How to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace

The President of Egypt has stated his position in this article published in the Wall Street Journal.

Jews in Syria

Most Jewish Syrians left in waves after the creation of Israel in 1948 and the enactment of harsh Syrian laws barring them from owning property, withdrawing funds from bank accounts and traveling. Today, a reporter must solicit permission from both the ministry of information and Syrian intelligence service to visit the lone functioning synagogue in the old Jewish Quarter in Damascus.

Is an Ahmadinejad victory good for Israel?

Is it better for the President of Iran to be an over-the-top religious fanatic and overt anti-Semite, than a "reformist" who is really an arch-conservative with a facade of moderation? It's tempting to say yes. But Jonathan Tobin responds that Ahmadinejad's antics have not been much of a liability to Iran, so the West is better to support division within Iran's upper ranks.

Is there a more open society than this?

In Israel an Arab radical gave a lecture at Haifa University condemning the existence of the state and encouraging a terrorist revolt - a lecture which Jewish students were not permitted to attend. Amazing.

Are Israelis avoiding the tough questions?

Many people take it as given that Israelis are ready to surrender the West Bank when the Arabs are ready to offer real peace. Daniel Gordis asks provocatively whether years of disappointment have hardened Israeli opinion on the acceptable terms of a peace agreement.

Modern exodus

800,000 or so Jews fled the Arab and Muslim world or were summarily expelled for being Jewish in the 20th century. André Aciman recalls the assets he still owns in Alexandria and will never recover. "My mother’s house, my father’s factory, our life in Egypt, our friends, our books, our cars, my bicycle."

To start at the beginning

The consistency of modern Jews in Israel and West Bank with their ancestors defines their indigenousness, writes Sally Zerker. Modern Jews live in a country with the same name as that which existed in 1312 BCE and speak the same language that was spoken by Jews in that land more than 3,000 years ago.