Next week, there’s a conference on Capitol Hill focused on U.S. relations in the Middle East one year into the Obama Administration. The event is sponsored by The Project on Middle East Democracy, the United States Institute of Peace, and Georgetown University’s Center for Democracy and Civil Society and will include a keynote from Sen. Robert Casey […]
Federal officials have developed a sophisticated knack for dodging questions they don’t want to answer. And the State Department is in no way different. The State Department’s response to the Israeli intention of building a barrier along the Egyptian border was quite simple. It read: “Israel has a right to defend itself and to monitor […]
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s recent three day visit to Ankara to meet with his Turkish counterpart symbolizes both the emergence of Hariri out from under the shadow of his father’s legacy, as well as Turkey’s emergence as a major diplomatic player in the Middle East. Rafik Hariri was a self-made billionaire with friends in […]
The Palestinian Liberation Organization reached its heights under former Chairman Yasser Arafat, where the group obtained international legitimacy, became the leading party in the Palestinian Authority, and was regarded the only legitimate voice for the Palestinian people. Since the group’s ‘golden age,’ no other leader has managed to obtain the same level of support among […]
Turkey’s Jewish Community is 24,000 people strong, making it one of the biggest minority groups in Turkey. The Jews in Turkey are descendants of Sephardic Jews who settled there to escape the Spanish Inquisition. The community is some 500 years old. In recent years, numerous acts of anti-semitism such as the November 2003 truck bombs […]
How do you protest criticism of your country by a foreign leader? You summon his ambassador for talks and you offer him the smallest chair in the room. These were the actions of the Israeli Foreign Ministry following a press conference where the Turkish Prime Minister Mr. Recep Erdogan criticized Israel’s morality. Read full article […]
Alright, I couldn’t complete the alliterative headline. But, I got close. The year-long feud between Israel and Turkey spiked once more after months of quiet signalling potential repairs in the relationship. Speaking alongside Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lambasted the Israeli government for violating Lebanese airspace and water. Earlier this year, Erdogan […]
You’ve already read the first post of the FPA Middle East Blog’s newest contributor. Now let me introduce her to you formally: Anna Smushkovich is a graduate of New York Law School and Hunter College in New York City. She specialized in Foreign Policy and the Middle East while in College. She has traveled extensively throughout […]
Finally the Middle East is engaging in peaceful warfare. Israel and Lebanon have been fighting over who can create the best and largest dish of Hummus. Israel is currently edging ahead with a sattelite dish of over 4 tons of freshly made Hummus. The Hummus was made by an Arab-Israeli restaurant owner, Ibrahim, in the […]
U.S. economic and military aid to Israel has largely helped the country develop and maintain a technological edge over its enemies. Rarely, has this support been called into question. However, comments from the U.S. special envoy to the region seem to indicate the country may consider withholding some of the funds unless the peace process […]
When most people consider volunteering, they think about sacrificing one’s time to to help others without the expectation of personal gain, except for a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Nope. Not Israelis. A new organization in Israel is touting volunteerism, claiming success in organizing groups of individuals to refurbish a synagogue and preparing meals for […]
As for China, long on an energy buying binge in world markets to feed its impressive economic growth, Iran sits at the center of its long term, geo-energy landscape. For Beijing’s rulers, any damage to its geo-energy interests in Iran would be seen as a direct blow to the country’s long-term economic prosperity.
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