A homeland is not a piece of cultivated land, nor the object of a war for pride. Homeland is not nationalism. Love has no place where land is a tool for control. Homeland is an idea through which we mold our hopes and our most secret fears. It is an unconditional love. By Avraham H. Muthada / Café Gibraltar I often find myself yearning for Iran. Despite the fact that my feet have never stepped there, my mouth has never tasted its water, my lips have not sipped from its goblet. There, in the diaspora, where the dream of the…

It is a generally assumed that the Shah's downfall led to the severing of ties between Israel and Iran, which up until that point resembled a love story. However, both Iran's intellectual elite and the rest of the nation drastically changed their views of the Jewish State after 1967. By Lior Sternfeld The relationship between Israel and Iran dates back to the early years of the Jewish state, and constituted the basis of both countries’ geopolitical policies. This political relationship was not, however, merely a matter of the ruling elites. Insofar as Pahlavi's Iran is concerned, even oppositional circles in…

Sending armies or air forces to stop jihadists from grabbing Syria's chemical weapons would be inordinately daunting and dangerous - and inconclusive.    I, too, would like to neutralize the threat of the jihadists in Syria, and Hezbollah, and the possibility that they will take control of Assad's chemical weapons (and worse, much worse, his possible biological weapons). But how is that going to be accomplished? Here, according to Haaretz's Amos Harel, is what the Americans think it will take. In briefings recently for American media representatives, administration officials have said that removing the chemical weapons threat in Syria would…

A lengthy Forward article by Nathan Guttman describes the makeover of The Israel Project (TIP) following the replacement of its founder and leader, with erstwhile AIPAC killer-shark Josh Block. The breathless description of his battering-ram personality almost had me swept along – almost. And when I say swept along, I mean that it is tempting to jump into the ring and do battle – fight fire with fire, stake out the liberal ground in the professional ring of image-peddlers for Israel (IPFI?). Just what we need. What really grates is the author’s description of Block’s self-image as a defender not…

On the occasion of the Persian New Year, Mehrdad Naderi (pseudonym) pens a letter to Israelis and others calling for unity among mankind, and getting to know one another - despite the 'fear of the enemy' fostered and perpetuated by political leaders. By Mehrdad Naderi Hello everyone, I am a 30-year old Iranian, and I want to write and express my feelings toward you. Throughout my life I have witnessed the effects of a religion-based regime that imposed itself on us during the revolution. As a result of the Islamic Revolution, Iranians have had to pay for the many disasters that…

Under pressure over the issues of Iran and Israel at his Senate confirmation hearing, Obama's nominee for defense secretary caves in completely. Thursday's Senate confirmation hearing of Chuck Hagel was something out of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," or the 1950s House Un-American Activities Committee sessions. "Senator Hagel, are you now or have you ever been a realist?" "Your soul is in peril, Senator - recant!" And Hagel recanted, over and over again. Under pressure on Iran and Israel (among other taboo subjects), he apologized to his inquisitors for referring to the "Jewish lobby" ("I should have said 'pro-Israel lobby'"), apologized…

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave an interview on Friday night to Israeli Channel 2 in which he attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the latter's security spending and the way in which he approached a particular issue. Olmert didn’t say the word "Iran," but his message cannot be misunderstood: In the last two years we have spent more than 11 billion NIS (3 Billion USD) on security delusions that were not carried out and will not be carried out… it is a sum which is well beyond the multi-year budget […] Olmert added that he …believes that these moves will…

President Obama's record on the Palestinian issue is so bad that the winner of the upcoming elections is irrelevant. Four years ago, I traveled to the United States to cover the Democratic and Republican conventions. It was an inspiring experience, largely due to the unique feelings that accompanied the candidacy of (now) president Obama. Judging from afar, it seems that much of this excitement is gone, and the current elections are a frustrating and rather cynical experience. Still, if I were an American living in the U.S., I probably would have voted for President Obama for many reasons – from…

Americans should be scared to vote for Romney, but they're too scared and antagonistic toward Muslims for Obama to tell them why.  Tonight's Obama-Romney foreign policy debate is no doubt going to go heavy on the issues of Iran and Israel. By rights, Obama has a powerful argument to make against his opponent, one that, in a more perfect America, could scare a lot of those "floating voters" who've deserted him into floating back to his corner. And it wouldn't be demagoguery - it would be taking a legitimate fear of a Romney presidency, one that's based strictly on the…

Despite its leaders’ efforts to broker an agreement, Turkey seems to be accepting the possibility of an attack on Iran as a last resort. Now its priority is to prepare for that eventuality, so that a military conflict does not take it by surprise. By Aylin Gurzel FAMAGUSTA – Turkey has tried to broker negotiations between Iran and the West over Iran’s nuclear program. But, with talks repeatedly failing to generate any substantive progress, Turkey’s leaders are beginning to consider how a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities would affect their country’s interests. When Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to…

JFK courted nuclear war with the Soviets, now Israel is courting a confrontation with the Iranians. But how can Israel contemplate starting a war against another country, a war that will not be negligible and could be devastating, for doing the same thing that it has been doing for over 40 years? I love it when people say there's no comparing a nuclear Iran to a nuclear Soviet Union because, after all, the Soviets weren't really a threat to blow up America, people weren't afraid they would just go crazy and push the button - they weren't religious fanatics like the…

Between NIS 10 and 11 billion were used in preparations for an attack that was never meant to happen. This incredibly expensive and ultimately failed political maneuver should be the focus of the next election.  Unless Netanyahu is crazier than is commonly assumed, Israel will not attack Iran in the near future. Until quite recently, Netanyahu stubbornly claimed that Israel must attack Iran before the 2012 U.S. presidential elections. This was a calculated attempt by Netanyahu to put pressure on Barack Obama and advance the chances of Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. This attempt at psychological warfare utterly failed: Obama, ice-cold, didn't blink; he referred to Netanyahu's demands…

Political maneuvering scores headlines in Israel and abroad. The New York Times reported this morning on a "growing rift" between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The disagreements between the two regarding the strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and the government's attitude towards the American administration have found their way into the public sphere, with proxies for both sides attacking each other on every possible issue, from policy to personal character. So, the strongest political alliance Israel has known in years is coming to an end? Don't be so sure. Despite the obvious differences in their political approach…