Despite Turkey’s efforts, and all the reports to the contrary, I feel that there is little hope for Israeli Syrian peace, because both Syria and Israel are doing relatively well in today’s global market. Syria is thriving instead of withering under US pressure, and Israel is exploiting the entire security fear market. Bush and Cheney […]

After months of rumours it has been announced that Syria and Israel are engaged in formal peace talks under Turkish auspices. In theory it shouldn’t be difficult for the negotiations to come to a positive conclusion. After all, in 2000 Hafez al-Assad and Ehud Barak came remarkably close to an agreement in which the Golan […]

Just as Olmert has become popular in Israel as the smell of Limburger cheese forgotten in a drawer for 6 months, the new peace process with Syria emerges. No wonder most Israelis view it as just additional Olmert spin aimed at trying to postpone the inevitable, early elections in Israel. If the Barak led Labor […]

Like all other matters in life, I take these peace negotiations as they come. At my age, and as related to the Arab-Israeli conflict my position is plainly understandable. I can’t build my future on false hopes nor can I dwell in the abyss of despair. I have lived through 2 wars which were partially […]

“Opssimistic”, the quote from Israel’s Chief intelligence officer (in last week’s Haaretz weekend edition), accurately describes my feelings regarding the prospects of peace between Syria and Israel. On the (op)timistic side, the peace prize seems so lucrative, that even “our” politicians (on both sides of the Golan Border) who failed to deliver peace thus far, […]

On Wednesday, May 21st, 2008, the ground shook in the Middle East. Two separate and significant conflicts suddenly and simultaneously headed in the right direction – that of peace. The warring Lebanese factions meeting in Doha at last reached an agreement, after 18 months of great tension, and Israel and Syria announced the restart of […]

The recent developments in indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel are a direct result of the failure of the Bush/Neo-Con Doctrine in the Middle East. The Syrian position has been clear and consistent throughout; namely that they have adopted peace as a strategic choice and that the Golan will be returned to Syria one way […]

It was a great week for many of us in Israel. Probably not enough to make the majority yet, but I guess 2-3 million Israelis are happy about the resumption of talks with Syria. I hope and pray that our leadership and our officials will be wise enough, patient enough and courageous enough to break […]

Unlike the peace treaty with Egypt, a state that does not lie in the Levant, or peace with Jordan, an artificial entity that is still shaping its identity between the Levant and the Arabic Peninsula, peace with Syria will present unique challenges and opportunities for Syrians and Israelis alike. I will try to enumerate some […]

Am I optimistic about the prospects of a Syrian-Israeli peace deal? How can I afford not to be? A state of perpetual war is not a sustainable alternative. For much too long Syria was in a state of suspended animation as a disproportionate amount of energy and resources were spent in battling external threats. The […]

While things are off to a promising start, I do not believe that Syria and Israel will achieve a meaningful peace settlement anytime in the near future. Such a settlement would require several different far-flung stars to align, and the current regional conditions will almost surely mitigate against a development of such magnitude, which would […]

Unfortunately, I am a firm believer that the Israeli governments’ strategic policy has been and continues to be one of maintaining controllable conflict in the region. Because they feel that if peace and prosperity should ever reign across the region for a long period of time. Israel would lose its primary justification in requesting US […]

My modest contribution to the new subject of contention on Creative Syria will take a different form than that of the analytical and the scholarly.\n\nSyriacomment forum has imparted its Syrian readers with the chance to converse with few of their Israelis counterparts. Everyday there are interesting discussions taking place. The dominating subject? You guessed that […]