Israel-France Relations in Light of the ICC Decision

France has not joined other European countries in expressing official support for Jerusalem’s claims that the recent decision by the ICC to prosecute Israel for war crimes is political and without a legal basis. The silence of France on this issue is likely motivated by its wish to avoid offending the Palestinian Authority, as well as to put pressure on Israel to make compromises relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Europeanized USA

Dr. Alex Joffe
April 7, 2021
Paper No. 1988

America is undergoing a rapid transformation founded in a moral panic over race that masks the exercise of class-based power in which technology companies and left-wing politics have united to wield unprecedented control. The outcome will likely be a union of Europeanized states where freedoms are severely curtailed and social cohesion is minimized in favor of dependency.

Redemption According to Moses

Passover was always a holiday of redemption, but in Israeli political discourse, the word “redemption” has been notable by its absence for decades. Around the Seder table, it must be said anew: without a real connection to the age-old striving for the redemption of Israel, the State of Israel will not be able to exist.

Mansour Abbas and the Lebanonization of Israel

The Islamic Movement in Israel is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the ideological hothouse that spawned such organizations as Hamas, al-Qaeda, ISIS, and various other Sunni jihadist groups that reject Israel’s right to exist. Giving the Islamic Movement a kosher stamp of approval sets Israel on the same destructive path trod by Lebanon ever since Hezbollah became part of that country.

Quo Vadis Turkish Politics?

Turkey has never had a fully liberal democratic regime. The country, which suffered the authoritarianism of the Kemalist regime’s top-down attempts to modernize, is now experiencing a different form of authoritarian consolidation under the AKP-controlled government.

Iran Remains Unworthy of Trust

President Biden is keen to resuscitate the foreign policy of Barack Obama and return to the Iran nuclear deal. But Iran, which remains focused on its goal of becoming the regional hegemon, is no more worthy of trust today than it was during Obama’s administration.

The Clause That Could Scupper the Iran Nuclear Accord

A little-acknowledged provision of the 2015 international agreement that curbed Iran’s nuclear program explains jockeying by the US and the Islamic Republic over the modalities of a US return to the deal from which President Donald Trump withdrew.

Jihadis Are Becoming Turkey’s Permanent Proxy Force

Burak Bekdil
March 31, 2021
Paper No. 1982

Turkey, a member of NATO, now effectively has a jihadi proxy force that it has deployed in its Syrian homeland as well as in faraway war theaters like Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Combatting Antisemitism Benefits the Arab World

Deep-rooted and persistent antisemitism is one of the central reasons for the Arab world’s lack of innovation and development relative to Israel and the Western world. The problem of antisemitism in the Arab world needs to be addressed before attempts are made to solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem, not postponed until after a solution is found.

The “Cougar Mystery” That Killed 40 Turkish Soldiers

Burak Bekdil
March 29, 2021
Paper No. 1980

The shady purchase of Cougar helicopters by the Turkish military was a 1990s-era controversy. An even bigger question than the terms of their purchase is how the Turkish military managed to lose 40 soldiers while operating them.

Perspectives Papers