U.S. democracy promotion efforts in the Middle East have been based on a bizarre notion: that U.S. society can serve as a model for the region. Talk about a tough sell. Congress is a bruising rugby scrum, and the U.S. economy is a shambles. U.S. warplanes and drones target Muslims abroad, and Islamophobia permeates the political discourse at home. Washington has supported Arab dictators and stood by Israel through thick and thin. We’re telling the world about the benefits of fruits and vegetables and then turning around to sell what looks like wormy apples and rotten tomatoes. No wonder that U.S. public diplomacy has largely fallen flat in the Middle East.
“Anti-Price Tag Patrol” Yet More Fuel for Israeli Right’s Fire
The Israeli right believe that anti-price tag patrols delegitimize Israel and enable the deaths of settlers at the hands of Palestinians.
Blocking Palestinian Statehood
When President Barack Obama addressed the UN General Assembly in September 2010, he sounded hopeful that by the following year there would be “an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations — an independent, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel.” Sure enough, in September 2011, the Palestinians asked the UN Security Council to recognize a state of Palestine — but Obama ordered the U.S. delegate to veto the request. What gives?
Arab Spring, Turkish Harvest
After consolidating its domestic political position with an impressive third straight victory in the 2011 parliamentary elections, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) is poised to cement Turkey’s status as the prime indigenous power in the Middle East. As mass protests rock most of the region, including Israel, Turkey is increasingly holding itself up as an example of economic dynamism and democratic stability.
How Exactly Does Palestinian Statehood Sabotage the Peace Process?
When it comes to deference to Israel, Capitol Hill just can’t seem to help itself.
Rick Perry Rallies Against Palestinian Statehood With Israeli and American Jewish Leaders
Rick Perry co-hosted a press conference for Republicans, members of U.S. pro-Israel groups and Likud politicians to oppose Palestinian statehood.
House Reps Reach Across the Aisle to Block Palestinian Statehood
Influential Republican Ros-Lehtinen is sponsoring a bill that would make U.S. funding of UN agencies conditional on how the body votes on Palestinian statehood.
Israeli Settlers: Never Shy About Taking the Law Into Their Own Hands
Israeli Knesset Member Ben-Ari fears Israeli settlers will be overwhelmed by Palestinian demonstrators and that the Israeli Defense Force won’t protect them.
100 Members of Hamas Arrested Just Before UN Vote for Palestinian Statehood
Hamas arrests by Israeli security forces would seem to indicate a severe setback for Hamas’s influence in the Occupied Territories.
The Upcoming Palestinian Uprising
If conditions do not change quickly by the time of the U.S.-promised veto of Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly on September 20, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could explode into a new uprising with hundreds of deaths. The recent attack of Palestinian extremists on a bus in the southern Israeli resort town of Eilat and the eager over-reaction of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is a harbinger of what is to come.