A bid to have Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity declared a World Heritage site by Unesco may not be driven simply by cultural concerns
Palestine
The Six-Day War: Photos from a Short, Bloody Conflict
The war fought 45 years ago from June 5-10 helped bolster Israel’s legend of military invincibility but it also left a legacy of displacement and bitterness that unsettles the region to this day
Must-Reads From Around the World, May 29, 2012
A Polarized Polity – In a significant development that squarely pits the Muslim Brotherhood against Egypt’s old guard, results of the first round of polling in the country’s presidential race reveal that next month’s runoff …
Why South Africa’s Decision to Rebrand Some Israeli Imports Packs a Punch
The international effort to boycott products made in Israeli settlements got a boost recently from a formidable quarter. South Africa announced it would label imports from the West Bank not “Made in Israel” but perhaps …
Jerusalem Day in the Old City: The Conflict Marches On
Sunday was Jerusalem Day in Israel, a holiday once again observed by thousands of young Jews who chanted as they marched through Arab neighborhoods conquered in the 1967 Six Day War. The tension is always highest in the narrow …
Netanyahu’s New Government: Warming to Peace Talks with the Palestinians?
A flurry of gestures toward the Palestinian leadership suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his new role as leader of a center-right government, is warming toward the resumption of peace talks — or at …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 14, 2012
Hunger Pains - The Guardian writes that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned Israel of “disaster that no one could control” as Palestinian hunger strikers near death. Tony Blair, the Middle East quartet representative, …
Israel’s New Coalition: Why Netanyahu Has Moved to the Center
By unveiling a new governing coalition that includes the centrist Kadima party, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only called off a national election he had just set for early September, he also re-calibrated the outlook of …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 3, 2012
Dependent Dissident – As Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng undergoes medical procedures at a Beijing hospital after leaving his refuge at the U.S. Embassy in China, the Washington Post poses questions about the deal brokered …
Received Wisdom? How the Ideology of Netanyahu’s Late Father Influenced the Son
The effort to glean insights into the mind of Benjamin Netanyahu by examining the views of his extraordinary father reached a new level with word that Benzion Netanyahu had died, at age 102, in his Jerusalem home early Monday. A …
Israel: Another Former Top Security Aide Criticizes Netanyahu
The former head of Shin Bet minced no words. “I have no faith in the current leadership of the State of Israel, which is supposed to lead us in the event of a major event, such as a war with Iran or a regional war,” Yuval …
Must-Reads from Around the World: April 16, 2012
Protest This – The Jerusalem Post writes that the IDF condemned an officer Monday who was filmed striking a pro-Palestinian activist with his gun. A video posted on YouTube by the International Solidarity Movement showed Lt.-Col. …
Lofty Palestinian-Statehood Talk Undercut by Facebook Detentions, Reporter’s Arrest
Israel has taken its share of lumps over the past year for entertaining an array of tactics that critics warn will undercut its democracy, from bills penalizing human-rights advocacy groups to measures that would make journalists …
