The Future of the China-Russia Alliance

Odds are that China and Russia will prove to be long-term US rivals. However, it may just as well be that their alliance will prove to be more tactical than strategic, with the China-Russia relationship resembling US-Chinese ties: cooperation in an environment of divergence rather than convergence.

Crafting a Regional Policy to Contain Erdoğan

Turkey poses a long-term threat to the security of the Middle East. Containing Neo-Ottomanism requires a defensive policy that integrates Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and the Kurds into a regional alliance.

A New Era in Israel-Gulf State Relations?

Dr. Edy Cohen
April 22, 2019
Paper No. 1148

Many in the Gulf are beginning to grasp that their support for the Palestinians is detrimental to their own interests. In addition to practical considerations, the fact that the Palestinians have grown closer to Iran has sparked ire in many Gulf states, which see the Islamist regime as an enemy and the Palestinians’ increasingly close ties with Tehran as a betrayal.

Russia’s Military Should Leave Venezuela Immediately

The Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, as reported by Moscow Times, states that Russia is considering deploying strategic bombers full-time in Venezuela. The outlet also reports that an agreement has been reached between Moscow and Caracas to allow the deployment of Russian aircraft at a military base on Venezuela's Caribbean island of La Orchila, where Russian advisers were dispatched in December. It is urgent that Washington act before Russia and Venezuela reach their imminent formal military agreement. At the same time, NATO membership should be offered to Brazil, a major ally, and economic aid should be provided to Colombia.

Protests Challenge Gulf Counterrevolution

Much of the Middle East’s recent turmoil stems from internecine Middle Eastern rivalries spilling onto third country battlefields and Saudi and UAE-led efforts to roll back the achievements of the 2011 popular Arab revolts and pre-empt further uprisings. The recent successful toppling of ailing Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and months of anti-government demonstrations that have put Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir on the defensive suggest that the Saudi-UAE effort may be faltering.

Israel’s Information Campaigns: An Alternative to Kinetic Strikes

Yaakov Lappin
April 17, 2019
Paper No. 1144

In recent months, the Israeli defense establishment has made increasing use of “information campaigns,” or exposure through the media of enemy activity that has been detected by Israeli intelligence. This modus operandi has developed into an alternative to kinetic strikes.

The False “Nakba” Narrative

The term “Nakba,” originally coined to describe the magnitude of the self-inflicted Palestinian and Arab defeat in the 1948 war, has become in recent decades a synonym for Palestinian victimhood, with failed aggressors transformed into hapless victims and vice versa. Israel should do its utmost to uproot this false image by exposing its patently false historical basis.

The Labour Party Is Institutionally Antisemitic

British scholar and Labour party member Alan Johnson concludes in a new report that the Labour party is institutionally antisemitic. He contends that three types of antisemitism are present in the party: the socialism of fools, classical racial antisemitism, and antisemitism dressed up as anti-Zionism. Reading the report and comparing Labour to other European socialist parties, one finds that while they target Israel, much of Labour’s antisemitism is aimed at Jews.

Belarus Could Be Russia’s Next Big Geopolitical Target

Russia’s geopolitical projection has shifted over the past two decades. The country has tried to reverse its losses in Ukraine and the South Caucasus, but it is in Belarus that Moscow will most likely try to further extend its leverage to keep the EU and NATO at bay.

Sanctions on the IRGC Will Be Judged by Results – and by Iran’s Reaction

Yaakov Lappin
April 12, 2019
Paper No. 1140

The Trump administration’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity will ultimately be judged by how successful it is in changing Iran’s conduct.

Perspectives Papers