Blog
U.S. headed for showdown with Iran? This commentator has another theory
December 30, 2011
On Wednesday, Iran’s navy chief said that the Islamic Republic could close the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping channel vital to transporting one third of the world’s crude oil, adding that doing so would be “very easy” for his...
Alusi says, U.S.: “Don’t be the power to help Tariq al-Hashemi; speaks of precarious times for middle east Christians
December 25, 2011
In the aftermath of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq and with upheaval in middle eastern nations from Egypt to Syria, Christians are more vulnerable than they have been for decades.
This Christmas Day I spoke with my source in Iraq,...
My meeting with Newt; other impressions from the RJC candidates’ forum and last debate
December 22, 2011
Covering the Republican Jewish Coalition’s candidates’ forum a couple weeks back, I had the (brief) opportunity to meet Newt Gingrich (pictured above with his wife Callista, South Dakota Senator Dan Lederman, and...
Sharansky calls for support for reformers; Alusi cautions U.S. troop withdrawal a blow to human rights in Iraq; Havel, champion of democracy, dies
December 18, 2011
The Washington Post just ran this thought-provoking piece on the Arab Spring by former Soviet dissident refusenik and Israeli Parliamentarian Natan Sharansky. As I wrote last spring, Recent upheavals across the mideast from Egypt to...
Newt spoke some truth – and blindsided the rest
December 12, 2011
One additional thought about Newt Gingrich’s citing, during the Republican candidates’ debate Saturday, facts regarding Palestinians’ historical identity and U.S. funding of hate education in the Palestinian territories. It...
Syrian-American observer predicts Assad’s ouster and voices concern for human rights
December 11, 2011
In the wake of the Arab League’s decision to impose a battery of sanctions against the Syrian regime, I sat down with Ahmad (name has been changed for security reasons), a 37-year-old restaurateur who grew up in Syria and returns...
One man with courage is a majority
December 11, 2011
Saturday evening Newt Gingrich spoke some truth about the middle east that very few people–even including Jews–have had the courage to say or write in recent decades.
He may have done so imperfectly, using words that...
Romney at the RJC proposes Rudy Giuliani as potential attorney general; Gingrich floats strange idea about kids cleaning schools
December 8, 2011
Today I was fortunate to attend the Republican Jewish Coalition’s candidates’ forum in Washington D.C. and to meet several of the candidates, including Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum. More to come,...
Greetings from Republican Jewish Coalition’s candidates’ forum in DC
December 6, 2011
This week I’m reporting from Washington D.C. where the Republican Jewish Coalition is hosting its candidates’ forum Wednesday December 7. Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, John Huntsman, and Rick Santorum...
Syrian-American says younger generation ready for change
November 28, 2011
Last Sunday the Arab League imposed a battery of sanctions against the Syrian regime. Two weeks ago, the Arab League suspended Syria from its ranks—the first such suspension of a member nation since the League suspended Egypt after Anwar...