Is Salam Fayyad the Palestinian Ben-Gurion?
| 7:00 AM Dec 8, 2009
The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, was sharing his vision for the future. “The key requirement for a Palestinian state,” he began, speaking on a cellular telephone from his office in Ramallah. Then the line went dead, a dropped call. “You’ll have to excuse,” he said when he rang back. “We have a lot of ...
Rashi has been selected as one of the Best Books of 2009 by Publishers Weekly.
| 3:55 PM Oct 30, 2009
‘Haaretz’ reports reps of both nations were at Cairo non-proliferation conference
| 12:12 PM Oct 22, 2009
Last month, Israel and Iran both took part in a secret Cairo conference on nuclear non-proliferation—or, at least, so says the Israel Atomic Energy Commission and so Iran officially denies, according to Haaretz. Yael Doron, spokesman for the Israeli atomic group, insists that “no dialogue or interaction” took place between the enemy nations, while Ali ...
But not with Israel; meantime, Blair says final-status talks are near
| 1:00 PM Oct 21, 2009
The Palestinian Authority is ready for talks with the United States but not with Israel, according to chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who arrived in Washington yesterday to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other U.S. officials. Erekat said the top priority for making any headway on a final-status agreement with Israel is ...
U.S. scientist sold information to agents posing as Mossad
| 12:00 PM Oct 20, 2009
Stewart David Nozette, a 52-year-old American scientist who worked for the Energy Department and NASA and helped prove that there’s water on the moon, was arrested Monday for trying to sell classified state secrets to an FBI agent posing as a Mossad operative. In addition to a long career with the U.S. government, he also ...
If Bloomberg loses, it could be Dinkins redux, he implies
| 11:00 AM Oct 20, 2009
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani stumped for incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg over breakfast at the Jewish Community Council in Borough Park, Brooklyn, on Sunday. Rather than simply saying Bloomberg’s done a helluva job, worthy of that third term he gave himself license to run for, Giuliani sounded a warning note about what life in ...
Goldstone concerned that UNHRC missed half the point of his report
| 2:00 PM Oct 16, 2009
It’s something of a long month of climb-downs for Judge Richard Goldstone, author of the UN report that bears his name, accuses Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, and has whipped up a frenzy of international coverage. First, Goldstone told the Forward on October 8 that “we had to do the best we could ...
Portrayal in soap opera set during Gaza War comes as bilateral relationship struggles
| 12:08 PM Oct 15, 2009
At a time when bilateral relations between Israel and Turkey have reached a nadir, a Turkish television show called Ayrilik (Farewell), a nighttime soap set during last winter’s Israeli assault on Gaza, has provoked more tension by depicting the IDF as a “murderous, bloodthirsty army,” according to Ynet. In one scene, an Israeli soldier kicks ...
Says talks will remain suspends if Israel’s offers are too limited
| 2:10 PM Oct 14, 2009
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said that he won’t accept a “Mickey Mouse state,” if that’s what Israel has in mind for Palestine. Fayyad is the author of an ambitious plan to create a de facto Palestinian state in the next two years, and his reputation as a technocrat and reformist is strong in ...