In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

08/07/08: How to Deal with Jerusalem —Lt. Col. (Res.) Ron Shatzberg, Project Director, Economic Cooperation Foundation. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
08/07/08: How to Deal with Jerusalem —
08/05/08: Why Did Maliki Call for a Timeline? —by Christopher Kojm who teaches at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and is a former senior advisor to the Iraq Study Group. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

Already Divided

“Even the Arab minority in the city has shown its preference for living under Israeli rule, as many have moved to the Israeli side of the security barrier being built around Jerusalem. Their choice is reasonable, as Jerusalem offers the quality of life of a modern western city while only a few kilometers away the norm is a third world standard of living, chaos and religious intolerance. An undivided Jerusalem is the best guarantee of a better life for all Jerusalemites.”
—Nathan Diament, Director of Public Policy, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, July 23, 2008

“Those who believe that Jerusalem should not be divided, and mean by that that the Arab neighborhoods should not be separated from the city, should be the first to insist that an active policy be adopted by the government and the municipality to improve the lot of local Arab residents. Barring that, Jerusalem will continue to remain a divided city.”
—Moshe Arens, former Israeli defense and foreign minister (Likud), “A Story of Neglect,” Haaretz, July 28, 2008

Middle East Analysis

Israel Releases 199 Palestinian Prisoners —
Significant Lebanese-Syrian Meeting Overshadowed by Bombing —
The Challenge of Jerusalem —Prof. Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov, head, Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies; professor of international relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

Post-Winograd Debate

May 4, 2007

“The Prime Minister is anxiously awaiting the conclusions of the Winograd Commission of Inquiry into his conduct of the Lebanon War last summer. And now he faces a criminal investigation. "Olmert’s first priority, necessarily, is to stabilize his government. Without that he cannot pursue a peace process, which is inherently destabilizing because of the politically fraught issues involved (settlements, refugees, Jerusalem, etc.)”
--Former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Martin Indyk, House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing, February 14, 2007

“I do not accept that a weak Israeli government cannot proceed toward peace. The case may be the opposite that an audacious peace move could be exactly what is needed for this Prime Minister. There is a need to build a coalition, within the coalition, of those committed to advancing negotiations with the Palestinians. "We have today in Israel a Parliamentary majority of 70 to 50 that will support a big peace move and the only serious option is to start negotiations on a final status deal with the Palestinian President Abbas.”
--Deputy Defense Minister Efraim Sneh, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution, May 3, 2007