A Year for Elections, Not Mideast Peace
In a piece that appeared on both the Wall Street Journal and Real Clear Politics, Elliot Abrams explains that with the American, the Palestinian and the Israeli leaders all facing the specter of elections, domestic affairs are pushing peace talks to the rear.
“Why should Mr. Netanyahu risk destroying his coalition in a possible election year, when previous Israeli offers-especially in 2000 and 2008-were refused, and when he believes the White House doesn’t have his back? And why take such risks when Mr. Abbas seems on the verge of inviting Hamas into the Palestine Liberation Organization, which would bring negotiations to a screeching halt anyway?”
Being Muslim and a feminist are not mutually exclusive
Writing in Lebanon’s Daily Star, Fatemeh Fakhraie says that women who blend Islam and feminism in their lives not uncommon.
“I don’t see contradictions between Islam and feminism at the big picture level. There are echoes of Islam and feminism in each other; though Islam is about submission to God, an important facet of that is submission to what’s just. Thus, both Islam and feminism guide my outlook and my work. Thus, both Islam and feminism guide my outlook and my work.”
Ignore the hyperbole on Hormuz: embargoes don’t work
In an opinion piece in the Financial Times, Chatham House fellow Paul Stevens warns that while Iran would not close the Strait of Hormuz, tighter oil sanctions on Tehran would not have the desired outcome.
“While no route to restricting Iranian oil revenues is perfect, at least financial sanctions are not as likely to lead to a popular backlash as an oil embargo, which would be seen as an attack on Iran.”
The Best of Times, The Worst of Times for Women Rabbis
In a piece for the website of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judasim, Joanne Palmer, talks to women rabbis about their experiences, and finds a mixed reaction.
“Institutionally, at any rate, women are flourishing in the Conservative movement. For the first time, women rabbis occupy both of the Rabbinical Assembly’s top offices – Rabbi Julie Schonfeld is its executive vice president and Rabbi Gilah Dror, who is the spiritual leader of Rodef Sholom Temple in Hampton, Virginia, is president. This would have been unthinkable even a decade ago.”
In Jewish Ideas Daily, Elliot Jager looks at the whether Hamas and Fatah – the two groups that dominate Palestinian politics – can ever really reconcile, and what it means for Israel.
“The Fatah-Hamas schism has only intensified the intransigence, fanaticism, and obduracy that have long characterized the Palestinian polity. Two “Palestines” do not equal one partner for Israel in building a viable two-state solution.”
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