Israel-Palestinian conflict

A religious Israeli man carries an M-16 rifle as he walks near the separation barrier surrounding Rachel's Tomb, Bethlehem, West Bank. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Is religion an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace?

Pew publishes surprising new data on religion in Israel, Palestine and the region. We often hear that Israelis and Palestinians are more religious than other national groups, or at the very least are becoming more religious. This, they claim, makes any solution to the conflict more difficult to reach. A new Pew Research Center report…

By Noam Sheizaf December 25, 2015

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry following their meeting in Jerusalem, December 5, 2013. (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)

The world is letting Israel get away with it again

The assault on Gaza has hurt this country’s image, and it doesn’t care. There’s no doubt that this past month of heavily televised overkill in Gaza – well, heavily televised everywhere but here – has hurt Israel’s standing in the world. The IDF has killed too many civilians, wiped out too many families, bombed too…

By Larry Derfner August 11, 2014

Relatives and family members of the Israeli solider Bayhesain Kshaun mourn during his funeral in Netivot city, Israel, on July 22, 2014. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Israel during wartime: Loving our soldiers to death

War brings out the best in Israel, and the worst. But it’s the worst qualities that allowed this war to happen in the first place, and that are preparing the ground for the next one. I’ve always thought, and still think, that if I were in real trouble somewhere, if I were being mugged in…

By Larry Derfner July 24, 2014

Latest

WATCH: A six-minute primer to the occupation

Jewish Voice for Peace produced this very basic primer to the conflict and the occupation. It’s one of the best I’ve seen. If the video player doesn’t work, click here.

By Noam Sheizaf December 2, 2012

Sign post in Israel indicating the direction of Jerusalem in three languages (photo: izahorsky/flickr cc)

“We” speak Hebrew, “them” Arabic. Why negotiate in English?

Many have argued that the US is no longer a neutral broker between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I’ll take it one step further: is English even the appropriate mediating language? William Shakespeare famously asked, “What’s in a name?” I (less famously) will ask, “What’s in a language?” Today, I called the mobile provider Orange…

By Roee Ruttenberg September 25, 2011

National Center for the Preservation of Democracy: Japanese American National Museum Little Tokyo Los Angeles, CA (Photo: Flickr Creative Commons/kalavinka)

End of year poll updates: Israel and Palestine

Here’s a summary of some of the top quality polling being done by Israelis and Palestinians, about Israelis and Palestinians. From masses of data, I’ve selected highlights addressing two main themes: the Israeli Palestinian conflict, and the state of democracy in both societies. All the data comes from sources I trust. I use names or…

By Dahlia Scheindlin December 29, 2010