State, Religion, and Women of the Wall- an Interview with MK Stav Shaffir

By Noga Gur-Arieh
Published on May 14, 2013

Revolution 2020: Does Life Imitate Art?

By Lisa Niver Rajna
Published on January 30, 2013

Egypt’s contentious Islamist constitution becomes law

Published on December 26, 2012

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi signed into law a new constitution shaped by his Islamist allies, a bitterly contested document which he insists will help end political turmoil and allow him to focus on fixing the economy.

Egypt’s new politics make Israel ties a target

Published on April 24, 2012

To mark the day Egypt regained control of the Sinai peninsula from Israel, a group of protesters pledged they would this week cover a memorial to Israelis killed in the war with an Egyptian flag bearing the words: "Sinai - the invaders' graveyard."

Bombings, bombardments kill across Syria

Published on February 10, 2012

At least 28 people were killed in two bomb attacks in Syria's second city Aleppo on Friday while in besieged Homs, opposition neighbourhoods endured another day of bombardment by President Bashar al-Assad's troops.

Soccer fans on the frontline of revolution

Published on February 8, 2012

Sprinting down a side street in downtown Cairo, the group of young men are outrun by a hissing tear gas canister careening through the air, slamming into the ground beside them. They quickly raise their arms to their mouths in a futile attempt to avoid inhaling the gas. But one of the group turns in the direction of his pursuers, staring at them defiantly as he breathes in the gas as a show of strength.

Eyewitness weaves tale of Iran’s revolution

By Karmel Melamed
Published on January 26, 2012

On Nov. 4, 1979, Islamist students and militants loyal to the Ayatollah Khomeini took over the American Embassy compound in Tehran and captured 52 Americans — a diplomatic crisis that lasted 444 days. Simon Sion Ebrahimi, a local Iranian Jewish author, remembers that day well. It was the same day employees at his accounting firm, which faced the American Embassy, took him hostage.

Occupy L.A. raises more questions than it answers

By Jonah Lowenfeld
Published on November 2, 2011

From the very beginning of the Occupy Wall Street movement, people wanted to know why. Why did a group of protesters calling themselves “the 99 percent” take up residence in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan on Sept. 17?

Opinion: It’s time for a Jewish Spring

By Judea Pearl
Published on September 14, 2011

Recent weeks have not blessed us with much good news.

Opinion: Israelis watch ‘Arab Spring,’ with fingers crossed

Published on September 2, 2011

Since Dec. 18, 2010, when the first rebellion in the Middle East erupted in Tunisia — causing a chain reaction called the Arab Spring — Israelis were following the unfolding events with perplexity.

After Gadhafi’s fall in Libya, is Syria’s Assad next?

Published on August 23, 2011

He was the Arab world’s most quixotic leader.

A transformational revolution

By Noa Tishby
Published on August 9, 2011

I am reading the status updates, Tweets, interviews and articles.I read them and I DO believe what I read.

Assad promises elections, complete reform package in Syria within months

Published on June 20, 2011

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Monday that a national dialogue would begin soon, promising parliamentary elections in August and a complete reform package by September, in a speech responding to three months of protests against his rule.

Israel’s revolution for disabled needs a greater voice

Published on March 10, 2011

As revolution sweeps across the Middle East at a dizzying pace, cries for freedom, equality and an improved standard of living ring out, touching millions around the world and bringing hope to millions more. Finally their voices are being heard, progress is being made. Still, an important segment of the population goes unheard, as it cannot participate in high-profile protests or even voice its grievances and concerns.

Zenga Zenga

By Rob Eshman
Published on March 1, 2011

On Sunday, I posted a blog about a video on YouTube that had captured the attention of the Libyan resistance movement and become the unofficial anthem of its youth.

The solitude of the Arab soul

By Gina Nahai
Published on March 1, 2011

“This,” I thought, “is what the surface of Mars must look like.”

Arab unrest alters power balance in as yet unseen ways

Published on March 1, 2011

Though Israel lives in a dangerous neighborhood, surrounded by countries whose leaders or people wish its destruction, over the years it had adjusted to the status quo, more or less figuring out how to get by while keeping an eye on gradual change.

AJC: Suspend Libya from U.N. Human Rights Council

Published on February 22, 2011

The American Jewish Committee called on the United Nations General Assembly to suspend Libya’s membership in the U.N. Human Rights Council.

In Bahrain, at least 3 killed, 231 hurt as army cracks down on protests

Published on February 17, 2011

The Bahraini army seized control of key parts of capital Manama on Thursday and banned gatherings, after a riot police raid on a protest camp left at least three people dead, 231 wounded and 60 more missing.

Courage in Cairo: Reflecting on Jewish martyrs and heroes

Published on February 15, 2011

Putting politics and Israel aside, the most impressive part of the events in Cairo was the fearlessness and courage of the protesting Egyptians. We asked Rabbi Jill Jacobs to offer perspective on placing life in harm’s way. What should we be prepared to die for?Tell us what you think at con- nect@jinsider.com.

Tunisia: the first Arab revolution

By Mona Eltahawy
Published on January 19, 2011

Every July 23 for the past 58 years, Egypt, my country of birth, has celebrated its “July revolution” that overthrew King Farouk and ended the monarchy and British occupation once and for all. It was no revolution: It was a coup staged by young army officers. And so it has been with a series of “revolutions” around the Arab world in which a succession of military men went on to lead us in civilian clothes — some kept the olive drabs on — and rob generations of the real meaning of revolution. For years I looked at the Iranians with envy — not at the outcome of their 1979 revolution, but because it was a popular uprising, not a euphemism for a coup.

Iran turmoil likely to benefit Israel

Published on June 22, 2009

Like the collapse of the Soviet Union nearly two decades ago, the outcome of the post-election unrest in Iran could be of major strategic significance for the Middle East and for Israel.

Solving the riddle

By Gina Nahai
Published on December 31, 2008

In Los Angeles and New York and elsewhere in the West, families who had left Iran "for the summer," to"wait out the troubles" and "return in time for the kids to start school in September" realized there was no going back.

This time, I remember

By Gina Nahai
Published on November 7, 2008

It's been 30 years since I left Iran, and I still know I'm going back some day, because I have to see that house again, to stand before the yard door and discover if it's indeed 12 feet high, or if I've imagined it so, to ring the doorbell and see if I can hear its chime echo up and down the street.

Escape, exile, rebirth: Iranian Jewish diaspora alive and well in Los Angeles

By Karmel Melamed
Published on September 4, 2008

Thirty years have passed since the massive and violent demonstrations against the Shah of Iran that began in September 1978, and for many, the start of that country's bloody revolution might seem a faded memory. Yet I have carried those shattering events with me all of my life: I was born on in Tehran on Sept. 11, 1978, as chaos unfolded on the streets outside

Sion Ebrahami: I was taken hostage by the moujahadeen

By Karmel Melamed
Published on September 4, 2008

With the passage of time, we realized that these people were from three factions within the firm, which included the Mojahedeen faction, the communist faction and there were the very fanatic pro-Khomeini faction

AUDIO: Iranian American Jews—30 Years After the Iranian Revolution

By Karmel Melamed
Published on February 5, 2008

Iranian Jewish members of the "30 Years After" organization talk about becoming more active in Los Angeles, state and national politics; featuring Assemblyman Mike Feuer and L.A. DWP General Manager H. David Nahai.

Spectator - Spin-Doctors of the Revolution

By Steven Rosen
Published on April 13, 2006

While a student at Columbia School of Journalism, Rachel Boynton saw a film about the history of 20th century nonviolent conflict that included a segment on how American consultants had gone to Chile in 1990 to produce TV ads for a successful campaign to end Gen. Augusto Pinochet's long autocratic presidency.

Feminist Desktop Revolution

By Carin Davis
Published on February 23, 2006

Don't have time to shlep to a museum? Too tired to remember if the free museum day is the first or second Tuesday of the month?

A Costly Win

By Leslie Susser
Published on February 27, 2003

Since the start of Israel's election campaign last October, the flamboyant leader of the secular-rights Shinui Party had been promising a secular revolution in Israel.

This week Yosef "Tommy" Lapid seemed to have a golden opportunity to fulfill his promises when Shinui -- which became Israel's third largest party after the Jan. 28 elections -- agreed to join Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new Likud-led government.

Two Firms Take Bite Out of ‘Dog’ Market

By Gaby Wenig
Published on December 12, 2002

At Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausage Factory on Pico Boulevard, high school boys crowd the place, sinking their teeth into chicken-cilantro sausages and Moroccan sausages with olives and preserved lemons. The hot dogs at Jeff's are a far cry from the skinny pink Hebrew National ones that most people think of when they think hot dog, and because of this, the franks sell well, even to high school boys who aren't natural gourmets.

Jeff Rohatiner, who started Jeff's Gourmet in 1999, and Alain Cohen and Evelyn Baron of Neshama Gourmet Kosher Foods, are at the vanguard of a kosher sausage revolution in Los Angeles. Both companies were founded by people dissatisfied with the state of kosher sausages and wanted to turn a normally low-cost food item into a high-end treat.

A House Divided

By Wendy J. Madnick
Published on July 18, 2002

On a blazing hot Saturday in the hills of Calabasas, the streets are deserted, devoid of the usual clusters of children playing ball or teens on bikes and scooters within this gated community south of the 101 Freeway.

Rage Becomes Power in Writer’s Hands

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on May 3, 2001

"I still write a lot from anger," playwright Mark Medoff said. "I've wanted to flagellate the world."

Medoff, 61, is the author of the smoldering plays "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?" "Children of a Lesser God" and "Road to a Revolution," now at Deaf West Theatre. His intense work often rails against a world he perceives as rife with violence, racism and sexism. Several childhood memories fuel the rage, he revealed during a telephone interview from his New Mexico ranch.

The Ethnic Revolution

By James D
Published on November 26, 1998

Contrary to the ever-hopeful predictions of the Republicans, Jewish voters proved remarkably resistant to change in this month's congressional voting.