Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on February 27, 2007 - ט' אדר תשס"ז at 11:04 am

Should The West Stand With The Jews?

By Baron Bodissey, Global Politician, February 25, 2007

Full disclosure: I am not a Jew. I am a practicing Christian, non-evangelical, from a background of tolerant Protestantism. I read eclectically, am well educated, and consider myself an intellectual. And I stand with the Jews.

Many historians date the beginning of the Holocaust to November 9th, 1938. On that date the Nazi government launched a pogrom against the Jews, killing hundreds and arresting many more. Synagogues were torched, Jewish shops and homes were looted and destroyed, and Jews were shipped off to concentration camps. That night of major violence came to be known as Kristallnacht, in reference to the shattered glass found on the sidewalks in front of Jewish businesses all over Germany. A few days later new laws were passed by the Nazi government, effectively banning all economic activity by Jews and removing what few civil rights remained to them. It was a big step down the road that led through the gates of Auschwitz and Treblinka to the Final Solution.

Does the West stand on the threshold of a new Kristallnacht? The alarming spread of anti-Semitism across the globe is ominous evidence of a new cycle of hatred. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Islam, Middle East Report, Opinion, Recent Posts on February 27, 2007 - ט' אדר תשס"ז at 10:31 am

Economy Booming in Bahrain

(Editor’s Note: Bahrain, a small Arab country on the Arabian peninsula, isn’t involved in violent activities so their economy is growing. Perhaps the other Arabs should learn from this.)

Bahrain information:

 http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/bh.htm

· A new vision for Bahrain’s growth
Trade Arabia
A modern and ambitious economic vision for Bahrain has been given the go-ahead. Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Crown Prince and Economic Development Board chairman…

· Marina West launched in Bahrain
Trade Arabia
Marina West, Bahrain’s first gated residential beachfront community, was launched yesterday. Southern Governor and Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources Environment and Wildlife… Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Business and Commerce, Islam, Middle East Report, Recent Posts on February 27, 2007 - ט' אדר תשס"ז at 9:45 am

One on One with Sir Martin Gilbert: Hindsight and aforethought

By Ruthie Blum, Jerusalem Post, Febraury 22, 2007

This isn’t the time of the Israelite prophets, when disaster struck in spite of their warnings, because the people didn’t wake up. I think Europe has woken up’

‘A seed won’t germinate on infertile soil,” says acclaimed British-Jewish historian Sir Martin Gilbert about the ease with which anti-Semitic sentiment seems to be spreading. He then quotes a passage from a letter written to Winston Churchill by a concerned colleague who refers to the “hereditary antipathy against the Jewish race.”

This passage appears in his upcoming book, Churchill and the Jews - the latest of several dozen major works, among them: The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War; Churchill: A Life; The First World War; The Second World War; A Comprehensive History of Israel; and A History of the Twentieth Century.

A regular visitor to Israel (”I try to come two or three times a year”), Churchill’s official biographer - who just turned 70 - is here this time to attend Jerusalem’s annual International Book Fair, where he delivered a talk Wednesday on “What Jews can learn from history.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Judaism, Middle East Report, Opinion, Recent Posts on February 27, 2007 - ט' אדר תשס"ז at 9:03 am

Israeli-Arab relations thaw as fears of Iran nuclear threat grow

Israel News.Net
Sunday 25th February, 2007 ((Op-ed) The Weekend Economist)

The common belief around the world (with some exceptions), is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the root of instability in the wider Middle East.

Others go so far as to say the existence of the state of Israel is the cause of all that’s wrong in the region. Indeed, Israel is used as a tool to strengthen government support in most, if not all Arab and even non-Arab Muslim countries on a daily basis.

By depicting Israel as an incessant aggressor with aims of expanding from the Nile to the Euphrates and exterminating anyone that stands in its way (most notably the brave Palestinians), governments are able to draw attention away from internal societal ills and retain power. Today, however, the cracks in this flawed policy are beginning to show, as influential figures in the Middle East are openly speaking of a more serious threat; the Iranian threat. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, Opinion, Recent Posts on February 26, 2007 - ח' אדר תשס"ז at 10:56 am

Arab journalist talks about Israeli-Palestinian conflict

By Tyler Sandson, The Daily Texan, February 26, 2007

Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, reporter and editor on Palestinian affairs for the Jerusalem Post, US News & World Report and NBC News shared his views and experiences about his work on major middle eastern publications at the Texas Union Sunday evening.

Toameh spoke on the development of democracy in Israel, ranging from the freedom of press to his ability as a non-natural citizen to vote, to the role of journalism in the conflicted area, as well as the conflict itself.

“A two-state system is great, but it’s not going to work. Gaza and West Bank are too far separated geographically, politically and culturally to work. And instead of focusing on the ideal promotion of love and harmony in the area, we need to look at reducing violence and friction, because the divisions are too wide,” Toameh said. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, Opinion, Recent Posts on February 26, 2007 - ח' אדר תשס"ז at 9:08 am

Trouble brewing in Iran’s east

http://archive.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/region/10106716.html

 By Abdullah Al Madani, Special to Gulf News, February 24, 2007

Unlike Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, which has been receiving extensive media coverage as a result of its uprising against the central government in recent years, Iran’s vast but sparsely populated southeastern province of Sistan-Balochistan has long been out of the media glare.

This, however, seems to be changing now with an escalating insurgency led by an obscure Baloch militant organisation called Jundollah (Soldiers of God).

Given the absence of accurate demographic data on Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities, it is hard to know the precise number of Iranian Balochis. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on February 25, 2007 - ז' אדר תשס"ז at 11:49 am

Israel’s Bedouin women turn desert plant into skin remedies

By Nicky Blackburn, Israel 21C, February 25, 2007

There’s nothing particularly appealing about the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva in the Negev desert. Founded in 1968 as part of a government project to settle Bedouins in permanent communities, the town is poor, run-down and neglected. Unemployment among the town’s 30,000 inhabitants is running high, crime is indigenous, and there is little urban or industrial infrastructure. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, only 43% of grade twelve students are eligible to graduate from high school.
So why has this dusty underprivileged settlement been attracting so many visitors? The reason is a new project to help Bedouin women turn native plants and flowers into remedies for the skin.
Set up two years ago, Asala Desert Nature is nearing its commercial launch, with a range of unique skin care products based on traditional Bedouin herbal lore due to reach the Israeli market in the next four to six months. Sales to Europe will begin next year, or the year after. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Business and Commerce, Middle East Report, Recent Posts on February 25, 2007 - ז' אדר תשס"ז at 11:02 am