Hamas’ attack and Israel’s retaliatory war are the dire by-products of decades-long psychological impediments—historical, ideological, religious, and humanitarian—that have hindered any progress toward a solution while making the conflict ever more intractable Hamas’s savage October 7 attack on Israel and the latter’s massive retaliatory war are rooted in four dimensions of psychological impediments—historical, ideological, religious,…

By Alon Ben Meir and Arbana Xharra Until five years ago, Fethullah Gülen and Turkey’s President Erdogan were allies who supported each other. Both use Islam as the basis for their doctrine, which made them ideologically different from the revolutionary secularist stateman Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the new Republic of Turkey in 1923….

By Alon Ben-Meir and Arbana Xharra A billboard at a construction site, with a photo of an Ottoman-style mosque with four minarets and the flag of Turkey, was erected recently in the center of Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. With less than 2 million people, Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, is…

This article is co-written by Alon Ben-Meir and Arbana Xharra. Arbana Xharra authored a series of investigative reports on religious extremists and Turkey’s Islamic agenda operating in the Balkans. She has won numerous awards for her reporting, and was a 2015 recipient of the International Women of Courage Award from the US State Department. Less…

The gruesome and tragic beheadings of innocent US and UK citizens is excruciatingly painful, especially for the families of the victims. Other than making supreme efforts to free current prisoners held by ISIS by any means available, no compromises can ever be made with this extremist group. The nature of ISIS’ menace necessitates an inexorable,…

People around the world have passed judgment on the life of Israel’s most controversial leader that runs the gamut from utter and deep admiration for his uncompromising devotion to Israel’s security and wellbeing while others, especially the Palestinians, reviled him for being cruel, morally corrupt and a war criminal. I doubt that history will render…

Those who are privy to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations appear to be more optimistic than ever before about the prospect of reaching an agreement. Yet there are those who believe that, regardless of American prodding, no agreement is likely to emerge because neither Prime Minster Netanyahu nor President Mahmoud Abbas are in a position…

Notwithstanding the cultural and interpretive differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the God worshiped by Muhammad is the same God that communicated with Abraham and to which Jesus prayed. This one God, it is believed, revealed sublime values which were then disseminated by the three largest monotheistic religions. It is therefore easy to wholeheartedly support…

Brief synopsis: The most puzzling aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be that after 65 years of violence, enmity and suffering, it remains unresolved when coexistence is inevitable and a two-state solution remains the only viable option. Although there are many contentious issues that must be specifically addressed, directly impacting every dispute is the broader…