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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 sanctions imposed on North Korea have a humanitarian cost of which most members of the general public in the sanctioning nations are not aware, and which is almost never discussed. This cost, and its implications not only for North Korea but for other sanctioned nations, should be brought to the forefront when decisions about sanctions are being made.
Israeli PM Netanyahu was right to bar the entry of Muslim Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. Both are radical anti-Israelis and supporters of the BDS movement, whose end goal is Israel’s destruction. Their visit to the territories would have been an anti-Israel circus goaded on by the international media. Leaders of the Democratic Party understand that if their party moves toward the radical left, as exemplified by Tlaib and Omar, they will lose their chance to reclaim the White House next year.
The US administration is reportedly considering the principle of autonomy for the Palestinians as the political goal of the “Deal of the Century.” This framework was initially introduced by Menachem Begin during the 1978 Camp David summit and appeared in the signed accords. Though the idea was never brought to fruition, it enabled the entrenchment of the mantra known as “the legitimate rights of the Palestinian People” – a formula that owes much to Israeli Chief Justice Aharon Barak, who served as Begin’s legal advisor at Camp David.
There is a strong trend of masochism in the contemporary Jewish world, the origins of which can be found in the Tanach [the Hebrew Bible]. The tradition of Jewish masochism continues through Talmudic expression and into later Jewish literature, and can also be found in the prayer book. One of many recent examples is a letter by 240 Israeli and Jewish scholars to the German government rejecting the parliamentary motion equating BDS with antisemitism.
In favoring the political over the military approach, Benjamin Netanyahu is the direct successor of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, who espoused the political Zionism of forging an alliance with a world power. Netanyahu’s outlook is evident in his conflict management strategy vis-à-vis the PLO, Hamas, and Hezbollah while focusing on fighting Israel’s foremost enemy, Iran. Even there Netanyahu has preferred the path of political struggle, in cooperation with the US, and the use of sanctions over war.

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