- Dr. Doron Matza
- Paper No. 2097
Even if the improving ties between Jordan and Israel yield a certain diplomatic benefit for Israel, they may indicate a worrisome direction in terms of Israel’s state interests.
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.
- Dr. George N. Tzogopoulos
- Paper No. 2096
The summit of Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in Geneva last month was the most important event of Biden’s tour of Europe. While Washington hopes to contain Beijing, Moscow seeks to better its position in the world. Such a recalibration could have an impact οn the Eastern Mediterranean, a region only briefly mentioned during Biden’s European trip. The Israeli-Greek-Cypriot dialogue format remains relevant, but it will need to be carefully adjusted to reflect superpower competition.
- Dr. Edy Cohen
- Paper No. 2095
The King of Jordan has apparently reached the conclusion that opening the door to the extremist Shiite regime in Iran will save his country from its many crises. While it might allay those crises in the short term, this alliance will likely end with Jordan sinking into a state of total Iranian domination, as did Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen.
- Dr. James M. Dorsey
- Paper No. 2094
Pakistan’s place in the new world order is anybody’s guess. Recent policy moves suggest options that run the gamut from a state that emphasizes religion above all else to a country that forges a more balanced relationship with China and the US.
- Dr. Edy Cohen
- Paper No. 2093
Arab states and their leaders do not treat Israel as they treat other countries. This includes even simple greetings on the occasion of a new government’s being installed. The main reason is the sympathy the Palestinian issue enjoys on the street in those nations, though the leaders themselves largely despise the Palestinians. The ascent of a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated politician to the ruling coalition in Israel attracted much more interest in the Arab press than the ascent of Naftali Bennett to the PM position.
- Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen
- Paper No. 2092
Israeli society must recognize the intensity of the new threats that surround it and critically assess the conventional wisdom that the era of big threats has passed and Israel need no longer be a “mobilized nation.”
- Oded Brosh
- Paper No. 2091
The latest IAEA inspection reports on Iran show a continued escalation in a wide array of nuclear activities prohibited by the JCPOA, including accumulation of enriched uranium in quantities that exceed the limits set in the agreement as well as increasing levels of enrichment. Moreover, the reports complain that the Iranian regime is constantly hindering the Agency’s verification measures, leading to an ever more significant decline in its ability to ascertain and report on the details of Iran’s nuclear activities. The IAEA’s access, already limited, was further curtailed on June 24, when temporary agreements reached by the Agency with Iran expired. In the background is the victory of Ebrahim Raisi in the Iranian presidential election and the ascendance of a more extremist government than that of Rouhani.
- Emil Avdaliani
- Paper No. 2090
The Kremlin's fixation on competing with the West might cost Russia dearly, as its clout in Central Asia is under strain from a rising China. Moscow will try to mitigate the tilting balance of power by applying methods of the post-liberal world order to the region. China and Russia might reach a condominium in which issues of economy and security are subdivided between them.
- Dr. James M. Dorsey
- Paper No. 2089
Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts to outflank the UAE and Qatar as the Gulf’s commercial, cultural, and/or geostrategic hub.
- Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen
- Paper No. 2088
The establishment of the Evyatar outpost is a direct continuation of the activist pioneering ethos that the Yishuv leadership developed during the Arab riots of 1936-39, and that has long been lost to considerable parts of the Israeli political establishment.