US democrat presidential debates I’ve just returned from Detroit, Michigan, where I attended the second set of Democratic Party presidential primary debates. For many reasons, the debates were a frustrating experience. In…
All religions can be exploited, not just Islam When Americans express concern about religious extremism and violence, they almost always are thinking about Islam. The problems posed by the politicization and weaponization…
What will the dynamic be if Palestinians become prosperous? I wasn’t at the “Peace to Prosperity” Summit, but I listened to some of the speeches and read the documents the White House…
Washington Watch They are still afraid of the Israel lobby The attitudes of Democratic voters toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have become decidedly more balanced in the past two decades. Favourable attitudes toward…
Trump and Netanyahu are showing what a deal would look like I believe that it was Henry Kissinger who described his approach to running Arab-Israeli negotiations as creating the illusion of momentum…
The return of a body affects the elections The New York Times headline on April 4th was simple enough, “After 37-Year Search, Israel Recovers Body of a Fallen Soldier,” but the memories…
Especially in these dangerous times I have been involved in politics my entire adult life. There were two main sources of inspiration from my childhood that have molded my thinking and my…
Illegitimate boundaries drawn by imperialists have left an entire region in a state of perpetual conflict In 1919, following the first World War, the victorious Allied Powers met in Paris to remake…
On both my mother’s and father’s sides, despite the hardships they experienced, the bet they had placed on risking everything to come to this country paid off. They built businesses, started families,…
“We overwhelmingly won the vote for admission, but three members, led by a liberal Jewish group, objected to our entry and threatened to quit the coalition “if the Arabs were admitted”. The…
Let’s look at the polls: While, as president, Donald Trump has worked to cultivate a relationship with Arab leaders, the antipathy towards Arabs and Muslims that he and his party have cultivated…
“Three days after the meeting, I was called and told by the representative at the White House, “I’m so sorry, but we’re not going to be able to invite you back again.…
The recent horrific massacre of 29 Egyptian Coptic Christian pilgrims served as a tragic reminder of the vulnerability of minority faith communities in many parts of the Middle East. As a Maronite…
If I were a movie critic writing reviews of audience reactions to US President Donald Trump’s performances abroad, they would look something like this: “…a big hit in Riyadh”; “…a smash sensation…
Let’s address the elephant in the room In Trump’s mind, the crises he is facing are “fake” and manufactured by his enemies. He complained in a Tweet on the eve of his…
While world leaders hem-haw, is peace still on the cards? During a confusing and unsettling time, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas came to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump. As…
Born of necessity This week, nearing the end of four years of service as an Obama Presidential appointee to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), I felt compelled to…
