Washington Post (July 17)
“Israelis and Palestinians may someday make peace. But the assumption should be that it won’t happen soon — perhaps not in our lifetimes.”
Investment Week (May 19)
At just 3.6%, Japan’s unemployment rate is extremely low and this should promote inflation. “Labour shortages have already driven wages higher for part-time workers. Adding to this, the demand to provide new infrastructure for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the need to replace equipment should also serve to further stimulate the economy.” The OECD has forecast that “only Japan, New Zealand, and Israel are expected to grow faster than their previously forecasted GDPs in 2014.”
Tags: 2020 Olympics, Economy, Equipment, GDP, Inflation, Infrastructure, Israel, Japan, Labor, New Zealand, OECD, Shortage, Tokyo, Unemployment rate, Wages, Workers
Chicago Tribune (April 9)
The talks between Israel and Palestine “are on the verge of collapse.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry should quit trying to prop them up. “The U.S can’t broker a peace deal absent strong motivation from both sides to surmount formidable, historic hurdles.”
Tags: Collapse, Historic, Hurdles, Israel, John Kerry, Motivation, Palestine, Peace deal, Talks, U.S.
New York Times (January 4, 2014)
“Five months into the latest American effort to nudge Israelis and Palestinians toward a peace agreement, the one party clearly committed to a deal is the United States.” Over 20 talks have been held, with the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry logging ten trips to the region. Despite these efforts to reach an agreement by the end of April, “there is no evidence of concrete progress, but there are increasing signs that both sides may be positioning themselves to blame the other if negotiations collapse.”
Tags: Agreement, Blame, Collapse, Evidence, Israel, John Kerry, Negotiations, Palestine, Positioning, Progress, U.S.
Washington Post (March 28)
During his trip to Israel, President Obama “spoke more bluntly about Israel’s occupation and the case for a Palestinian state than any U.S. president has in the past…. Obama has recognized and employed the strongest — and perhaps only — path toward peace and a Palestinian state: an appeal to Israel’s conscience.”
Tags: Conscience, Israel, Obama, Palestine, Peace
New York Times (March 6)
“China’s decision to join the United States in proposing tougher sanctions on North Korea is a welcome step,” but unlikely to prove decisive. Other measure should simultaneously be taken. “China and the United States should be working covertly to disrupt the North’s nuclear program, as the Americans and Israelis did with Iran’s…. Dealing with North Korea has never been easy, but neglect certainly will not help contain its nuclear and missile capabilities.”
Tags: China, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Nuclear missile, U.S.
Washington Post (March 28)
During his trip to Israel, President Obama “spoke more bluntly about Israel’s occupation and the case for a Palestinian state than any U.S. president has in the past…. Obama has recognized and employed the strongest — and perhaps only — path toward peace and a Palestinian state: an appeal to Israel’s conscience.”
Tags: Conscience, Israel, Obama, Occupation, Palestine, Peace, U.S.
The Economist (November 21)
“Who Won?” is the question being asked now that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is in place. The answer depends on who is being asked. “Basically, the Israelis are saying they hit Hamas hard in their round-the-clock bombing assault and thus enhanced their deterrent power which was their stated objective at the outset of these eight days of bombardment. Hamas, for its part, says that despite the vast disparity in firepower, it is still up and running—and still firing rockets into Israel—which makes it the winner at least on points.”
Wall Street Journal (October 11)
“Jordan last month amended its already restrictive press-and-publications law to include Internet firms and organizations. The move risks chilling business development in what had been a promising site of economic progress in a changing region” The new restrictions are bad for Jordan. “Emerging markets have a unique opportunity to embrace the Internet as their central business platform. Singapore, South Korea and Israel did so and became world-class technology players.” By embracing “open, globally competitive access to technology,” these countries could get ahead in ways that Jordan will not be able to under the new restrictions.
Chicago Tribune (February 22, 2012)
“This planet is a more dangerous place now that the isolated and dictatorial government of North Korea has perhaps a dozen nuclear bombs. That danger will multiply if the belligerent and theocratic government of Iran, too, develops nukes. Either nation, with launchable nuclear bombs, qualifies as an existential threat to U.S. allies, including Israel and South Korea. What’s more, the prospect of Tehran or Pyongyang slipping small nukes to anti-U.S. terror networks is too unnerving for many among us to contemplate.”
Tags: Iran, Israel, North Korea, Nuclear bombs, South Korea, Terror networks, U.S.
