Sniping and saber-rattling at unusually high levels
| 4:00 PM Feb 5, 2010
You might want to head into this weekend hoping for peace in the Middle East. Not just peace in some not-too-distant future, but peace, like, this weekend. Possible enemy: Syria. The latest round of hostilities has been simmering for several days, but it was upped yesterday when Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced bellicosely, “I think ...
Plus China nixes sanctions, Lieberman rattles saber, and more
| 9:00 AM Feb 5, 2010
• Did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tip the U.S. hand? She said “the 1967 borders, with swaps, should be the focus of the negotiations over borders,” maybe revealing plans to use the Green Line as a basis for the final status. [NYT]
• While Europe and even Russia have toughened of late, China indicated that ...
Fed Chairman is third Jew to win honor
| 4:00 PM Dec 16, 2009
Princeton economics professor turned Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke scored the famous year-end Time cover, it was revealed today. “There is irony here,” notes Time managing editor Richard Stengel in an interview with Bernanke, “that here’s this man who spends his life distinguishing himself studying economic history—and then one day you wake up and realize ...
Stephen P. Cohen weighs in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
| 7:00 AM Nov 23, 2009
Psychologist Stephen P. Cohen has made his career as what he calls a “citizen diplomat.” He runs the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development, which he founded, and he’s been working for 40 years to try to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, participating in secret negotiations that have included Israel’s Shimon Peres and Moshe ...
Plus Iran responds, the high cost of kosher, and more in the news
| 9:03 AM Oct 29, 2009
• President Barack Obama sent a video to Israel to commemorate the 14th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination; Haaretz calls the move a “bid to woo Israelis.” [Haaretz]
• Iran has officially responded to the International Atomic Energy Organization on the U.N. nuclear plan for the country, to which it seeks “major revisions.” [Haaretz]
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Plus Israel’s Iran options, Libeskind’s latest, and more in the news
| 9:25 AM Sep 30, 2009
• The location of a new Chabad House in Mumbai is a secret revealed only to Jews looking for community; this caution reflects a general atmosphere among the city’s Jewish population since last year’s attacks. [WP]
• Meanwhile, the group responsible for the destruction remains a threat. [NYT]
• Thomas Friedman compares attempts to delegitimize President Obama ...
As Obama sits down with Netanyahu and Abbas, a brief history of the trilateral summit
| 7:00 AM Sep 22, 2009
This morning, President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet jointly for the first time with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting, at the Waldorf-Astoria, was hastily announced Saturday and billed with very low expectations from all sides, with both Israeli and Palestinian officials warning that no one should ...
Not-so-mysterious ways, aloha 'ShalomTV,' and an elegant gesture
| 5:00 PM Aug 27, 2009
• Two Kentuckians joined forces to end their bidding war over a 15.6-pound champion ham, paying a total of $1.3 million to charity. One of the lucky winners is a Jewish banker who says, “I’m delighted to participate in it but I’m not going to take any part of it home and cook it.” [Courier ...