M E N O R A H

Egypt is going from "yuppie" revolution to Islamic revolution

What is happening now in Egypt? The sudden removal of Mubarak cannot be the end of the story, and with the future of such a significant regional power hanging in the balance, what happens in the weeks and months after is far more important than the president’s resignation.

Amazingly, while the Western intelligentsia spent the two weeks leading up to Mubarak’s departure alternatively insisting that the Muslim Brotherhood was either not a threat or too small to worry about, almost no one covered the February 18 return to Egypt of Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi as the major event it was. More

Our Absurd Obsession with Israel Is Laid Bare

The Middle East meant only Israel to many. Now the lives of millions of Arabs have been brought to Europe's attention.

The Arab revolution is consigning skip-loads of articles, books and speeches about the Middle East to the dustbin of history. In a few months, readers will go through libraries or newspaper archives and wonder how so many who claimed expert knowledge could have turned their eyes from tyranny and its consequences. More

Experts discuss which iron-fisted dictators may be next to fall due to popular uprisings

No one predicted that Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak could be ousted – especially not by means of mostly non-violent protest. It appears that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime, which for years was considered indomitable, has been showing signs over the past week that it is coming to an end – yet again, against predictions.

While the people of Jordan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iraq have been inspired by these successful uprisings to raise their heads and tell their rulers that they have had enough, the question remains whether other nations under totalitarian or falsely democratic regimes can turn into the sites of the next rebellion. More

Washington Post gets it: Abbas no better than Arafat

Though it didn’t go so far as to compare the clean-cut current Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas (Arafat in a suit), to his belligerent, gun-wielding predecessor and mentor, Yasser Arafat, the Washington Post last week did signal that it has finally woken up to the fact that Abbas is not truly interested in peace.

Had the Post and rest of the Western elite paid any attention whatsoever to what Abbas has been saying for years in Arabic, they would have come to this realization far sooner. But, I digress. They are coming to this realization now, and, as they say, “better late than never.” More

Israel debates 'End Times' as Arab world revolts

Using language that mirrors that of “end times” prophecy debates in the Christian world, Israelis are increasingly wondering what the mounting turmoil in the Middle East is ultimately leading to.

A number of prominent rabbis have come forward with their interpretations of what is going on, and the casual observer would be forgiven for initially mistaking their remarks as coming from an Evangelical Christian.

“People have come to me and said that it’s ‘Gog and Magog’. We cannot know. But it’s probable that any unrest that God creates shows that the Messiah is coming,” wrote Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky on the Israeli religious Internet portal Haredim. More

Obama to Libyans: You’re on Your Own

While the cause for the administration’s diplomatic reticence was resolved by a sea evacuation, Obama’s statement nevertheless contained only empty words. Instead of threats or a hard-hitting warning to Gaddafi from the leader of the world’s only superpower concerning the raging violence, the American public was treated to Obama’s well-known multi-polar approach for solving world problems, even when they involve American interests. With Wednesday’s statement, Obama once again demonstrated his continued intent to keep American power off the world stage. More

And they want residents in Judea and Samaria to be expelled?

Five and a half years after the government expelled Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria, many of the expellees are still waiting for the signatures that will let them move into new homes, it was revealed Wednesday. MK Uri Ariel (National Union) raised the issue in a meeting of the State Control Committee.

Doron Ben Shlomi, head of the Gush Katif residents council, told the committee that approval has been delayed for towns that were planned up to six years ago. The government built temporary housing in Amatzia, in the Lachish region, immediately after the expulsion, with the intention of making the housing site a permanent town. Despite those plans, residents of Amatzia are still waiting for official approval to create their town, he said. More

Italy FM estimates that as many as 1,000 people have been killed in Libya crackdown

"Among other things, Gadhafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities," Baer wrote. "The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya's rebellious tribes: It's either me or chaos."

The growing violence in Libya has forced a number of oil companies to shut in production in Africa's third-largest oil producer and disrupted flows from the country's export terminals. More

Clinton: Illegitimate for Jews to live in Judea, Samaria

Hillary Clinton has been a disaster for Israel and an obstacle to peace from the day when she hugged and kissed Suha Arafat on November 11, 1999. The only thing that is “illegitimate” in Judea and Samaria is the Arab people who should be in Trans-Jordan.

Clinton’s remarks were taped on Friday, just hours before the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have officially condemned Jewish building in Judea and Samaria as illegal.

The Obama Administration has since sought to clarify that the vote was absolutely not an endorsement of the Jews’ right to dwell in their biblical heartland, and the broadcast of this interview appears to be part of that clarification effort. More

Israel: White House not reliable

Israel can no longer rely on the White House and must trust only itself due to a lack of leadership on the part of President Obama, declared a Knesset member from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party.

“We have to understand that if, God forbid, we will be in the case of trouble, we can trust only ourselves because we see a lack of leadership coming from the U.S. today,” said Likud Knesset Member Danny Danon. More