Opinion and Analysis

Week ending 9 January 2014

1. Jews, lies and Christian victims

Ben-Dror Yemini, Times of Israel, 8 January 2013

The only place in the Middle East where Christians are prospering and thriving has been turned by the industry of lies into a place where they are in trouble.

2. Clear stand on any peace agreement  

Editorial, The Jordan Times, 7 January 2014

Jordan has hosted millions of Palestinian refugees on the understanding that one day they will be granted the right to return, in accordance with all the relevant UN resolutions.

3. How not to fight an anti-Israel boycott

Judea Pearl, The Times of Israel, 6 January 2014

There are many good reasons to oppose the American Studies Association (ASA) decision to boycott Israeli universities. But there are some bad reasons as well. Many arguments against the boycott play exactly into the hands of the pro-boycott propagandists and give them the ammunition they need to continue their poisonous campaign with renewed vigor and self-righteousness.

4. The Jordan Valley: Israel’s security belt

Prof. Efraim Inbar, Israel Hayom, 6 January 2014

Maaleh Adumim serves as the linchpin in establishing an effective line of defense along the Jordan Valley against aggression from the east. Building a Jewish populated corridor in the 5-kilometer-wide E1 area between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim will secure the road to the Jordan Valley and prevent the division of Jerusalem

5. Winning the BDS battle

Dr Rynhold, BESA, 5 January 2014

The BDS movement is driven by anti-Zionism, but its ability to generate support depends on casting Israel as undemocratic and solely responsible for the lack of peace. Consequently, the proposed law targeting pro-BDS NGOs does more harm than good by eroding Israel’s image as a democracy. To defeat society-led BDS, the government should let Israeli society and pro-Israel groups abroad take the lead. To do otherwise would inflate the standing of the boycotters and allow them to deflect attention from their own extremism.

6. Power vacuum in Middle East lifts militants

Ben Hubbard et al, the New York Times, 5 January 2014

The bloodshed that has engulfed Iraq, Lebanon and Syria in the past two weeks exposes something new and destabilizing: the emergence of a post-American Middle East in which no broker has the power, or the will, to contain the region’s sectarian hatreds.

7. Jordan is part of the solution

Guy Bechor, YNet News, 3 January 2014

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be solved when West Bank’s Arab residents regain their Jordanian citizenship.

8. Two states is common sense

Hitham Kayali, Fathom, 12 September 2013

The one-state solution is a mirage. Only the two state solution can meet the national aspirations of both peoples. It is time to give common sense its day.