Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dedicated the lion’s share of his UN General Assembly Speech last week to rebuking the recent diplomatic efforts of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Netanyahu, who last year took to using cartoons at the UNGA to demonstrate...
Israel on the Sidelines
Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren recently spelled out quite clearly for MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell his government’s attitude toward possible new openings in relations between the United States and Iran. Mitchell had asked him: “What is Israel's posture towards this...
Why Obama Can’t Make Peace in Israel-Palestine
Chief among the reasons to be skeptical about the Obama administration’s latest gambit for peace in Israel-Palestine is its own record on the subject. Barack Obama's approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to Josh Reubner, resembles hammering a square...
Foreign Policy Thin-Sliced (8/23/13)
Egypt: A Peaceful State Rule by a Junta “We have this thing about us, that the Egyptian Army is untouchable,” [a woman named] Israa said. “So many want Egypt ruled with an iron grip,” she said. [But] “This is not us. … It’s not Egypt at all. We are not happy with...
Foreign Policy Thin-Sliced (8/16/13)
Syrian Rebel-Force Futility “If a regular Syrian comes and asks me what we have given him, I don’t know what to say,” Ahmed said. Momentum Shifts in Syria, Bolstering Assad’s Position, Ben Hubbard, the New York Times Netanyahu, Agitator-in-Chief on Iran The amped-up...
Why Israel Is Obsessed with an Iranian Bomb
Perhaps more than any other state in the Middle East, Israel has historically shown a special sensitivity to its nemeses’ efforts to acquire strategic capabilities that might change the regional balance of power. It has also demonstrated a unique willingness to take...
Israel Continues to Stonewall Arab States About Its Nukes
Double standards can only be endured, as well as enforced, for so long. Eighteen Arab member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote a letter to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano to request that “Israeli nuclear capabilities” be included on the agenda...
John Kerry’s Doomed Peace Process
Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest foray into Middle East negotiations should be called the Einstein peace process. Doing the same thing over and over again and still expecting different results is the great scientist’s definition of insanity. This time around,...
Will Progress Follow Process in Israel-Palestine?
Secretary of State John Kerry has thrown himself back into the Middle East “peace process,” shuttling between various Middle Eastern capitals and trying to coax the Israeli government into reaching some kind of understanding with the Palestinian Authority. So far it’s...
Isn’t It Time Israel and Palestine Understood Each Other’s Dispute-Resolution Customs?
“Abbas Calls For Terrorists’ Release Before Peace Talks,” reads a recent headline in an Israeli political blog. “Abbas … sees great opportunity in using the precondition of releasing terrorists as leverage for just beginning peace talks,” says the text. The idea that...