Two Years Later, Arab Spring’s Success Dubious
Two years after the beginning of the upheaval in the Arab world, the picture does not arouse too much optimism.
Mordechai Kedar: The Suffering of Africa – Sins of Europe Projected on Israel
Politicians and European public figures, who have no desire to open the wounds of the past and stand in front of the mirror of history that will reveal their great wealth from Africa and their ethical nakedness, searched out a scapegoat, onto whom it would be possible to place all of the sins of their colonialism. Together with Arabs -themselves descendants of slave traders- they found the sacrificial victim: Israel
The Bedouin Problem Is Not Land But Polygamy
To date, all the Bedouins’ legal land ownership claims that reached the courts have failed.
Hezbollah and the Bloody Syrian Chronicles
The target of the car bomb attack was the Center for Islamist Cooperation, the operational center for many of Hezbollah's offshoot organizations.
Mordechai Kedar: The Arab World on the Precipice
The situation in Syria is deteriorating quickly, and the state is literally disintegrating. The cracks in the government are widening; ambassadors, generals and soldiers are deserting, some branches of the Ba'ath party are announcing their secession from the regime, the Russian advisers are fleeing for their lives and the feeling that the end is near is taking hold more and more. Not the end of Asad, but of Syria. Not the regime, but the system.
On Academia, Politics and Survival in the Middle East
All of the universities in Israel are political, and moreover, all of the colleges, yeshivas, hospitals, prisons, factories, homes, roads, trees - everything that we have established, built, and planted in Israel - everything, but everything, is political. The whole Zionist enterprise is a political project because it is the political and nationalistic manifestation of the desire of the Jewish people to return to its land and to renew within it its national life, its independence and its sovereignty.
Mordechai Kedar: The Brothers and the Muslims
The slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood is "God is our objective, the Qur'an is our law, the prophet is our leader, jihad is our way and death in the name of Allah is our supreme aspiration." Their symbol expresses this ideology well: the color green represents Paradise, two swords in the center express the two avowals of Islam - there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger - and one word, which appears in the Qur'an just once: "Wa-aidu" - "and prepare."
Mordechai Kedar: Tribal Democracy
Since Qadhaffi was overthrown a year ago, conflicts have broken out between the tribes and the main ethnic groups in Libya, Arabs and Berbers, and it was clear that the new political framework, in order to be an acceptable and legitimate system, must consider the social, tribal structure of the population and not try to fight it.
The Speech of his Life and Ours
Netanyahu's Bar Ilan Speech was not an attempt to emulate Obama by spreading false hope of an agreement with the Iranians.
Who by the Sword, Who by Wild Beasts, Who by Hunger, Who by the...
This past month several dozens of jihad organizations operating in Syria came to the conclusion that the disagreements among them harm their fighting cause and strengthen Asad.
Mordechai Kedar: Christians of the Middle East – Endangered Communities
The "Christian West" is perceived by traditional Islam as responsible for all of the ills of the region: the establishment of the State of Israel, its arming and its reinforcement, are perceived as a "Western" project and therefore also as a "Christian plot" and "modern crusade."
Survival Skills 101 for Israel
Israel has not really convinced the world that Iran is a danger.
Iran – The Failed Islamic Revolution
The Islamic Revolution in Iran has failed to achieve its goals, whether in the domestic, regional or global sphere. Their last chance for salvation is the nuclear project, which still wins support from China and Russia.
Mordechai Kedar: What’s Really Going on in Gaza?
The Gaza Strip is no different from the rest of the Arab world, so tribal culture is alive and kicking there. Ever since the Hamas movement took control of Gaza trip in 2007, it has transformed itself from a gang of jihadists into a ruling government, a standard Arab state. The minor movements - Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Resistance Committeess - function like tribes, challenging the authority of the state. Today, these groups are doing to Hamas what Hamas did to the PLO twenty years ago when it was in power.
America Leaves Afghanistan to the Mercy of the Taliban and Iran
Iran is waiting for the United States to flee from Afghanistan in order to take control of it and its resources.
The Saudis are Trembling – Quietly
If chemical weapons had not been used, Damascus would have been overcome by the rebels.
Advice to Western Leaders: Don’t Visit the Middle East
Visits of Western leaders complicate old problems and create new ones, and moreover, the chances that these visits will yield a positive effect or result in a real solution to any problem, is quite low.
Mordechai Kedar: Radical Islam in Africa
The population of Africa is involved in a series of disputes with a tribal background, where the Islamist and ethnic components play an important, and sometimes critical, role. Saudi Arabian money, Wahhabi propaganda, the presence of terror organizations, and wide distribution of weapons do not contribute to a calming of tensions between the various demographics in Africa.
Egypt is Boiling
Al-Jazeera again appears to be promoting Islamic violence these days, in Egypt and in Israel.
The Sectarian Genie: The Sunni-Shi’ite Struggle Released by the Arab Spring
A more important and stronger phenomenon than Islamization is the escape of the factional genie from the bottle in which it was confined while dictators controlled the region.recognized the "factional genie" well , whether in the Shi'ite version or the Sunni version. The dictators took every means at their disposal, principally torture chambers, in order to deal with the factional jihadism which has no boundaries of law or ethics. Today, dictators are taken down one by one, and jihadism is flourishing.
US Losing Middle East Coalition
Lately, the pro-Western coalition has begun to crumble, and two key countries - Saudi Arabia and Egypt - are searching for a new political crutch.
Assad’s Grandfather’s 1936 Letter Predicts Muslim Slaughter of Minorities, Praises Zionists
Many of the problems of the Middle Eastern states can be traced to the mistakes of the European state charged with developing them between the World Wars. The fierceness with which the Alawite minority - led by Bashir al Assad - will fight to retain control can be explained by their fear of Sunni Muslims. Way back in 1936, Assad's grandfather, Suleiman Assad warned France, which was then the power in charge of Syria, of the dangers of a Sunni Muslim takeover of Syria in 1936. He also spoke warmly about Jewish accomplishments in then Palestine and the injustice of Arab-Muslim violence towards Zionism.
Kedar: Egypt’s Question of Sovereignty
Egypt's prosecution of pro-democracy NGOs reflects unresolved suspicions and hostilities towards the West and democracy.
An Open Letter to the Arab League: Thanks, but no Thanks
Throughout all of history, did an Emir, Sultan Caliph or Arab or Islamic King rule in Jerusalem even for one day?
Egypt’s Rising Crescent Moon
The most important question is how will the new Egyptian government conduct itself, when for the first time in modern Egyptian history ("Since the days of Pharaoh", in the words of the head of the elections committee) it represents the people in a fair way.
The West’s Great Betrayal
Western countries ignore the rights of Iranians to live in freedom like the citizens of the West.
Mordechai Kedar: What’s Next for Saudi Arabia?
In light of the situation in which the kingdom must stand up to external challenges - principally an Iranian threat to the territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia - it is not clear whether the population of the kingdom will indeed lend strong support to the leadership of the ruling family.
Beware! Beheading Becoming New Fashion for Jihad Terrorists
The Islamic State has started a fashion trend among Middle East jihadists; beheading is rapidly becoming the murder method of choice.
The ‘Whipped Cream’ Arabs of Israel
Arabs outside of Israel envy Arab citizens of Israel, labeling them "Arab al-Zibda," or "whipped cream Arabs."
Politics, America, and Culture: Behind Saudi Arabia’s Hesitation
The official Saudi denial of a meeting between Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu proves that the meeting did not produce the result Netanyahu had hoped for. Riyadh does not yet see sufficient reason to make the groundbreaking change of open and normalized relations with Jerusalem.