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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Biblical morality, which can also be called Abrahamic morality, was born in Mesopotamia and from there spread west. Until Europe freed itself of its yoke, it was the legacy of the West. Europeโ€™s renunciation led to a series of horrendous calamities from which it was rescued by the US and Britain, which, unlike continental Europe, continued to uphold Abrahamic morality. The Abraham Accords were signed at a time when the US, patron of the Accords and leader of the West and the world, is likewise disavowing its moral values and being taken over by progressivismโ€”another utopian European ideology that has broken from morality. The children of Abraham must make the most of the peace they have reached to reconnect the West with the moral roots that took form in the East. ย 
The world is an increasingly unstable place. This is reflected in the way supply chains, a pillar of the globalized world, are changing. More and more countries are considering moving away from their dependence on China to the Indo-China region, which has a burgeoning population and rising economies. This process will accelerate as differences between the West and China multiply.
On October 23, the US, Israel, and Sudan issued a joint statement on the normalization of relations between Khartoum and Jerusalem. This step follows the peace agreements between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain and helps cement the nascent regional axis that features Israel as a highly prized ally rather than a vilified enemy. Time will tell to what extent this step will help the provisional Sudanese government overcome its internal differences and reach the 2022 elections as a functioning and effective body.
From a Jewish and Israeli point of view, there are two main issues to look at when analyzing the activities of American Jewish billionaire George Soros.ย The first are his damaging statements and actions against Jews and Israel, and the second are antisemitic attacks on Soros himself. For Jews, the problems that arise around these issues require fine tuning of their reactions to Sorosโ€™s statements and actions.
As the State of Israel continues to face intertwined health, economic, and political crises simultaneously, the IDF has been left without a new defense budget. Nevertheless, it is taking a series of significant and noteworthy steps that are designed to reshape its force build-up by diverting resources internally in the face of a rapidly changing strategic environmentโ€”a place where threatsย continue to evolve despite the global pandemic. ย 
Rather than address state actors as big or small, international relations theory might more profitably think in terms of smart vs. foolish. Two smart states, the UAE and Israel, have the potential to strengthen the Middle East region through their signing of the Abraham Accords. Smart states might constitute an effective form of deterrenceโ€”not only with regard to IR revisionism but also to the volatility of this era. ย 
It is Washingtonโ€™s strong support for Saudi Arabiaโ€™s security needs, clear stance against Iranโ€™s pursuit of regional hegemony, support for Saudi actions in Yemen, and willingness to set aside its criticism of Riyadhโ€™s domestic policies that have allowed for even the possibility of a formal shift in the kingdomโ€™s stance on Israel. But Joe Biden has made clear that if elected, he intends to reverse all those policies. Such changes, along with his preemptive rejection of Israelโ€™s extension of sovereignty to any new territory, would undermine any prospect that exists for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

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