September 2010

Israel and Palestine: A true one-state solution

by Paul Woodward 09.03.2010

Israel should adapt to the 21st century. Is that really a utopian idea? As Tony Judt succinctly distilled the issue a few years ago: “The very idea of a ‘Jewish state’ — a state in which Jews and the Jewish religion have exclusive privileges from which non-Jewish citizens are forever excluded — is rooted in [...]

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Poll reveals local support for Manhattan Islamic center

by Paul Woodward 09.03.2010

“New Yorkers Divided Over Islamic Center, Poll Finds,” says the New York Times in one of its headlines. Another says “New York Poll Finds Wariness About Muslim Center.” Neither headline suggests a careful reading of the poll results — a poll conducted by the New York Times itself. This is how the newspaper of record [...]

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Understanding the Taliban

by News Sources 09.03.2010

Jonathan Steele notes that during almost a decade of war with the Taliban, none of their top leaders have been interviewed which leaves many important questions unanswered. Have the Taliban changed in the decade since they lost office? Is there a neo-Taliban, as some suggest? What of the younger generation of field commanders who lead [...]

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In asymmetric diplomacy the Palestinians are guaranteed to lose

by News Sources 09.02.2010

Hussein Agha and Robert Malley write: The status quo, though sub-optimal, presents no imminent danger to Israel. What Israelis want from an agreement is something they have learned either to live without (Palestinian recognition) or to provide for themselves (security). The demographic threat many invoke as a reason to act — the possibility that Arabs [...]

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Hamas says negotiations have already failed

by Paul Woodward 09.02.2010

If the political purpose behind this week’s attacks on Israeli settlers in the West Bank is still hard to decipher, it seems the message they sent out was directed more to Palestinians in the West Bank than to the parties currently gathered in Washington. Nicolas Pelham considers Hamas’ resilience as a political force and notes [...]

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The fountainhead of global strife

by Paul Woodward 09.02.2010

If the Obama administration had been as visionary as Obamamania promised it might be, Chas Freeman might not have merely been briefly offered the post of chair of the National Intelligence Council; he could have become a fine Secretary of State. Instead, the Israel lobby made sure he gained no position at all, but by [...]

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Inside Story – Can peace be achieved?

by News Sources 09.01.2010

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Terrorism is like advertising — it short-circuits the rational mind

by Paul Woodward 09.01.2010

Update below If there’s just one lesson we can draw from the last decade it is this: utter the word “terrorism” and thought grinds to a halt, perceptions become blinkered and the power of human intelligence is suddenly put on hold. Consider the attack near Hebron in the West Bank yesterday in which four Israelis [...]

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Hamas: “Anyone who is awaiting change from the West today will not get any change”

by News Sources 09.01.2010

On the eve of US-brokered Palestinian-Israeli peace talks which begin on Thursday, Sharmine Narwani went to Damascus to interview the Hamas political bureau chief, Khaled Meshaal. Sharmine Narwani: There is debate about whether Hamas accepts the premise of a two-state solution — your language seems often vague and heavily nuanced. I want to ask if [...]

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