Author Archives: Heather


U.S. headed for showdown with Iran? This commentator has another theory

December 30, 2011 – 7:51 pm

On Wednesday, Iran’s navy chief said that the Islamic Republic could close the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping channel vital to transporting one third of the world’s crude oil, adding that doing so would be “very easy” for his country’s forces. Including Mohamed Reza Rahimi’s threat on Tuesday to close the Strait if the West […]

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Alusi says, U.S.: “Don’t be the power to help Tariq al-Hashemi; speaks of precarious times for middle east Christians

December 25, 2011 – 9:10 pm

In the aftermath of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq and with upheaval in middle eastern nations from Egypt to Syria, Christians are more vulnerable than they have been for decades.
This Christmas Day I spoke with my source in Iraq, former Iraqi Parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi, who described the situation as U.S. troops leave that country […]

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My meeting with Newt; other impressions from the RJC candidates’ forum and last debate

December 22, 2011 – 3:02 pm

Covering the Republican Jewish Coalition’s candidates’ forum a couple weeks back, I had the (brief) opportunity to meet Newt Gingrich (pictured above with his wife Callista, South Dakota Senator Dan Lederman, and yours truly). I also got to meet Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum. Since the gathering was off-the-record, I can’t divulge what […]

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Sharansky calls for support for reformers; Alusi cautions U.S. troop withdrawal a blow to human rights in Iraq; Havel, champion of democracy, dies

December 18, 2011 – 11:53 pm

The Washington Post just ran this thought-provoking piece on the Arab Spring by former Soviet dissident refusenik and Israeli Parliamentarian Natan Sharansky. As I wrote last spring, Recent upheavals across the mideast from Egypt to Tunisia to Syria can be viewed through the prism of Sharansky’s ideas on democracy and even as validation of them. […]

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Newt spoke some truth - and blindsided the rest

December 12, 2011 – 7:09 pm

One additional thought about Newt Gingrich’s citing, during the Republican candidates’ debate Saturday, facts regarding Palestinians’ historical identity and U.S. funding of hate education in the Palestinian territories. It seems Newt understands the propaganda war that has been waged against Israel and feels it’s moral to speak the truth. He is also shrewd. His choice […]

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Syrian-American observer predicts Assad’s ouster and voices concern for human rights

December 11, 2011 – 3:36 pm

From Jewish World Review
by HEATHER ROBINSON

In the wake of the Arab League’s decision to impose a battery of sanctions against the Syrian regime, I sat down with Ahmad (name has been changed for security reasons), a 37-year-old restaurateur who grew up in Syria and returns frequently to visit family there. Ahmad and I last spoke […]

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One man with courage is a majority

December 11, 2011 – 3:07 am

Saturday evening Newt Gingrich spoke some truth about the middle east that very few people–even including Jews–have had the courage to say or write in recent decades.

He may have done so imperfectly, using words that are not politically correct or ultra-sensitive to the Palestinians, who are treated by […]

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Romney at the RJC proposes Rudy Giuliani as potential attorney general; Gingrich floats strange idea about kids cleaning schools

December 8, 2011 – 12:45 am

Today I was fortunate to attend the Republican Jewish Coalition’s candidates’ forum in Washington D.C. and to meet several of the candidates, including Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum. More to come, but I want first to get down the essence of Romney’s comments.
Romney drew a clear contrast between his vision for America and […]

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Greetings from Republican Jewish Coalition’s candidates’ forum in DC

December 6, 2011 – 11:35 pm

This week I’m reporting from Washington D.C. where the Republican Jewish Coalition is hosting its candidates’ forum Wednesday December 7. Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, John Huntsman, and Rick Santorum will all be here.
A few thoughts: although this commentator will attend and listen with an open mind, it seems to me that […]

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Syrian-American says younger generation ready for change

November 28, 2011 – 7:48 pm

Last Sunday the Arab League imposed a battery of sanctions against the Syrian regime. Two weeks ago, the Arab League suspended Syria from its ranks—the first such suspension of a member nation since the League suspended Egypt after Anwar Sadat signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.
Viewed by some as a sign that Syrian […]

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