Dear Editor, Thank you for such an impassioned and eloquent editorial titled “Punishing the Victim (Commentary, Nov. 30). You are not alone in your outrage. I share your sentiments and am sickened to read about such cruelty. I am also immeasurably saddened to see that religion is so wantonly manipulated to serve the sadistic whims …

Many Western media and policymakers appear preoccupied with the danger of Pakistan s nuclear weapons falling into the hands of extremists – whether small terrorist groups or organized political parties who may try to take power in upcoming elections. Their immediate concern, therefore, is not the independence of the judiciary or the establishment of democracy, …

With President George W. Bush’s grand strategy for the Middle East in ruins, his administration has, however hesitantly, begun to put greater emphasis on resolving conflicts by peaceful means. The settlement reached with North Korea, whereby it will dismantle its nuclear program, and the Annapolis conference for an Israeli-Palestinian peace – with the participation of …

The Palestinian economy has been in an ever-deepening crisis since the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000, a crisis rooted in and perpetuated by an extremely inauspicious political setting. The record of economic decline is staggering: Domestic output and per capita income have plunged; poverty and unemployment have ballooned; private investment has plummeted; and …

For the past 50 years, Egyptian and foreign intellectuals and researchers have been accustomed to classifying intellectual and political currents in Egypt into four main categories: Islamists, nationalists (aka Nasserites), socialists and liberals. It seems, however that the picture in most Arab countries is gradually changing, with Islamist and liberal currents getting stronger while socialist …

The recent United States National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which reports that Iran once had a “nuclear weapons program but suspended it in 2003, means that there will probably be no American attack on Iran during the Bush administration. How could America’s president explain to the world why he was bombing nuclear weapon facilities that his …

I honestly don’t know why the government bothers to announce its intention to raise the price of any commodity or that it will reconsider the issue of subsidies, if it can do it anyway, without making any statements. Could it possibly be that our venerable government is addicted democracy? Or is it our government’s respect …

In Egypt, you check your dignity at the doorstep. You can be subject to a morass of indignity at any time, and maybe worse, if it isn’t your lucky day. In the blink of an eye you can be insulted, dragged away and humiliated with no recompense. Simply put there is nothing you can do …

Peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians stand as one of the central challenges of this century, according to leading Christian leaders. Responding to an open letter in October signed by 138 leading Muslim scholars, clerics, and intellectuals from around the world, the Christian leaders also asked the Muslim world for forgiveness…. Following is the text …

While it s encouraging that two women-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni-were key players in the Annapolis conference last week, the fact that women are central in the negotiations will only have an impact if the subsequent talks are structured to maximize women s contributions to the peace process. Done …

Even those who had modest expectations for the Annapolis conference were disappointed by its results: an agreement to start negotiations and a statement that selectively reiterated parts of the roadmap that the parties had anyway failed to implement since it was introduced in 2003. The two sides, with heavy American involvement, failed not only to …

November 25 marked the annual day for violence against women. It was also the beginning of a United Nations-led 16-day campaign entitled “Say NO to Violence Against Women . “Violence against women is always a violation of human rights, it is always a crime, and it is always unacceptable, the Secretary-General of the United Nations …

Muslim dictatorships have caused a lot of frustration. These days Islamists – individuals and groups who believe that their system of government should be based on Islamic principles – are one of the leading groups challenging dictators. Unfortunately, while Islamists do want to usher in democracy, many then want to appoint a body of clerics …

The greatest disappointment of the post-communist era has been the failure of the West – particularly Europe – to build a successful relationship with Russia. Most policymakers and experts expected that, after an inevitably troublesome period of transition, Russia would join the United States and Europe in a strategic and economic partnership, based on shared …

Imagine that a huge asteroid is hurtling towards Earth. Scientists tell us that there is a 10 percent chance of a collision in 10 years and the consequences of its impact will be catastrophic. Your government advises you not to panic and reminds you that there is a 90 percent chance that the asteroid will …

Recently in Saudi Arabia, a young woman from the town of Qatif who had been raped by seven men was sentenced to prison and to 90 lashes, which were later increased to 200 lashes because of the woman s denunciation of her case through the media. When Josée Verner, the Canadian minister for the status …

AMMAN – So much for Hamas hope. Those willing to give the movement the benefit of the doubt, even after its June takeover of the Gaza Strip, have posited the Islamist movement as a necessary cleaning up of the chaotic state of internal Palestinian politics. But Hamas is repaying such faith with bullets. Opening fatal …

President Vladimir Putin turned Russia’ parliamentary election into a referendum on himself – and won by a landslide. But, while he refuses to spell out his plans for remaining in power once his second term expires next spring, his economic policy is clear. The strangest thing about the Duma election was that Putin lost his …

Before I became the UN’s Secretary-General, I was an Asian diplomat. While I was foreign minister of the Republic of Korea, my Government and I strongly advocated détente with the North. When some in the world called for sanctions and punitive action, South Korea pushed for dialogue. That requires listening as well as speaking. It …

Are Arab Islamists on the threshold of political decline? Humble election results and the weakening intellectual and organizational structure of current Islamist movements beg the question.The decline began in Morocco, when the Justice and Development Party failed to gain a parliamentary majority in the Sept. 7 elections, contrary to speculations about the party’s ability to …

Ve have read the science. Global warming is real, and we are a prime cause. We have heard the warnings. Unless we act, now, we face serious consequences. Polar ice may melt. Sea levels will rise. A third of our plant and animal species could vanish. There will be famine around the world, particularly in …

I was awakened from deep sleep by the noise. There was a commotion outside, which was getting louder by the minute. The shout of excited people. An eruption of joy. I stuck my nose outside the door of my Haifa hotel room. I was told enthusiastically that the United Nations General Assembly had just decided …

Egypt’s democratic transformation can only take place after serious reform within the ruling party. There can be no democracy without free and fair elections which, in turn, will not take place unless the ruling party is strong enough to compete with other parties on an equal platform, without the support of government institutions and security …

The horrible murder of Giovanna Reggianni that took place near a Romanian refugee camp in the suburb of Tor di Quinto in Rome shocked both Italy and Romania. The case gained significance by adding fuel to the fiery public debates now underway not only in Italy but across Europe on the status of refugees and …

The falling dollar has emerged as a source of profound global macroeconomic distress. The question now is how bad that distress will become. Is the world economy at risk? There are two possibilities. If global savers and investors expect the dollar’s depreciation to continue, they will flee the currency unless they are compensated appropriately for …

TEL AVIV: Women s desire to be thin is universal. That, at least, is the premise behind A Slim Peace, a documentary bringing together Palestinian and Israeli women for a six-week weight-loss session of counting calories, measuring waistlines and reflecting on issues of body image. The 14 women – Jewish settlers, Bedouin from the Negev, …

Following the conclusion of the Annapolis Summit, some in the Arab media have rushed to question whether the conference had been successful or not. The truth is, what we have witnessed is the beginning of negotiations, not their end ? especially since the conference was a one day affair. The importance of the Annapolis Summit …

The Lal Masjid debacle earlier this year once again brought to the limelight the issue reforming madrasas, Muslim religious schools. There seems to be a general belief amongst the western population and media that madrasas help promote intolerance and extremism and are the recruiting grounds for terrorists. In fact, the 9/11 commission report issued in …

The Middle East is experiencing something we haven t seen in a long, long time: moderates getting their act together a little, taking tentative stands and pushing back on the bad guys. If all that sounds kind of, sort of, maybe, qualified, well . . . it is. But in a region in which extremists …

It has come to my attention from informed government sources that the next cabinet reshuffle will be wide-ranging. It will include 21 ministers that are more than half the current number, who have been inefficient in managing their portfolios and have shown a lack of vision. According to my sources, these ministers do not include …