In case you have not noticed, the Obama administration is in the midst of an ongoing and very public spat with the Netanyahu government in Israel. The “tit for tat” exchanges have been noted in the press, with reporters and some analysts providing banal motives for t

With mid-term elections only weeks away, I am once again being asked by Arab friends to explain my support for the Democratic Party. They maintain, not unfairly, that neither of the two major parties — Democratic and Republican — have commendable records on issues af

With the US currently engaged in an air war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and with voices now calling for deeper engagement in both conflict zones, the American public is being bombarded with commentary and analysis about IS, Syria and Iraq, and Muslims. Unfortunat

Ever the clever one, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently was up to his old tricks again.  On September 29, he addressed a half-empty UN General Assembly chamber and then came to Washington for what was reported to be a rather chilly meeting with President Bar

While the world’s attention has been focused on the combined efforts of Arab and US forces attacking “Islamic State” (IS) positions in Iraq and Syria, unfolding in Lebanon is a third front in the war against this violent extremist group, which has received scant

It appears that we may be going to war against the Islamic State (IS). I use the word “appears” advisedly, because appearances may be deceiving. It is true that we have already bombed almost 200 IS targets.

My mother was fond of saying: “If you want someone to hear you, you must first listen to them” — know them, understand the questions they are asking and be sensitive to their concerns. This way, she would say, “you will be able to speak with people and no

Almost daily, one is faced with difficult choices one is challenged to confront over a range of foreign and domestic policy concerns. One must decide whether to stand firm on principle or negotiate and compromise; whether to push for everything one wants or work to achieve what

This is the year in which we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Bill.  Instead of being able to reflect on the distance we have travelled since 1964, the horrific events unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri, only served to remind us how far we sti