Israel Must Make a Decision on Gaza

For over a decade, Israel has avoided deciding whether its interests are better served by maintaining the current “two Palestinian states” status quo, or by seeing Gaza rejoin the Palestinian Authority. The result is an untenable, chronic-crisis situation that empowers Mahmoud Abbas and is a lose-lose situation for Israel.

There Is No Political Solution for Gaza

The claim that an agreement among the US administration, the Palestinian Authority, and the Egyptians to allow the PA to turn the financial screws on Hamas would culminate in the PA’s reassertion of control over the Gaza Strip could not be further from reality. In the Middle East, only armed force prevails.

Can Organized Jewry in Germany Behave “Normally?”

Recently, about 20 Jews created a Jewish section in Germany’s right-wing populist and anti-Islam AfD party, prompting a dramatic reaction among the German Jewish community. Seventeen Jewish organizations came out against the Jewish AfD group. Yet the greatest threat to the Jewish community’s future in the country resides not with AfD but with the mainstream parties, the CDU and the SPD. Their joint governments have let in millions of immigrants, many of whom are anti-Semitic Muslims.

Pragmatism Drives the Sino-Israeli Partnership

The relationship between China and Israel is based largely on harmonious economic cooperation, although security implications cannot be ignored as the Belt and Road Initiative is implemented. It can be argued that China is interested in playing a risky game in the region that goes beyond economics. Still, the two countries can look for new, original fields in which to collaborate. Jerusalem’s experience of remembering the Holocaust and combating deniers might be useful with respect to Beijing’s remembrance of the Nanjing Massacre.

Chinese VP Visits Israel Innovation Conference

In a sign of the importance Beijing assigns to ties with Jerusalem, China’s powerful VP, Wang Qishan, made a visit to Israel last week. He is the highest-level Chinese official to visit since then-president Jiang Zemin visited in 2000. Wang is known as a “firefighter” and is a close ally of President Xi Jinping, the most powerful Chinese leader since Chairman Mao.

The Pittsburgh Massacre

The claim that the mass murder of worshippers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh was the product of Republican discourse on immigration and citizenship is a cynical ploy to use the trauma to bar conservative positions from the public sphere. An anti-Semitic massacre does not preclude the legitimate positions of an incumbent administration. This attack was triggered not by current political discourse but by the fusion of rabid Jew hatred and a propensity for violence – a combination that unfortunately existed long before the founding of the US.

Muhammad bin Salman: For Better or for Worse?

Embattled Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman could prove to be not only a cat with nine lives but a cat that makes surprising jumps. Though his reputation has taken a beating in the wake of the Khashoggi killing, he may well emerge defiant rather than chastened.

The Unknown Turkish Refugee Crisis

Turkey, which hosts some 3.5 million refugees, is generally considered a transit or bulwark country in the ongoing refugee crisis. What is less known is that Turkey is also generating refugees of its own.

Comparing Hebrew and Arabic Wikipedia Entries on the 1973 War

Nearly a half-century after the Yom Kippur War, it is instructive to note how the war is remembered and understood by the chief protagonists.

The Khashoggi Crisis: A Blessing in Disguise for Pakistan’s Imran Khan

The death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is proving to be a blessing in disguise for cash-strapped Pakistani PM Imran Khan. Khan’s blessing is also likely to offer Saudi Arabia geopolitical advantage.

Perspectives Papers