More in ‘George Mitchell’

Biden Bashes Settlement Annoucement

Israeli move seems designed to antagonize
By Marc Tracy | 4:23 PM Mar 9, 2010

Must be kind of awkward for Joe Biden. The vice president is currently in Israel as a goodwill gesture to reassure Israel that the United States still has its back, as well as to set the momentum for U.S.-mediated “proximity talks” with the Palestinians. And so Israel decided it would be a good time to ...

Daybreak: Biden Backs Jewish State

Plus intermarriage blessings, George Mitchell in full, and more in the news
By Marc Tracy | 9:01 AM Mar 9, 2010

• After meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Vice President Joe Biden declared, “There is no space between the United States and Israel when it comes to Israel’s security.” [WP]
• A Reform Judaism task force proposed the establishment of separate blessings for major life events, including marriages, involving non-Jewish spouses. [AP/Vos Iz Neias?]
• With U.S. ...

Biden Brings Hopes and High Stakes to Israel

The ‘proximity talks,’ and what happens if they fail
By Marc Tracy | 4:24 PM Mar 8, 2010

Now that Vice President Joe Biden has touched down in Israel (and the Israeli military’s chief-of-staff has landed in Washington, D.C.), it’s time to take a slightly closer look at those indirect peace talks that, ostensibly, are about to kick off.
The idea: U.S. envoy George Mitchell will shuttle between the Israelis and Palestinians, with the ...

Daybreak: Talking The Talks

Plus China anti-sanctions, U.K. acts on war crimes, and more in the news
By Marc Tracy | 9:00 AM Mar 4, 2010

• It looks like indirect peace talks, with U.S. envoy George Mitchell shuttling rapidly between the Israelis and Palestinians in hopes of getting them in the same room, are on, since the Arab League gave its blessing. [LAT]
• The United States drew up new proposed sanctions that would target Iran’s banking, shipping, and insurance. [NYT]
• ...

Daybreak: The Territories Get Very Slightly Bigger

Plus mumps, Salvadoran sex trafficking, and more in the news
By Marc Tracy | 9:00 AM Feb 12, 2010

• Per court order, the IDF is rerouting a portion of the West Bank security barrier, placing 170 additional acres in the Territories. The nearby Palestinian village, Bilin, has been a lodestar of anti-barrier protest. [LAT]
• Mideast envoy Tony Blair will take a more active role alongside envoy George Mitchell in helping facilitate peace talks. ...

Daybreak: A’jad Ignites New Nuke Worries

Plus Abbas OKs indirect talks, a mohel’s grandson for VP, and more in the news
By Marc Tracy | 9:00 AM Feb 8, 2010

• President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad publicly ordered further enrichment of uranium, ostensibly for a medical-research reactor. The move immediately heightened tensions over the country’s nuclear program. [WSJ]
• President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to the U.S. model of indirect talks, whereby envoy George Mitchell will present an offer to the Israelis and the Palestinians and then shuttle between ...

Daybreak: IDF in Lebanon, Mostly Peacefully

Plus Israel cracks down on (Palestinian) dissidents, and more in the news
By Marc Tracy | 9:00 AM Jan 29, 2010

• Israel has a military presence just inside the Lebanon border, protecting over 2,000 citizens who reside on the Lebanese side of the town of Ghajar. The United States and United Nations have asked it to leave; Hezbollah, a U.S. diplomat says, would prefer it to stay—it’s a P.R. coup. [WSJ]
• President Barack Obama defended ...

Daybreak: Anti-Semitism at Post-Holocaust High

Plus bin Laden cites Israel, Bibi claims ‘eternal’ settlements, and more in the news
By Marc Tracy | 9:00 AM Jan 25, 2010

• The last time global anti-Semitism attained its current level, World War II was still going on, a new report found. Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky and an Israeli minister presented the document. [JPost]
• In an audiotape endorsing the attempted Christmas Day bombing, Osama bin Laden linked it and future attacks on the United States ...

Daybreak: Israelis Uneasy About Haiti Aid

Plus Qaeda in Israel, the tefillin non-bomb, and more in the news
By Marc Tracy | 9:00 AM Jan 22, 2010

• Israelis are oddly torn over their military’s heroic efforts in Haiti. The government wants the world to take note; the right wonders why the world doesn’t take note more; the left wonders why Israel doesn’t behave similarly in slightly more proximate (and also catastrophic) Gaza. [NYT]
• Plans for a wall along Israel’s Egyptian border ...

Obama Admits Failure on Mideast

Says he didn’t understand local politics
By Marc Tracy | 12:00 PM Jan 21, 2010

In a new, year-in-review interview with Time (yesterday was the one-year anniversary of his inauguration, in case you forgot to buy him a gift), President Obama flatly acknowledges: “The Middle East peace process has not moved forward. And I think it’s fair to say for all our efforts at early engagement, is not where I ...