Gerald
08-27-11, 09:35 AM
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/8003/54842286beershevaprotes.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/692/54842286beershevaprotes.jpg/)
Protests in Israeli cities against economic hardship have added to the challenges facing the government amid the fall-out from the Arab Spring.
The extraordinary developments in the Middle East and North Africa this year have not been entirely welcomed by the authorities in Israel, who now have a range of new problems to add to some more familiar ones.
My passports say it all. Like most foreign correspondents in the Middle East I have two - one for Israel, the other for Arab countries.
That's because some Arab states will not let you in if you have an Israeli visa.
My passport with the Israeli stamps shows that for almost six years until last December, I was in Jerusalem about once a month. Then nothing - until a quick visit last week.
This year, the Arab-Israeli conflict has been side-lined.
As for the other passport - since January, when the revolutions began, I have almost filled a new one, jumbo size, with Arab stamps.
The overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in Libya makes the essential point about this remarkable year even clearer.
The Arab world is in a time of seismic and irreversible change. The 60% or so of Arabs who are under 30 want a different way to live.
We have had an extraordinary nine months - and the drama is not over yet.
So it was strange to be back in Jerusalem, surrounded once again by the hatreds that never seem to change.
Israeli police with clubs and automatic weapons were still on guard at the gates to the walled old city. Plenty of Israelis believe that Palestinians have no interest in peace.
Palestinians feel the same about Israelis and were still simmering with anger and resentment about the expansion of Jewish settlements - and about the way that the Israelis sometimes strip Palestinians born in the city of residence rights if they spend time abroad.
There is nothing new in any of that.
Deadly flare-up
For so many years, the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians has dominated the Middle East.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/9573523.stm
Note: Last updated at 10:34 GMT, Saturday, 27 August 2011 11:34 UK
Protests in Israeli cities against economic hardship have added to the challenges facing the government amid the fall-out from the Arab Spring.
The extraordinary developments in the Middle East and North Africa this year have not been entirely welcomed by the authorities in Israel, who now have a range of new problems to add to some more familiar ones.
My passports say it all. Like most foreign correspondents in the Middle East I have two - one for Israel, the other for Arab countries.
That's because some Arab states will not let you in if you have an Israeli visa.
My passport with the Israeli stamps shows that for almost six years until last December, I was in Jerusalem about once a month. Then nothing - until a quick visit last week.
This year, the Arab-Israeli conflict has been side-lined.
As for the other passport - since January, when the revolutions began, I have almost filled a new one, jumbo size, with Arab stamps.
The overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in Libya makes the essential point about this remarkable year even clearer.
The Arab world is in a time of seismic and irreversible change. The 60% or so of Arabs who are under 30 want a different way to live.
We have had an extraordinary nine months - and the drama is not over yet.
So it was strange to be back in Jerusalem, surrounded once again by the hatreds that never seem to change.
Israeli police with clubs and automatic weapons were still on guard at the gates to the walled old city. Plenty of Israelis believe that Palestinians have no interest in peace.
Palestinians feel the same about Israelis and were still simmering with anger and resentment about the expansion of Jewish settlements - and about the way that the Israelis sometimes strip Palestinians born in the city of residence rights if they spend time abroad.
There is nothing new in any of that.
Deadly flare-up
For so many years, the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians has dominated the Middle East.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/9573523.stm
Note: Last updated at 10:34 GMT, Saturday, 27 August 2011 11:34 UK