Middle East Experience

US Amb. looks back on president’s Israel policies and predicts what he may do with another four years.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Friedman to ‘Post’: ‘Trump can change Middle East for next 100 years’

The ad displayed the senator’s challenger surrounded by cash with the text ‘lower 48 liberals are flooding Alaska with millions’
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Alaskan senator accused of antisemitism after ad against Jewish rival

Yaheli Rotenberg is set to replace Roni Hizkiyahu, who announced his departure in July and whose last day was Thursday.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Blue and White blocks key appointment in Treasury

Egypt has recently condemned Turkey’s role in Syria, which prompted condemnation on the part of Ankara, fueling the already existing tensions between the two countries.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt slams Turkish role in Syria

Thousands of protesters gathered in Taiz in support of Islam and its Prophet Muhammad on Saturday, amid rising tensions between Muslims and France..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Mass rally in Yemen's Taiz over Macron's 'reckless' anti-Islam remarks

Comment: President Macron's defence of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons raises important questions around secularism and free speech in a global climate of increasing intolerance, writes Dr. Azmi Bishara..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Discussing freedom of expression, tolerance, and secularism

Israeli jets and a warship crossed into Lebanese territory in the country’s south Sunday, days after the conclusion of a large scale Israeli military drill that was supposed to simulate war with Hezbollah..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Israeli jets and warship violate Lebanese territory

Iran’s air force began an annual drill Monday, state television reported, with its aging fleet of US- and Russian-made jet fighters taking part alongside locally made drones and other aircraft.The drill will see forces from eight air bases take part over two days in exercises that include missile firing and mid-air refueling.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.This is the second drill Iran has held since a decade-long UN arms embargo on Iran that barred it from purchasing foreign weapons like tanks and fighter jets expired earlier in October.Iran reportedly is interested in purchasing new aircrafts, as it still flies US F-14 Tomcats alongside F-4s and F-5s dating back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.The embargo expired as planned under historic 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, despite objections from the United States, which unilaterally withdrew from the accord under President Donald Trump.Read more:Iran tests air defense systems days after UN arms embargo expiresAfter UN embargo expired, Iran says it will not go on an arms ‘buying spree’
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran begins annual drill with fighter jets, drones: State TV

Small business owners from Lebanon who sought new opportunities in Armenia are now finding themselves at the frontline of Armenia’s humanitarian efforts amid the ongoing war with neighboring Azerbaijan.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We’re running from place to place every day, delivering food donations to different camps and displaced families,” said Sarkis Altounyan, a Lebanese-born resident of the Armenian capital of Yerevan.He is the founder of the Lebanese Armenian Community of Armenia, an NGO that supports food donations for those displaced by the conflict.The organization currently works with seven Lebanese and Syrian restaurants in Yerevan, providing over 300 hot meals a week. “We started off as a group of five families who made donations, then we decided to reach out to the city’s Lebanese restaurants.”In addition, a group of Lebanese-Armenian doctors have volunteered on the frontline to treat the wounded, Altounyan said.Read more: Lebanese Armenians spring to action to defend Nagorno-KarabakhLooming humanitarian crisesArmenia faces a humanitarian crisis as it enters its second month of war with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.According to the latest official data, over 1,100 Armenian soldiers have been killed since the fighting began, with thousands more injured. On top of this, new cases of the coronavirus pandemic have spiked, rising from an average of 300 new cases a day before the conflict began to over 2,400 new cases on October 23.“Most of the private hospital beds in Yerevan are full from treating casualties. And we have more coming,” said Fouad Reda, a Lebanese plastic surgeon who has treated soldiers at his private clinic in Yerevan, “There are few beds left in the state hospitals.”According to the Human Rights Defender’s Office of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, which is controlled by ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, 90,000 people have been displaced from the territory after civilian settlements were shelled by Azerbaijani forces. The majority are staying in camps and disused buildings in the country’s capital, Yerevan, and nearby provinces.“Most of the children and families we are feeding have family-members on the frontline,” said Altounyan.Read more: Lebanese-born Armenian opera singer Kevork Hadjian dies on Nagorno-Karabakh frontlineSeeking stability, finding warThousands of Lebanese citizens have migrated to Armenia in recent years, fleeing economic and political instability. Most of these were of Lebanese of Armenian descent responding to Armenia’s offer of citizenship and repatriation opportunities.Others with no Armenian heritage sought new lives here after the Velvet Revolution in 2018, which saw a new government come to power promising reforms.“There were new opportunities opening up in Armenia. I’ve been here two years with my family, discovering the country,” said Joe El Khal, from the Kesrouane region in Lebanon, who runs a bakery and restaurant in Yerevan that has been making daily donations.More than a thousand Lebanese citizens moved to Armenia between 14 July and 2 September 2020, according to Armenia’s Chief Commissioner of Diaspora issues Zareh Sinanyan, as quoted by Hetq. Lebanon’s economic crisis had deepened, and Beirut was reeling from the aftermath of the August 4 blast.But others were weary of the instability, which they thought they had left behind in Lebanon. “I’m doing this to help children who have been displaced, not for any politician or political reason,” said El Khal, “I left Lebanon because of its politicians.”Read more: Lebanese Armenians commemorate genocide
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Armenia’s Lebanese repatriates support humanitarian efforts in Nagorno-Karabakh

Natalie Portman, Karlie Kloss, and Zoe Kravitz, among others, took to social media to showcase support for the Biden-Harris campaign, and encourage their followers to vote.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Most Jewish celebs back Biden