Syrian Kurds Beset by Divisions Syrian Kurds are resisting efforts by Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani to exert influence over their movement. Iraq
Bennett Campaigns for Druze Vote In Israeli Municipal Elections Naftali Bennett, chairman of the right-wing HaBayit HaYehudi Party, is running 88 lists for the municipal elections on Oct. 22, including one in the Druze village of Daliyat al-Karmel. Israel
Migrant Boat Tragedy Highlights Greater PLO Role The migrant boat tragedy near Malta on Oct. 16 has rekindled the old Palestine Liberation Organization's role as the representative of all Palestinians, including refugees. Palestine
Neo-Ottoman Cuisine Needs Fusion Despite rhetoric, Ottoman cuisine even in Istanbul sometimes fails to incorporate the multicultural aspects of its roots. Originals
Deri Ready to Give Facelift To Israeli Shas Party The old-new chairman of Sephardic Shas Party, Aryeh Deri, plans to rejuvenate its identity as a traditional social party, distancing it from the sectarian tendencies of the ultra-Orthodox. Israel
Iran’s New Nuclear Proposal Iran offers to freeze its 20% enrichment of uranium but still wants to complete a reactor that could yield plutonium, another potential bomb fuel. Iran
Radical Groups Operate On Turkey’s Border Turkey is increasingly identified as a country facilitating radical forces in Syria, and thereby isolated among its allies. Syria
What, or Who, Killed Yasser Arafat? The Lancet's suggestion that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat might have been poisoned leaves room for doubt, not only regarding the credibility of the findings, but the motivations behind them. Palestine
The Roots of Radicalism In Political Islam Sunni and Shiite fundamentalists have both sought to return to their own ideal version of history while rejecting modernity. Turkey
Saudi Arabia Shifts to More Activist Foreign Policy Doctrine The kingdom should give priority to a regional initiative in Syria and a collective security framework for maintaining order in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia
Turkey’s Islamic Liberals The liberal voices among Turkey's conservatives, many of them women, will be the bellwethers of social change. Turkey
KRG Responds to Article On Terrorist Bombing in Erbil In a letter to the editor, a director in the office of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Representation to the US, Karwan Zebari, responds to Denise Natali's Al-Monitor article "Prison Break, Suicide, Bombing, Rock Iraqi Kurdistan." Iraq
Iraqi Youth Initiative Combats Sectarianism Citizenship Ambassadors aims to bring together youths from Iraq's various religious and ethnic communities and regional affiliations to combat the escalating sectarian conflict in the country. Iraq
Gaza Salafists Killed in Syria Salafist sources in Gaza say dozens of young Palestinian men have gone to Syria to fight with al-Qaeda affiliates against President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Palestine
Is Turkey Digging a Hole With Its Syria policy? Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also the enemy of Salafists fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria
The EU's Mixed Report on Turkey The chill between the EU and Turkey continues as the annual progress report by the EU Commission attempts to keep a delicate balance between criticism and encouragement. Turkey
