Islamic World
Israel and Western GuiltFriday, May 20, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
"Confront Your Privilege." So reads a "subtly coercive" sign on display at tony American liberal-arts colleges. Why coercive? Because, as Wilfred McClay explains in an illuminating recent essay in First Things, what such signs are really telling the students is, "Feel Guilty."
The New Egypt: Back to Belligerence?Thursday, May 5, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Watching Egypt's revolution unfold earlier this year, apprehensive Israelis were reassured by European and American observers that they had little to worry about: Hosni Mubarak's February 12 departure had been provoked neither by anti-Israel fury nor by Islamist fervor, and shouts of "Up with Egypt" in Tahrir Square more than drowned out chants of "Down with Israel" or "Allahu Akbar."
Hamas-Fatah: Looking for the Red LinesTuesday, May 3, 2011 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Things can always get worse, and in the Middle East they usually will. That was made depressingly clear once again with the April 27 announcement in Cairo of a reconciliation agreement between the rival Palestinian organizations of Fatah and Hamas.
Clash of CivilizationsFriday, April 8, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The death toll in Afghanistan has passed the two-dozen mark in the riots "inspired" by Pastor Terry Jones's burning of a Quran in Florida. The grisly political theater has served its purpose.
“We Love Death”Wednesday, April 6, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In 2007, two years before he killed thirteen people and wounded twenty-nine at Fort Hood, Texas, Nidal Malik Hasan prepared a slide show for his fellow Army doctors on the subject of Islam. One of his last points read: "We love death more than you love life!"
Gaza Endgame?Wednesday, March 30, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
A March 26 meeting in Ramallah between an unofficial delegation of West Bank Hamas "parliamentarians" and Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority and leader of the Fatah party, was ostensibly about reconciling the two factions. Actually it was about much more.
The Brothers al-KuwaitiFriday, March 25, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Remember "Baghdad Bob," Saddam Hussein's information minister? During the Iraq war, as the cameras showed U.S. tanks rolling through Baghdad, he took to the airwaves to assure his fellow Iraqis that not a single enemy tank had penetrated the city's defenses. As it happens, "Bob," whose real name was Muhammad Said al-Sahhaf, was a long-time expert in manufacturing absurd lies for domestic consumption.
The Fate of Muslim ModeratesMonday, March 21, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The recent uprisings in the Middle East seemed, at least at first, to send a reassuring signal to Western observers: not only did genuinely moderate Muslims exist, and not only were they capable of finding a political voice, but there was reason to hope that, given time to organize and grow in strength, they might succeed in winning out against the voices of repression and Islamist extremism.
Toward a Pluralistic Middle East?Thursday, March 17, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
As the Middle East lurches through the present confusion of civil war, revolution, and mass protest, decent people everywhere wonder about the chances of a more pluralistic and democratic order emerging. One way of measuring progress in that direction will be to track the treatment of minorities like the Berbers and the Jews.
The Peace Plan Israel NeedsTuesday, March 15, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Israel's wobbly friends in Europe and the U.S. are renewing their pressure on Jerusalem to "do something" about the "unsustainable" stalemate in the "peace process." As German Chancellor Angela Merkel scolded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "You haven't made a single step to advance peace."
Editors' Picks
Deflecting a Nuclear Iran Patrick Clawson, Washington Institute. It is not inevitable that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons: Tactically, Iran's nuclear program is not yet mature. And strategically, the Islamic Republic is not a sustainable system. (PDF)
Where are the Red Lines? Eli Lake, Daily Beast. New diplomacy between the U.S. and Israel has prompted conversations over what triggers would justify a preemptive attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"Fight Judaization!" Jonathan S. Tobin, Contentions. The tour of Arab capitals being conducted by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh demonstrates that Hamas' goal is not only to destroy the State of Israel but to eradicate Jewish history.
Getting Iran Wrong Alan Johnson, Jewish Chronicle. Why have intellectuals from Foucault to Žižek found it so very difficult to see dictatorships for what they are, or to summon up the moral clarity to oppose them?
The Arab Spring and the Islamic State Ed Husain, New York Times. In the recent uprisings, the burning of American or Israeli flags was not a central display; the protesters focused on internal, national problems. That's how they must continue.
Off the Record Jonathan S. Tobin, Contentions. The Palestinian Authority's UNESCO triumph will not only facilitate its efforts to bypass the peace process, but also its campaign to expunge the Jewish heritage of the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Hezbollah Waits and Prepares Nicholas Blanford, Wall Street Journal. Even as the Lebanese militant group has evolved into the most formidable non-state military force in the world, its single-minded focus is on the next conflict with Israel.
Beyond Bad Faith Shelby Steele, Hudson New York. Palestinians will never be reached by reason until they are able to get beyond the paralyzing "poetic truth" that they are the perennial victims of an aggressive and racist Israeli nation.
Repairing the Cracks Soner Çağ, aptay, Amos Yadlin, Hurriyet. Twelve years ago, a massive earthquake prompted Turkey to improve ties with Greece. A recent quake should spur it to seize a similar opportunity with Israel.
Hamas vs. Islamic Jihad Khaled Abu Toameh, Jerusalem Post. With the backing of Iran and Syria, Islamic Jihad has become a major player in the Gaza Strip, and is beginning to emerge as a serious challenge to the Hamas regime.