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Perspectives Papers

Perspectives Papers provide analysis from BESA Center research associates and other outside experts on the most important issues pertaining to Israel and the Middle East.

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Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has dazzled international media and public opinion by lifting some restrictions on womenโ€™s rights and holding out hope for the abolishment of others, vowing to return the kingdom to a vague form of moderate Islam that many believe is defined by the social reforms he has already implemented, and curbing the powers of the countryโ€™s ultra-conservative leadership. But his top-down approach to social change, which brushes aside Saudi history, rests on shaky ground.
The recent poisoning on British soil of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent for the UK's intelligence services, and his daughter Yulia with a very rare nerve agent of the Novichok type appears almost certainly to have been conducted by the Russians. While the attack is part of a long chain of similar incidents, it was an overwhelming event diplomatically, politically, practically, and in terms of intelligence. Two similar incidents in London exhibited common elements linking them to the Skripal attack. Together, they shed light on the apparatus that might be responsible.
On March 13, 2018, President Donald Trumpย announcedย that he was replacing US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas (2011-17), is an outspoken critic of โ€œthe Iran dealโ€ โ€“ as is John Bolton, who has since been named General H.R. McMasterโ€™s replacement as National Security Advisor. Pompeoโ€™s confirmation hearing will take place on April 12. Like Bolton, he is likely to face a tough battle for a difficult position.
Unlike Winston Churchill, who did not hesitate to light up a cigar and pour himself a drink in the company of Saudi King Abdulaziz, modern-day Western leaders like Theresa May disdain their own cultures in deference to Islam even as they decry the Muslim worldโ€™s chronic human rights abuses. The fallout from their refusal to stand up for democratic values might prove very costly over the long term.
In July 2010, then Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou visited Jerusalem and met his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. A few weeks later Netanyahu traveled to Athens and held discussions with Papandreou. The long-term significance of those visits could not be acknowledged at that time. But almost eight years later, it is now clear that those talks were a catalyst for the rapprochement that has occurred between two countries that have had a difficult relationship for decades. Greece and Israel are growing ever closer by establishing a strategic partnership and exploring ways to further deepen it.
If Benjamin Netanyahu is forced to step down from his position as prime minister without sufficient evidence proving him to be guilty of criminal activity, the country will lose an experienced and capable leader at a time of growing danger. The elites who are so eager to push him out should consider whether their wish to install an individual more to their tastes is worth the possible cost to Israelโ€™s security.
The essence of Zionism as a national liberation movement is the Jewish Peopleโ€™s return to history as a sovereign actor โ€“ a nation among the nations. Insofar as the Holocaust is not the justification for its sovereign existence, Israelโ€™s response to the Polish law forbidding Poles from being accused of involvement in Nazi crimes must take into account pragmatic considerations in the changing political arena.

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