20 Mar 2010 6:29 PM By Lara Friedman

More on AIPAC message - New talking points memo, text of senate sign-on letter

CLARIFICATION : Nothing in this post reflects secret, leaked, or internal AIPAC documents. The Senate letter was circulating widely by email among Senate staff as of late Friday afternoon. All the other documents referenced here are available for anyone...

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20 Mar 2010 1:58 PM By Daoud Kuttab

A Palestinian view of the role of Jerusalem in negotiations

This is not how the peace process was supposed to work. Architects of negotiations have forever talked about leaving difficult issues until last, and in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, nothing fits the bill of "difficult" as much as Jerusalem...

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20 Mar 2010 1:53 PM By Gregg Carlstrom

Poll: Labor will lose big in next Israeli election

Yedioth Ahronoth reports on a new political poll this morning and concludes that the Likud party in Israel is losing support. But the poll numbers don't quite support that conclusion. The survey asked voters who they would choose in a Knesset election...

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20 Mar 2010 1:41 PM By Steve Feldman
Professor of Dermatology, Wake Forest University

…to secure justice and fair treatment to all

At the top of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) website is the motto, "To Stop the defamation of the Jewish people... to secure justice and fair treatment for all." This is a motto and an organization to be proud of. But I think the ADL is making...

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20 Mar 2010 1:21 PM By Ali Dahmash

A Muslim store owner changes another man`s life by the grace of god

An example of little things we can do to change the ugly stereotypes of Muslims in the West. Imagine if more stories were shown across US media outlets. Imagine if we had more voices of moderate Arabs and Muslims expressing thier views on TV and they...

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20 Mar 2010 11:49 AM By Mustafa Abu Sway

Islam and Muslims on Judaism and Jews

JERUSALEM - Despite being in a protracted political conflict over the Holy Land that began around the advent of Zionism more than a century ago, Jews and Muslims have common historical roots, as well as theological commonalities. Our common roots go beyond...

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20 Mar 2010 11:43 AM By Rabbi Naftali Rothenberg

The Jewish-Islamic heritage and its contemporary significance

HAR ADAR, Israel - The link between Judaism and Islam is profound and is at the root of both religious cultures. Islam sanctified and interpreted sacred Jewish texts and incorporated principles from Jewish law (Halakha) and Rabbinical sources into Islamic...

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20 Mar 2010 11:33 AM By David Zonsheine

Israel must talk to Hamas before it’s too late

TEL AVIV - Israel must talk to Hamas. Not secretly. Not indirectly. Not for a politician to rehabilitate himself on the way to taking over the leadership of a party, as Kadima's Shaul Mofaz tried to do, but openly and seriously. Just as the United...

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20 Mar 2010 6:22 PM By Gershon Baskin

A free people in our land

JERUSALEM - It was never really about the timing. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's apology to US Vice President Joseph Biden enabled the Tel Aviv University speech to conclude the visit on an up note. The ice-cold water from Washington came only...

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20 Mar 2010 11:15 AM By Amjad Atallah

Middle East peace efforts: lessons from healthcare reform

WASHINGTON, DC - It took a year of trying for President Obama to persuade Israelis and Palestinians to enter into "proximity talks" to resolve issues standing in the way of a final peace plan. But as we learned from the stunning announcement...

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20 Mar 2010 10:54 AM By James Zogby
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, The ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE, Washington, DC

The week that was, and the week yet to come: Testing Obama's mettle

This coming week will tell us a great deal about the ability of President Obama to be a strong leader and an honest broker in Middle East peacemaking. With the President having postponed his Asia visit in order to be on hand for conclusion of Congress'...

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19 Mar 2010 11:16 PM By Moshe Yaroni

The capital of war

A few months ago, I was wandering around East Jerusalem, having not been there for about eight months prior. The changes I saw were profound and frightening. The twin phenomena of Jewish settlements expanding in East Jerusalem and Jewish families moving...

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19 Mar 2010 4:26 PM By Lara Friedman

APN legislative round-up for the week ending March 19, 2010

1. Bills and Resolutions 2. Congress and the Jerusalem Settlements Dust-Up 3. AIPAC on the Hill Next Week 4. Dear Colleague Bashing PA 5. APN on Iran Sanctions, Jerusalem Settlement Issue 1. Bills and Resolutions ( Jerusalem ) H. Res. 1191: Introduced...

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19 Mar 2010 9:15 PM By Eileen White Read
PEACEMAKERS, Washington, DC

World leaders ‘condemn’ West Bank settlements, while some Israelis say Obama is ‘fair’

UPDATED The international "quartet" charged by the United Nations with overseeing the Middle East peace process met in Moscow this morning and issued a strong statement against settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. In speaking...

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19 Mar 2010 3:37 PM By Evan Hill

Rocket from Gaza kills 1 in Israel, which returns fire

A rocket fired from Gaza on Thursday killed a Thai agricultural laborer at an Israeli cooperative farm on the border called Nativ Haasara. Israel responded within hours, launching air strikes on six targets in Gaza. Although Hamas holds power in Gaza...

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