Archive for March, 2010

AIPAC's annual convention is a time of year when politicians put their best foot forward regarding their stance on Israel. That's to be expected and there's nothing wrong with that. But despite strong positive support at AIPAC from a wide variety of politicians across the political spectrum, there were a number of concerning misstatements made, particularly by Secretary of State... »

Over the last several days, we have witnessed how a bureaucratic blunder and a poorly timed announcement of building apartments on a hill in  Jerusalem has flared up into a major international incident between the Obama administration and the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This has happened, despite the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately apologized, both publicly and... »

By: Sarah Stern and Kyle Shideler One of the many promises made by President Obama was the desire to "repair" America's relations with the Middle East and Muslim world. Hence speeches aimed at the Muslim world in Turkey, and Cairo, a reversal of long-time, American policy on Israeli settlements , numerous attempts to reconcile with Syria and holding back on supporting... »

By Sarah Stern & Kyle Shideler In the past two and a half weeks, the Obama administration has ramped up its efforts to engage with Syria's Dictator Bashar Assad, announcing its intentions to appoint an ambassador to Syria 5 years after the Bush Administration severed ties in the aftermath of the Rafik Hariri assassination, the killing which led to the Cedar... »