May 23rd

Nothing is “inevitable” In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Blog) - May 22, 2012 - 12:00am One of the most important political principles is that history is not deterministic in any sense. It is, rather, a genealogy of human choices. It is shaped by agency, intentionality and decisions that are both individual and collective.  » Read more

May 18th

Beware "Creative Alternatives" In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - May 18, 2012 - 12:00am It's easy to understand why so many people are giving up on negotiations and a two-state solution, and instead are looking for “creative alternatives.” Israeli-Palestinian talks are at an impasse. The two sides haven't seemed this far apart since the second intifada. The number of settlers and settlements continues to baloon relentlessly. Israel's government appears united behind recalcitrant policies, while the Palestinians appear hopelessly divided. » Read more

May 12th

The Lessons of the Nakba In Print by Ziad Asali - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - May 11, 2012 - 12:00am I do not need anyone to teach me about the Palestinian Nakba. It is the defining moment of my existence. I do not need anyone to lecture me about it either. » Read more

April 24th

Hamas Still Not Ready for Prime Time In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - April 23, 2012 - 12:00am In a wide-ranging interview with the Jewish Daily Forward, Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook again demonstrated the difficult position in which his organization finds itself. Due to the Arab uprisings, the region’s strategic landscape is now primarily defined by sectarian allegiances. As a result, Hamas's external leadership is trying to reintegrate the organization into the mainstream Sunni Arab fold, cultivating closer ties with states like Qatar, Jordan and Egypt, while distancing itself from Iran and abandoning Syria altogether. » Read more

April 3rd

Safer Side by Side: Why Israel Needs Palestine In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am Benny Begin, a member of Prime Minister Netanuyahu's inner cabinet, recently dismissed the idea of the creation of a viable Palestinian state, claiming it would be an unbearable security threat to Israel. He added that Netanuyahu's 2009 Bar-Ilan speech, which seemingly endorsed the two-state goal, was aimed exclusively at foreign audiences but that Palestinian statehood "was not brought up for discussion in the government, nor will it be discussed." "This is not the government's position," he stated bluntly. All the evidence suggests he's correct. » Read more

March 30th

The West Must Support Universal Values in the Arab World In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Opinion) - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am Over the past 14 months of uprisings in the Arab world, Iran has steadily lost influence throughout the Middle East. Recognizing this is crucial for understanding the way in which Palestine, Syria and other key strategic battlegrounds now play into Iranian calculations, and how new opportunities have emerged for both Arabs and the West. » Read more

March 28th

Bret Stephens' Crisis of Empathy In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast - March 27, 2012 - 12:00am Sometimes crude binaries can be instructive, and it's possible to distinguish two different types of people: those who seek out generous and universalist empathy with others, and those who prefer the warm cocoon of tribal solidarity. » Read more

March 27th

Show, Don't Tell: Why the Apartheid Analogy Falls Flat In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - March 26, 2012 - 12:00am A series of recent articles have pointlessly debated whether or not Israel can accurately be described as “an apartheid state.” But the problem with the apartheid analogy is less its inaccuracy, and more that, however emotionally appealing some people may find it, it’s just not useful in ending the occupation and advancing the Palestinian cause. » Read more

A settlement boycott can work In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - March 27, 2012 - 12:00am Peter Beinart’s recent call in the New York Times for Jewish Americans to boycott Israeli settlement goods has been met with angry responses from many Jewish Americans. This includes some who are opposed to the settler movement. The most important of these objections hold that a boycott cannot work because Jewish Americans won’t go along with such a program and there isn’t much to boycott anyway. Both arguments hold little water. » Read more

March 19th

Decisions in the Interregnum in Palestine and Israel In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Opinion) - March 19, 2012 - 12:00am The year 2011 will go down in history as the year when the two-state solution went into deep freeze. Yet even during this hibernation there is much that can, and indeed must, be done to prevent an even graver crisis. » Read more