In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

12/11/08: Toward Resolution —President of Israel Shimon Peres. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
11/25/08: U.S. Engagement with Iran: A How to Guide — Karim Sadjadpour, associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
11/20/08: Pakistan: Learning the Right Lessons from Iraq —Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

A Shared Interest

"With his enthusiastic embrace of the so-called Saudi peace plan, Olmert is committing Israel to accepting the Arab narrative of the Arab-Israeli conflict. … With Olmert now giving his stamp of approval to the Saudi plan, he is denying the country its moral right to defend itself both militarily and diplomatically."
—Caroline Glick, deputy managing editor, The Jerusalem Post; senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs, Center for Security Policy, "Tzipi and the Drug Lords," The Jerusalem Post, November 27, 2008

“Israel rejected the Initiative in the past without examining it in depth. According to the common wisdom, the more Arab partners involved, the more they’ll be pushing us and be in favor of the Palestinians. I think that in the present situation in the Arab and Muslim world, where we see strengthening of extremism that bothers moderate Arab states no less than it bothers us, the Arab states have an interest that such an agreement comes to fruition. And for that to happen, if there is a need to push the Palestinians or assist them, I think this is exactly the time to do that.”
—Maj. Gen (ret.) Danny Rothschild, president, Council for Peace and Security, interview, Israeli radio, Reshet Bet, November 2, 2008 (translated by Middle East Bulletin)

Middle East Analysis

Putting the Arab Peace Initiative Into Action —Ghaith al-Omari, director of advocacy, American Task Force on Palestine; former foreign policy adviser to Palestinian President Abbas. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
Peace Plan Needs PR Backing —Roula Khalaf (Financial Times)
A Comprehensive Agenda —Ezzedine Choukri-Fishere, former adviser to the Egyptian foreign minister, & Omar Dajani, former legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team (Al-Ahram Weekly)

Jerusalem Statistics

May 18, 2007

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)

The population of Jerusalem in 2006 was 732,100, comprising 10% of Israel’s total population.
Immediately upon re-unification the Jewish portion of the city’s population stood at 74% and the Arab portion at 26%.
The Jewish population now stands at 66%.
In 1967 the borders of Jerusalem were extended 70 square kilometers east, south, and north, thus making it the largest city in the country. Today the area of Jerusalem is 126 square kilometers.
424,300 Jerusalem residents (Arabs and Jews), comprising 59% of the city’s total population, lived at the end of 2005 in areas added to the city in 1967.
At the end of 2005, 184,300 Jews (and other non Arabs) lived in neighborhoods built in areas added to Jerusalem after its unification.
In 1967 the Old City had 23,700 residents, and in 2005 36,600. 73% of the Old City residents are Muslim, 18% Christian, and 9% Jewish.

Sources: The Central Bureau of Statistics, The Jerusalem Municipality, The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. Full document available at www.jiis.org.il.