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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

    Delivering a Deal

    The Forward Editorial
    September 21, 2007

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

    For months, skeptical observers on both sides have watched with mixed bemusement and contempt as [Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas], both weak leaders with little popular support, have conducted their on-again, off-again peace chats. But it’s time to take a second look. The talks appear to be getting serious. You can tell, because the domestic opposition on both sides is getting serious. …

    To be sure, we’ve seen all this before… Each previous attempt failed, and left the populations on both sides wearier and more cynical than before. …

    For all that, the talks continue, because they must. In the short run, both Abbas and Olmert are under pressure from the Bush administration, which has called a Middle East peace conference for November in Washington and expects results… In the longer run, the Middle East needs a deal. Moderate Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are deeply alarmed by the destabilizing influence of Iran in the region… Just this week, the Arab moderates turned their backs on Syria when it complained about an Israeli overflight. It was a rare show of defiance against the region’s radicals. But it only emphasizes the moderates’ sense of urgency. If they are to survive in the distant future, they believe, they need an Israeli-Palestinian deal. Access the full article>>