Israel thought that it will be easy to convince Russia not to give Syria any S300 missiles that make it impossible for the Israeli air force to enter the Syrian skies and in the future the Lebanese too. The Russian campaign started with a statement made by the foreign minister stating that Russia will not cancel its deal of the S300 missiles to Syria. In addition, war ships started to move towards Syria and a clear warning was sent by a statement made by President Putin that Russia will not accept any armed attacked against Syria from the outside.

Iran, Syria and Hezbollah are planning carefully their next steps in which no military reaction was made by the Syrian regime while several movements were noticed in the Golan occupied heights that Israel is worried of. Since the seventies, Israel moved no tanks into the Jabal Sheikh until a couple of days ago when several missiles fell on the top of the mountain. The plan seems to be to give the green light to Hezbollah to start its operations and activities through the Syrian borders with Israel that were silent for the last forty years. At the same time, Hezbollah continues to maintain more and more developed missiles that would not make it easy for Israel to start an air attack against Lebanese targets.

The Russian support for Syria makes it more complicated for the U.S and the west to authorize any future attacks against Syria easily. The possibility of rapid developments in the region would make the west reconsider every step before making it. However, this does not mean that soon the U.S or Israel will have to make a decision regarding their plans towards Iran’s nuclear projects. Any former plan that included the involvement of Israel alone in an air attack against Iranian targets is out of discussion now; the reason is the failure in removing Al-Assad’s regime and the continuous arming of Hezbollah and Syria with missiles that can reach specific targets through most of the north of Israel. This means that other powers such as turkey, the U.S forces in the region and other countries will have to be a part of any possible armed campaign against Syria. Turkey does not seem to be giving its final agreement to be part of any attack but the at same time continues to give calming signs to the U.S that it is an ally of the latter and its allies in the region.

By the end of 2013 it will be hard to predict what will be happening but this summer seems to be a very hot one in which any sudden event would make a rapid development in the situation.

The post Russia is moving: Twelve war ships were sent to Syria appeared first on Middle East Post.

In Jerusalem several demonstrations were held and despite the fact that the hundreds of Palestinians were demonstrating peacefully, the Israeli occupation police and army attacked the demonstrators and arrested tens of Palestinians. Several were also injured and taken to hospitals for treatment.

A few days ago Israel was celebrating the union of Jerusalem and trying to prove it by sending thousands of extreme young Israelis filled with hate to dance and shout hate statements against Arabs and Muslims in Jerusalem. Today, the hundreds of Palestinians who went into the streets proved again that Jerusalem is not the united capital of Israel and that the Palestinian identity of the city can never be erased. Even though tens of years passed, the Palestinians old and young generations continue to demonstrate calling for the rights of the Palestinian people according to the UN former resolutions and the International law that protects the right of return for the Palestinian refugees and calls for the end of the Israeli occupation of the Arab lands that were invaded by Israel on 1967.

In Jerusalem where I was walking in one of the demonstrations I saw the hate filling the eyes of the Israeli policemen who were surprised that even though Israel is trying to Judaize the city since more than forty years, the two hundred fifty thousand Palestinians are still loyal to it and their Palestinian identity. The Israeli occupation police started hunting down the young Palestinians who were shouting “Freedom, Freedom”. They attacked the Palestinians old and young with tear gas, horses and beating trying to prove by force that there aren’t Palestinians in the city. Any grouping of Palestinians in the city of Jerusalem is considered a threat by Israel because it shows that the city’s identity is Palestinian. In order to fight this fact, Israel is ready to arrest anyone who speaks about the Palestinian cause and prevents any activity that is Palestinian or Arab by its nature. Not surprisingly, Israel also sends Palestinians to jail if they celebrate their identity in the city by accusing them of taking part in an activity that is supported by the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

It is foolish to believe in something and try to apply it by force when nature refuses its existence and continues to reject it every time it is applied by force. Jerusalem and the Palestinian lands are Palestinian because reality shows that clearly. The Israeli occupation that is lasting since many years failed in changing the identity of the land and the Palestinians are still loyal to it despite the fact that they faced ethnic cleansing and are living under apartheid until today. Sixty Five years passed and Palestinians are still expelled and living in very bad conditions in camps prevented from returning to their homes only because they are Palestinians and Arabs. This reality embarrasses the international community and those who claim to be democratic countries because it shows a double standard policy when talking about human rights and democracy when it comes to Palestinians.

The post Palestinians mark the “Nakba” 65 appeared first on Middle East Post.

While thinking about the source of our data that determines what we need and we don’t need, I could not find a real reason that defines what is necessary and what is not. What is the meaning of winning? How do we know that we are achieving something? How can we be sure that what we re doing what we really need to be who we are or to survive. It all comes from our basic instinct to survive and make sure that we are safe but usually this data base is affected by the events we go through and long complicated argument that we create for ourselves by dividing the one who we are into two; soul and body.

We usually believe that we are souls living in our bodies and this belief starts a kind of conflict between the soul that we clamed and the body that is containing it. The first conflict of all conflicts is the one that we enter ourselves through by trying to get the soul freed out of the space of our body. Once this conflict starts, we lose half of our ability and power to deal with our challenges because we lose the unity that we need for ourselves while making decisions and going through challenges. Following that the division starts taking place in everything our us; what the body needs, what the souls needs, what the soul is ready to do for the sake of the body and how the soul accepts the changes or outcomes that the body abilities can bring.

Best way of dealing with this challenge is by going back to the unity that we come from. Once we found unity, we find it easier to face what we face and to determine what we want. The body and soul or whatever energizers it are one and not two. There isn’t a soul without a body and there isn’t an importance for the body without what keeps it functioning. Once we discover the unity we have within ourselves, we will find out that there is no conflict within us but on the contrary the one who is us can face in an easier way the challenges that would be on the way to achievements. Following unity comes the question of the need; there is nothing that we need and at the same time causes us pain, suffering or lack of satisfaction. The aim we put for ourselves decides the needs to accomplish it and therefore finding our real aims and goals while being united makes us understand the meaning of needs.

The post Lessons In Leadership – I need or I don’t need appeared first on Middle East Post.

Specifically designed for Pad and Android tablet devices, the Tharawat magazine App provides the user with an immersive experience by layering its news, stories, and interviews with rich audio and video content.

Building on Tharawat magazine’s proven history of delivering premium material on regional and international family business topics, the App will feature digital editions of the magazine that were engineered specifically to enhance the tablet reading experience through the addition of pop-up references, videos and infographics, and other interactive features.

“We realise how valuable it is to offer additional touch points to build an interactive relationship with our readers and target” says Ramia El Agamy, Editor-in-Chief of Tharawat magazine. “Through its design, rich media content, speed of functionality, and customisation capabilities, the Tharawat magazine App delivers a premium user experience according to the high quality standards that we have always set for our niche brand.”

She adds ‘‘Together with the team at Mag+, we designed our App to take full advantage of the tablet’s rich display features so the reader gets the most interactive experience on their device.’’

The Tharawat Family Business Forum, an education-based membership platform for Arab family businesses and founding partner of Tharawat magazine, has expressed enthusiasm regarding this development through General Manager Farida El Agamy: “Our members have always been loyal subscribers and readers of the magazine and they are eagerly awaiting the digital experience.”

The Tharawat magazine App is free to download, and includes access to one free digital issue. The free issue includes all the interactive media features that users can expect from all future issues, and is the ideal way for users to experience what the app has to offer. Users will have the option of a one-year subscription or a pay per issue plan starting with the latest edition of Tharawat magazine.

About Tharawat magazine

Tharawat magazine is an international business publication that focuses on family-owned companies around the world. Its content is composed of family business interviews, profiles, and best-practice articles. Tharawat magazine is distributed internationally and has a large subscriber base of family business executives and owners. Founded in 2008 by Dr. Hischam El Agamy, Founder and Publisher of Tharawat Media FZ-LLC, Tharawat magazine is the only family business magazine in the Middle East and one out of three worldwide to focus on this niche.

About Mag+:

Mag+ is a complete digital-publishing ecosystem comprised of a plug-in for InDesign CS4-CS6, a powerful web-based backend, and white-labeled reader apps for iOS, Android and Kindle devices. It gives users the fastest, simplest publishing platform to create content optimized for mobile devices, without the need for programming skills. Mag+ premiered on the first iPad in April 2010 with the award-winning Popular Science+. Publishers and creatives have now built close to 1000 apps, spanning British Journal of Photography, Mad Magazine, Toyota, WebMD, Marie Claire Maison, Shape and IDG.

Mag+ also offers consultancy and creative services via Mag+ Studios. For those who wish to create bespoke apps, the Mag+ App SDK allows any developer access to the Mag+ reader engine.

From publishers to catalog marketers, design agencies and app developers, Mag+ is ideal for anyone wanting to bring beautiful, immersive content to the millions using the new generation of digital devices.

To learn more about the Tharawat Family Business Forum

Tharawat Family Business Forum

Media Contact: Ms. Nadine Wells

PO Box 502589

Dubai

info@tharawat.org

media@tharawat.org

The post Tharawat magazine, the Arabian publication for family businesses launches tablet application in UAE stores appeared first on Middle East Post.

The Syrian leadership stated that the Israeli attack is a declaration of war between both countries, while other Syrian officials stated that Syria would respond to the Israeli attacks. Al-Mayadeen, a satellite TV channel close to Hezbollah and Syria stated that both sides agreed to respond to the Israeli attacks in the next days. Everything changed as if no silence was on the borders between Israel and Syria in the last forty years. Expecting a confrontation between Syria and Israel is different in its kind since they are both countries. The Israeli observance of the Syrian street reaction didn’t bring the expected satisfaction for Israel; most of the Syrians condemned the Israeli attacks and many Arabs felt that again an Arab country is being attacked by Israel while the International community forgets everything that is related to what the International law says when talking about hegemony and independence.

Some thought that the Israeli attacks would be justified because of the Syrian civil war in which Israel would look like a supporter of the revolutionaries in Syria. However, the picture is completely different; Israel is still seen as the enemy that gets itself involved in the Arab matters only for one matter which is to make anything needed to maintain Israel’s security and keep its “Deterrence power”.

The Israeli attack on Syria has nothing to do with the Syrian civil war or any kind of missiles, which Israel claimed that Syria is sending to Hezbollah. The Israeli attack on Syria sends a message on a higher international level that Israel and the U.S do not see in Syria a challenging enemy and that both would do anything to earn the strategic importance of Syria in the region. This message takes Moscow, Damascus, Lebanon and Iran into one of the most important exams of their alliance. This exam is completely different from the one that the Soviet Union had to go through with the Arab allies in the sixties and ended with a failure. It is different because it comes after the cold war in a time where economy, military strategies and situation of the Middle East are completely different.

Any decision to react to the Israeli attack would not come from Damascus but would definitely include an agreement from Moscow and Tehran. Making such a decision is not easy because the Israeli attack was made to push President Al-Asad into reacting in order to get the needed reason to start a wide operation against what is left from his army. In addition Syria’s allies; Moscow and China would prefer political reaction including a harsh condemning of the Israeli attack rather than giving the needed agreement for Al-Asad to make an action that would start a regional conflict. Israel knows this very well but what keeps it worried is not the main powers that play according to the International norms and expectations; it is worried because of the possible war by proxy that Syria would start through Hezbollah and the Palestinian movements that are loyal to the Syrian regime.

These movements aren’t countries and are known for fighting as combatants far away from any direct confrontation. This means a situation of chaos on all the Lebanese and Syrian borders with Israel while keeping in mind the possibility of attacking Israeli targets worldwide. It is true that Syria cannot react directly but it is highly expected that minor allies of the Syrian regime would launch a wide campaign of attacks because of the last Israeli attack.

The post Israeli attack on Syria: A change in the status quo since more than forty years? appeared first on Middle East Post.

The MENA economies, for instance, bring mixed economic forecasts. According to an IMF report, growth is expected to slow down to 3.25% in 2013, in oil-exporting MENA countries. However, this is following titanic growth of almost 5.7% in 2012.

Meanwhile, the IMF offers a more positive outlook for the oil-importing ones. In 2012, growth in the MENA region growth never really hit its stride at 1.9% for the year, but the IMF has forecast a more encouraging 2.7% for 2013.

These growth forecasts paint a promising picture for businesses that want to conduct international trade with the MENA region. And when it comes to banking to support these operations, these businesses can turn to international banks like HSBC, who offer useful business banking services.

How does these forecasts compare with ones for the US?

Economically, 2013 looks like will US citizens will have something to believe in again, with 3% growth forecast for 2013. Despite Social Security tax increases and the much-feared fiscal cliff, consumer spending has increased in the US.

White House economists have, however, pointed out that this could deteriorate over the next 10 years as the population ages. Other factors that will affect this trend are advances in technology, changes in income and wealth, and also in the numbers of people in households.

Homes Sweet Homes?

Tumbling to an all-time low in 2012, the price of housing in the US is back on the up. Experts in the private sector believe it will rise between 3 and 3.5% each year. Significant, too, is the fact that house prices are almost level with rental prices again, no longer forcing house hunters to rent or buy simply because one is cheaper than the other.

Out in the MENA region, house prices are also rising as the real estate sector booms again. One problem that experts have drawn attention to, though, is the lack of affordable housing. High expat populations have encouraged developers to build high-end, luxury housing, catering for classes rather than the masses.

Not business as usual

The US job market brings mixed tidings. Unemployment is falling — great. However, less people are also starting up their own business, which suggests that people prefer the stability of having an employer. Young people, who have witnessed the highest unemployment rates both during and after the recession, are part of this trend.

Just like in the US, youth unemployment has been highlighted as a problem in the MENA region. Although unemployment in general is on the rise, statistics differ greatly as, according to the International Labor Organization, unemployment rates are lower in oil-producing countries.

And the Obama effect?

Opinion is divided on the effects of Obama’s presidency. Many have criticized him for presenting late budgets and raising taxes. Someone even tried to send him a poison-laced letter. But with unemployment falling and real estate recovering, things are looking up. Obama’s presidency has brought hope to many, but hope alone hasn’t led to these improvements. People must remember that as the economy picks up again.

If you’d like some advice on doing international trade with a MENA you can visit the US Chamber of Commerce website for information.

This post was written by Muin Almasi, a UAE-based financial journalist and expert who specializes in the economies of the Middle East. He is married and has two sons.

The post A Question of Growth – by Muin Almasi, a UAE-based financial journalist and expert appeared first on Middle East Post.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was invited to a late comedy show called “Eretz Nehderet” (An amazing country” that is broadcasted on Israeli channel two. Netanyahu was asked whether he would sign an agreement with the Palestinians if the latter would surrender their right in Jerusalem, the refugees and accept all of Israel’s conditions when talking about borders and all the final cases. Netanyahu answered: “We will wait another four years and see.” Such an answer describes the real situation that we are living today when talk about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. The Israeli current leadership as the one before it is not interested in reaching any kind of a final agreement but on the contrary wants to let another four years pass without any commitment or compromise. Netanyahu wants to direct the conflict and does not want to be remembered as someone who signed a peace agreement with Arabs. Netanyahu was asked at the same show about what kind of leader he wants the Israelis to remember him in the future – he answered he wants to be remembered as the protector of Israel’s security; something that is far away from the reality of what Netanyahu’s policies are doing for Israel.

Secretary of state John Kerry made a statement saying that we only have another two years to apply the two states solution but no one seemed to be listening to him from Israel. No one is aware of the new reality that Israel will have to face while the number of its settlers is reaching more than 600 thousand settlers in the West Bank and its officials such as Miri Regev are calling to divide the Aqsa mosque between Jews and Muslims. Such current facts lead us directly into destruction and far away from a future filled with security and social justice.

It is true that Israel has been established now for sixty five years but every Israeli must evaluate the situation of the values of this state, its occupation of the Palestinian lands and the way minorities are treated to consider whether to make a celebration or to learn from the past lessons. Until today the state of Israel has no clear borders because of the desire of many of its current leaders to keep the Palestinian lands attached as occupied lands. At the same time these leaders claim that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East while in reality it is the last occupying force in history and the most isolated country in the region because of the lack an agreement between it and the Arab world.

It is true that today it is possible to celebrate independence while ignoring the reality that Israel is living and the way it is acting in order to assure its sustainability but it is wrong to say that this strategy is good for the future of Israel and its future generations since denial would not bring a solution that prevents a Palestinian people of millions that is calling too for its independence and right to live in peace and security.

The post Sixty Five years of occupation – Israel and Occupied Palestine appeared first on Middle East Post.

It was clear that President Obama was trying to send a message to the Israelis; he was trying to gain their trust while also trying to explain the importance of ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands. The Israeli media and public opinion was only interested in the President statements that assured the unbreakable alliance between the U.S and Israel and almost did not care for the issue of ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands. While the President was making his speech, one of the current Israeli rightist ministers, Benet said clearly that he would withdraw from the government if it considers recognition of a Palestinian state only a few kilo meters from Israel.

An amazing seven minutes video spread through the internet and gives a perfect explanation of what the visit would mean. The video is a part of John Stewart show in which the latter shows several statements made by several American presidents who talked about the right of the Palestinian people in having a state of their own but failed in achieving such a thing with the Israeli side. John says simply that the U.S is powerless when it is related to the Palestinian state. This describes the way most of the Palestinians look at the U.S nowadays. The U.S leadership always assured Israel to be backed up and to protect its security while only preaching in words the right of the Palestinians to live in a state of their own. No one dared to make any kind of pressure on Israel to move towards such a thing and those who tried were immediately attacked and challenged to change their position.

President Obama talked about the achievements of the Palestinian people that show how far the Palestinians applied the demands of the Quartet and the road map and he even described the Palestinian peaceful resistance as a moral resistance. Most of this was not heard by the Israeli leadership and unfortunately the majority of the Israeli people who were interested more in hearing about the time of the attack on Iran or how Israel should get involved in the Syrian conflict. President Obama sent John Kerry the new secretary of state to start a six months process of trying to bring both sides into a new understanding. The Palestinian leadership continues to demand for recognition of the Palestinian state that was recognized by more than one hundred thirty countries on the 1967 borders while most of the parties that form the current Israeli government refuse such a solution and prefer to direct the conflict.

Today is marked as the land day by the Palestinian people and one of the interesting pieces of information that I read says that today about 11.8 million men and women live on the historical land of Palestine. The Jewish population is about 51% of the whole population while the Palestinians are 49%. The Palestinians are obliged to live on only 15% of the land which means that every individual Palestinian lives in less than the quarter of the space that is given for the Israeli individual. Such a reality with similar conditions when talking about the way Palestinians are treated while trying move through the West Bank or live in Gaza and Jerusalem shows what kind of apartheid is being applied in the holy land. Such a situation shows the dangers that the future holds for this land if the Palestinians will be denied to live in their own state.

The post President Obama’s visit from a Palestinian point of view: an achievement or a repetition of the past statements? appeared first on Middle East Post.