Lecturing on War & Peace in Israel, Iraq and beyond

My Fall 2009 Lecture Tour has gotten off to a fantastic start! I began in Los Angeles, where I had the honor to share my stories from Iraq with the local Iraqi kehila of Kahal Joseph Synagogue in Beverly Hills. After my talk (and all the questions!) we went upstairs to celebrate the holiday ofContinue reading “Lecturing on War & Peace in Israel, Iraq and beyond”

Update: Haaretz and Al-Qaeda agree

Should I laugh or cry? An Israeli newspaper and Al-Qaeda groups have agreed on something: that Hamas’ weekend operation against an Al-Qaeda-inspired group was a ‘MASSACRE.‘ Now I can understand why Al-Qaeda would have called the killing of their fans in Gaza a ‘massacre,’ but Haaretz? I already wrote an analysis why it wasn’t aContinue reading “Update: Haaretz and Al-Qaeda agree”

Israel ‘had no choice,’ but Hamas was ‘brutal’: Portraying Hamas as the bad guys – no matter what

I was shocked today to read how my colleague and friend, Haaretz’s Palestinian Affairs correspondent Avi Issacharoff, portrayed Hamas’ crushing of an Al-Qaeda inspired Islamic extremist group over the weekend in southern Gaza. The word “massacre” jumped at me from my computer screen; so did the word ‘brutal’. In light of the analysis, maybe IContinue reading “Israel ‘had no choice,’ but Hamas was ‘brutal’: Portraying Hamas as the bad guys – no matter what”

Israelis in Denial: Carpet-shopping in Isfahan

Bibi lives in La-La Land. Simply put, the prime minister of Israel and a large number of the Jewish citizens of Israel are in denial. And here are two pieces of evidence: 1. A left-wing Israeli friend of mine named Eyal called me last week to inform me that Israelis were organizing a rally atContinue reading “Israelis in Denial: Carpet-shopping in Isfahan”

Shalom, Salaam, bienvenidos

Unlike in the photo, this blog will reveal, uncover, and expose the hidden, the distorted, the grey, and the shady of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

I will provide in these lines my analysis based on my years living in and reporting from the region.

I will also share and vent my frustrations from my search for my B’shert – otherwise known as my Munaseb or my Prince. He seems to be as elusive as peace in the Middle East.

We’ll see who or what comes first…
I am now in Jerusalem