Research & Commentary Results

Unemployment is one of the major manifestations of the global economic crisis that began to plague many countries around the globe, beginning in 2007. Developing nations with weak economies and fragile political states were among the hardest hit. In Egypt, one can find PhDs driving taxies. No country can afford, either politically or economically, such well-educated traffic guides. Higher education graduate unemployment rates in Lebanon are high and are unlikely to be reduced soon.

Leila Saad and Emily Nasrallah are Lebanese women whose impact on women has been remarkable and yet not well-known. Leila has established schools on six continents while Emily is the most frequently included female author in Lebanese textbooks. In most regions, leaders in politics, business, education, and literature arise from among those who have the educational qualifications for entry positions. From there, outstanding people demonstrate the ambition, character, and knowledge to move into leadership positions.

This is the first of three volumes examining the internationalization of higher education and the Middle East. The 12 essays included in this volume explore some of the changes that are taking place and the challenges that lie ahead as Middle Eastern countries seek to build sustainable higher education systems and strengthen their economies. Within the dynamic global higher education landscape, is the Middle East a stagnant backwater or a center of creative initiative? What are, and should be the roles of foreign partners and providers?

This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed in McClatchy News, July 6, 2010.

The misuse and abuse of language is yet another obstacle to obtaining peace in the Middle East. In recent weeks the media, government officials and commentators have so garbled the use of the words “blockade” and “embargo” to describe events in Gaza that understanding what is occurring, the legal implications, and developing a reasonable policy are almost impossible.

This edition of MEI Viewpoints features essays that shed light on the relationship between artistic production and changing societal conditions and norms. Clayton Keir discusses “rap” music in Iran – its integration of Western and Persian cultural influences, politics, and popularity. Brigid Maher reflects on the making of Veiled Voices, her award-winning documentary film that profiles three female Muslim religious leaders from Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria.

Creative Arab Women is the sixth edition of the MEI Viewpoints series on the State of the Arts in the Middle East. The 14 essays in this collection offer a glimpse into the rich and varied cultural output of Arab women in the region and the diaspora. Partly reminiscences and partly calls to action, they are essays of survival and empowerment that add a deeply personal dimension to the subject of the role of Arab women as cultural producers. MEI is grateful to Dr.

The last five years of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be summed up in one word: Gaza.

Israel’s lethal raid on the flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza is part of a recurring theme that goes like this: Gaza wallows in dysfunction. Tensions steadily build. A confrontation erupts. Every major crisis between the Israelis and the Palestinians in recent years has revolved around Gaza—the overcrowded, impoverished strip of sand squeezed between Israel and the Mediterranean.

The Middle East Institute, the Foundation for Middle East Peace, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Americans for Peace Now invite you to a presentation and discussion featuring Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Executive Director, Rabbis for Human Rights-Israel. RHR-Israel works to prevent human rights violations in Israel and the Occupied Territories, and to bring human rights grievances to the attention of the Israeli public through education and advocacy.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Paul Salem, Director of Carnegie's Middle East Center in Beirut, for a talk about the domestic and regional challenges facing Lebanon. He will examine the conditions for stability and the risks of war, and will assess prospects for political reform.

Asserting its need to be secure from future terrorism launched from Gaza, Israel used force last week to maintain a blockade that has been creating a humanitarian cataclysm for the people of Gaza. In the early days following the attack on the aid flotilla, the Israeli military interpretation of events dominated much of the popular media coverage in the United States. Gradually, though, attention shifted to the incident’s negative impact on Israel’s international standing and the security implications of continued international and regional uproar.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host journalist and author Nicholas Blanford. With fears running high of a fresh war between Hezbollah and Israel, Blanford will discuss the prospects of a second encounter between these two enemies. He will examine the military developments undertaken by Hezbollah and Israel since the July 2006 conflict and analyze how the next war might be fought on the ground. Blanford will also explore the political implications of such a conflict on the region.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Hanan Mikhail Ashrawi, Member of the PLO Executive Committee and the Palestinian Legislative Council, or a discussion about Palestinian-Israeli proximity talks and other issues related to the peace process and the situation in the West Bank and Gaza.

Soccer is the most popular sport in Israel. As such, it is also a strategic research site in which to study Israeli society and its complex social and ethnic relations.

Dedicated to the memory of Israel Tzvi Raab Z”L, a true lover of the game

The long, complex encounter between the Israeli and Palestinian people has been examined in many cinematic and literary creations. In this essay, I will explore several that use football as a lens to read opposing political agendas and as a means to resolve conflict.

Basketball is a game where all five players need to share the ball. If it is played with great teamwork, the sum of the parts is greater than the individual. It’s a great forum for building trust. A lot of the game happens with things you can’t see. Communication and trust with teammates is the key. It seems to me that the same can be said of peacemaking.

–R.C. Buford, General Manager of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs[1]