ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
AP Photo
February 24, 2013
"J Street is a Dead End"
Op-Ed, The Jerusalem Post
By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program
"Israel's national security stands on three pillars — the resolve of its people, the strength of the IDF and the US-Israeli relationship. Those who endanger any of these pillars, even if well-intentioned, endanger Israel's security. If pluralism in thought and organizational structure has enriched American-Jewish life internally, the unity in support for Israel was always the basis of the strength of the US-Israeli relationship."
February 1, 2013
"The Gangland Policies of Certain ‘Exceptional’ Nations"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
For anyone who wonders why so many people around the world criticize American and Israeli foreign policy and militarism, this has been a valuable learning week. I refer to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be the next U.S. Secretary of Defense, and the twin Israeli attacks against military targets in Syria.
January 25, 2013
"Consolidating Its Center or Its Criminality?"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
All that can be said with certainty now about the Israeli election results is that the deck of political cards in parliament has been dramatically reshuffled: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition with Avigdor Lieberman won 31 seats (much less than expected, and down from the 41 seats it held before) and remains the single biggest group, the extreme right Bayit Yehudi party of Naftali Bennett took 11 seats, and Yair Lapid’s new Yesh Atid party made the biggest splash with its 19 seats (more than the predicted 12 seats), making it the second biggest party in parliament.
January 23, 2013
Israel’s Election Will Have Sharp Consequences
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
For the past generation and a half, since the late 1970s, Israeli society has been moving steadily to the right in three main trajectories: greater reliance on military force as a primary foreign policy tool, more social and policy-making influence by religious Jews, and a growing super-nationalist commitment to a greater Israel concept that includes building new settlements and preventing the birth of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.
January 18, 2013
"Israel's Election and the Iran Crisis"
Op-Ed, National Interest
By Shai Feldman, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Shai Feldman writes: "Israel’s January 22 elections will produce a new government. The extent to which it will differ from the outgoing government remains to be seen. But efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons might be affected. Could the composition of a new Israeli government indirectly impact the Israeli-U.S. discourse on Iran's nuclear program?"
AP Photos
January 16, 2013
"Bibi’s Choice After Election Will Set Course for Israel"
Op-Ed, Al-Monitor
By Shai Feldman, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"In the aftermath of next week’s Israeli elections, Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu will face the decision of his political life," Shai Feldman writes. "What kind of governing coalition he chooses to form will affect Israel for years to come. One option will effectively end hopes of a two-state solution to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and deepen its isolation. The other could open the door to negotiations and better relations with Europe and the United States."
AP Photos
January 17, 2013
"Raised on Hatred"
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Fellow, The Future of Diplomacy Project
Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes, "As a child growing up in a Muslim family, I constantly heard my mother, other relatives and neighbors wish for the death of Jews, who were considered our darkest enemy. Our religious tutors and the preachers in our mosques set aside extra time to pray for the destruction of Jews."
January 11, 2013
"Mainstream Support of Hagel: Is This a Crack in the Wall of Intimidation?"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"Does all this represent a crack in the wall of intimidation, to use the word of Mr. Hagel to Mr. Miller? Will the message get through to Benjamin Netanyahu, Avigdor Lieberman, et al to stop interfering in the American political process?"
December 2012
"A WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East: Creating the Conditions for Sustained Progress"
Discussion Paper
By Martin B. Malin, Executive Director, Project on Managing the Atom and Paolo Foradori, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
How can the states of the Middle East begin to create the political conditions for achieving sustained progress toward the elimination of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons? This paper examines the challenges and obstacles that the parties of the region will need to overcome to bring a WMD-free zone into force, and recommends near-term steps for improving regional security.
AP Photo
December 14, 2012
"The Interview: Stephen M. Walt"
Op-Ed, Diplomat
By Zachary Keck and Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
"The United States is out of Iraq and is getting out of Afghanistan, but the big question is whether we can keep ourselves from being dragged back into the Middle East quagmire in the future. The best course in the Middle East would be to act as an "offshore balancer": ready to intervene if the balance of power is upset, but otherwise keeping our military footprint small. We should also have normal relationship with states like Israel and Saudi Arabia, instead of the counterproductive "special relationships" we have today. Steps like these would free up the resources for a more robust presence in Asia, should that become advisable down the road. But we should act like an "offshore balancer" in Asia as well...."
