Current Analysis Beneath the Gray Lady’s Flak Jacket The New York Times is the most prestigious of the prestige press in the United States. The famed “gray lady” is the newspaper of record, a citadel of objectivity, it is said, where the first draft of history is crafted. It sets the agenda for other newspapers, for the broadcast news programs and eve William Lafi Youmans • 7 min read
Current Analysis Meanwhile, in Hebron... As Israel pounds Gaza by land, air and sea, we turn for a moment to the West Bank city of Hebron. In 1997, Israel withdrew its military from the majority of the city’s area, called “H-1,” which became part of “Area A,” the parts of the West Bank policed by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israeli sol Yassmine Saleh • 7 min read
Current Analysis Judging the Judge On July 2, 16-year old Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khdeir was abducted, beaten and burned alive, apparently by a group of Jewish Israelis [http://www.timesofisrael.com/suspects-arrested-in-killing-of-east-jerusalem-teen/]. News of this “torture and murder by fire,” prominent American commentator Jeffre Jamie Stern-Weiner • 6 min read
Current Analysis Under-the-Radar Palestinian Connections With intensity unknown since the second intifada [http://www.merip.org/mer/mer217] and at a daily cost of $12 million to the Hebron economy alone, Israel is cracking down on the West Bank in its search for three missing Israeli settler youth. The result is a growing Palestinian chorus: Stop Israeli- Raja Khalidi • 4 min read
Current Analysis Justice for Rasmea Odeh This past winter, I was privileged to participate in several events in Chicago organized by Rasmea Yousef Odeh, associate director of the Arab American Action Network [http://www.aaan.org/] and leader of that group’s Arab Women’s Committee [http://www.aaan.org/?cat=27]. The events brought together a Nadine Naber • 5 min read
Current Analysis Washington Gets “Less Crazy” Yesterday the New America Foundation (NAF), a center-left think tank located one block north of big, bad K Street, hosted a discussion [http://www.newamerica.org/events/2014/citizen_strangers] about the 1948 war, the expulsion of Palestinians from what would become Israel, the new state’s imposition Chris Toensing • 4 min read
Current Analysis Six Questions for Mouin Rabbani Yesterday in Gaza representatives of Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization announced a blueprint for talks about forming a government of national consensus (Arabic text here [http://www.maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692256]). Hamas and the PLO’s dominant Fatah faction have been at l The Editors • 8 min read
Current Analysis Three Updates on Palestinian Political Prisoners Update 1 on prisoners and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the halls of the State Department: Last week, the United States considered releasing Jonathan Pollard, an American convicted of espionage on behalf of Israel, in exchange for Israel doing, as political analyst Yousef Munayyer put it, “ Amahl Bishara • 4 min read
Current Analysis Preening Like a State On Tuesday, Mahmoud ‘Abbas surprised peace processers by making use of Palestine’s recently upgraded status as a UN-recognized “state” to sign 15 international agreements [http://nad-plo.org/userfiles/file/fact%20sheets/Q&A_Accession.pdf], mostly concerning human rights, humanitarian law and diploma Darryl Li • 4 min read
Current Analysis Refugee 101 Crossing the border at Masna‘, al-‘Abboudiyya or Mashari‘ al-Qa‘a, Syrian refugees entering Lebanon face an immediate choice: Stay in the tented settlements in the north and the Bekaa Valley or make their way to coastal cities such as Beirut and Sidon. Their experiences will vary greatly depending o Sarah Parkinson • 8 min read
MER Article Securing Oslo On a Friday afternoon in September 2013, dozens of Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces looked exasperated as they tried to move Palestinian youth away from the wall near Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. Attempting to corral hundreds of children, the PA troops pushed them down the hill toward Aida Andy Clarno • 14 min read
Current Analysis 'Assaf, Palestine and the "Forgotten Palestinians" For months Arab television watchers have been engrossed in the phenomenon of Muhammad ‘Assaf, the 23-year old Gazan singer who has now been crowned the winner [http://www.mbc.net/ar/programs/arab-idol-s2/videos/live-performance/finals/articles/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%81-%D9%8A Leena Dallasheh • 3 min read
