Middle East

Human Rights Watch – (Jerusalem) – New Israeli guidelines on access to the West Bank for foreigners threaten to further isolate Palestinians from loved ones and global civil society, Human Rights Watch said today. The guidelines, which came into force in October 2022 and were amended in December 2022, set out detailed procedures for West […]

Far Right

Israel’s Netanyahu Crumbles before Supreme Court demand he Fire Corrupt Minister, as AG considers Banning Netanyahu Too

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) Carrie Keller-Lynn at The Times of Israel reports that at Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was forced to fire his minister of health and the Interior, Aryeh Makhlouf Deri, who heads up the ultra-right-wing Shas Party. The move was forced on Netanyahu by Israel’s Supreme Court, which holds Deri […]

Israel/ Palestine

Netanyahu’s claim of Jewish exclusivity in Palestine must be challenged

Middle East Monitor

By Iqbal Jassat | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – The defiant declaration by Benjamin Netanyahu that he is going to press ahead and complete Israel’s colonial project in Palestine must be challenged by the world. Regardless of international law and conventions, his government is going to continue to defy them. Knowing full well […]

Authoritarianism

Is Israel becoming a Middle East Dictatorship under Netanyahu? 110,000 Rally against Gov’t

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some 110,000 Israelis protested Saturday night at two big rallies in Tel Aviv. So reports Al Jazeera. The larger of the two was attended by opposition politicians Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz. Lapid told Israeli radio, “We will defend the nation and democracy. We will not surrender before we reach […]

Climate Crisis

Desalination could give the Middle East Water without damaging marine Life – but it must be managed carefully

The Conversation

By Jonathan Chenoweth, University of Surrey and Raya A. Al-Masr, University of Surrey | – (The Conversation) – More than 2 billion people live in “water stressed” countries. These are territories where more than 25% of the available freshwater resources are withdrawn for human use each year. Desalination – the process of removing salt from […]

Haredim

Israel’s new hard-line Government has made Headlines – the bigger demographic Changes that caused it, not so much

The Conversation

By Michael Brenner, American University | – Israel’s new goverment is the most right-wing and religious leadership the country has had in the 75 years of its existence, as many observers have pointed out. And this style of leadership may last because it represents the next generation of Israelis. You don’t have to look far […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Security Minister Ben-Gvir’s Efforts in the Erasure of Palestinian Identity

Ramona Wadi

( Middle East Monitor ) – Tying in to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that “the Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the land of Israel” is the recent order by Israel’s Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to remove Palestinian flags that are publicly displayed. At face value, […]

Featured

In 2023, Biden may have to Choose between Sanctions against Russia’s Ukraine War and Maximum Pressure on Iran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Does President Joe Biden have a choice of winning his struggle with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, or continuing “maximum pressure” sanctions against Iran? The problem is that if he continues to pursue both, he may end up handing Russia more resources to prosecute its campaign in Ukraine.

Israel

Israel’s Netanyahu facing off against the supreme Court and proposing to limit judicial Independence – and 3 other Threats to Israeli Democracy

The Conversation

By Boaz Atzili, American University School of International Service | – Democracy is not just about holding elections. It is a set of institutions, ideas and practices that allow citizens a continuous, decisive voice in shaping their government and its policies. The new Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu and sworn in on Dec. 29, […]