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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The Roots of Anti-Israeli Attitudes

No. 325

Prof. Efraim Inbar | January 11, 2016

The reasons for the dislike of Israel are numerous and often reinforce each other. Christianity and Islam, the religions adhered to by most of the world, are critical of Judaism for its rejection of their terms for redemption, while Israel’s unique story of an ancient people returning to the homeland is not easily accepted.

Domestic and Regional Implications of Escalated Saudi-Iran Conflict

No. 324

Prof. Joshua Teitelbaum | January 10, 2016

By executing a prominent Shiite leader, the Saudi King and his son the Deputy Crown Prince sent a strong signal to Iran, to the kingdom’s beleaguered Shiite minority, and to the world. To its Iranian Shiite rival, Sunni Riyadh was saying that it would absolutely not tolerate intervention in its internal affairs. It was telling its own Shiites that it would not allow “Arab Spring”-like dissent. And to the world, Salman and Muhammad were signaling that the Saudis were growing into their new role as a defender and leader of the Sunni Muslim countries; especially since the Obama administration appears to be siding with Iran.

Jordanian Security and Prosperity: An Essential Aspect of Israeli Policy

No. 323

Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman and Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror | December 27, 2015

Israel has a strategic interest in, and long-standing commitment to, the safety, security, stability and prosperity of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In current times, the relationship is buttressed by a broad-ranging series of cooperative ventures in the strategic, security, diplomatic, economic and energy fields.

Does ISIS Pose a WMD Threat?

No. 322

Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Dany Shoham | December 13, 2015

The risk of ISIS employing chemical, biological, and radiological warfare agents is real. In fact, ISIS already has attacked with chemical agents. ISIS has mobilized Iraqi and Syrian scientists who are assisting in the development of chemical weapons, particularly nerve and mustard gas, alongside foreign experts. It also has reportedly moved its labs, experts, and materials from Iraq to Syria.

Israel’s Emerging Relations in the Eastern Mediterranean

No. 321

Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman | December 8, 2015

The flourishing new relationship between Israel and her two Hellenic neighbors in the eastern Mediterranean – Greece and Cyprus – is important on its own merits. But equally important, the Israel-Greece-Cyprus alliance seeks to block Turkey’s ambitions of regional hegemony, while at the same time offering Ankara a key place in the new Mediterranean political order, if and when she comes to her senses.

Cool Heads Needed in the Fight against Palestinian Terrorism

No. 320

Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror | November 29, 2015

While there is no doubt that Israel is facing a difficult security situation, the surge in Palestinian violence does not pose any existential threat to Israel. Israel has weathered longer and harsher waves of terrorism. Israeli leaders must keep things in proportion, and reject calls for “massive retaliation” that will not truly improve security and could make things worse.

The Lies of Saeb Erekat: How Palestinian Propaganda Warps the Truth and Undermines Peace Efforts

No. 319

Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman | November 23, 2015

An incendiary propaganda document replete with blatant lies and utter distortions of history penned by Saeb Erekat, recently sent to foreign media, exposes the futility of the Palestinian mindset, and reveals just how far the Palestinian leadership is from accepting the premises necessary for true peace with Israel.

Setting the Record Straight: Hajj Amin and the Nazis

No. 318

Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman | November 3, 2015

Legacies of Hajj Amin al-Husseini’s work are still with us. The broadcasts of Radio Zeissen, the Mufti’s propaganda station, resonate in the 1988 Hamas covenant, and indeed still reverberate throughout our region. So do the recurrent references to Nazi imagery and texts in the Palestinian public domain. To demand a proper historical reckoning is therefore not to “demonize” the Palestinian people but to treat them, for a change, as adults capable of coping with a culture of responsibility.

Syria’s Unraveling Gives Way to New Regional Order

No. 317

Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror | November 1, 2015

Russia’s increased deployment in Syria, and Iran and Hezbollah’s tightening grip on areas just north of the Israel-Syria border, may soon change regional realities irrevocably. More than ever, Israel must remain determined in its efforts to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining game-changing weapons.

Is Jerusalem Divided?

No. 316

Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen | October 25, 2015

Conflicts and clashes are not unique to Jerusalem. Israel needs to know why Jerusalem should be a priority; because it is seeking the return to Zion in all regions of the homeland! And if Israel does not insist on this, it will steadily withdraw inward, toward the coastal plain, and edge towards decline.

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A Different Perspective on the Temple Mount Crisis

September 8, 2017 Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen

Moderate leaders warn that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may turn from a national conflict into a religious one. Right-wing leaders claim it has been a religious conflict from the start. Both approaches have been applied to the Temple Mount crisis, and both are affected by a totalist perception of the understanding of the religious imperative.

Palestinian Settler-Colonialism

September 3, 2017 Dr. Alex Joffe

The concept of “settler colonialism” has been applied with almost unique vehemence against Israel. But the fact that Jews are the indigenous population of the Southern Levant can be proved with ease. In contrast, historical and genealogical evidence shows Palestinians descend primarily from three primary groups: Muslim invaders, Arab immigrants, and local converts to Islam. The Muslim conquest of Byzantine Palestine in the 7th century CE is a textbook example of settler-colonialism, as is subsequent immigration, particularly during the 19th and 20th centuries under the Ottoman and British Empires. The application of the concept to Jews and Zionism by Palestinians is both ironic and unhelpful.

Israel’s Possible Paths to Nuclear War

July 22, 2017 Prof. Louis René Beres

North Korea’s nuclearization has implications for Israel’s nuclear deterrence posture. There are several plausible means by which a nuclear conflict could arise in the Middle East. It may be time to consider a phase-out of Israel’s “deliberate nuclear ambiguity” and to focus Israeli planning around evaluations of enemy rationality.

Ehud Barak: Blatantly Ignoring Danger

May 31, 2017 Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen

Former PM Ehud Barak’s arguments in favor of withdrawal from Judea and Samaria undercut Israel’s security and are a departure from the Oslo Accords’ security vision. Israel would be wise to present President Trump with actual facts on this issue.

Myth: Israel Is the Largest Beneficiary of US Military Aid

February 10, 2017 Prof. Hillel Frisch

Many American detractors of Israel begin by citing that Israel receives the lion’s share of US military aid. The very suggestion conjures the demon of an all-powerful Israel lobby that has turned the US Congress into its pawn. But these figures, while reflecting official direct US military aid, are almost meaningless in comparison to the real costs and benefits of US military aid – above all, American boots on the ground. In reality, Israel receives only a small fraction of American military aid, and most of that was spent in the US to the benefit of the American economy.

The Oslo Disaster

September 4, 2016 Prof. Efraim Karsh

The Oslo diplomatic process is the starkest strategic blunder in Israel’s history and one of the worst calamities ever to have afflicted Israelis and Palestinians. Twenty three years after its euphoric launch on the White House lawn, the Oslo ‘peace process’ has substantially worsened the position of both parties, and made the prospects for peace and reconciliation ever more remote.

Perspectives Papers

The Roots of Anti-Israeli Attitudes

Domestic and Regional Implications of Escalated Saudi-Iran Conflict

Jordanian Security and Prosperity: An Essential Aspect of Israeli Policy

Does ISIS Pose a WMD Threat?

Israel’s Emerging Relations in the Eastern Mediterranean

Cool Heads Needed in the Fight against Palestinian Terrorism

The Lies of Saeb Erekat: How Palestinian Propaganda Warps the Truth and Undermines Peace Efforts

Setting the Record Straight: Hajj Amin and the Nazis

Syria’s Unraveling Gives Way to New Regional Order

Is Jerusalem Divided?

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A Different Perspective on the Temple Mount Crisis

Palestinian Settler-Colonialism

Israel’s Possible Paths to Nuclear War

Ehud Barak: Blatantly Ignoring Danger

Myth: Israel Is the Largest Beneficiary of US Military Aid

The Oslo Disaster

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