Brian Blum
I'm still not sure how the fight broke out. Eight-year-old Aviv and I were out in the courtyard in front of our apartment on Shabbat afternoon, throwing a ball around, when this man who I don't know started yelling at our neighbor Yossi, something about an altercation between their kids.
Yossi tried to calm his enraged combatant down but to no avail. The volume rose as did the tension in the courtyard as neighbors began to stream out of their houses to see what all the commotion was about. Yossi and the man alternated between Hebrew and English, with the man I didn't know – an Israeli – mostly speaking in broken English, and Yossi – a recent immigrant – speaking mostly in accented Hebrew.
Finally, as the argument reached his most feverish pitch, the Israeli yelled at the top of his lungs - in English - "Go back to Brooklyn!" He then ascended his stairs in a huff and slammed the door.
Yossi returned to the assembled crowd, looking both flustered and furious. "No one here is even from Brooklyn," he muttered, but that wasn't the point. The invective uttered is one of the most hurtful anyone ...   more »

Syria's active engagement will have dramatic impact on region
Alon Ben-Meir
US Administration officials are increasingly talking about the wisdom of engaging with Syria to try and gain its support of and participation in efforts to stop the already chaotic situation in the Middle East from further deteriorating.  
Although it would have been wise to engage with Syria from the start, talking directly with Syria at this juncture is even more urgent and of paramount importance to the United States and its allies in the region. Whether Washington likes it or not, Syria does matter, and it is therefore imperative for the Administration to forget about regime change in Damascus and view Syria as a future partner rather than an adversary.  
Syria matters because it is at the heart of the Middle East and it is the key to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. In Lebanon, Syria matters because, imbedded in Lebanon’s social, economic, and political makeup, it continues to exert tremendous influence over Hizbullah. As a predominantly Sunni state, Syria matters because it can shift the dynamics of the Shiite-Sunni conflict away from a dangerous escalation with the potential of engulfing the entire region.
Moreover, in any effort ...   more »

JERUSALEM —  Syria has embarked on an "unprecedented" effort to bolster its armed forces with Iranian and Russian help, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Thursday.
Damascus has large numbers of surface-based missiles and long-range rockets, including the Scud-D, capable of reaching nearly any target in Israel, the report said, and the Syrian navy has received new Iranian anti-ship missiles.
Haaretz also said Russia was about to sell Syria thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles, despite Israeli charges that in the past Syria has transferred those missiles to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
Syrian officials did not immediately comment on the Israeli reports, but President Bashar Assad said in a television interview immediately after the fighting that Syria was preparing to defend itself.
Israeli defense officials confirmed that Syria had ordered new stocks of the anti-tank weapons after noting Hezbollah's successful use of them against Israeli armor in last summer's fighting in south Lebanon.
Syria also ordered new supplies of surface-to-sea missiles after Hezbollah used one to hit an Israeli warship, killing four crewmen, off the Lebanese coast last July, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The officials said ...   more »

By Amos Harel, Aluf Benn and Ze'ev Schiff, Haaretz Correspondents  
Responding to a Haaretz report that Syria is boosting its army and moving troops closer to its border with Israel, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Thursday that Israel should refrain from making further statements regarding Syria, and urged officials to avoid a verbal escalation of tensions.
Speaking at his weekly meeting with Defense Ministry officials, Peretz said that the situation would be assessed based on concrete information, and that the army would prepare itself as necessary.
Earlier Thursday, Israel Radio quoting Syrian parliament member Mohammed Habash as denying the Haaretz report. According to the radio, Habash told the Dubai-based Al Arabiya satellite channel that nothing has changed in terms of troop size along the border, but "Syria is fully prepared for any situation [that may develop]."
Habash warned that should "Israel decide to do something stupid, it would pay a heavy price."
Addressing the charge that Syria's military buildup is being funded by Iran, the radio quoted Habash as saying that the "cooperation between Damascus and Tehran is no secret, as both are being faced with a direct threat."
The Syrian armed forces are being strengthened in an unprecedented ...   more »