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.

Partnership of Mutual Conviction

April 16, 2008

"We are going to continue our work with President Musharraf—and whatever that new government may be—on goals of our national interests, and we have a deep national interest in fighting violent extremists, breaking up those terrorist cells that may operate from Pakistani territory."
--U.S. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack, statement at a daily press briefing, February 19, 2008

"[W]e should engage with Pakistanis on issues important to them, rather than just on those topics of interest to us. For the last three decades, our relationship has been transactional—and that's how people in Pakistan have seen it. We must demonstrate to the people of Pakistan that ours is a partnership of mutual conviction, not American convenience; that we care about their needs and progress, not just our own interests, narrowly defined."
--Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, statement at Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Hearing on Pakistan, February 28, 2008