- Prof. Hillel Frisch
- Paper No. 55
Hamas miscalculated its strength and support; erred in ending the six-month ceasefire with Israel; unwisely offended and threatened Egypt; and misread Israeli politics.
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.
- Prof. Stuart A. Cohen
- Paper No. 54
The IDF gets an interim, mixed assessment for its early performance
in the war against Hamas, in three spheres: (a) public communications; (b) treatment of reservists; and (c) performance of the Rear Command.
- Prof. Efraim Inbar
- Paper No. 53
Israel’s Operation Cast Lead goals should be modest: minimizing the
damage that Hamas rockets can inflict on Israel. While a Hamastan in Gaza is not the ideal neighbor for Israel, there are several advantages to continuous Hamas rule, including the fact that it makes the "two-state solution" paradigm irrelevant.
- Dr. Harvey Sicherman
- Paper No. 52
Obama's foreign policy appointments suggest pragmatism and caution, not dogmatism and adventure. But will the pragmatists lead him astray? Had it been up to so-called pragmatists, Saddam would still be in Kuwait, Germany might still be divided, and the Iraq surge would not have occurred.
- Prof. Efraim Inbar
- Paper No. 51
While venerated by the Left as a hero of peace, the cautious Yitzhak Rabin was first and foremost a military man, for whom peace agreements were primarily a means to buttress security. He believed that transition to real peace would take decades, and would have ditched the Oslo process by now.
- Prof. Jonathan Rynhold
- Paper No. 50
Barack Obama has enunciated a clear program for Middle East policy based on multilateralism and negotiations to deal with Iran, Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict. In reality he will have to make tough choices when other countries reject the US approach, especially with regard to Iran.
- Prof. Efraim Inbar
- Paper No. 49
Moscow seeks to intimidate energy producing countries once part of the Soviet Union, and to develop a grand anti-American energy coalition that spans from Iran to Venezuela. This explains Moscow's military intervention in Georgia, and may require muscular Western counter-action.
- Dr. Tsilla Hershco
- Paper No. 48
Turbo-charged Sarkozian diplomacy has led France to seek to upgrade its status in the international arena and enhance its influence and presence in the Middle East. Deep skepticism is in order, especially with regard to the utility of Sarkozy's courtship of Syria.
- Prof. Robert J. Lieber
- Paper No. 47
American global power and diplomatic predominance will likely persevere. Neither the rise of important regional powers, nor competition in a globalized world economy, nor "imperial overstretch," nor American domestic-economic weakness will have the negative transformative effects that "new declinists" postulate.
- Dr. Tsilla Hershco
- Paper No. 46
Has Sarkozy's presidency ushered in a new era in Franco-Israeli relations? Despite the tightening of bilateral and strategic relations,
and the improvement of both ambiance and tone in the relationship, substantial political disagreements – regarding the PA, Syria, Lebanon and more – remain between Sarkozy's France and Israel.