- Rafael Castro
- February 10, 2020
- Paper No. 1444
When does diplomacy serve to build bridges and when does it just promote self-deception?
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. Manfred Gerstenfeld
- February 9, 2020
- Paper No. 1443
Antisemitism has fragmented into many subcategories in the postmodern era, which has made it ever more confusing and opaque. One concept that can shed new light on contemporary antisemitism is confirmation bias: the idea that people are often receptive to information, even if dubious, that confirms their existing opinions.
- Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen
- February 7, 2020
- Paper No. 1442
Most of the talk about the ravages of last monthโs floods in Israelโs coastal cities concerns the responsibility of state authorities that failed to invest sufficiently in infrastructure development. But that is only part of the story. The main problem, which is repressed to the point of denial, stems from a planning failure at the macro level. This is not just a matter of flawed local planning for local drainage systems. This is a greater conceptual failure that results from ignoring the basic geographic conditions of the Land of Israel.
- Prof. Hillel Frisch
- February 7, 2020
- Paper No. 1441
A photo showing an Iranian general surrounded by flags of the Islamic Republicโs proxies in Arab states illustrates that it has accumulated too many enemiesโa condition that has caused many regimes throughout history to disappear. ISIS is a recent example. If the Islamic Republic persists in accumulating enemies, it might share the same fate.
- Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Raphael Ofek
- February 6, 2020
- Paper No. 1440
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, or Star Wars) program was developed in the US in the 1980s with the aim of providing a hermetic defense against Soviet intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles. SDI did not reach final implementation and was canceled in 1993. It nevertheless created a basis for the development of a multi-layered theater defense against ballistic missiles. That defense was realized by Israel in its development of the Arrow ballistic missile interceptor system and other systems to defend against rockets and short-range missiles.
- Burak Bekdil
- February 6, 2020
- Paper No. 1439
The Turkish admiral who masterminded Turkeyโs maritime deal with Libya thinks the same agreement should also be signed with Israel. Many might be tempted to think there is too much metaphorical โbad bloodโ between Turkey and Israel to permit any degree of rapprochement. But subtle signs suggest this may not be the whole picture.
- Dr. Edy Cohen
- February 5, 2020
- Paper No. 1438
Leaders from around the world recently visited Israel to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Concurrently with that visit, another important historical visit took place: for the first time, a delegation of leading Arabs visited the Nazi extermination camp.
- Rafael Castro
- February 5, 2020
- Paper No. 1437
The received wisdom that greater Holocaust awareness automatically translates into policies and attitudes favorable to European Jews and the Jewish state is dubious at best. As assimilation and antisemitism hollow out Jewish communities on the Continent, Holocaust remembrance in Europe may well cease to help Jews altogether.
- Dr. Alex Joffe
- February 4, 2020
- Paper No. 1436
The Trump โDeal of the Centuryโ has elicited responses ranging from enthusiastic support to bitter rejection. Among those rejecting the plan are US Democratic candidates for president. Their instant and total rejection reflects an instinctive antipathy toward Trump but also an addiction to expert-driven processes that have failed for decades. The blanket rejection reflects non-zero sum conceptions in which there can be no winners or losers in the conflict, and reveals an instrumental view of Palestinians as stalking horses for other causes. But reality is creeping in and starting to change attitudes.
- Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg
- February 3, 2020
- Paper No. 1434
The display of fundamental incompetence, followed by denial and a cover-up, that accompanied the recent shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger airliner by Iran are reminiscent of the Soviet Unionโs reaction to the explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986โa response that marked the beginning of the end of the USSR. The Tehran regimeโs combination of ineptness and self-protective lying similarly triggered an unprecedented voicing of criticism by Iranian citizens, suggesting that popular rage is overcoming fear of regime violence and repression.