In what is likely the first statement of its kind, Egyptians and Israelis call upon their governments to exempt conscientious objectors from mandatory military service. A small group of young Egyptians gathered in downtown Cairo for a vigil yesterday, the likes of which have probably never before been seen in any Arab country. The group held signs calling for the release of Israeli draft resister Natan Blanc, who was recently sent to prison for a record-breaking ninth consecutive sentence. According to Israeli movement Yesh Gvul, the gesture was highly appreciated by Blanc's family. The Cairo vigil is part of a new type of cooperation…

In February 2011, when it was clear Hosni Mubarak's 30-year authoritarian rule over Egypt would not survive the popular uprising that had begun on January 25, the Israeli media’s reporting was characterized primarily by a combination of confusion and unease about the big issue that concerns the country above all others – security. On the evening television magazine shows, panels of white-haired male analysts in their 60s reminisced in tones of near-nostalgia about their army service in the 1967 and 1973 wars with Egypt. They mentioned the porousness of the border in the south and implied that without Mubarak to…

'For me, today is one of the days of the revolution,' Egyptian poet Zain El-Abdeen Fouad says, describing the recent unrest as part of a process of a continuing social transformation. 'The [revolt against Mubarak] sparked the revolution and it never ended. The revolution will continue until it achieves its goals.' By Jesse Rosenfeld CAIRO – Walking through Cairo’s Munira neighborhood on the third day of clashes since the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution, riot cops sit behind barbwire awaiting protesters’ return following a night of clashes. Just blocks from Tahrir Square and the U.S. and British Embassies, the neighborhood…

While commentators say the vote is merely symbolic, at least for Palestinians and the international community, the vote could be a game-changing  kind of symbol. One week ago, the request to the UN General Assembly to grant Palestine status as a non-member observer state looked like a poor stepchild of the highly anticipated first “UN route” just over one year ago. The buildup to September 2011 was long; yet until about a week ago, it wasn’t even clear whether the current vote would really happen. The 2011 application for UN membership turned into an anticlimax. This year, the dark-horse diplomacy…

The Ukrainian government has warned that wheat growers might not be able to meet quotas for international contracts, sparking speculation over the prices of corn, a frequent substitute. KIEV, UKRAINE - The shortage has been blamed on dry weather in Southern Ukraine during the months of June and July, right before the start of harvesting season. Officials were quick to explain that inventory from the previous year would help fill the gaps between the 4 million tons needed for export commitments, the 12.5 million tons consumed by the domestic market, and the 15 tons harvested in 2012. That failed to persuade…

Although the recent incident on Israel's southern border involving Eritrean asylum seekers received international attention, structural violence against African refugees has been going on for over five years now. It is important to remember that those who make it in face enormous difficulties due to state policies. Earlier this month, 21 Eritrean asylum seekers, including a 14-year-old child and two women, spent over a week trapped between fences on the Israeli side of the Israeli-Egyptian border. As the temperatures soared, the group was not provided with any shelter; the "most moral army in the world" gave the refugees only small…

The real challenge facing the Muslim world today is how to stop violent protesters from becoming the face of the religion. In order to do that, we need more Muslims to get rid of their indifference and speak against the misrepresentation of Islam.  Research shows that the people behind "Innocence of Muslims," the film which disrespects Islam and the Prophet Muhammad and set off riots across the Middle East after it was uploaded to YouTube, are nothing more than a few Islalmophobic individuals. They produced a very a low cost, low quality film which aims to mock the Prophet Muhammad, and…

The U.S. Ambassador to Libya was killed by Islamic anti-American fanaticism. By now there's no need to point out the right-wing, anti-Muslim bad guys in the story surrounding Tuesday's attack in Libya that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Mitt Romney is one of those heavies, and the Egyptian Copt and American hardass in California who made the film "Innocence of Muslims," along with all those who promoted it on YouTube, are the others. (By now it should also be known that there was no "Israeli-American real-estate developer" named Sam Bacile behind the movie, nor was it financed…

How the state lied to the highest court in the land, how the court lapped it up, and who is really guilty here. Last Thursday, says Adv. Omer Shatz of the Anu Plitim (We Are Refugees) NGO, he showed up at the Supreme Court with his colleague, Adv. Yiftah Cohen, to ask for an injunction ordering the 21 refugees caught between the borders of Israel and Egypt to be brought into the country. Surprisingly, he said in a phone conversation, the process went well: the judges asked the state's counsel some difficult questions, at one point asking her whether she would…

Contrary to Israeli statements suggesting that 18 starved Eritrean agreed to go back to Egypt, the survivors tell lawyers their comrades were forcibly dragged away from the fence, despite begging to be killed rather than returned to Egypt. The refugees reported they were previously tear gassed, pushed away with metal rods and denied food. The Egyptian soldiers near the border told the group that the men were unwanted but they would take the women of the group and rape them, in addition to the two they were raping already.    The following are excerpts from testimonies given by two women…

18 of the asylum seekers caught between fences on the Israel-Egypt border were handed over to the Egyptians; two women and a boy were imprisoned in Israel. After seven days in the desert sun with little water and no food, Israel has allowed entry to three out of the 21 asylum seekers who were caught between the fences on the Israeli-Egyptian border. The other 18 were handed to the Egyptian army, and their fate remains unknown. Knesset Member Dov Khenin [Hadash] found out that the three Eritreans – one boy and two women, were taken to Saharonim prison, used now…

A group of  21 Eritreans has been trapped for seven days between the Israeli and Egyptian fences in Sinai. Until Wednesday, soldiers were ordered to give them some water but no food. Activists who went there over the last several days were prevented from reaching the asylum seekers by soldiers. +972 bloggers track the developments as they come in. Update: Around 18.30 local it has been made known that the two women and the boy will be allowed into Israel to receive medical treatment. The rest of the asylum seekers will be left on the Egyptian side of the fence. Prime Minister Netanyahu…

A group of some 20 Eritreans has been trapped for seven days between the Israeli and Egyptian fences in Sinai. Until Wednesday, soldiers were ordered to give them some water but no food. Activists who went there over the last several days were prevented from reaching the asylum seekers by soldiers. UPDATE: A delegation from Physicians for Human Rights traveled to the border today [Thursday], and reported the following (translated by Sol Salbe): A battalion commander named Dolev has come to meet the PHR delegation. He only agreed to speak with two doctors - Dr Kobi Arad and Prof Mick Elkan.…