Israel

( Middle East Monitor ) – Departing Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, has clearly had an unpleasant experience at the world’s largest international institution. In an interview published in the Israeli newspaper Maariv on 20 August, the disgruntled envoy said that, “The UN building should be closed and wiped off from the […]

Hizbullah

Israel and Hezbollah step Back from War, but for how Long? All eyes are now on Iran’s next Move

The Conversation

By Ian Parmeter, Australian National University | – (The Conversation) – For weeks, Israel had been anticipating a major attack from Hezbollah in retaliation for its killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon at the end of July. In the early hours of Sunday, that attack finally came – and Israel was apparently ready. […]

Food Insecurity

Yemen: Israeli Port Attack Possible War Crime: Retaliatory July Strike on Hodeidah Threatens Food, Aid, Electricity Supply

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – The Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port on the evening of July 20, 2024, were an apparently unlawful indiscriminate or disproportionate attack on civilians that could have a long-term impact on millions of Yemenis who rely on the port for food and humanitarian aid, Human Rights Watch said today. The […]

Economy

Gaza War, Lack of Palestinian Labor, drives Contraction of Israeli GDP, with 46K Businesses Shuttered

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing his total war on Gaza is not only inflicting untold misery on thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza but is also hurting the economic well-being of Israelis. According to the Israeli newspaper Arab 48, the Israeli economy’s gross domestic product per capita […]

Featured

Ascending the Temple Mount: Political Act in a Site of Holiness

Yakov M. Rabkin

Montréal (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Every year, Jews recite the entire Pentateuch aloud in synagogues. It is divided in weekly portions. This week’s one (Vaet’hanan, Deuteronomy 3 :23 – 7 :11) contains passages that are central to Jewish liturgy, including the Shema, a declaration of loyalty to God, or more precisely, a declaration […]

Iran

Qatar, Upset with failed Israeli-Palestinian Talks and Haniyeh Assassination, may Turn to Mediating between Iran and West

The Conversation

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University | – (The Conversation) – When the longtime political chief of Hamas was assassinated in late July 2024, it didn’t just leave the entire Middle East on edge. It also created a political headache in Qatar. That’s because the death of Ismail Haniyeh, the result of an apparent Israeli […]

Israel

Turkey’s Erdoğan threatens to intervene in Israel

Arzu Geybullayeva

( Globalvoices.org ) – A verbal spat between Turkey and Israel highlighted the country’s complicated relationship with Israel and Palestine and drew attention to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s penchant for doublespeak. During a speech in the province of Rize on July 28, Erdoğan said there was no reason for Turkey not to intervene in […]

Featured

Iran condemns “medieval barbarity” of Israel’s Sde Teiman Camp, insists on Right to Deter further Aggression

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Iranian spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanani, condemned Israel on Saturday on “X” for practicing “medieval forms of torture” at the detention center for Palestinians at Sde Teiman, where it was revealed this week that rogue military police had engaged in gang rape and severe torture of detainees, […]

Haredim

Israel’s Military starts drafting Ultra-Orthodox Jews, but will they Dodge the Draft on Religious Principle?

The Conversation

By Michael Brenner, American University | – (The Conversation) – In late July 2024, the Israeli military sent out the first 1,000 conscription notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, following a unanimous Supreme Court ruling that the government must stop exempting them. But will these Haredim, as the ultra-Orthodox are called in Israel, actually join the […]