I have recently been to two Palestinian refugee camps run by the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency [UNWRA] near Bethlehem. My visit has unfortunately have left me with the impression that the Palestinians as a whole are far from giving up on the right of return to their 1948 homes and villages in Israel.

On February 20, 2011 the world woke up to news that a group of Libyan rebels in the eastern part of the country (the coastal bulge known, since ancient times, as Cyrenaica) had risen up against Muammar Gaddafi.

A bipartisan congressional letter condemning Palestinian incitement of violence against Israel gained 46 signatures from key members of Congress, according to a list of signers obtained by The Hill.

[Editor’s note: The following article “Reconsidering the  Goldstone Report on Israel and War Crimes” written by  Richard Goldstone appeared  on Friday April 1, (April Fools Day) in the The Washington Post. The complete article is worth a read. My favourite lines in it, (from the mouth of Goldstone himself):
 

[

Last Sunday there was a very disturbing interview on the NBC News' Meet the Press with the Egyptian Opposition leader, Muhammad Elbaradei, which did not get enough attention.

Saeb Erekat, Chief Palestinian Negotiator resigned as the head of the Palestinian negotiating team on Sunday Feb 13.

40% said even with a peace deal Palestinian militants would  continue armed struggle against Israel

One of the basic premises in the Middle East peace process is that Palestinians desperately want to be of rule by Israel and to live in a state of their own.

Media coverage of the new Israeli government initiative to define itself as both a Jewish and democratic state has not touched upon why this seemingly surprising legislative initiative was introduced at this time by the government of Israel.

[Editor's note: The article below was written 5 years ago on the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War when I heard Shimon Peres speak when he was a member of Kadima and Ehud Olmert was Israeli Prime Minister.  Five years later, Peres is serving as 

Richard Holbrooke is known as one of the most accomplished American diplomats of the last century. During the 1990s, while many other US officials failed,

Tragedy anywhere can strike in a moment

REFLECTIONS WHILE STANDING ON ARAFATS GRAVE IN RAMALLAH

RAMALLAH -  It was a very stange feeling  standing at Yassir Arafat's grave in Ramallah in August of this year..  I began to think that it would be rather ironic if there were a sign at his graveside that said "may he rest in  peace

[reprinted with permission]

As a Palestinian, I have this need to control and protect land. It includes battles with my neighbors over where my grass ends and their grass begins. We have lawn mower fights and the dividing line is more vague than the Green Line. I’ve been like this all my life and it has consequences.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=190917

A 14-year-old boy petitioned the High Court of Justice on Wednesday to force the Chief Rabbinate to check his ordination exam, so that he may be able to be ordained as a rabbi.

[This was first published in the Jerusalem Post  in response to Ehud Olmert’s proposal to divide Jerusalem.  Following Dore Gold’s article there is an opposing view written by Palestinian Hanna Seniora. Published with permission]

Right after the War of Independence, prime minister David Ben Gurion faced inexorably difficult pressures over the future of Jerusalem.

Hi  Mira,
Did you see  Shmuel Rosner’s criticism’s of Peter  Beinart’s  widely talked about article in Beinart’s NYRB piece  or were too busy dipping apples in honey for Rosh Hashana and building  a sukkah ?

One of those "can you imagine..." moments that I have been known to use to describe Winnipeg to the average Israeli is the story of how the schach (roof) of our succah collapsed under the weight of the snow.

Turning 60 years old two weeks ago, on the day that marked the 40th anniversary of my arrival in Israel, provided an appropriate pause for reflection.

After all, there is the tradition that a Jew is reborn upon arrival in Israel, when he or she assumes the inheritance of the land that God has given to every Jew.

To arrive in Israel in 1970 was to experience a nation which experienced some kind of "Post Miracle Traumatic Stress Syndrome”.

RAMALLAH, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY - As  peace talks  between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are set to begin, a recent visit to Ramallah this August provided  very little evidence of support for P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas on the streets.

The hardest challenge for any Israeli leader proposing what political initiatives his government should undertake is anticipating what the Middle East region will look like in the years ahead. In the Middle East, the range of uncertainty about the future is far greater than any other part of the globe. No one can be certain who will rule Egypt five years after Mubarak is no longer president.

RAMALLAH, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY –“If there’s one  politician from Fatah that Palestinians hate the most it’s Abbu Alla [Ahmed Qurei,],”  my blonde haired  blue eyed German  friend from Ramallah told  me as we sat  at a beautiful restaurant, nestled in a grove of pine trees outside the bustling centre of the city.

FOURTEEN YEAR OLD GENIUS MOSHE SHARIFY WANTS TO BE THE YOUNGEST RABBI IN THE WORLD. SEVERAL PROMINENT RABBIS AND EVEN ASHKENAZI CHIEF RABBI OF ISRAEL YONA METZGER THINK HE WILL MAKE A GREAT RABBI.  HE WAS INVITED BY THE CHIEF RABBINATE TO TAKEW AN ORDINATION EXAM. BUT AFTER COMPLETING THE TEST, HE WAS TOLD  HIS PAPER WOULN"T BE MARKED  AS AN INTERNAL RABBINIC RULING SAYS HE MUST BE 22

To: Mr. Dov Schwartz, Spokesman for General Dayton 

From: David Bedein, Center for Near East Policy Research and Israel Resource News Agency 

**This story which first appeared on our website March 18 has made it to the website of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) in New York, The Telegraph. It has also has been picked up on the website of Jewish Press International.