Mr. Bennett Goes to Washington

The waning of American influence in the Middle East not only indicates that the world superpower is in retreat, and perhaps even in its twilight—but that Israel’s fate is tied to that retreat.

The Taliban Victory as a Victory of Faith

The American defeat in Afghanistan will have a direct impact on Israel. Like the pseudo-government foisted by the Americans on Kabul, which, despite massive investment, proved a broken reed, the PA and its security mechanisms will collapse in time against its Islamist adversaries, notably Hamas. For all its overwhelming material and technological superiority, the IDF stands no chance of defeating Israel’s Islamist enemies unless its soldiers are driven by a relentless belief in the national cause.

Into the Heart of a Hezbollah Terror Tunnel

The Arabic language desk of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit marked 15 years since the Second Lebanon War by inviting Israeli media commentators to visit a Hezbollah terror tunnel on the border with Lebanon. I was one of the participants.

The Taliban and al-Qaeda: What Next?

The Taliban proved that they value loyalty when they rejected US and Saudi pressure to hand over Osama bin Laden no matter the cost. The Taliban have since come to appreciate al-Qaeda’s fighting skills and contributions to the Afghan jihadists’ cause, and their return to power seems good news for the Islamist terrorist group.

Little Enthusiasm in the Middle East for the Taliban Victory

The effect of visuals has often plagued the West in its war against terrorism. Now, the visual material from Afghanistan is coming to haunt the Islamists in the Middle East. Hamas cannot wax enthusiastic over Taliban when "the man in the street" in Kabul shows such a grim face.

The Reform That Will Kill Israeli Agriculture

Agriculture is a strategic national asset in Israel and its existence cannot be subject to short-term cost-benefit considerations. Without an extensive agricultural presence in the Galilee and the Negev, Israel will lose its governance in considerable areas of its sovereign territory.

Greater Middle East May Force China to Project Military Power Sooner Rather than Later

China may have no short-term interest in contributing to guaranteeing security in parts of a swath of land stretching from Central Asia to the East coast of Africa, but that does not prevent the People’s Republic from preparing for a time when it may wish to build on longstanding political and military relationships in various parts of the world to project power and maintain an economic advantage.

Who are the Taliban who Conquered Afghanistan?

Having taken control, the Taliban want the world to believe that they have become more pragmatic and inclusive in the twenty years since they brutally ruled Afghanistan. Whether this pretense is genuine will be determined by the group’s attitudes towards jihadists and other terrorists, ethnic and religious minorities, women, and governance.

Israel: From Tribal Politics to a Territorial Democracy

The State of Israel is in a political crisis that reflects deep social rifts. At the Herzliya Conference in 2015, then-president Reuven Rivlin noted that demographic processes had created a new Israeli order in which four main tribes—secular, religious, ultra-Orthodox, and Arab—are increasingly hostile to one another. The concept of tribalism has long applied to the history of the Jewish people. How can the modern State of Israel emerge from this political chasm?

FM Yair Lapid: A Shepherd Without a Herd

In these early days of the new Israeli government, FM Yair Lapid is already trying to achieve a new turning point in the country’s foreign policy. One wonders whether he conducted any professional staff work before publicly outlining his progressive agenda. The fact that PM Naftali Bennett has been silent on this matter seems to indicate a serious problem in the country’s political culture. Bennett would do well to heed David Ben-Gurion’s credo that “an Israeli prime minister must also be his own foreign minister.”

Perspectives Papers