This year is the 100th anniversary of the Sykes-Picot Treaty which divided up the failing Ottoman Empire between the French and the British. This act of imperialism is the source of many of the problems in the Middle East today since the lines drawn did not correspond in any way with the underlying demography of the region. Indeed, much of the fighting today is an attempt to draw new lines that are more acceptable to the Sunni, the Shia, the Kurds, and Turkey. Peter van Buren makes the case for a new Sykes-Picot Treaty–one, however, that is mutually acceptable to the actual people involved.
Inset of the Map used by Sykes and Picot
The Pew Research Center has conducted a poll in Israel which indicates that nearly half (48%) of Israeli Jews believe that Arabs should be expelled from Israel. The Center asked questions among the commonly used divisions within Israeli society: “Nearly all Israeli Jews identify with one of four categories: Haredi (commonly translated as “ultra-Orthodox”), Dati (“religious”), Masorti (“traditional”) or Hiloni (“secular”).” The analysis is quite long, and students in the world politics class should focus on the section labeled “Israeli Jews divided on the status of Arabs” (I will only ask questions on that section–4 paragraphs). The conclusions of this section of the analysis suggest that there is considerable tension within Israel about whether Israel can simultaneously be a Jewish state and a democratic state.
Data from China suggest that the world is inching closer to a global economic slowdown. Chinese exports dropped by 25.4% from last years and its imports declined by 13.8%. Global trade is down sharply as a whole, but the loss of China as an important driver of global economic growth, is significant. At this time, only the US is showing positive economic growth, although Europe is beginning to show signs of a possible rebound.
World Politics News 
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