March 23, 2012
3 comments
Category: Congress, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Israel, US foreign policy
Reider: Is Israel Moving in an “Anti-Democratic Direction”?
Dimi Reider wrote an entry in a series of posts in the New York Review of Books blog concerning the fate of democracy in Israel. The article discusses several legislative proposals, some passed and some pending ratification that are largely in opposition to basic democratic principles including freedom of assembly, speech, asylum, association and the right to an independent judiciary. Reider lists examples of such laws including a new amendment to a 50-year-old law targeting ...
March 19, 2012
Category: Civil Society, Freedom, Human Rights, International Law, Israel, Judiciary, Justice, NGOs, Reform
State Department Calls for End to Violence in Gaza
Al-Jazeera reported that Israeli air strikes in the Gaza strip have killed a total number of 23 Palestinians since violence erupted in the Palestinian territory on Friday. Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group blamed for rocket fire into Israel, claimed that two of the dead were members. Israel justifies the attacks saying that it is “hitting back at scores of rocket attacks.” The violence erupted when the Israeli army carried out ...
March 12, 2012
Category: Hamas, Human Rights, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, United Nations, US foreign policy
Western Powers Agree to Resume Talks With Iran
According to The Guardian, as many as six global powers have agreed to return to the negotiating table with Iran in order to “restore international trust in Tehran’s stated intentions." E.U. Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton sent a letter to Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili stating that negotiations should commence as soon as possible. Speaking for the Western bloc comprised of the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, and Germany, ...
Iranians called to elect their parliament
On Friday, Iranians were called to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time since the 2009 elections which sparked major demonstrations by the Green Party opposition group due to alleged electoral fraud. The Green party will not be ...
Israeli Troops Raid Palestinian Television Stations
On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers raided two Palestinian news stations in the occupied West Bank seizing transmitters the military said were “interfering with air traffic communications.” Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad visited Watan TV, one of the raided TV stations, called the Israeli offensive “oppressive and monstrous” and “violated all international laws.” Spokesman for the Palestinian Authority Ghassan Khatib stated that the Palestinian communications ministry determined that they had complied with ...
Palestinian Prisoner Ends 66-Day Hunger Strike as Israel Agrees to Set Him Free
Israel agreed to release alleged Islamic Jihad operative Khader Adnan who, at the onset of his detention, began a hunger strike that he continued for 66 days--the longest hunger strike in Palestinian prisoner history. Adnan's legal representation reported that he had agreed to end the hunger strike after reaching an agreement with Israeli authorities guaranteeing his release in April, should "no new additional substantial evidence" emerge against him. Adnan, a baker by profession, is alleged to be ...
February 21, 2012
Category: EU, Human Rights, International Law, Israel, Palestine, Protests, Rule of Law
Rival Palestinian Movements Reach Agreement
On Monday, leaders of the rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas announced an end to the political stalemates which has divided the two movements in the past. The agreement announced from Doha, Qatar called for the formation of a unity governemnt led "initially" by Western-backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the subsequent election of a cabinet made up of independent technocrats. Leader of the Hamas movement Khaled Meshaal said that the Palestinians and Hamas "were happy with ...
U.S. General in Talks with Israel over Iran
U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, arrived in Israel for a series of close talks with Israeli leaders amid an apparent disagreement as to how the two countries should respond to Iran's nuclear program. During Dempsey's ...
POMED Notes: The Arab Spring: Implications for US Policy and Interests
On Thursday, the Middle East Institute in concert with Freedom House hosted a discussion panel on the implications of the Arab Spring for US policy and interests in the Middle East region. The discussion panel was also charged with introducing a planned and authored by numerous scholars in cooperation with MEI entitled, The Arab Spring: Implications for US Policy and Interests. Discussants on the panel were scholars who participated in ...
December 19, 2011
1 comments
Category: Countries, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Government, Gulf, Israel, North Africa, Oil, Political transition, Protests, Public Opinion, Reform, Terrorism
J Street’s National Conference: March 24-27, 2012
POMED is excited to be a participating organization in J Street's upcoming national conference. The event, called "Making History," will take place March 24-27 in Washington, DC. To see last year's impressive conference schedule, click here. To register for the 2012 conference, click here (more details on speakers and panels will be available soon). We hope to see you there!
November 28, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Elections 2012, Featured, Government, Hamas, Israel, Palestine, Political Parties, Political transition
Republican Presidential Debate Focused on Foreign Policy
Last Thursday's Republican presidential debate focused for the first time on foreign policy and national security related questions. The eight candidates sparred over numerous questions in which presidential candidate John Huntsman decried his fellow candidates' stances as "sound bite ...
Jordan: Protests Reveal Rift over Palestinian Issue
The protests planned via Facebook for Thursday evening outside the Israeli embassy, which prompted the early departure of the Israeli diplomatic mission in Amman, drew a turnout of 200 mostly young protesters. The discussion of the Palestinian bid for ...
Dep. Secretary Burns Visits Saudi Arabia and UAE
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns is visiting Saudi Arabia and the UAE this week to meet with top officials. After his Tuesday meeting with Assistant Minister of the Interior Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Burns met with King Abdullah ...
September 15, 2011
Category: Diplomacy, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UN Security Council, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “The Arab Uprisings and the United Nations”
On Tuesday, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and the National Security Network (NSN) hosted a panel discussion with Dr. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, Geneive Abdo, fellow at the Century Foundation and the National Security Network, and Ted Piccone, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. The event was moderated by Heather Hurlburt, executive director at NSN, with a welcome by Stephen McInerney, executive director ...
September 14, 2011
Category: Bahrain, Egypt, Events, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Iran, Israel, Political transition, Reform, Syria, United Nations, US foreign policy
Egypt: Concern over Increased Media Censorship
The offices of Al Jazeera Egyptian affiliate Mubasher Misr were raided and shut down by security forces in plain clothes Sunday. The channel is known for its coverage of protests, including Friday's attack on the Israeli embassy in Cairo. While members ...
“Egypt cracks down after Israeli Embassy attack”
After the Israeli embassy in Cairo was attacked on Friday, the military led transitional government said it would impose a renewed emergency law, allowing extra-judicial detentions. Osama Heikal, Egyptian minister of media, said in a statement after a an emergency meeting ...
September 11, 2011
Category: Egypt, Human Rights, Israel, Political transition, Protests, Rule of Law