We’re very preoccupied with Corona virus. It seems the rest of the world is, too. Nobody hears much from India or Iran or Turkey. They’re busy with the virus. But there are other Arab countries around us that have different things on their minds. The United Arab Emirates are on their way to making a … More And Meanwhile, In the Arab World…
As always, the Middle East, where I live, is full of “interesting” news. The most important item, in my view, came a few days ago. The United Arab Emirates decided to make a normal peace treaty with Israel. The two sides are formalizing relations and looking into various mutually beneficial trade , commerce, and health … More Extortion Politics
One of the things one does when confined to quarters by COVID19 is to rummage through drawers and shelves. I was doing that when I came across a letter of thanks I received over 30 years ago for a job well done. I was the team leader/project manager for a software project for CITICORP bank … More I Saved This Letter
In my post 4 days ago I mentioned Palestinian civil unrest and rioting in Gaza that was directed AGAINST Hamas. The demonstrations continued for at least tree days despite major efforts at suppressing them by the Gazan police and military. It has happened before. But this time it lasted longer. Gazans who dare to complain … More Gaza Riots
The US Agency for International Development (AID) is due to cease operations in )Palestine on 31 January. It isn’t a surprise. Especially since the President of the Palestinian Authority essentially told US President Trump to Go to Hell (literally – “may your house be destroyed”) and said he wanted no more help after The US … More US AID to Palestine is Closing Down
Hamas controls Gaza. They also have some support in the Fatah controlled territories in Judea and Samaria. They made an agreement via Egyptian mediators to abstain from violent confrontations on the Israel-Gaza border. So far, So good. make Israel uncomfortable without having the Israelis destroying them in Gaza. It seems Israel was prepared to do … More Creative Thinking – Hamas Style
On Friday the UN General Assembly passed a series of resolutions pertaining to the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. Most of them simply duplicate what the UN has said before.So why bring it up again? Because the wording of these resolution is couched in terms that are unfavorable to Israel. They use terms like “occupying power”, and … More Rewriting History in the UN
September 20th was the Muslim Holiday of Ashura. It commemorates the death of the last members of the prophet Mohammed’s family. Historically they were killed in the battle of Karabala. But the Shiites have been waiting for their return (a second coming?) for some 300 years, There are some interesting aspects to the holiday according … More The Ashura Muslim holiday
Wetherhorn 