Foreign Policy Blogs

Israel

A Familiar, Unproductive Anti-Media Refrain

A Familiar, Unproductive Anti-Media Refrain

Israeli and American politicians alike are using the same playbook — attacking the media and often diverting attention from the real problems at hand.
In U.S. politics, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich gave a stunning rebuke to CNN anchor John King during the South Carolina Republican debate …

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In Order to Fight Hamas, Israel Must Provide for Fatah

In Order to Fight Hamas, Israel Must Provide for Fatah

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process (negotiations between Israel and Fatah) has reached a stalemate that could prove quite detrimental to the two-state solution.  It has allowed Hamas to make a resurgence in Palestinian public opinion.   Since the Gilad Schalit deal, which saw over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released, Hamas has gained popularity in …

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A Familiar Refrain

A Familiar Refrain

In his NYT op-ed today entitled ‘Don’t Do It, Bibi,’ Roger Cohen issued another stern warning to his favorite target, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. In his piece, he warns about the grave repercussions if Israel were to attack Iran without political support …

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Are Egypt’s Islamic Parties Planning to Nullify the Peace Treaty with Israel?

Are Egypt’s Islamic Parties Planning to Nullify the Peace Treaty with Israel?

Guest Contribution by Jonathan D. Halevi
The following piece was originally published by Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. The author, Jonathan D. Halevi, is a senior researcher of the Middle East and Radical Islam at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs headed by former Israeli Ambassador to the …

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The Altalena Rises

The Altalena Rises

Just weeks after Israel declared Independence in May of 1948, and the ensuing war broke out, the IDF sunk a ship armed with fighters and weapons making its way to Israel. The ship was the Altalena and the fighters and weapons were working their way into Jewish hands, not Arab.
The …

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The Bus-Gender Freedom Flap

The Bus-Gender Freedom Flap


Israel has recently been awash in controversy over nothing new in the country’s history — the intersection of policy, society, and religion.
The most recent tussle has centered around whether segregating buses based on gender should be permissible. Some in the ultra orthodox community argue that separate …

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Year In Review: Israel

Year In Review: Israel

The past year in Israel has been anything but boring.  The Palestinians were rejected for full-membership in the United Nations, Israeli Corporal Gilad Schalit was returned alive to Israel, Turkey downgraded its diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, the Israeli population took to the streets for social change, …

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Year in Review—Middle East

Irrespective of one’s ideological affiliations, 2011 was an inconvenient year for the Middle East, to put it mildly. The speed at which Arab Spring brought about change has been baffling to most of us and inevitably prepared us for more drastic changes to come. Now let’s take a look at …

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Misguided Dueling over the Jewish Vote

Misguided Dueling over the Jewish Vote


 
As the 2012 election nears, Democrats and Republicans are both courting the American Jewish community, although the process is inherently an antithesis to one of their key talking points.
Earlier this week, six GOP presidential candidates attended a forum by the Republican Jewish Coalition, condemning President …

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President Romney is Going to Israel!

President Romney is Going to Israel!


Republican candidate for President, Mitt Romney, said this week that if he becomes President, he will visit Israel during his first foreign trip. So he is only two elections away from those famous Israeli breakfasts and some photo ops at the Kotel with those awkward cardboard …

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Netanyahu Government Takes a Swipe at American Jewry

Netanyahu Government Takes a Swipe at American Jewry

The Israeli government recently sponsored a public relations campaign to woo Israeli ex-pats in the US to return home, and discourage those thinking about leaving the Jewish state from doing so.  Lots of countries do this, so the fact that Israel has begun to is not overly controversial.  What is …

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Turkey: Year in Review

Turkey: Year in Review

Summary of Turkish foreign policy in 2011
2011 was in many ways a milestone in modern Turkish history. First, the Arab Spring not only shook the Western influence in the region, it also ended the post-colonial period in the Middle East, marked by authoritarian-suppressive regimes, which in their way mirrored and …

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The Relativity of Time

The Relativity of Time


Roger Cohen, a reliable critic of Israel’s policies, particularly under the Netanyahu administration, argues against attacking Iran in a New York Times op-ed today. This issue has regained momentum in light of the recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which concluded that in six …

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Regional Relations Matter

Regional Relations Matter

Almost immediately following the release of Gilad Shalit rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza resumed.  Over the last couple of weeks, it has begun to feel like a major scuffle between Israel, Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad is on the horizon.  Sunday night at the Jewish General Assembly in Denver, …

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An International Seat, Frozen Assets and a Million Dollar Bounty

An International Seat, Frozen Assets and a Million Dollar Bounty


After many long and tense months (years? decades?) the “situation” from the UN is starting to “resolve” itself. The US threatened a veto should they not be able to find the votes to keep the Palestinians from passing their resolution in the Security Council aimed at …

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