For centuries, the Arabs were forced to live under the rule of different emperors. Now it´s time to change. But are the Arabs ready for it?
The Arabs’ missed Opportunity
Category: Middle East/ Levante
Latin: levare “to rise, elevate”; French: levant “East, Orient”
Escalation in Israel – a Self-Examination
The situation in Israel, as you will have noticed, is decidedly explosive at the moment. Hamas is firing rockets into Israeli territory, the Israeli Air Force is bombing homes in the Gaza Strip, and the country's Jewish-Israeli and Arab-Israeli populations are increasingly turning on each other. What really strikes me about this development is the… Continue reading Escalation in Israel – a Self-Examination
Biden’s new Challenge
Joe Biden had just completed his first hundred days in office and was generally considered to have a good and determined approach. There was no question of "Sleepy Joe", as he was often denounced under Trump. Now, however, events in the Middle East are forcing him to change his focus in the short term. Biden… Continue reading Biden’s new Challenge
Escalation in Israel
New reports from Israel reach us almost hourly. What started as a series of protests and street fights in East Jerusalem has now escalated into a full-blown crisis, with Hamas firing rockets from the Gaza Strip all the way to Tel Aviv and the Israeli Air Force attacking their buildings in return. The current spiral… Continue reading Escalation in Israel
Egypt and Turkey 2: A new Hope
Erdogan finds himself in a difficult position at the moment. His plan to assume a more important role in the politics of the Arab world as the new leader of the Sunni Muslims has failed for the time being. He is also in direct competition with the Saudi royal family, which claims this role for… Continue reading Egypt and Turkey 2: A new Hope
Egypt and Turkey 1: A difficult Relationship
Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been decidedly poor over the past decade. Ideological and geostrategic disputes determined the behaviour of the two regional powers, and there had been no signs of rapprochement for a long time. Now, however, the political environment has changed and the similarity of their interests outweighs their differences. The relationship… Continue reading Egypt and Turkey 1: A difficult Relationship
Riots in Jerusalem
Towards the end of Ramadan, there have been repeated riots in East Jerusalem in recent days. In addition to local failures on the part of the authorities, longer-term and more extensive developments have also contributed to the current escalation. First of all, the fundamental political constellations naturally stand in the way of peaceful coexistence between… Continue reading Riots in Jerusalem
A Harbour as a Toy
Eight months have passing since the devastating explosion destroyed the harbour and hole streets of Beirut. Now there are more and more signs of a plan for a new facility, and different actors proved their interest. Thereby the harbour still lay in an excellent position. Before the explosion, it was one of the biggest in… Continue reading A Harbour as a Toy
Turkey and EU (2)
Rarely has an „äh“ caused that much of attention. And the fact that this had to do with a chair and a sofa, makes that affair even more bizarre. Despide her wondering concerning the turkish interpretation of the diplomatic protocol, Ursula von der Leyen gave an eloquent description of todays relation between Turkey and the… Continue reading Turkey and EU (2)
Turkey and EU
Close relations between the Republic of Turkey and the European Union have existed for a long time. After the Ottoman Sultanate was transformed into the modern, westward-oriented Turkish Republic under Kemal Atatürk in the 1920s, there have been frequent phases of rapprochement between the country and Western Europe. In 1963, the so-called Ankara Agreement was… Continue reading Turkey and EU
Simon Dierich 