By Yael Steinberg

Special guest Speakers Gladys Amaning and Janette Hirschman visited University of California Irvine and “Teachers for Tomorrow, ” on the California tour of the film Kumasi Haifa.

By: Elliot Malin

Elliot Malin is a Hasbara Fellow, from the class of winter 2011.  He was recently elected Vice President of the Associated Students at the University of Nevada, Reno.

By: Abram Shanedling

This week, the major news from the Middle East peace talks is the expiration of the Israeli government’s 10-month, self-imposed ban on settlement construction in the West Bank. Many worry this could bring the past month of negotiations to an end, as the Palestinians are threatening to quit the direct talks over the Israeli government's decision not to extend the freeze.

However, if historical context is any indication, and regardless if one agrees or not with settlements, the real issue is Palestinian intransigence and the use of settlements merely as an excuse not to compromise.

By: Alan Levine

Next week, world leaders will gather in New York for the UN General Assembly.  Unfair criticism of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations promise to make headlines during the meetings.  But they will only be distracting from the most important Middle Eastern storyline at the meetings; the visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.   He has regularly attended the UN summit in September since his election in 2005 and is scheduled to speak on Thursday.