Mordechai Kedar: Tribalism in the Middle East – The Real Thing
Any real and workable solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict must be based upon this sociological fact: tribalism and loyalty to traditional religious and sectarian frameworks are the prevailing cultural and political framework of the Middle East.
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.
Abbas, ya Bahai, Get Lost!!
Muhammad As’ad Bayoudh al-Tamimi is a Palestinian columnist living in Jordan. In the past he has often clearly expressed the opinions of the man...
Survival Skills 101 for Israel
Israel has not really convinced the world that Iran is a danger.
2011: The Year of the Arab Winter
This year six Arab countries experienced severe shocks that brought about the fall of some rulers or serious threat to their rule. The process began at the end of 2010, and continues until today.
Kedar: Egypt’s Question of Sovereignty
Egypt's prosecution of pro-democracy NGOs reflects unresolved suspicions and hostilities towards the West and democracy.
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi: Thus Passes the Glory of the World
Middle East expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar outlines how weak U.S. policy in the Middle East has encouraged more aggressive behavior on the part of radical Islamic groups.
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.
The Ministry of Extraneous Affairs
The civil servants at Israel's foreign ministry seem to believe it is their job to shape government policy rather than to be faithful to it.
Mordechai Kedar: The Syrian Crisis Spills Over into Lebanon
From the tragedy of Tripoli and Lebanon we can draw several conclusions: in the Middle East it is not possible to establish a state with an Arab society and Western political characteristics; Iranian involvement - even the economic and cultural – will ultimately undermine Western cultural and political influence in the Middle East; and whoever legitimizes jihad against Israel receives terror in his own streets in return.
Back in the USSR
Today's anti-democratic glue is apparently better than the glue of Slavic identity that formed the "Warsaw Pact" because it is a world view and a cultural perspective.
Mordechai Kedar: Is Jordan ‘The Alternative Homeland’?
Since its establishment, the Kingdom of Jordan has suffered from a split personality between two identities, the Jordanian and the Palestinian, that are intertwined like a pair of Siamese twins who hate one another, but cannot part from each other. The source of the problem is the fact that most of the citizens of the Hashemite Jordanian monarchy define themselves as "Palestinians", but their state is "Jordanian". So how should they relate to it - as their country or as a foreign interloper?
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.
Mordechai Kedar: Engulfed by Fear
The states of the Arabian Peninsula feel increasingly dependent on the US and the West to safeguard their independence and their political and economic maneuverability, but the West seems tired and exhausted, and its leadership - especially the current resident in the White House, who is heavily influenced by the approaching elections - lacks backbone and has no ability to stop the Iranians from galloping towards regional hegemony.
The Bedouin Problem Is Not Land But Polygamy
To date, all the Bedouins’ legal land ownership claims that reached the courts have failed.
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.
Mordechai Kedar: The Division of Syria
What will Syria look like the day after Bashar al-Assad's downfall?
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.
Message to Europe: Too Little, Too Late and Almost Totally Meaningless
It took the Europeans more than thirty years to understand that the Hizb'Allah organization, founded in 1982, is a terror organization. Good Morning, Europe!
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.
No Longer United Against Israel: The New Arab World
The Arab states are no longer a single bloc opposing Israel but are divided into two coalitions. One is on Iran’s side; the other is against it. Israel, which in the past was perceived as the problem, has become part of the solution.
Mordechai Kedar: An Open Letter to President Assad
After all of these crimes carried out by the regime that you head, life in Syria will never return to the way it was in the past. It cannot be that the storms of emotion will be calmed as if nothing ever happened. Mr. President, the time has come for you to understand the bitter truth, and so you must pack your suitcases.
Mordechai Kedar: King Mursi the First
Many Israelis do not know the rules of the game of the Middle East: the more we show enthusiasm for something, the higher its price rises, and the opposite holds true as well: the less interest we express in something, the lower the demanded price will be. If we announce day and night that we want peace with our enemies or to obtain the release of a kidnapped soldier who is in their hands - the price for the peace or the soldier will be more than we can pay.
The Diplomacy of Rabbis (in Turkey and Beyond)
Dr. Mordechai Kedar on the visit of a recent Israeli delegation to Turkey and why Israelis faithful to their religion and not the disciples of Left may be Israel's best chance at improving relations with its neighbors.
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: 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.
The Moment of Truth Draws Near
The crowds in the streets of Egypt will increase during the month of Ramadan, which begins on July 9, and religious sensitivities will be heightened as well.
Beware the Shi’ite Day of Atonement
What is the cause of the Shi'ite-Sunni conflict?
The Arabs Fear a ‘More Jewish’ State of Israel
An Israel that has a strong character and is confident of itself and the justice of its cause, might stop behaving like a dishrag.
MUST READ: Why Jerusalem is “Holy” for the Muslims
The question that confronts us today is whether Judaism and Christianity will submit to the Islamic religious narrative, which invalidates Judaism and Christianity, and appropriates their holiness, their prophets and their "founding fathers" unto itself.