As the dust settles over the planned, canceled, re-scheduled and then canceled-again trip to Israel by Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, two things come to mind offering perspectives on how this played out. First, the scene from “Argo” when the CIA affirms that “This is the best bad idea we have.” Why? Because no matter what had happened, Israel …
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
Israel Gets Ready to Fight a Multifront War
By SETH FRANTZMAN
Israel’s Ministry of Defense has revealed a new program to design a combat vehicle for the future. Three prototypes, showing off the latest technology that will enable manned and unmanned vehicles to secure terrain, were on display in a dusty field below a series of hills. Beyond one of the hills was a fake village, constructed to resemble the kind …
By SETH FRANTZMAN
Eid al-Adha “Festival of the Sacrifice” – August 11-15, 2019
Eid al-Adha, also referred to as the “Festival of the Sacrifice”, is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year, and is considered the holier of the two. The other is Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Adha honors the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God’s command. But, before Abraham could sacrifice …
The End of the Syrian Civil War: How Jordan Can Cope
By MOHAMMED BANI SALAMEH and AYMAN HAYAJNEH
Middle East Quarterly IRBID, JORDAN — August 4, 2019 — The Syrian civil war produced one of the largest, longest, and most complex humanitarian crises of the twenty-first century. More than twelve million people have fled to Arab and Western countries since June 2011, including over 1.4 million to Jordan, equivalent to 14 percent of the Jordanian population. This influx …
By MOHAMMED BANI SALAMEH and AYMAN HAYAJNEH