Israel’s Dr. Strangelove
Israeli Road Sign Controversy Runs Deep
JERUSALEM - What's a name, what's in a road name? History, ideology, nationalism. In deciphering what lies beneath the protracted Arab-Israeli conflict, sometimes small historical footprints encapsulate the conflict and at the same time highlight the enormous...
Israel and EU Clash Over Settlements
RAMALLAH - The Israeli Foreign Ministry's concern over an "unusually harsh statement" by the European Commission over Israel's settlement policy indicates a growing unease between Israel and the EU. The European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the EU,...
Israeli Court Rebukes Military
Not every day, and not even every decade, does the Supreme Court rebuke the military advocate general. The last time this happened was 20 years ago, when the advocate general refused to issue a proper indictment against an officer who ordered his men to break the arms...
Hamas-Fatah Violence May Derail Reconciliation
RAMALLAH - Egyptian mediators have set July 7 as deadline for final Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo. The Egyptians say time is running out, and if there is no progress in July, they will no longer be prepared to arbitrate. Continued political detention and...
Israel Cracks Down on Minority Rights
RAMALLAH - Three bills recently making the rounds in the Israeli parliament have caused outrage among Israel's Arab minority. "They reveal an obscene and dangerous targeting of the individual and collective rights of Palestinian citizens," the independent...
Bloody New Battles Suit Israel
RAMALLAH - The inevitable has happened. Simmering tensions between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have left six Palestinians dead, in the bloodiest confrontation between the two groups since Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza in June 2007. A bloody gun battle...
Don’t Forget, Israel Is a Democracy
Israel Threatens to Outlaw Palestinian Memory
JERUSALEM - Israel is set to approve a radical new bill that threatens to legalize discrimination against its sizable Arab minority for the first time. The bill, approved this week by the ministerial committee for legislation, would make it illegal to relate to the...
