Dr. Josef Olmert

The Syrian situation continues to unravel, as has been outlined so many times in this blog. The violence in Syria will dwarf anything that we have seen until now in the rest of the Middle East. The Hulah massacre, as horrendous as it was, is not going to the be...

The conventional explanation given by opponents of NATO or UN intervention in Syria is that such an intervention will precipitate a civil war in Syria, a shallow explanation given the fact that there is already a civil war there which is claiming tens of lives every day despite the "cease...

Political survival, not Iran, was uppermost on PM Netanyahu's mind when he called for early elections in Israel just a few days ago, as well as when he pulled a brilliant trick out of his sleeve and co-opted the Kadima Party in his coalition.

The fact that so many commentators,...

Israeli leaders are known, and not to their credit, to be outspoken on issues where discretion is of the utmost importance. The public debate on the possibility of inflicting a military strike against Iran is a dramatic case in mind. Yet, and this time to the credit of the same...

The so-called "cease-fire" in Syria is unraveling even faster than what was anticipated. It was predicted in this blog that it is what is going to happen, so no surprises here -- but for the speed with which it happened. The early hours of Friday already indicate that we are...

Today was supposed to be the start of the much-anticipated ceasefire in the Syrian civil war, declared by the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Anan. Ceasefire in Syria? An oxymoron, and a very tragic one. Yesterday, as was announced by the most reliable Syrian opposition group, the Syrian Observatory for...

Thomas Friedman rewarded his loyal New York Times readers with a double header today, "two for the price of one," referring to his take on the current Middle East, which "it is impossible to capture... all with one opinion."

So, the famous columnist starts by praising the latest call of...

A big debate is taking place among Syrian experts as to the role of sectarianism in the current uprising. There are many who stubbornly insist that this is not the root cause of the events, which erupted as a reaction of the poor masses, regardless of sect, to the economic...

It was a year ago when the Syrian uprising started, much to the surprise of almost everybody. The surprise had to do with the fact, that the word "impossible" was commonly used when referring to Syria and its domestic problems, particularly to the possibility of any significant uprising, and for...

A lot of effort was invested by both Israeli and American diplomats and spin masters to create the impression that the Netanyahu-Obama meeting was successful, but I remain skeptical.

Body language is not a precise science (or is it?...), but watching the two leaders making their initial statements before entering...

The build-up to the Obama-Netanyahu summit on Monday, March 5 is in full force. Words like "crucial", "fatal", "last-ditch effort" are in ample supply. Aside from the media need to dramatize an important news story, there is also a genuine sense that the issue of Iran's nuclear project is fast...

Sheikh Awad Al-Qarni is a prominent and well-respected Saudi cleric. Alongside his well-documented Islamic scholarship he is a fan of offering prize money towards causes dear to him. In the past, he offered $100,000 to the kidnapper and murderer of an Israeli soldier. These days, the benevolent Sheikh offers the...

Amid the ocean of reports full of both misinformation and disinformation regarding Israel's likely plans concerning Iran's nuclear project, not enough attention is being paid to what is already happening, as opposed to what may or may not happen.

I'm referring to the interesting and seemingly successful Israeli strategy of...

The doomed regime of Bashar Assad scheduled a referendum to be held in 10 days time on a proposed new constitution. In the document, the role of the Ba'ath Party as the dominant force in society is downgraded, so that every political party is allowed to compete in parliamentary elections....

The remaining advocates of Bashar Assad are working overtime to portray a vision of a completely chaotic Middle East if and when the Alawite regime finally collapses. To predict chaos in the Middle East is a safe bet, so what's really new in this case? The threat of chaos is...

The Syrian crisis can end only when the current regime leaves. That is a foregone conclusion, as was predicted in this blog from the very beginning of the uprising. The exact circumstances, whether a flight out of the ruling clan, a last stand in the Alawite mountains in northwest Syria,...

The Syrian uprising started in the provincial town of Dera'a and came to a turning point in another provincial town, Zabadani. These two towns have very little in common, but for their strong opposition to the murderous dictatorship of the Ba'ath party and the Alawite community led by the Assad...

Bashar Assad gave his fourth speech to the Syrian people since the beginning of the uprising, but the reaction, judging by statements of the Syrian National Council (SNC) and some YouTube videos is very clear. The embattled president speaks to himself and to the handpicked audience in the University of...

King Abdullah of Jordan is one of the West's last remaining favorite sons in the Middle East. His English is impeccable, much better than his Arabic, the result of many years of good Western schooling. He has the image of the ultimate moderate, reasonable Arab leader, and he still adheres...

5,000 casualties and counting did the trick, and an agreement was signed between the Arab League and Syria to allow Arab observers to come to Syria in an attempt to stop the bloodshed. The head of the Arab mission is the Sudanese General Muhammad Ahmad Al-Dabi, a veteran of the...