The new coalition Ha'aretz reports In surprise move, Netanyahu, Mofaz agree to form unity government, cancel early elections (via memeorandum): Under the agreement, Kadima will join Netanyahu's government and commit to supporting its policies through the end of its term in late 2013. Mofaz is expected to be appointed deputy prime minister, as well as minister without portfolio. Mofaz will also serve as a member of the security cabinet, and Kadima members will … [Read more...]

1) The Times catches up Perhaps Challah Hu Akbar, Mahmoud Abbas Launches Attack Against InLightPress and Khaled Abu Toameh, Palestinian Authority: Write Only Nice Things About Your Leaders were the first to note the official censorship of the Palestinian Authority. In early April, the Washington Post featured an op-ed by David Keyes, Where’s the outcry over Palestinian censorship? In recent months, Hamas has cracked down on dissidents, women and online activists. It has … [Read more...]

1) Petering out Last week Peter Beinart debated Daniel Gordis over the "Crisis in Zionism." Elder of Ziyon picks up on one of Gordis's lines to suggest a "tweet" to promote a true understanding of Israel and its history. Challah Hu Akbar picked up on a line stated by Beinart, but doesn't stand up to scrutiny. I agree with Challah's friend who's quoted. Israel's critics, like Beinart, often mis-characterize statements and events in … [Read more...]

1) All the Islam that's fit to whitewash David Kirkpatrick reported in Support From Islamists for Liberal Upends Race in Egypt: Egypt’s most conservative Islamists endorsed a liberal Islamist for president late Saturday night, upending the political landscape and confounding expectations about the internal dynamics of the Islamist movement. The main missionary and political groups of the ultraconservatives, known as Salafis, threw their support behind Abdel Moneim … [Read more...]

1) Methodists don't divest It seeemed like a positive headline, Methodists Vote Against Ending Investments Tied to Israel. Unfortunately, the reporting was less than encouraging. In Tampa, many delegates took to the floor to testify that they had traveled to the Holy Land and met with Palestinian Christians who were suffering and increasingly desperate for an end to the occupation. But in the end, they listened to some Jewish leaders and fellow Methodists who warned that … [Read more...]

1) Terror's enablers After Anders Behring Breivik carried out his terrible massacre last year, columnist Roger Cohen knew who was at fault. In a column, Breivik and his enablers he wrote: Breivik has many ideological fellow travelers on both sides of the Atlantic. Theirs is the poison in which he refined his murderous resentment. The enablers include Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, who compared the Koran to “Mein Kampf” on his way to 15.5 percent of the vote in the 2010 … [Read more...]

New York Times Mideast op-ed Index for April, 2012 A) A Middle East Twofer - Thomas Friedman - April 3, 2012 One of the most hackneyed clichés about the Middle East today is that the Arab Awakening, because it was not focused on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, only proves that this conflict was not that important. Rather, it is argued, the focus should be on Iran 24/7. The fact is, the Arab Awakening has made an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement more urgent than ever for two … [Read more...]

1) Benzion Netanyahu Unsurprisingly the New York Times obituary of Benzion Netanyahu, the Prime Miniter's father is titled, Benzion Netanyahu, Hawkish Scholar, Dies at 102. I'm uncertain why the adjective, "hawkish" is necessary. Ultimately, Israel was created as a result of the partition the revisionists opposed. Nonetheless, Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, said in a letter to The Jerusalem Post in 2005 that Mr. … [Read more...]

1) Yehuda Avner's Independence Day 1948 Former Ambassador Yehuda Avner wrote of his experiences the day the modern state of Israel was founded: Then cheers, tears, embraces. Every breast filled with exultation as we pumped hands, cuddled, kissed, in an ovation that went on and on. Nobody wanted it to stop. "Hey, Mahler!" shouted Linder cutting through the hullabaloo, "Our state - what's its name?" The violinist stared back blankly. "I don't … [Read more...]

1) The road to Arab democracy? In The Islamist Road to Democracy Reuel Marc Gerecht argues: We can easily find truly disturbing commentary and actions by members of the Egyptian Brotherhood, or by the Tunisian Rachid Ghannouchi, the intellectual guru behind the ruling Nahda Party. But we can just as easily find words and deeds that ought to make us consider the possibility that these men are neither Ernest Röhm and his fascist Brownshirts nor even religious versions of secular … [Read more...]