Deceptive quiet

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 called for the disbanding and disarming of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias. That's not happening. Hezbollah, Israel says, has more than restored its arsenal to the levels of before the war in 2006.

Welcome to Canada

A Saudi Arabian-born Syrian citizen who is qualified as a flight instructor was stopped at the Canadian border. In his possession: $880,000 in gold coins and cash (which he failed to declare), a Hezbollah ring, a Palestinian scarf and DVDs related to the 9/11 tragedy.  (Update: The original article from the National Post concerning this is no longer on line.  A link to a later article from the Globe and Mail is here.)

Muslims fighting for Israel

Maher is Muslim and he was a soldier with the Israeli army for three years. Rachid Sekkai from the BBC's Arabic Service talks to Muslims serving in the Israel Defense Forces and hears about the conflicts they face, at home and on duty, and the pride that military service sometimes brings them. (Podcast)

Grover in the Holy Land

A ‘Sesame Street’ character is attempting to get preschoolers in Israel hooked on the message of Israeli-Arab coexistence.

Hebron, then and now

Hebron Jews are relentlessly vilified as fanatics who illegally occupy someone else's land. Until 1929, Jews had lived in Hebron for three millennia. Jerold S. Auerbach relates this modern story of Jewish exile and return.

A responsible bystander

As part of his world tour Leonard Cohen wanted to perform for both Jews and Palestinians.

Persistent error

After seven years, an oft-repeated damaging misquote has been corrected.

East Jerusalem debate

Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem are incompatible with peace, writes Mousa Qous. Concession on Jerusalem or parts of the city constitutes surrender to a baseless demand, writes Mordechai Kedar.

The case for contacts

No matter how vehemently the Gulf states deny it, it is an "open secret" that all six Gulf states maintain contacts with Israel. Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi explains.

Unsettled

Two towns, Modiin Illit and Beitar Illit, account for half of all settler growth in the West Bank and offer surprising potential for compromise.

Good fences ...

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay contends that the security barrier Israel is constructing is illegal and contravenes the rights of Palestinians. Why, asks Canadian poet and essayist David Soloway, is there no acknowledgment that the barrier serves a purpose.

(Un)divided city

Jews have always lived in eastern Jerusalem - it is the location of the Old City, its famous Jewish Quarter and the Hebrew University, which was founded in 1918. Should an Israeli apartment development there be stopped?

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.