Oxfam seems like such a nice charity.  It’s slogan is “The power of people against poverty.” What can be controversial about that? Much of the organization’s work is focused on providing aid and services to poor communities around the world.  Work includes bringing clean water, food and basic services to …

On October 27, 2015, US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-R) blasted the United Nations group that works for the Palestinians. UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, has a stated mission of helping over 5 million “Palestine refugees.” That unique and bizarre definition …

A sad satire. The United Nations took a special interest in the high unemployment rate of Palestinians, which has led to feelings of despair and hopelessness, leaving many to resort to violence against Israelis.  As such, the UN held a meeting in October 2015 in Vienna to listen to various …

There were a growing number of violent attacks by ‘Palestinians’ against Israelis in October 2015.  Various politicians such as the US Secretary of State John Kerry blamed the root cause as ‘Palestinian’ frustration about ongoing Jewish “settlements” east of the Green Line. Acting President of the ‘Palestinian’ Authority Mahmoud Abbas …

The portrayals of the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict in the two main New York newspapers could not be more different.  Snapshots of the two papers on October 17, 2015 and the editorials from the prior days frame the conflicting attitudes. In Pictures On October 17, 2015, each paper posted a picture …

The “Every Pictures tells a Story” series reviews newspapers through a lens focused only on their pictures and captions. The brutal attacks that occurred in Israel during the week October 6-13 provides a good snapshot for how the New York Times viewed the conflict – the only victims in the …

FirstOneThrough There were several terrorist attacks against Israeli Jews in early October 2015.  The US State Department gave very tepid comments about the murders, especially compared to how the US reacted to the arson attacks that claimed the lives of three Palestinian Arabs in July 2015.  When one considers that …

On September 17, 2015, acting-President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas called out to Arabs who were fighting against Jews visiting the Temple Mount, the holiest place for Judaism, on Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar: “We bless you, we bless the Murabitin (those who …

President Obama has not only begun to lobby aggressively to win support for the P5+1 deal on the Iranian nuclear program, he has begun to lay the foundation of blame for a potential war squarely on Israel.Diplomacy or War? US President Barack Obama: “Let’s not mince words: The choice we face is …

The European Union has taken upon itself to challenge the labelling of products that are made east of the Green Line as “Made in Israel”.   They should consider international norms and the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians before doing so. “Made in USA” in US Territories It is …

Listening to US Secretary of State John Kerry try to explain and defend the P5+1 Iranian nuclear deal to various audiences is a spectacle to behold, regardless of one’s position on the best course of action.  One of the people who might want to watch the sessions and learn something …

In July 2015, six world powers concluded their negotiations with Iran on its nuclear power program. Parties like US President Barack Obama congratulated himself and the negotiating team for “prevent[ing] Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and ensur[ing] that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful going forward.” That claim …

In June 2015, the United Nations issued a report highly critical of Israel’s handling of its war against Palestinian attacks. Throughout the report, the committee suggested that the Israeli blockade of Gaza was a major cause for suffering of Palestinians, rather than a result of Palestinian actions, and helped precipitate the …

Failed Countries. On July 9, 2011, the world welcomed a new country, South Sudan, which separated from Sudan. South Sudan rapidly became a failed state, one in which the central government lost the ability to control the security and economy of the country. Failed states suffer from many terrible and …

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) produced a report in the spring of 2015 about the war between Israel and the Palestinians in the summer of 2014. The UNHRC continued with a debate in June 2015 in which several “delegations strongly condemned Israel’s excessive and disproportionate military aggression against …

In an Instagram and Twitter world, people expect their news in small tidbits. The major media sources have understood this and not only have taken to social media, but have their news stories include more pictures than they had previously. A review of their selection of pictures and captions provides an interesting …

Everyone has a perspective. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor, was credited with saying “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” Our opinions and perspectives are shaped by many things including our backgrounds and biases. When two people look at …

The Palestinian Arabs and Israelis last managed to negotiate an agreement in September 1995. That agreement, Oslo II, was intended to be an interim agreement after which a permanent resolution was to be reached in five years. However, five years later in September 2000, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat walked away …

Summary: The gap in resolving the long running Israel-Palestinian Question has to do with the goals of each party: the Israelis believe they have been engaged in a peace process between peoples while the Palestinians are negotiating a divorce settlement between countries. Politicians and the media – both well-meaning and …

Summary: Almost every major media outlet refers to the Gaza Strip and the west bank of the Jordan River as “Palestinian Territories”, when in fact, those areas are actually “Israeli territories” and “Palestinian Authority Territories.” Most places in the world are part-and-parcel of a country.  However, there are situations when a …