Israel

(By Yoav Peled) Ariel Sharon, who died on Saturday, had been known as a brilliant tactician and lousy strategist. But when he took office as Israel’s Prime Minister, in February 2001, he had a clear strategic vision for the country, which he pursued doggedly and successfully. Sharon’s vision consisted of two elements, both having to […]

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Recognizing Israel as a Jewish State is like saying the US is a White State

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is adding a fifth demand to his negotiations with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas: That the Palestinians recognize Israel as a “Jewish state.” For Netanyahu’s demand to make any sense, he first has to define “Jewish.” “Jewish” has a number of […]

Israel

Israeli Public favors Teaching Peace, Palestinian Narrative in Schools

contributors

(By Commondreams.org Staff reporters) A new survey out Wednesday found that, contrary to the actions of their political leaders, the majority of the Israeli public favors teaching peace in schools and believes the Palestinian narrative should be presented to students. According to the findings, which were presented at an education conference at Tel Aviv University, […]

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Obama will Veto new Iran Sanctions, Israel War Mandate pushed by AIPAC Senators

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) In his end-of-the-year press conference, President Obama had to defend his Iran negotiations in the face of a revolt within his own party. Thirteen Democratic senators and thirteen Republican senators banded together to try to derail President Obama’s negotiations with Iran by slapping new sanctions on that country in the middle of […]

Energy

The Enigma of Israel and Solar Energy

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Israel ought to be a pioneer in solar energy. It is mostly sunny and the amount of energy it could realize from solar panels is enormous. It has a robust scientific and engineering establishment. Israel doesn’t have that much in the way of hydrocarbons. It has little oil, and its richest natural […]

Israel

Young Israelis Emigrating Abroad Roils Politics in Tel Aviv

Juan Cole

Uri Avnery discusses the issue of young Jewish Israelis leaving Israel for other countries, including Germany. Israel’s out-emigration rate was similar to other industrial countries a decade ago, but it is possible that it has increased because of the rise in rents and property values and the increased divide between poor and rich. Many young […]

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Top 10 errors in Netanyahu’s Speech Demanding Iran give up ‘Genocidal’ Policies

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu demanded on Sunday that the world community constrain Iran to change its “genocidal policy” toward Israel, in the course of a speech in which he attacked President Obama’s current round of negotiations with Iran over its civilian nuclear enrichment program. The rhetoric Netanyahu uses is not just […]

Iran

Top Reasons Israel’s Likud Really Opposes an Iran Nuclear Deal

Juan Cole

Rightwing Israeli politicians like Binyamin Netanyahu are squawking furiously about the prospect that Sec. of State John Kerry might reach an agreement with Iran over its civilian nuclear enrichment program. The US is trying to convince Iran to scale back its program to the point where it cannot be used to produce a weapon in […]

Iran

Top Ten Ways the US and Iran could avoid a Catastrophic War

Juan Cole

On Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, presented his government’s proposals for ending the international stand-off over Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. Iran maintains that the program is for the production of fuel for the country’s nuclear reactors. The US, Western Europe, Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council oil monarchies are convinced that Iran is […]