If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Israeli Orthodox rabbi, settler, poet and peace activist, Rabbi Menachem Froman passed away on March 4. Rabbi Froman, with his white beard and white garb, was a beloved figure for people across the political spectrum in Israel.
If it even makes sense to compare bad Arab political situations, things are worse still in Syria, where the horrific toll of life since the civil war to remove Assad started is rivaled only by the uncertainties of what kind of government, if any, will be able to rule that country after the dictator is gone.
Instead of flexing muscles and showing political clout, energy and resources should be directed towards ending the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and providing both people the opportunity to pursue a dignified, peaceful and stable future.
Regardless of how exaggerated Israel's sense of vulnerability may seem to its detractors, the Palestinians cannot afford to dismiss Israel's concerns. That said, no military might will guarantee Israel's national security, short of comprehensive peace.
The bad news is that the talk of another intifada is gathering momentum, while the good news is that it has not yet happened and could still be averted.
It's time to end the uncertainty for both the United States and Israel and to get our country's national security team -- especially his choice for secretary of defense -- in place. The president's crucial visit to help Israel during these difficult times deserves no less.
The outcry over racism expressed towards the two Chechen players contrasts starkly with the lack of a national response to past outbursts by militant fans.
The agenda for these visits will be different than those of previous visits by presidents and secretaries of state. It will, no doubt, be disappointing to those desperate to see a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But reality trumps aspirations. At this point, Syria and Iran are front and center.
My film, 5 Broken Cameras -- which chronicles my village Bil'in's nonviolent struggle to resist Israeli occupation -- is about precisely the kind of humiliation my family and I experienced at Los Angeles International Airport.
This year on Purim, let us celebrate the courage to defy authority, to affirm and defend whoever are the "strangers" in our midst and whoever has been excluded from dignity and empowerment.
Like so much else that touches on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a just-released three-year-long study of how textbooks on both sides portray the "other" has provoked a firestorm of controversy.
If students were really serious about human rights violators in the Middle East, they'd be holding Saudi Apartheid weeks or Abuse of Arab Women Awareness weeks rather than bashing Israel.
Everyone, including President Obama, is re-imagining the Middle East, and maybe Israel can afford to do some of its own re-imagining as well as play to the trend. It can also save thousands of lives in the process.
Why can't Palestinians travel between West Bank and Gaza? The question should be asked now as everyone is preparing for U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the region.
Although a majority of Israelis and Palestinians realize that coexistence based on a two-state solution may well be inevitable, intractable voices on both sides simply refuse to accept this reality.
In the face of international media indifference, the Palestinian people decided to start telling their own stories of living under occupation. One of those stories, 5 Broken Cameras, is an astonishing film by a Palestinian farmer from Bilin, a village in the West Bank.
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