03-19-2010 Analysis - Israel. The King is naked
Proximity talks between Israelis and Palestinians - indirect negotiations mediated by the US - might have been set up after month of tiring toing and froing held  by the Special Envoy Mitchell who came and went umpteen times: they could not have taken off in a worse setting. The Israeli Home secretary Eli Yashai did not even wait for Vice President Joe Biden to leave before announcing permission had been granted for the construction of another 1600 apartments in the Ramat Shlomo neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, the Arab section of the city that Israel considers eternal and indivisible capital. Vice-president Biden reacted immediately considering the decision as a provocation against his person and his visit and he stated the decision undermined the trust needed to re-launch negotiations. ... continue

20th Anniversary of CIPMO
Message from the President of the Italian Republic, Mr Giorgio Napolitano
I am pleased to express my warmest appreciation for CIPMO’s  activity on its twentieth anniversary and would like to express my best wishes for a fruitful prosecution of their work. I still remember the international conference organized in November 1989 which marked the foundation of your centre, which I attended and where I had the pleasure to draw the conclusions. At the time I felt new hopes for dialogue opening and that peace was possible, however difficult the pathway was... continue

Editorial by Janiki Cingoli
Twenty years ago, in November 1989, the Centro Italiano per la Pace in Medio Oriente (CIMPO, the Italian Centre for Peace in the Middle East) was established by the Region Lombardy, the Province and the City of Milan. Promoters included prominent personalities from all sides of the political and cultural spectrum ranging from the current President of the Republic to the Life Senator and Noble Prize Winner Rita Levi Montalcini, who has been our Honorary Chairperson ever since... continue