June 29, 2009
Even if the Iranian authorities succeed in suppressing the large demonstrations, the opposition might adopt other forms of protest - such as manifestos, strikes and mass resignations by university professors.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama made a somber visit to the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. He viewed the crematory ovens, the barbed-wire fences, the barracks, the guard towers.
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.
A perusal of newspaper headlines this week may lead the reader to the mistaken conclusion that the revolution has already occured. Indeed, a revolution in Iran is an old Israeli hope. For Israel, the end of the ayatollahs' regime could be seen as belated compensation for the downfall of the friendly regime of the shah exactly 30 years ago. More importantly, Israel harbors the hope - not necessarily well-founded - that the Iranian nuclear program could still be checked without an aerial attack, Israeli or American. In 2003, then-chief of staff Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon said in an interview with Haaretz that "conditions have ripened for a revolution in Iran."
Defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi declared Saturday he was "ready for martyrdom," an aide said, in the protests that have shaken Iran and brought warnings of bloodshed from the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denied that the country's recent elections were fixed, called on protesters to stop and blamed the "Zionist" media.
After two months of intense American pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally uttered the magic words: two states for two peoples.
After years of worrying about the threat posed by Muslim terrorists, is the recent shooting attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum — coming soon after the murder of prominent abortion doctor George Tiller — a signal that the Jewish community should be ratcheting up its concern about right-wing extremism?
Dennis Ross will be moving from the State Department to the White House.
There is a rhythm to every nation’s history — a pattern that repeats over the centuries, that creates forward movement, pulls back, pushes ahead. So it is with Iran in modern times: about every two to three decades, major change — a war, a famine, the overthrow of a dynasty — occurs with unmistakable ramifications.
The ties that bind Los Angeles’ Iranian community to its roots a half-world away have been in full view this week, as protesters cried out in reaction to the June 12 Iranian presidential election, calling it fraudulent and a sham. Within the Iranian Jewish community in particular, the belief remains that none of the candidates can be expected to effect real change in Iran — not the rabidly anti-Israel, Holocaust-denying Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, nor the so-called moderate candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
With unrest mounting in Iran over official claims of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection, U.S. Jewish organizational leaders were calling for more American support for the protesters and more international action to stop the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
With unrest mounting in Iran over official claims of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection, U.S. Jewish organizational leaders were calling for more American support for the protesters and more international action to stop the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Twenty people were killed at rallies across Iran on Tuesday, as opposition activists demonstrated against the disputed results of last week's presidential elections, according to various media reports.
Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was reportedly arrested Saturday following the reformist's defeat at the polls by hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Supporters of Mousavi, the main challenger to Ahmadinejad, responded to the election with the most serious unrest in Tehran in a decade and charged that the result was the work of a dictatorship.
One winner has already been declared in the Iranian elections: The Internet, used by more than 23 million Iranians, or 34 percent of the population. But that figure alone cannot be used to determine which of the four candidates will win. At the very most, one can assume most Web users will vote for reformist candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi or Mehdi Karroubi, rather than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Mohsen Rezeai.
An 88-year-old white supremacist has been charged with murder in the death of a security guard Wednesday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Nation/World Briefs
A woman in Tel Aviv, Israel, gave her elderly mother a new mattress as a surprise gift, throwing out the old tattered bed her mother had slept on for decades. The gesture ended up bankrupting Annat's mother, who had stuffed her savings of nearly $1 million inside her old bed for decades, Annat told Israel Army Radio.
Did you hear the latest? Bibi called Monday and said that next week he had some important things he wanted to get off his chest. Is he ready to commit or just being a tease? Will Obama show enough flexibility to make this thing work?
Gains by anti-Semitic, xenophobic and racist far-right parties in June 4-7 elections for European Parliament were a reminder of how voters across Europe gravitate toward fringe parties and extremists during tough economic times.
United States President Barack Obama has presented to Egypt and Israel a plan for a two-state solution to be finalized within two years, the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday.
President Barack Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp site, calling it "the ultimate rebuke" to Holocaust deniers.
President Obama emphasized that he expects the Palestinians to live up to their commitments.
The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
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