This article, written by Oded Yaron, appeared on Haaretz on March 18,2012 An online call for peace initiated by an Israeli couple has managed to achieve the support of 1,000 Israelis and Iranians. And it all began with two posters.

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‘Israel Loves Iran’ Initiative Takes Off on Facebook

Rock star Lou Reed, who turned 70 Friday, gave Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper a long and candid interview on everything from Amy Winehouse (“She didn't have a prayer, all that attention”) to Obama (“What happened to our guy?”), Iran, and Syria. “Who knows what’s going on with Iran? Are we going to send the Israelis in there or not? Are we the world’s policemen? Do they have the right to have their own nuclear setup? Who are we to say no?” Reed said. “The fact that they are crazy and fucked up and probably think it’s great to blow the world up: greater minds than mine are supposed to figure this out. But what the fuck is going on in Syria? Why can’t this guy [President Bashar al-Assad] just go? You got an extra million dollars, what do you care? Just take your trophy wife and go.”

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Lou Reed on Winehouse, Iran & More

Several thousand Israelis have demonstrated in the town of Beit Shemesh against the behaviour of ultra-orthodox Jews, who want to enforce segregation between men and women.

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VIDEO: Thousand protests over segregation call

T o the catalogue of missed opportunities for peace in the Middle East, we can add a tantalizing if also depressing chapter: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s secret offer in 2008 to create a Palestinian state that would feature international control of holy sites in a divided Jerusalem — a concession many Israelis have said was impossible. Read full article > >

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The Mideast deal that could have been

JERUSALEM — Israel on Sunday released the names of 477 prisoners it intends to swap Tuesday in exchange for a soldier abducted by the militant group Hamas, while some Israelis opposed to the deal asked the Supreme Court to intervene. News of the imminent swap, which includes the release of more than 1,000 prisoners in two phases, elated Israelis who have followed the plight of Staff. Sgt. Gilad Shalit as their own. But it also has reopened old wounds for Israelis who have lost loved ones in attacks and reignited the debate over whether Israel should negotiate in cases of kidnapped citizens. Read full article > >

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Gilad Shalit release: Israeli terror victims’ families seek to halt prisoner swap

NEW YORK — Speaking before the U.N. General Assembly last year, President Obama urged those who support a two-state solution to the long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians to “reach for what’s best within ourselves.” “If we do,” he said, “when we come back next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations — an independent, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel.” Read full article > >

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Palestinian statehood resolution presents Obama with vexing diplomatic challenge

A Palestinian man has wounded seven Israelis near a Tel Aviv nightclub, ramming a car into a police checkpoint and stabbing five people, police say.

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Seven wounded in Tel Aviv attack

Former vice president Richard B. Cheney provides an unapologetic defense of the George W. Bush administration in his memoir to be released next week, including explanations of his own decisions on contested national security and domestic policies that often come at the expense of former Cabinet members and colleagues. Those include the justification to invade Iraq in 2003, a judgment he blames on CIA failures, and the lack of support for his urging that the United States strike a Syrian nuclear reactor site in 2007. Israel ended up doing so despite recommendations from then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that it “choose the path of diplomacy,” which Cheney correctly predicted the Israelis would reject. Read full article > >

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In memoir, Cheney defends decisions, Bush as president

Chiding both the Palestinians and Israelis for contributing to what he called an ‘unsustainable’ status quo, PResident Obama argues that the basis for new peace talks is clear: ‘a viable Palestine, and a secure Israel.’ Read full article > >

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Obama calls for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations based on 1967 borders

US President Barack Obama says it is “more vital than ever” for Israelis and Palestinians to restart peace talks, following a meeting with Jordan’s king.

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Obama: Middle East talks ‘vital’

PALMACHIM AIR FORCE BASE, Israel — Israel might be the Middle East’s predominant military power, but recent wars have exposed an Achilles’ heel: the vulnerability of its population centers to missile attacks. In a 2006 campaign against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and again during an offensive in late 2008 and early 2009 against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, Israeli cities within range were pounded by rockets, testing the resilience of ordinary Israelis and their support for the war efforts. Read full article > >

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Israel shows off missile defense against Palestinian rockets

Conflict in Gaza between Israelis and Palestinians has been brewing since the end of March, leading to the most violence the area has seen since the end of the Gaza war in 2009. But it appears that both Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease fire to…

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Hamas, Israel Agree to Cease Fire

A group of prominent Israelis is proposing a new plan to break the deadlock in peace talks with the Palestinians.

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Prominent Israelis in peace bid

JERUSALEM — Israel warned its citizens in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula to evacuate immediately Saturday, hours after launching an airstrike that killed three Hamas militants accused of planning to abduct Israelis over the upcoming Jewish festival of Passover.

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After airstrike kills 3 militants, Israel cites kidnap threat, tells citizens to leave Sinai

JERUSALEM — Israel warned its citizens in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula to evacuate immediately Saturday, hours after launching an airstrike that killed three Hamas militants accused of planning to abduct Israelis over the upcoming Jewish festival of Passover.

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After airstrike kills 3 militants, Israel cites kidnap threat, tells citizens to leave Sinai