Opinion/Editorial

Egypt-Israel "peace treaty" brought more war than peace



In the wake of Egypt’s revolution, Israeli and Western commentators have called the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty “cornerstone” of regional peace and stability. That Israel always viewed the treaty as a blank check for war, however, is evident both in its behavior and in fears that the abrogation of the treaty might mean Israel will have to curtail its military interventions. Richard Irvine comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

The moderate obstacle



Today, the American arena of the human rights struggle exemplified by Martin Luther King, Jr. has arguably shifted from Birmingham to Arizona, but the greatest worldwide arena is undoubtedly Cairo. And as in Dr. King’s time, the greatest stumbling block is the “moderates.” Paula Rosine Long comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Egypt's revolution and Israel: "Bad for the Jews"



The view from Israel is that if they indeed succeed, the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions are very bad. They make the Israeli occupation and apartheid policies in Palestine look like the acts of a typical “Arab” regime. Ilan Pappe examines how the Israeli establishment sees regional events and argues that the Arab uprisings offer hope for reconciliation built on the Palestinian right of return and universal principles. 

Meet the Lebanese Press: the end of Hariri or of Harirism?



While all eyes are on the people’s revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, ongoing efforts to form a new government in Lebanon have garnered little media attention. But the collapse of the Hariri government in Lebanon was another major blow to US interests and the standing of its long-time Israeli and “moderate” Arab allies. 

The ascent of the Palestinian pharaoh



Economic dependency and an oppressive security state is the recipe that many dictatorial, one-person, or one-party regimes apply across the region. This model was followed by the once American-supported, and then American-deposed Saddam Hussein, to Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, who was first a pariah in the West and then became its darling, to Tunisia’s Zine El Abedine Ben Ali who was overthrown by his people, among others. While the Egyptian people stand steadfast in an effort to overthrow their own Pharoah, a similar “pharoah regime” is steadily being built for Palestinians in the West Bank. 

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