This year the state of Israel has (finally) recognised the Aramaean nationality . This is likely the first recognition of the existence of the Aramean nation since antiquity outside religious recognition of their several churches (including by the Ottoman government). Israel has now done for the Aramaeans what it has done to the Jews before and recognised a secular existence of a nation; even though, ironically, it was a religious leader, Father Gabriel Nadaf, who was the driving force behin...

This could be part of the most important development in the 21st century, and I am not exagerating. Last week, while in southern California, Reza Pahlavi of Iran hosted a delegation, led by Dr. Kamal Artin, President of KNC-NA [Kurdish National Congress of North America], affording the parties to hold candid and productive discussions about Iranian and regional issues. Marking a significant step forward, the discussions were candid, in that they addressed past differences, but also qui...

On the 27th of July 1980 the Shah died in Egypt. His reforms in Iran were undone and Iran was taken from the path to power and wealth and transformed into a barbaric state where women are treated like property. The world had lost one of the greatest men of our time and gained war and destruction instead. Left-wing protesters acting in unison with Iranian "clerics" (Iran's land owners) undid the work of the Shah and transformed Iran from a modern state into the barbaric regime we know to...

A Darfurian friend of mine, a genocide refugee, pointed me to this news story: http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/US-to-Host-Summit-of-African-Leaders-97220734.html U.S. President Barack Obama has invited 18 African leaders to Washington to commemorate their countries'  50th anniversary of independence. Senior administration officials say the celebration will take place in early August. They say the president will also invite young leaders from each of the...

A Catalan left-winger about the left's hypocrisy and alliance with right-wing extremists in Islam: I am not Jewish. Ideologically I lean to the left and I am a journalist. Why have I not adopted an anti-Israel stance like the majority of my European colleagues? It is because, since I am not Jewish, I know it is my historical responsibility to fight against hatred. Hatred of the Jews, and hatred of their homeland, which is Israel. The fight against anti-Semitism is not the Jews´s du...

Israelis and Arabs are both blocking territories. Israel blocks Gaza. Sudan, with the support of the Arab League, blocks Darfur. Let’s see what the difference is between these blockades, one against Hamas, the other imposed by one of Hamas’ allies, the Republic of Sudan. http://web.me.com/ajbrehm/Home/Blog/Entries/2010/6/5_The_Blockade.html

On a more serious note... There is one more ship on its way to Gaza. The organisers said it will break the blockade rather than deliver goods via Israel or Egypt so it isn't about delivering the goods. The ship is Irish with some celebrities on board. Israel has to stop it to avoid opening a coridoor for weapons smugglers fully supported by most of the world who like nothing more than Jews and Arabs killing each other. But the ship is Irish. And I am in Ireland. If the crew decide to...

U.N. Me takes us on a harrowing and darkly humorous tour of the U.N.'s scandalous disregard for the people and principles it was founded to defend. Along the way we learn: How a U.N. peacekeeping force stationed in Cote d'Ivoire fired into a crowd of unarmed protesters, injuring and killing dozens, and how the U.N. failed to investigate. How the largest U.N. humanitarian effort ever conceived, the Oil for Food Program, devolved into one of the biggest scams in the history of ...

Iraqis are studying Hebrew at Baghdad University. I find this especially interesting since my Hebrew teacher is from an Iraqi family. The sooner the Arab states learn to accept that one of the non-Arab peoples is independent of their rule, the sooner we will have peace in the middle-east. Recognition of "the other" is an important step in the right direction.   Wearing an elegant pink headscarf, Marwa Abdel Karim serenades her fellow Baghdad University students with a heartfel...

Charles Krauthammer explains the problems with Obama's foreign policy: The real news is that already notorious photo: the president of Brazil, our largest ally in Latin America, and the prime minister of Turkey, for more than half a century the Muslim anchor of NATO, raising hands together with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the most virulently anti-American leader in the world. That picture -- a defiant, triumphant take-that-Uncle-Sam -- is a crushing verdict on the Obama foreign policy. It d...

It is surprising but it seems that Obama's quest to "improve" relations with America's allies after the eight-year Bush debacle continue to fail. Even Reuters acknowledges that Obama has problems even just getting along with allies: U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, allied in war but lacking in personal chemistry, face a critical test next week of whether they can just get along http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64617L20100507 Any Obama supporters ...

Somalilandpress.com are still optimistic about rumours that Israel wants to recognise Somaliland's independence . I understand their optimism and I totally support official recognition, but I am ultimately less optimistic. I have checked every hint they had, Hebrew-language articles in Israeli newspapers, quotes from officials, word on the street; but I never could find the source of the rumours. I do know that the Israeli public are likely to support Somaliland. Anyway, Somalilandpres...

This is an opportunity for a really sarcastic article about how the supposed war crime of liberating Iraq somehow led to Iraqis voting for the very people who not only supported the invasion but even those who made the invasion happen . But instead of writing such an article, I thought I will rather celebrate this great democratic success and give liberals who opposed the invasion a chance to celebrate this too. For the third time Iraqis have had the chance to vote. Omar of Iraq the Model...

I found this interesting article on Ynet News. Rethinking Palestine Martin Sherman offers a paradigm shift from the political to the humanitarian And he makes some excellent points: It is time for the proponents of the two-state solution to admit that the Palestinians have failed the test of history in staking their claim for statehood. A dispassionate evaluation of the events of the past two decades inexorably compels one towards an increasing evident conclusion: The ...

What is your position regarding Jews and Arabs living in Jerusalem? 1. Jews and Arabs should be allowed to buy or build houses in all of Jerusalem. 2. Only Jews should be allowed to buy or build houses in all of Jerusalem. 3. Only Arabs should be allowed to buy or build houses in all of Jerusalem.   Just curious.