Stay Informed

Sign up to receive the Middle East Bulletin!

Support Middle East Progress

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 versus
  • “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

    Empowering Blair

    David Kimche, former Mossad deputy director (bitterlemons.org)
    July 27, 2007

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

    "Can he succeed? It will depend to a great extent on the amount of support he gets ... in particular from U.S. President George W. Bush."

    For Israel to move forward into meaningful peace negotiations it must have confidence that the PA and its government can deliver, and that means good governance. For the PA to exercise its authority and gain the confidence of its people, it must show progress in the peace process. For the economy to improve with outside help, previous corrupt practices must be eradicated. That again means good governance. It is all connected.

    It will be Tony Blair’s task to deal with these different strands. … There is no way he will avoid touching on the political elements of the problem. Access the full article>>