The Problem with the Wexner Program at Harvard

Mixed up in the controversy between Netanyahu’s supporters and opponents is the scholarship program of the Wexner Foundation, which finances a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard University for young and promising Israelis (ages 30-45) in public service (including the defense establishment). The aim is “to provide Israel’s next generation of public leaders with superlative training in public management and leadership development.” What are the educational contents and nature of this training, and to what extent does the program serve Israel’s unique national needs?

Israel-UAE Peace Deal Challenges Iranian, Muslim Brotherhood Camps

The peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel takes Jerusalem’s cooperation with Sunni Arab states out of the shadows. A boost to regional stability, the agreement will enable expanded cooperation on defense and intelligence issues, trade, investment, and joint technological development, and could foster a positive religious-cultural dialogue. The deal is a setback for Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, two radical Islamist forces that are determined to destabilize the region and that threaten Israel and Sunni Arab countries alike.

Defying Geography: The Israel-Azerbaijan Partnership

Recent fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan exposed Israel as a significant player in the region. Though far apart geographically, Baku and Jerusalem pursue strategic relations. The dilemma is how this should be done in a region where Russian, Iranian, and Turkish interests predominate, as none of those countries desires another competitor.

US Attitudes Toward China in the Wake of the Coronavirus

The troubled trade relationship between China and the US and Bejing’s behavior during the coronavirus crisis have combined to worsen American public opinion about China, a trend that could ultimately have serious consequences for the People’s Republic.

How the Netherlands Hid Its War Crimes for Decades

The decades-long absence of international media interest in the Netherlands has made it possible for the country’s authorities and elites to blur Dutch war crimes that took place during the 1948-49 repression of the Indonesian revolution. It is only now, when most of those who committed the crimes are dead or very old, that a major study on the Dutch post-war decolonization of Indonesia has started. This blurring of responsibility for the past is an integral part of Dutch culture.

Turkey: Islamism’s Corrupted Symbolism

Burak Bekdil
August 30, 2020
Paper No. 1720

The conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque and the desire to “Turkify” place names reflect the Islamist “conquest fetish.” Modern Islamists in Turkey have created a new version of Islam for themselves that differs from the religion’s origins.

It Is Time to Recognize the Contribution of the Jewish Resistance in the Rescue of the Jews of France

Although hundreds of members of the Jewish Resistance in France operated during the Nazi occupation in an autonomous and separate framework from the French resistance and contributed greatly to the rescue of three-quarters of French Jews, France and Israel have never sufficiently recognized their heroism.

US Isolationism Leads to Globalization of Conflicts and Endless Wars

In recent years, the common refrain that US involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts is costly, counterproductive, and morally and practically indefensible has taken hold in foreign policy circles and reflects the popular mindset that brought Donald Trump to power. However, closer examination of three of the sprawling conflicts plaguing the Middle East region today—Syria, Libya, and Yemen—shows that by abdicating regional responsibilities, the US has contributed to the globalization and perpetuation of “endless wars.”

Demonstrations Yes, Prayer No

While public gatherings for the sake of communal prayer have been severely restricted in the name of public safety during the coronavirus pandemic, no such restrictions have been placed on public demonstrations. The right to demonstrate is apparently a sacred cow that cannot be interfered with under any circumstances, unlike the right to pray in the manner of one’s tradition.

The 2020 US Presidential Election: A Seminal Moment in Western History

The US elections will be a contest not just between political figures and rival parties but between opposing worldviews. Biden’s intention to “Europeanize” American democracy would leave the international system bereft of the democracy that saved humanity multiple times from the calamities wreaked upon it by European utopian thought.

Perspectives Papers