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Blog post review

I thought that blogging was a good idea for this class because it kept me up to date on current events that are happening in the Middle East. It also allowed me to see more than one point of view by looking at all of my classmate’s responses. One thing that I found tricky was knowing what other news sources were credible for the information. I also had a bit of trouble with Tumblr and scheduling my posts. If I didn’t schedule it properly the first time and wanted to go back and change it, it would often freeze and I’d have to start over. Another suggestion could be to create anonymous twitter accounts and discuss current events that way.

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It has been announced that, “the Arab League has pledged to pay $100m a month to the Palestinian Authority to plug the gap left when Israel blocked tax transfers earlier in the year.” Israel is supposed to collect taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and let the PA use them how they see fit; however, $138m were taken. That money was supposed to be given to political prisoners who were jailed for attacks against the Israelis. I think that this sort of action to take money away from the PA is the sort of thing that makes Palestinians so frustrated with Israel. They are just the bigger and stronger guy that will bully the little guy. The article then goes on to talk about the Jared Kushner peace plan that we have all been dying to hear about. It states that the plan will not offer a fully sovereign Palestinian state. I find this interesting because during our class debates we have always just discussed either a one or two state solution. I personally don’t think the Palestinian’s would approve of a deal in which they aren’t in their own fully sovereign state (I mean that’s kind of what they have wanted all along). Historically, the Palestinians have been known to pass up deals so I'm curious to see if this one would be any different, or if the peace plan is up for negotiations.

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Netanyahu has been elected as Prime Minister for his fifth term, and is now set to form a new coalition government. There is also a possibility that he will be charged in three corruption cases. However, none of that will affect his time as Prime Minister. Current President Reuben Rivlin has noted that Netanyahu “has a majority of Knesset members” supporting him. I think it will be interesting to see how Netanyahu forms his coalition. While he was campaigning, Netanyahu made sure to appeal to the right-wing populist rhetoric. I guess I have a couple of questions about how he will run this new coalition. Do you think that he will allow everyone to have a voice during this term? Will he govern based solely on what he thinks is best? How much of a say do the other party members in the coalition actually get? Even though people aren’t particularly found of Netanyahu they still find him fit to govern. However, despite that consensus there was still an early election. I wonder if another early election will be called because he is prime minister once again. 

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Iran is continuing to suffer from the aftermath of flooding in the area. The current death toll from the flooding is now at 76, and has caused an estimated $2.2 billion in damages. The forecast is still calling for continued rains that will only add to the chaos. While the government is calling for the banking system to offer cheaper or interest-free loans that is not all that can be done to recover from an event as serious as this one. Local communities are banning together to lead relief efforts. Much of those duties include clearing rubble out of roadways, diverting water, and distributing various supplies. The neighboring Islamic Republic countries have also decided to send aid in the from of tents and pumps. Other countries that are giving aid include: Germany, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Turkey, and Pakistan. I know that this is a horrible natural disaster and that most people would only see the sadness that comes out of this; however, I would like to point out how amazing it is to see all of these countries come together and help people who are in need. I sometimes think that natural disasters are the best way to get people to stop worrying about all the other issues in life and focus on the more important things: the well-being of humans. 

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I’m not sure if any of us will truly be surprised by this but Netanyahu is on the course to serve as the Prime Minister of Israel for the fifth time. He was able to convince almost all of the right-wing parties that he would be best suited for the job. The Likud party in addition to the right-wing parties will be able to gain enough support to get a majority in the Knesset. “Likud party and the centrist Blue and White party led by Netanyahu’s main rival Benny Gantz tied at 97 percent of votes counted.” If both parties were able to win an equal amount of seats, what will that mean for how the government will run? Will Netanyahu continue to have the final word on everything that is going on in Israel? The article later goes on to say that it is still to be decided on which party leader has the best chance of forming a coalition government. In my opinion, I think they are going to pick Netanyahu to form it. After all, he did devise a great enough strategy to have his party come out on top. He has also formed the government before. I wonder if they will chose him as the path of least resistance. I mean he seems to know how to win the people over and promise security. 

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On Monday, President Donald Trump designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign “terrorist organization”. Iranian officials clearly weren’t so accepting of that label and have been threatening to respond in a similar manner. Iranian legislators have reportedly been preparing legislation that would in turn label the United States military as a “terrorist group”. Many people fear that is this all goes through that this label will be placed on other countries that are “unfavorable” and will therefore cause military action. “Trump said in his statement that the move ‘recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a state sponsor of terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft’”. I’m actually quite surprised that the US would want to go as far as officially labeling a government as a terrorist organization. I think that this move would definitely open up a giant can of worms. Everyone will want to start labeling each other as more dangerous than they actually are and everyone will want to go to war over it. I hope that this type of labeling doesn’t continue and that actions can be taken to reverse our government’s wording. There can be steps toward change and improving things without officially labeling each other.

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Golan Heights was a hot topic between the leaders at the Arab League summit on Sunday. “The Arab League has rejected the United States’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights and renewed a call for the establishment of a Palestinian state, saying peace and security in the region depended on a solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Many say that the talk about the Golan Heights was a way to distract from other large regional conflicts that are occurring such as: the wars in Syria and Yemen, instability in Libya, and the widespread anti-government protests in Algeria, etc. I can understand that the area of the Golan Heights is an important issue and that it needed to be addressed. However, I also think that other issues should have been talked about during this important summit. It kind of reminds me of the peace summits that we have had in class and how we spent the entire class period only addressing one issue. Later on, the article talks about how the Arab leaders were wanting to resolve the conflict that had appeared during the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. It was an initiative that proposed to recognize Israel in return for a complete withdrawal from lands that had been occupied in the war of 1967, which would include the Golan Heights, and the occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. I am curious as to whether or not any actions will be taken to move in this direction.

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This article talks about the fact that the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) claimed that Israeli soldiers have been deliberately shooting and killing civilians. This article made me think of the many lectures that we have had in terms of security in these areas and whether or not there is an abuse of power. Today we talked about how the first necessary step for making any sort of progress is by having peace. The abuse of power in militant operations causes civilians to have little hope in the system. These acts of violence also go along with the others that they face in their day to day lives such as the accidental missiles that were launched. I can’t image ever being able to have peace in a place like this if violence is used for no reason. Especially when it is used on protestors who are just trying to have a voice and state their opinion.

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This is a story that can easily be related to Nebraskan's due to the recent flooding that occurred in our area. Southern and some Western areas of Iran received less rain than we did; however, due to the environment that they live in there were still drastic consequences. The flooding resulted in the casualty of twenty-three people. It happened during the Iranian New Year which is a holiday that many wanted to travel and see their families. As a result, many people left without heeding the warning to stay at home. Some people are judgmental of Rouhani and how he has handled the situation. The Kermanshah Province is also expecting weather damage that raises concern for the area. Many people are in the process of rebuilding their lives after an earthquake hit destroyed their homes last year. Some are worried that those folks will not leave their new homes. This makes me think about the fact that even though we all have our differences, when something like a natural disaster happens we should make a point to put those differences aside and help one another.

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This article is relevant to recent news in relation to International Women’s Day.  A serious of protests broke out in December due to the government’s decision to triple the price of bread. They later became about the Bashir’s rule in general and called for the leader to step down. Over the course of protests for citizens’ rights many women in Sudan were detained and have been detained since December. On International Women’s Day, Bashir had the women that were detained released (which I think is a total PR move to make him look better). The estimated number of women that were detained is close to 150. These protests were handled in a similar way to the ones that were going on in Algeria in protest of their current president’s re-election. They were handled by the police throwing tear gas at the demonstrators. I don’t think that throwing tear gas in order to break up demonstrations does anything other than add fuel to the fire. If leaders were willing to listen to their people and what they wanted maybe something would be able to be worked out. It’s a pretty lofty goal, but I wish to remain optimistic.

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The people of Algeria are now protesting their current President Bouteflika. He has been the ruler for 20 years and his wishes to extend his term. The president is now 82-years-old and is in the hospital for health concerns. The protests that were held were peaceful the people are simply wanting to change their government; however, their actions were met with tear gas used from police officers. The people say that their rights have been taken from their government for decades and they are wanting to make a change. In order to combat the way his people feel Bouteflika has offered to limit his term if he were to be reelected. He also comes with a promise to change the “system” that currently runs the country. He has told the people that these protests are dangerous and warns that they could lead to the destabilization of the country.

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This is another article that I found to be uplifting in a world that is usually filled with bad news. The travel ban has been lifted from Saudi Arabia to Lebanon. This travel ban has been in place for many years and has been negatively affecting Lebanon’s economy. When Saudi’s go on vacation they tend to take longer trips and spend more on a lavish experience. In the past Lebanon was the place to do just that. The business owners are very hopeful that this will bring their businesses back to life. I think that a lot of times when there’s negative things happening in society we don’t always think about the full reprocussions it has on everyone, even down to the small business owners. 

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I feel like this article actually reported some good news that is happening in the world. This year 800 Palestinians are allowed to leave for the Umrah pilgrimage by using the Rafah crossing. Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca that can be done throughout the year; however, Egypt put a stop to the program in 2015 due to instability in the Sinai Peninsula. While travel for this pilgrimage has not been permitted for many years 2,500 pilgrims were still allowed to leave Gaza through Egypt for Hajj. I think that this shows that there is progress that is being made in these areas. Although it is a small number of people that are permitted to leave for this pilgrimage it is still uplifting that they are allowing this to happen. The article later goes on to explain that Egypt’s relationship with Hamas has improved over time and they are beginning to reopen the border more regularly. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to improve relations with Hamas; however, it is giving their people an opportunity to live more freely.

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The Foreign Minister Javad Zarif resigned and used Instagram as his platform for the big announcement. I found this fact to be really interesting to me. I am an advertising and public relations major, so I find the fact that he used Instagram to tell people the news very peculiar but I think it also speaks volumes as to where we are in the world today. Social media is becoming so integrated into our everyday lives some believe that it is the way to get the word out. There was no real reason that was giving for his resignation. Zarif was appointed minister of foreign affairs in 2013. This was before Iran agreed to scale back on its uranium enrichment program and agreed not to develop nuclear weapons. The result of this deal lifted many international sanctions. There have obviously been opponents of this agreement that have put pressure on Zarif. I believe that this could have something to do with his resignation; however, we won’t know unless he makes an official statement with the reason for why he is leaving.

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This article provides an excellent summary of the election that is going on in Israel. It brought up just about every point that was discussed in class. Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid have decided to team up against Netanyahu. There were others that went along with the idea and decided to join them which include the former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and the ex-military chief of staff Gabs Ashkenazi. The Resilience party created a joint list that would potentially make up the new Israeli ruling party. If this became a success Gantz and Lapid have agreed that they would share the ruling term, Gantz would go first and Lapid would take over. At the end of this article it talks about Netanyahu’s run in with the police and the fact that they suspect him of committing fraud and bribery. If this is true they will most likely be able to indict him. However, he vows that he’ll remain in office even if that is the case. If he were able to remain in office then what would it take to get him out of office besides just voting for another party?

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The supreme court ruled that Jewish settlers were the rightful owners of a home that was currently inhabited by a Palestinian family. The Israeli police evicted the Palestinian family which resulted in the family becoming refugees for the second time. This entire situation can be traced back to issues that we have talked about in class. The article discusses the complicated situation in further detail and how it relates back to the 1948 war. “The Israeli NGO Peace Now said the home originally belonged to a Jewish family which fled during the 1948 war which accompanied Israel’s foundation.” The Abu Assab family then moved into the home after 1948 because in a Peace Now statement they said that under an Israeli law that was passed in 1950 Palestinians could not return to homes they fled in 1948. “A 1970 act, however, decreed that property in occupied East Jerusalem abandoned by Jewish owners could be reclaimed. Therefore, the Palestinians had to move. This article kind of surprised me because in class we have talked about the fact that if you leave because you think the side you are supporting in a war is going to win, and they don't, you shouldn't be able to come back and take that land land. However, that is exactly what they are able to do.  

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This article relates really well with what was discussed at the end of class today.  A suicide attack occurred in the Iran in the southeast part of the country. Twenty-seven members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were killed. There was also a car-bomb attack that wounded ten additional members of the Guard. I think that this situation; however, is set apart from the ones that were discussed in class because they went after members of an armed guard. The examples in class were mainly targeted at civilians. The Foreign ministry is also talking about taking revenge on those that were behind the attack which is also a theme that was discussed in today’s class. Despite their efforts the Iranian Vice President, has announced that this act will not damage the resolute will of the people in defending the Islamic revolution. In other cases in history attacks such as these have been successful at distracting from a group’s goal. However, it didn’t work out for this particular group.