahu in October, I wrote “It’s time for you to go. There is nothing you can do that others cannot... Read More
We must not grow numb to the Yazidi Genocide
The international community cannot grow numb to genocide, as this will continue to haunt us only with greater force. The Yazidis have paid the ultimate... Read More
Israel’s fractured democracy and its repercussions
To be sure, whereas Israel made tremendous strides in just about all walks of life, Israel’s democracy is faltering. After 71 years of existence, the... Read More
Israel – a successful experiement?
The case of Israel makes us reflect on the challenges of the coexistence of different religious communities, with their own beliefs and traditions and, sometimes,... Read More
For the US and Iran, war is not an option
Since both the US and Iran want to avoid war, the only viable option remaining rests on negotiations. What is needed is the creation of... Read More
Trump must never listen to the warmonger Bolton
Trump must not engage the United States in another war in the Middle East. We have and continue to pay dearly for the Iraq and... Read More
Netanyahu’s defunct strategy to keep Hamas at bay
There are many cynics who believe that peace between Israel and Hamas is nothing but an illusion. On the contrary, anyone who maintains that the... Read More
Risk of Israeli-Iranian war still looms high
There is nothing in the current crises with Iran that cannot be resolved through negotiations. But the continuing threats and counter-threats will gain increasing traction... Read More
The election will obliterate the face of Israel as we know it
Unlike any previous right-wing Israeli government, the formation of a new government under Netanyahu may well be the most decisive and consequential for Israel as... Read More
Why is multilateral diplomacy so difficult?
Multilateral diplomacy is difficult, and we may only now be learning how most effectively to undertake this art. But it is necessary. There are too... Read More
Syria – concerns raised and possible next steps
The Syrian situation has grown increasingly complex since 2011 with more death and destruction as well as more actors involved and with a larger number... Read More
The Islamic State after the Islamic State
The war against IS will not be won militarily. The world has only has to look at the American military’s “surge” in Iraq of 2006-2007... Read More
Warsaw Process toward a Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Middle East
From a city that suffered from violence and destruction during the Second World War, there goes out a banner of peace held by Citizens of... Read More
The betrayal of Israel’s historic promise
The new generation of Israeli leaders have a solemn duty to seek the unification of world Jewry, end the conflict with Palestinians, and champion the... Read More
Time to dump Netanyahu
The upcoming parliamentary election offers Israelis a historic opportunity to rid themselves of the revisionist, nationalist, and blindly zealous leaders like Netanyahu who have steered... Read More
Steps toward governance in Yemen
Today, the choice between an end to the armed conflict with negotiations for a renewal of a Yemeni State on the basis of the con-federal... Read More
Trump’s New Year’s gift to Putin, Rouhani, and Erdogan
Trump’s haphazard and thoughtless decision to withdraw forces from Syria points only to his abdication of the US’ moral responsibility, not to speak of its... Read More
Nadia Murad – a Yazidi voice against slavery
While it is dangerous to fall into a good/evil analysis of world politics, there is little to see of “good” in the ISIS actions. Thus,... Read More
The Saudi butchery in Yemen and the world’s apathy
It is time for Muslims to stop killing each other. The lesson from Yemen should leave an indelible mark on the psyche of every Saudi... Read More
American energy policy in the Middle East
In the medium term, the United States must diversify its reliance upon international oil markets. Energy independence was never a credible policy, because energy prices... Read More
Should the US stop enabling Israel?
Given that only the US can persuade, pressure, or coerce Israel to agree to a two-state solution, the US must bear the moral responsibility to... Read More
Netanyahu is destroying both Israel and the Palestinians
To be sure, Netanyahu betrayed the very reason behind Israel’s creation—to live in peace, provide a safe refuge for the Jews, and foster strong and... Read More
The deal or the debacle of the century?
We are still waiting for the unveiling of Trump’s grandiose peace plans, which by all accounts is tailor-made to suit Netanyahu’s vision that precludes a... Read More
The end of Syria’s civil war and the beginning of the conflict over the spoils
Regardless of how the conflict over Idlib is settled, it would be a disastrous mistake if the US leaves Syria to the whims of Putin,... Read More
The only Jewish state in the Middle East
Israel is proving to the world that it is most certainly not a state of all its citizens.
Yemen – a new but difficult start to conflict resolution
Today, the choice–between an end to the armed conflict with negotiations for a renewal of a Yemeni State on the basis of the con-federal system... Read More
The Palestinian refugees – right vs. reality
The prospect of a two-state solution remains the only practical option, based on the 1967 line with significant land swaps. There is nothing new about... Read More
“The right of return” – to where?
A resolution to the refugee problem will also contribute greatly to resolving the conflict with Hamas, as the continuing humanitarian crisis has been fueling the... Read More
Israel and the Palestinian conflict – lessons from the peacekeeper’s toolbox
State-building in Gaza is essential, but it has a Catch-22 quality: there can be non state-building with Hamas but (for as long as they are... Read More
The law of shame that defies Jewish values
This deplorable new law forfeits the Jews’ dream of having a real democratic state in which they take pride; a just and benevolent state at... Read More
Protests in Gaza – changed perceptions from India
The worsening security situation that India faces today at its borders regions is making it see the violence in Gaza through the lens of Kashmir,... Read More
Hamas will invite war in the search for a long-term solution
Those who suggest that Hamas is irredeemable, as many Israelis contend, are simply wrong. Notwithstanding their public statements to the contrary, Hamas knows that Israel... Read More
Recasting the Levant
The approach in the Levant should be to hold and manage territory using international military force, deterring further escalations, for the indefinite future until informal... Read More
Restraining Persia
There can be no new Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iran is too much of an enigma. We do now know exactly what we are... Read More
Yemen – political stalemate, mercenaries prosper, the population disintegrates, and humanitarian relief blocked
Today, the choice between an end to the armed conflict with negotiations for a renewal of a Yemeni State on the basis of the con-federal... Read More
An open letter to Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar
In the end, Mr. Haniyeh and Mr. Sinwar, you and successive Israeli leaders have made many fatal mistakes by missing repeated opportunities to end the... Read More
An open letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu
You, Mr. Netanyahu, have a solemn responsibility to end this conflict because not a single Israeli or Palestinian should die in a blood-soaked conflict that... Read More
Ain Al-Hilweh redux – what’s still Palestinian in those refugee camps?
Today, some 51 years following the establishment of Palestinian refugee camps on Lebanese soil (Ain al-Hilweh was among the first), we must ask ourselves a... Read More
Why US must expand, not withdraw, forces from Syria
The US cannot impact the development of events in Syria without a credible and strong military backing to deter any adversary from acting in any... Read More
Seventy years of Palestinian resistance since the establishment of the state of Israel
This month marks not only 70 years since the establishment of Israel and the Palestinian Nakba, but 70 years of ongoing Palestinian resistance.
Lebanon’s refugee crisis through a sectarian lens
It is important to reflect on the essential role sectarianism has played in preventing the Lebanese State from establishing an effective and rational asylum policy... Read More
Israel at seventy – time to celebrate and time to lament
No military might, fences, or walls will provide Israel the safety and security it seeks. Only peace forged from a position of strength would guarantee... Read More
Recent Comments