* Joel Mowbray slams the taxpayer funded al-Hurra TV news for continuing to give unbalanced air time to radical Islamists and Holocaust deniers, and for an appalling lack of oversight. He follows up on a commentary we blogged in March: Pandering to Arab Sympathies.
* Two for one Q&As: Manfred Gerstenfeld interviews Aayan Hirsi Ali about Israel, the Palestinians, and European double standards; the Chicago Tribune interviews Natan Sharansky who discusses Iran, the peace process and more.
* Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Grover take on the Palestinian culture of martyrdom as Sesame Street returns to the Mideast. AP writes:
Knell said the goal is to counter negative influence of society, because children as young as 3 can begin to demonstrate prejudice.
“They’re not born with this,” he said. “They’re learning it from their parents, from the community, from friends.”
* The Christian Science Monitor examines the trials and tribulations of Iran’s Jewish community.