danielpipes.orgDaniel Pipes

6 readers online now | 69 million page views Writings by Topic Go to Mobile Site Home Articles Blog Reviews Spoken Books Other Languages Biographical Middle East Forum About this site Mailing List Latest Video and Audio The Death of Soleimani and Its Consequences January 7, Informale (Italy) What's Next for Trump and Iran? January 6, Ezra Levant Show, Rebel Media Predicting the Fall-out from Qasem Soleimani's Death January 4, Roy Green Show, Corus Radio (Canada) We Now Talk More Openly About Islam November 11, Centre for Independent Studies Latest on the Syria Crisis October 17, 630 KHOW Denver Erdoğan Invaded; What's Next in Syria? October 15, DanielPipes.org Hot Topics Are Arab youth turning from religion? Turks singing Mozart in Vienna Worry lots about Trump's Mideast plan More signs of a big gift coming to Pal'ns Crazed prof says Campus Watch = ISIS US official arrested for affair with MEerner State releases useless UNRWA report Follow the latest from Kastelorizo France: 87% want jihadis interned Iran's surprising ethnic composition Nezar Hindawi still in UK prison Noteworthy Subscribe to the free email list Bibliographies by Predictions by "Caught My Eye": Noteworthy quotes Special page on Muslim men, kafir women Middle East Forum websites Getting to know CAIR Follow Articles and Blog Posts by Israeli Arabs Say No to Palestine by • February 4, 2020 • Jerusalem Post The Trump administration's massively detailed " Peace to Prosperity " vision contains many specifics, some of which are currently reverberating in Israel and among the Palestinians. One of the most surprising of these deals with an area known as "the Triangle," a region of Israel bordering on the West Bank and predominantly inhabited by some 300,000 Arabs. The Trump plan "contemplates the possibility, subject to agreement of the parties, that the borders of Israel will be redrawn such that the Triangle Communities become part of the State of Palestine." In other words, no one will be evicted but Israel's border will be moved so as to exclude the Triangle, transferring it to become part of today's Palestinian Authority and (maybe) tomorrow's State of Palestine. Moving the border is hardly a new suggestion, for several Israeli prime ministers have raised it, including Ariel Sharon in February 2004, Ehud Olmert in October 2007, and Benjamin Netanyahu in January 2014. In addition, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman raised it in September 2016. Continue Reading Reservations about the Trump Peace Plan by • January 29, 2020 • Washington Times Along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all my friends are delighted with Donald Trump's plan to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I agree that, in contrast with prior presidential plans, this one has much to commend it; unlike the Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush proposals, it takes Israeli security concerns seriously. Most of all, it indicates an unprecedented and emotionally wonderful level of U.S. support for Israel. That said, I am not delighted with the plan, and for two main reasons. First, who needs it? Israel does best when it acts independently on its interests, not following the U.S. lead. All Israeli leaders since 1948 have wisely resisted plans imposed from the outside, implicitly asking, "Who assigned you to solve our problems?" But this time, the country's top two politicians dashed to Washington to endorse just such a plan. I predict that these same leaders or their successors will rue ceding such authority to Americans. Second, I worry that, like every previous and failed scheme to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Trump plan is based on giving the Palestinians hope. That sounds nice but it is profoundly counterproductive. Continue Reading Will Arab Anti-Zionism Revive? The old wall of Arab anti-Zionism has fractured, but lingering hostility against Israel could explode anew by • January 6, 2020 • Jerusalem Post It's become conventional wisdom to point out that the old wall of Arab anti-Zionism has fractured. I have done so myself . But lingering hostility against Israel could explode anew. A brief history of Arab attitudes toward the Jewish state puts this danger in context: For about 20 years, 1910-30, enmity toward Zionists was a local fracas of little interest to other Arabic speakers. Then the mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, the most toxic and influential anti-Zionist of all time, internationalized the conflict by sending out alarms about the supposed dangers to Jerusalem. Pan-Arab nationalist sentiments prompted multiple Arab states to jump militarily into the fray to eliminate the newly independent state of Israel in 1948. The shock of their defeat (the Nakba ) caused governments to fall in Egypt and Syria and turned anti-Zionism into the Middle East's most potent political emotion. Continue Reading 2019's Biggest Hits at DanielPipes.org by • January 1, 2020 As I have done previously ( 2015 , 2017 , 2018 ), here is a roundup of the most popular articles, blog posts, speeches, and interviews on my web site, DanielPipes.org , in the just-concluded year. (The statistics below concern only DanielPipes.org, not postings elsewhere.) Continue Reading Why I Am Not a Populist by • November 26, 2019 • Washington Times Populism has made great strides in the West. But it is misguided, and I greatly hope it fails. There's no standard definition for populism but it always includes some degree of denigrating the rich and powerful while praising the virtuous and innocent common folk. Populists ascribe obscene self-serving motives to the greedy, privileged, and exploitative elite. Were only the country class to mobilize, they argue, it could expel the ruling class, replace it, and claim its righteous share. Populism has left and right versions, led in the United States by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Leftists usually focus on money (Occupy Wall Street's 1%, Sanders' billionaires), while Rightists attack insider influence (the Tea Party's Swamp, Steve Bannon's Deep State). Very occasionally, they agree on a common enemy, such as Globalists. Populism need not rely on conspiracy theories, but it often does, as these neatly explain how so tiny a minority can enjoy such wealth and influence. Likewise, it need not turn to antisemitism, but the temptation permanently exists to single out Jews as rich, connected, or both. I am not a populist. I do not blame the rich or bureaucrats for our problems; rather, I blame the Left. Continue Reading America's Early Apologists for Islamism by • November 20, 2019 • Washington Times The good, the just, and the chic of the United States enjoy filling the role of Islam's patrons. The Establishment emphasizes several benign and simplistic themes : There is no clash of civilizations. Terrorism is not Islamic. Islam is compatible with American ideals. It adds to American life. Americans must learn to appreciate Islam. Whence sprang these views that blithely ignore the myriad problems associated with Islam in its relations with non-Muslims, from jihad to dhimmitude (living as second-class citizens)? Not from the remarkable 1796 U.S. document promising "no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen [Muslims]," for that assured neutrality, not favoritism. In fact, this patronage dates back to July 1979 and the founding of a now-forgotten but once-grand initiative called the "National Committee to Honor the Fourteenth Centennial of Islam" (for short, Islam Centennial Fourteen, or ICF). In celebrating the turn of the Islamic century on Nov. 21, 1979, the committee hoped to counter growing tensions with Iran's new revolutionary government. Continue Reading Erdoğan's Turkish Delight The Dangerous Reign of Ankara's Corrupt President by • November 13, 2019 • National Interest Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's rule over Turkey began in March 2003 and divides precisely into two eras. In the first half, which lasted 8 years and 4 months, he was brilliant. He oversa...