From the vantage points of Amman and Damascus in the 1970s and 1980s, Patrick Theros heard the sharp political opinions deeply felt about the United States and the profound anger voiced by Arafat, Jordan's King Hussein and Syria's President Assad for each other.
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Arjeh Tartakower, 1921-1922: “The Land Question and Land Politics in Palestine”
Writing early in the British administration of Palestine, sociologist Arjeh Tartakower assesses the inflationary effects of immigrant land purchases and the failure of absentee Arab landlords to provide any benefits or protection to tenant farmers.
“Zionism an Affirmation for Judaism,” 1942
From the end of World War I until the June 1967 war, American Jewish attitudes toward Zionism moved from lukewarm embrace to full-throated support. The debate of American rabbis in the 1940s exemplified by this letter reflects attitudinal differences. The Holocaust, Israeli statehood and Israel’s stunning military success in June 1967 established Israel as a valued element in American Jewish identities.
Michael Eisenstadt: Hamas-Israel War With Comments on U.S.-Israel-Iran War
Washington Institute Senior Fellow Michael Eisenstadt speaks about the regional effects of the 2023-2025 Hamas-Israel war and the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran war in March 2026.
President Trump’s Address to Nation on War With Iran, April 2026
President Trump’s speech a month into the war makes the case for Iran as a longtime U.S. enemy and argues that the war has largely succeeded and will soon be over.
#157 Contemporary Readings March 2026
Maya Rezak and Ken Stein, March 31, 2026 Videos and Multimedia Phillip Brown, “Middle East Oil,” Congressional Research Service, March 3, 2026. Yonit Levi, Nadim Koteich, Amer Al Sabaileh and Robert Satloff, “How Middle East…
Strait of Hormuz: A Struggle to Determine Iran’s Strength Tomorrow
Iran’s move to assert sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz has short- and long-term implications for the Islamic regime and the world economy.
Golda Meir’s U.N. Statement on Israeli Withdrawal From Sinai and Gaza, March 1957
Golda Meir tells the U.N. General Assembly that Israel will comply with demands that it withdraw to the 1949 armistice lines with Egypt, but it expects U.N. support to keep the Straits of Tiran open.
Map of Middle East Oil Production, DistributionCIE+
The Congressional Research Service shows where Middle Eastern oil is produced, refined, and shipped or piped.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 2817, 2026: Condemning Iran’s Attacks on Arab StatesCIE+
The U.N. Security Council, on a 13-0 vote with two abstentions and with 135 co-sponsors from U.N. member states, enacts a resolution condemning Iran’s airstrikes on Arab states and its threat to the Strait of Hormuz.
