Shai Baitel

On May Day, Russia's President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended the traditional parade of trade unionists in Moscow, possibly for the last time before they will switch roles. Putin will formally return to the Kremlin later this month and we will see what his renewed presidency will...

When the first Muslim faithfuls started paying their religious dues to Islam and made their annual hajj ('pilgrimage') to Mecca, they did not realize how popular the name of the city, the religion's holiest, would become. Based in the Hejaz in Saudi Arabia, Mecca is the place where Muslims believe...

The following is a guest post by Ambassador Ron Prosor is Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. I have offered him my column today.

When asked about his preferred method of work, satirical writer Garrison Keillor once explained, "I believe in looking reality straight in the...

A recent encounter made me think about companies and their responsibility for society. We work for them. We live next to them. We invest in them. We buy from them. They are, without doubt among the most important institutions in our lives. We think they are, more or less, greedy,...

"That hill [in front of Venezuela's Presidential Miraflores Palace] will open up and a big atomic bomb will come out."

-President Hugo Chavez, in company of visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in Caracas, January 9, 2012

And both presidents laughed heartily. Chavez continued, that "[t]he imperialist spokesmen say ......

When the brightest minds and influential people come together, solutions and strategies should be found, even for very difficult cases, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Or are we stuck, in this case, with the definition of insanity, attributed to Albert Einstein? According to this definition, insanity would be doing the...

"We know which fate met Richard III. There is hope that by the time the Old Vic Shakespeare's Machiavellian masterpiece, with Kevin Spacey in the lead role, comes to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in February 2012 we will know which fate met one or the other of those Middle...

In the Middle East the worth of a transaction does not necessarily reflect its value. So one might wonder why it has taken five years to conclude the negotiations about the terms of release of Gilad Shalit, who now is set to be freed tomorrow. Shalit was abducted from Israel...

In international affairs it is important to be cognizant of an actor's culture and history. Failing to do so sometimes leads to a situation where observers and commentators fail to truly understand the meaning of current events.

In the Middle East, for example, pride and honor are considered very...

It is the problem of being stuck between a rock and a hard place: An escalation in worrying violence in Southern Israel, following a series of deadly terrorist attacks near the Egyptian border from Egyptian Sinai as well as a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel, has positioned Prime...

At the end of 2010, Great Britain received exciting news. And the following months were spent with preparations for the announced seminal event, which would change the face of the Kingdom. The young generation of... and the women prepared their outfits and men polished their shoes. The anticipation and excitement...

On June 28, the United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, tasked "to prosecute persons responsible for the attack of 14 February 2005 resulting in the death of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and in the death or injury of other persons," indicted four senior members of Hezbollah, the Shiite...

It's a dilemma. What are the women owning and wearing the high fashion dreams composed by John Galliano supposed to do now?

It does not happen very often that international political developments and news coming out of the fashion world have a common thread. Recent events in Libya and in...

New York City is a tough place. And New Yorkers are a tough crowd. So it is no surprise that the city's Mayors and leadership are cut from the same cloth. From the indefatigable Ed Koch to Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg we have seen strong characters. While they certainly...

The following is a guest post by Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Israel's Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs. I have offered him my column today.

Thomas Friedman takes time out from his Cairo reportage to castigate the Government of Israel for not urging the American government to hasten the...

Looking at what is happening in Egypt these days the following fable, slightly adjusted, comes to mind:

A frog and the scorpion, met one day on the bank of the River Nile, which they both wanted to cross. The frog offered to carry the scorpion over on his...

"[W]e have handed over the word [Zionism] to those who attack and distort it." ~ Rebecca Sugar, Birthright Alumni Director on February 1, 2011

A couple of years ago I was asked how I would define the Israeli-Arab conflict in one sentence. While rarely caught off-guard I had to...

The view of the mountains surrounding Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro was breathtaking and the horizon seemed full of promise. Hundreds of Brazil's influentials had accepted the invitation of pertinent businessman and socialite Henrique Pinto to welcome 2011 at a fabulously lavish party at a stunning residence. Over the...

"[Israeli] Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert hadn't asked for a green light, and I hadn't given one. He had done what he believed was necessary to protect Israel."

-- Former U.S. President George W. Bush in his recently released autobiography

Now here is a statement that one should let sink...

The Middle East is about to change. No, the dysfunctional political systems are not about to become more free or fair or democratic. National economies are not going to improve and create jobs and perspectives for its people. Women will not see more equality and opportunities. Education will