Category Archives: Modern Middle East

Last week Israel killed 20 Arabs in the Gaza Strip when an artillery round hit them. Israel said it was an accident and apologized. The U.N. tried to issue a condemnation of Israel for the action, but it was vetoed by the U.S. Many criticized the U.S. for aiding Israel in its terrorism of the Palestinian people. In Israel’s parliament on Monday, there was an exchange about the incident between some Arab ministers and a Jewish minister, Ephraim Sneh (of Labor, a leftist party). I think it’s all worth reading, for insights on several levels. Keep in mind that this exchange happened during an official meeting of the congress.

A soldier in Iraq wrote a letter to his family which got circulated until it was picked up and run by Time magazine. It’s worth reading if you have a few minutes and are interested in a from-the-ground perspective. Here are a few sections: Most Profound Man in Iraq — an unidentified farmer in a… Read More »

I tell my students that knowing the history of the Levant (aka western end of Fertile Crescent, land of Israel, land of Palestine, Middle East) is like knowing the history of the world, as everybody who was anybody controlled this tiny strip of land. This 90-second flash presentation animates that idea.

I don’t have time today to 1) finish my thoughts on “computer sins” or 2) tell you about some cool excavations I saw in Jerusalem today (and which have not made the news, as far as I can tell). #1 will happen early next week, hopefully. #2 will be on the BiblePlaces Blog, also early… Read More »

There are various opinions on whether Israel, Lebanon, or Hezbollah won the war, but surely this statement yesterday by Sheik Hassan Nasrallah should be factored in: He said Hezbollah had not expected even “1 percent” of Israel’s response to its July 12 cross-border raid, which provoked the conflict. “If I had known that the operation… Read More »

Well, there’s still 22 minutes left in the day, but so far, we are still alive.

MAARIV POLL–August 15, 2006 Telephone poll of a representative sample of 500 adult Israelis carried out by Teleseker. Statistical error +/- 4.4 percentage points. Who do you think won the war? Hizbullah 15%, Israel 18%, No one 66% Should Israel have agreed to the cease-fire? Yes 42%, No 53% Will Israel’s situation vis-a-vis Hizbullah change?… Read More »

A missionary who lives in Beirut said something that I think summarizes the “results” of the war. I don’t have permission to quote him, so I will summarize: Attitudes in Lebanon are much more polarized than before, but the issues which precipitated the war have not been resolved. Now me: The first part means that… Read More »

The debate about Israel’s plan to pull out of most settlements in the West Bank is bound to be much more fierce in light of the apparent failure of the Gaza withdrawal and the Lebanese war.   There are points to be made on each side, but short of a complete withdrawal from the West… Read More »