There is a growing tendency in many parts of the world for some to demand the right to deny rights to others. The decline of tolerance is a worrisome ancillary to the decreased legitimacy of government. Such acts have taken center stage in Israel as ultra-orthodox Jews have tried to enforce the segregation of sexes and certain codes of conduct on other, more secular Jews. The situation has boiled over in a series of protests. Since the current government of Netanyahu depends upon Parliamentary support from some of these ultra-orthodox parties, it will be interesting to see whether it will protect the rights of secular Israelis. Fortunately, there have been some victories for liberal rights in the region. In Egypt, there was a victory for women as the high court there prohibited the military from conducting virginity tests on female detainees.
Stephen Walt has written a brilliant short essay eviscerating one of the neoconservative proponents of an attack on Iran. Pressures are rising in the region as the EU meets to determine whether to embargo Iranian oil. Iran has responded by threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz if the EU measure is passed.
The Syrian protests are getting larger, but there seems to be little movement toward any resolution of the crisis. Arab League monitors are expected to be in place by Wednesday, but it seems unlikely that they will have any real effect.
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