When Palestinian Blood Isn’t Equal

Recently, the human rights organization AGPS published a report documenting 3,840 cases of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the Syrian war in 2011 – nearly four times the number of those killed during the six years of the first intifada (December 1987-September 1993). The circumstances of the deaths were shelling, shooting, or torture in the interrogation rooms of prisons throughout Syria. Mahmoud Abbas remained silent and did not condemn Bashar Assad or Iran. Palestinian blood in the West Bank and Gaza appears to be worth far more than the blood of Palestinians elsewhere in the world. This is because Palestinians who are killed by IDF fire serve as a bulwark against Israel, whether by the Arab states or by the Western world.

Can the US Make Iran Sanctions Stick?

Iranian leaders have said the future of the nuclear agreement (the JCPOA) in the wake of the US withdrawal will depend on the ability of Europe, China, and Russia to ensure that the impact of US sanctions is substantially blunted. While Europe’s resolve to do so is questionable, Russia, China, the UAE, and Oman appear willing to step in.

Why Israel Needs the Nation-State Law

Much has been published against the new Israeli Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People. Many, both in Israel and abroad, ask: Why is it necessary? How can it comport with democracy? Where does it leave minorities, particularly Muslim-Arabs, who make up some 20% of the Israeli population?

Ibn Khaldun and the Nation-State Law

Israeli Jewish leftists and Israel’s Arab politicians have been the major detractors of the newly passed “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People.” Ibn Khaldun’s concept of “asabiyya” (collective esprit de corps) must be marshalled to protect Israel from its enemies and to rein in Israel’s unrealistic “liberals.”

The US 2018 Midterms and 2020 Presidential Election: Implications for Israel

Last month, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez upset highly regarded Democrat Joe Crowley – considered number 4 in the Democratic Party and a staunch supporter of Israel – to win the Democratic primary for US Congress in New York's Queens district. This surprising victory shows the growing strength of the leftist-socialist-progressive wing of the Democratic Party – a wing that supports anti-Israeli positions and advocates the removal of members of the party's moderate liberal wing. Israel must prepare for the day when the leftist-socialist-progressive wing gains hegemony, first in the Democratic Party (which now seems almost certain) and then perhaps in the US Congress and the presidency.

The Rise of Chinese Eurasianism

Chinese Eurasianism, which – if the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is successful – will give Beijing new foreign policy tools to use against Washington, could prove more threatening to the US in the long run than the USSR was during the Cold War.

The Machiavellian Opponents of the Nation State Law

The public debate attending the Nation State Law is a clear indicator of Israel’s vibrant democracy and an illustration of the freedom of expression that characterizes the Israeli state of mind. Arabs, Druze, and Jews expressed their views on this matter, both pro and con, notwithstanding the fact that the core argument is essentially political rather than substantive. With that said, the protests in Israel against the new law are a red alert. They reflect an emerging tendency among liberal streams in Israeli Jewish society to undermine the long-accepted principle that Israel is the national home of the Jewish people.

Corbyn’s Misdemeanors Against Israel and the Jews

British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has defined himself as a “friend” and “brother” of genocidal terrorists, and he supports and mixes with Holocaust distorters. Corbyn is an extreme anti-Israel inciter and anti-Semite who has used Iranian media for that purpose.

The Assad Regime Returns to the Golan

The Assad regime's recapture of the Syrian Golan Heights is advantageous to Israel, in light of the Israeli-Russian understanding to predicate the situation there on the May 1974 disengagement. Even if the new arrangement does not lead to a forty-year-long de facto peace like the one that prevailed prior to the eruption of the Syrian civil war, Assad will need to focus on rebuilding his regime, reconstituting Syria, and ensuring the continuation of Alawite rule. In these circumstances, not only does military confrontation with Israel not entail any conceivable gains but it would likely wreck the regime’s fragile recovery.

Vietnam and Israel: The First 25 Years

Israel and Vietnam just marked their first 25 years of diplomatic relations. There is strong potential for further economic and diplomatic improvement that could provide significant benefits to both sides.

Perspectives Papers