November 18, 2012 | 3:25 am

November 18, 2012

Posted by Shmuel Rosner

An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket in the southern city of Ashdod, November 16, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)

In-depth

Emergency Routine

Neri Zilber of Foreign Policy takes a look at how Israelis try to maintain normal life under rocket fire. 

In a sports kiosk in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, a few hardy regulars watched the basketball game on one television. A second television had the news on, providing running updates about the war taking place less than 20 miles to the south ("In the past hour the IDF bombed 70 targets in Gaza" read the headline at the bottom of the screen). Outside, the streets of Ashdod -- one of the primary rocket targets in recent years and especially in recent days -- were mostly quiet. The kiosk was one of the few places open in the city of 200,000 people, serving up coffee, beers, and betting forms to a trickle of customers.

In shifting sands of Middle East, who will lead?

Writing in Christian Science Monitor, Steven A. Cook examines the struggle for dominance among the Muslim and Arab world leaders. 

The issue of leadership is critical for the region. States with prestige and financial, diplomatic, and military resources can drive events in the Middle East – hopefully for good, but potentially for bad. In the 1950s and ’60s, for example, Egypt’s leadership under Gamal Abdel Nasser shaped regional politics around the myths of Arab nationalism, which led to intra-Arab conflict and regional war. The Arab Spring provides an opportunity for a power or group of powers to usher in a new era of peace, prosperity, and perhaps democracy.

 

The Gaza Conflict: The View from Turkey

Israel should treat Turkey's enemies in the same way Turkey is supporting the Hamas regime in Gaza, writes Michael Rubin in Commentary Magazine. 

Maybe it is time that Israel fight diplomatic fire with fire. Israeli officials might argue that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) today is fighting a military insurgency and no longer engages in terrorism. The group is overwhelmingly popular in southeastern Turkey. After all, the Kurdish areas of Turkey are not doing well; life expectancy throughout Turkey is lower than in Gaza. Given Turkey’s support for Hamas, perhaps the Israelis might begin a public debate about recognizing Kurdistan with Diyarbakir as its capital.

 

Daily Digest

• Times of Israel: Officials say Israel ‘not interested’ in ceasefire yet, still has many Hamas targets to hit
• Haaretz: For Israel’s PR war on Gaza, it may be all downhill from here
• Jerusalem Post: Palestinian Authority warns of chaos in West Bank
• Ynet: Staying here to tell the world
• New York Times: Arms With a Long Reach Help Hamas
• Washington Post: Why is Israel tweeting airstrikes?
• Wall Street Journal: New Arab Leaders Scramble to Contain Gaza Conflict

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