An Open Letter to President Erdogan Over the past year, I had the opportunity to speak to many Turkish scholars and former government officials, the majority of whom left your country because they feared for their lives and their loved ones. The one question that kept on surfacing is why a leader like you—who has…
Alon Ben Meir and Arbana Xharra Kosovo investigative journalist Parim Olluri knew the assailants who physically attacked him two years ago in front of his house, while the police and other security institutions remained silent. “I sent names to the Kosovo Police as well as to the Prosecutor’s Office, but none of them took any…
The longest war in American history may come to an end following an agreement in principle between the US and the Taliban which was recently concluded in Doha. It is significant in that it is the first time the US and the Taliban negotiated face-to-face, the negotiations were made public, and the principle accord that…
Artwork by Michael Anderson and Sam Ben-Meir Over the past three decades I wrote more than two hundred articles about Israel, envisioning it to be a democratic state, independent and free, a champion of human rights, a force of unity for world Jewry, united in its citizenry, admired by its friends, envied by its detractors,…
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to call for an early election, scheduled to take place on April 9, was really nothing short of another political stunt that Netanyahu has masterfully learned to employ when the time is right and he is reasonably assured of another victory. One would think, however, that after 10 continuous years…
By Alon Ben-Meir and Arbana Xharra The six Western Balkan countries —Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Albania, are “state captured” by corrupt politicians, linked with organized crime. These facts have been documented by various international reports, which are raising major concerns among EU officials on the enlargement process. These countries are expected…
Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from Syria is extremely reckless and is bound to backfire in more than one way. To make such a decision, which has major implications that directly and adversely affect our allies in and outside the region, through a simple tweet and against the advice of his senior advisors is…
The election of a record number of women to Congress is significant in that Congresswomen are more likely to focus on socio-economic and gender-based issues that have largely been either ignored or resisted by a predominantly male Congress. The fact that nearly 25% of the House and Senate are now women means their voices can…
To dramatically slow the flow of illegal immigration and even end it does not rest on building walls or sending troops to the border, or by heartlessly snatching children from their mothers’ arms, or by incarceration, deportation, or prosecution. A big part of the answer lies in economic development, mainly sustainable development projects, in the…