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

    Israel-Syria Negotiations Since the Madrid Conference

    July 25, 2007

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

    Israel-Syria Negotiations Since the Madrid Conference

    1991-1992     - Following the Madrid Conference, talks between Israeli and Syrian delegations commenced in Washington.

    1994     - Ambassadorial level negotiations in Washington led to the convening of two meetings between the Israeli and Syrian chiefs-of-staff in 1994 and June 1995.

    Dec. 1995-Jan. 1996     - Two rounds of Syrian-Israeli peace talks were conducted under U.S. auspices at the Aspen Institute’s Wye River Conference Center.

    1997-1998     – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad carried out secret negotiations for 18 months through various mediators, including U.S billionaire Ron Lauder. According to some reports, the sides came close to an agreement. The U.S government was not involved in the negotiations.

    Dec. 1999     - President Clinton announced that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and President Assad agreed to resume negotiations from the point that they were halted since 1996.

    1999-2000     - Talks relaunched in December 1999 at a meeting in Washington with President Clinton, PM Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk a-Shara, followed by a round of talks in Shepherdstown on January 2000.

    March 2000     – Negotiations end after a Clinton-Assad summit in Geneva failed to bridge differences in Israeli and Syrian positions.

    2004-2006     – According to an Israeli newspaper report, Syrians and Israelis carried out a series of secret meetings in Europe, in which they formulated understandings for a peace agreement. According to the report, senior Syrian officials participated in some of the meetings that were carried with the knowledge of senior Israeli officials.

    July 2007     – President Assad declared that a third country (allegedly Turkey) has recently been trying to bring Israel and Syria closer. Israel confirmed that an attempt to establish such indirect ties took place.