Israel’s Strategic Goal in Syria

Yaakov Lappin
August 9, 2019
Paper No. 1250

Israel's shadow war in Syria is based on the strategic objective of convincing the Islamic Republic that its investment in a war machine is going to waste. Iran has so far chosen to weather the strikes and shift tactics without abandoning its Syria project.

The Social Geography of the BDS Movement and Antisemitism

An original analysis of the global distribution of BDS Internet searches revealed disproportionate interest in countries such as New Zealand, Ireland, and Sweden, as well as in coastal US states with large academic institutions. In the former regions there are few Jews and little contact with Israel, while in the latter, there are many Jews but proportionately fewer Christian supporters of Israel. A simple explanation for these patterns is that BDS interest correlates with post-Christian contexts in which Jews are relatively absent, or with “white” class anxiety emanating from academia. In the US, growing negativity about Israel in liberal Western communities is likely a class-based transfer of anxiety regarding ”white privilege” onto Israel and Jews.

Dissent in Labour Rises Following BBC Revelations

Dissent inside the British Labour Party has increased following the recent broadcast of a BBC Panorama documentary on antisemitism within the party’s ranks. One-third of Labour members of the House of Lords published an advertisement attacking Corbyn’s position on antisemitism. A great majority of Labour staff members accepted a motion against the party leadership’s attitude toward employees. As many of Corbyn’s opponents prefer to fight the ineffectiveness of Labour leadership on the antisemitism problem rather than leave the party, this internal battle is unlikely to go away any time soon.

Echoes of the Muslim Brotherhood “Arab Spring” in Post-Bashir Sudan

Post-Bashir Sudan is being proclaimed a new “Arab Spring” by many who failed to grasp the meaning of the first. And just as occurred the first time, the failure to distinguish among interests and actors is hindering understanding of the movement.

An Israeli Victory Is Necessary if Peace Is to Be Achieved

It is usually wiser to work for a solution to a conflict than try to achieve victory. But in some conflicts, the objectives of the two parties are so mutually exclusive that the conflict can only end when one defeats the other. Israel’s goal is survival; the Palestinian goal is the elimination of Israel. Peace requires that the Palestinians give up that goal, which they have had for nearly a century. They won’t do so until they understand that they have no chance of succeeding.

Washington’s North Korea Dilemma

The June 30, 2019 meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un at Panmunjom, the border between North and South Korea, reignited negotiations between North Korea and the US on the Singapore agreement. The gap between Washington and Pyongyang remains huge. The negotiation team will have to find new ways to weave together North Korea's Yongbyon offer and Washington’s demand for full disarmament.

The UAE Withdraws from Yemen

A UAE decision to withdraw the bulk of its forces from Yemen shines a spotlight on hard realities underlying Middle Eastern geopolitics. The pullback suggests that the UAE is preparing for the possibility of a US military confrontation with Iran in which the UAE and Saudi Arabia could emerge as prime battlegrounds. It also reflects long-standing subtle differences in the approaches of Saudi Arabia and the UAE toward Yemen.

Is the BDS Movement on the Rise?

According to the BDS movement’s Palestinian branch, the impact of the movement “is increasing substantially.” Many pro-Israel sites and organizations agree with that assessment. But how accurate is this prognosis?

Venezuela: A Mafia State

President Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuela is effectively a mafia state, run by a military leadership that is heavily involved in the drug trade and security forces that aid the criminal networks they are supposed to be battling. They are shored up by 15,000 Cuban military and security personnel and in cahoots with Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.

The Palestinians Continue to Reject Any Settlement with Israel

The “Deal of the Century” and the Bahrain conference show that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, like other Islamic countries, have no real reason to oppose either normal relations with Israel or a settlement aimed at improving the lives of the Palestinians. The Palestinians, however, are not interested in a peace settlement but rather in maintaining the status quo of an ongoing struggle against the “Zionist enemy.”

Perspectives Papers