The New York Times reported that Jewish peace activists tried to sail to Gaza but were stopped by the Israeli army, among them a well-known Israeli passenger, Rami Elhanan, whose daughter was killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber. Coincidentally the family's story is told in the Icarus documentary- THE BOMBING.

Labels: Israel, Middle East, New York Times, Palestine

The New York Times reports that the Obama administration is sending two senior officials to Syria to begin discussions with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Experts consider Syria to be the key to unlock some of the major challenges in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear threat.

SYRIA: CHESS MATCH AT THE BORDERS offers a close look at the country's history, geography and politics, and what led to its position as a major player and stake in the Middle East.

Labels: Bashar al-Assad, Clinton, Iran, Israel, Obama, Palestine, Syria

Ilan Ziv, director of JESUS POLITICS, released an article with journalist Daoud Kuttab on the conflict between Israel and Palestine and how the region could be saved by an international tribunal.

Click here to read this insightful article.

Labels: articles, Daoud Kuttab, Ilan Ziv, Israel, Palestine, war

Nearly 11,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons. Israel considers them security threats while Palestinians view the imprisonments as political. This week, BBC News reports Israel will release 250 prisoners as a goodwill gesture toward negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, an emergency government set up in response to the popular election of Hamas, which is widely regarded as a terrorist organization.

HOTHOUSE by Shimon Dotan goes inside some of these highest security prisons in Israel to reveal first-hand the stories of men and women being held.

Labels: Hamas, Israel, Middle East, Palestine, prisons

Ben Harper of the AP reports on Israel's recent struggle with Sudanese refugees escaping the genocide in Darfur and trekking through Egypt and the Sinai desert to enter Israel, a country without mechanisms for harboring the refugees. WAITING by Marie-Claude Harvey chronicles the situation in Sudan in the early days which has gotten worse, with now nearly 2.5 million who have fled the violence in Sudan.

This news follows on the heels of World Refugee Day on June 20th when the United Nations refugee agency reported there are nearly 10 million refugees world-wide.

Labels: Africa, articles, Darfur, Israel, refugees, Sudan