Although much is heard about the plight of the Palestinian refugees from the aftermath of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence and the 1967 Six Day War, little is said about the hundreds of thousands of Jews who were forced to flee from Arab states before and after the creation of Israel. In fact, these refugees were largely forgotten because they were assimilated into their new homes, most in Israel, and neither the United Nations nor any other international agency took up their cause or demanded restitution for the property and money taken from them. Legislation passed in the Knesset during 2015 designated November 30 as a day of recognition for Jewish refugees from Arab countries.

Status of LGBT in the Middle East (Spanish)

The whole city, destroyed.

Pretty funny.

This is a big deal for Israel, where historically there hasn't been enough fresh water for its population.

It should be noted that while Iran is publicly admitting to providing weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah, two organizations deemed as terrorist by both the US and the EU, the US is conducting negotiations with Iran on their nuclear program. Do you see a disconnect?

No shit, Sherlock.

Most of the international press has focused on the recent fighting but hasn't covered what the causes of this round are. This is one of the few analysis. Another one is here: http://www.kforcegov.com/NightWatch/NightWatch_14000155.aspx

This is a very bad turn of events. Fayyad is perhaps the only true statesman in the PLO, someone whose real top interest is in building a viable Palestinian State rather than focusing on enemies or succumbing to corruption.

Interesting analysis on the recent terrible events in Libya and Egypt.
Bottom line, as I see:

• The non-violent offensive actions of bigot idiotic individuals caused violent attacks on US Empassies abroad. This is most unacceptable and shows the level of anti-US sentiment, religious zealotry, in those countries.
• Egyptian authorities didn't do shit to prevent it.
• Egyptian president did not condemn the violence nor apologize for it. Libyans did. Egypt's future relations with the West look dim.
• In Libya attackers used rocket launchers. So it was very much planned as the average unemployed Libyan doesn't walk around with heavy guns. That's only in Texas.
• US Intelligence failed to protect US interests and Nationals.

What's happening, by country. 

Good analysis on the situation in Egypt.

It's not just killer sharks anymore.

Interesting insight on the Gaza blockade.

I'm better at Photoshop than Mahmoud.

Oh great.

Interesting editorial by Italian journalist Lorenzo Cremonesi. He talks about a very old and common thing whenever violence flares up between Israel and the Palestinians: The rumors, reported casualties, and reports are almost always systematically exaggerated. They get reported. The world cries in outrage. Later the UN or some other body reports the correct numbers but by then the damage is done and the collective memory indicates Israelis are savages. Remember Jenin? Perfect example. The Israeli army is sometimes slow to report numbers, but they are almost always very accurate at the end.