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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

    Taking the Politics Out of Security

    September 7, 2007

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

    Israel’s High Court of Justice, from Ahmed Yassin, Head of Village Council of Bil’in vs. Government of Israel [excerpt translated by Middle East Bulletin], September 5, 2007:

    "The military commander is not free to implement any decision in the name of legitimate security needs. When he determines the route of the fence, he is required to weigh and balance between several considerations… in the matter brought in front of us, clearly the route was influenced substantially by the plans to build the new Mathetyahu Mizrach. Considering where the construction plans for this neighborhood are, the legality of the route poses a difficulty. As known, determining the fence’s route should not be based on the desire to include on the ‘Israeli’ side territories meant for settlement expansions."