Political Geography: Israel - CIAO Search Results

801. Truth-Telling to Advance Peace

Author:: David M. Weinberg
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: By changing the discourse about settlements, the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for realistic negotiation. Even if you think that Israeli settlement should be rolled-back in the context of a sensible peace arrangement, applying the demonizing epithet “illegal” makes for a destructive narrative that distances, not advances, peace.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Territorial Disputes, Discrimination, Negotiation, and Settlements
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

802. Making the Best of US Withdrawal from Syria

Author:: Aiman Mansour
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: Given Iran’s presence in Syria, Israel must employ focused, operative rhetoric and policy versus the strategic threats it faces.
Topic:: Military Strategy, Hegemony, Foreign Interference, and Regional Power
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, Israel, Syria, North America, and United States of America

803. Netanyahu’s Political and Legal Challenges in the Next Elections

Author:: David Makovsky
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu hopes to capture his fifth term in the April 9 national elections, and polls show he has a clear lead over other candidates, retaining support from approximately a quarter of the electorate. Yet it is insufficient to merely have the most votes; to govern, the winner must subsequently cobble together a majority of at least 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Netanyahu is also under the shadow of potential corruption indictments pending a hearing that would occur after the elections.
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

804. Are Regional Leaders in Sync with Public Opinion? The Israeli-Palestinian Case

Author:: The Washington Institute for East Policy
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: As Israel's April elections draw near and Palestinians continue looking toward presidential and legislative votes of their own, it is the responsibility of pollsters to identify changes in public attitudes on both sides and in the wider Arab arena. To discuss what recent surveys can tell us about the Israeli-Palestinian political climate, the prospects for renewed momentum toward peace, and related issues, The Washington Institute is pleased to host a Policy Forum with three renowned pollsters, Nader Said, Tamar Hermann, and David Pollock.
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

805. Envisioning a New Economic Middle East: Reshaping the Gulf with Israel

Author:: Michael B Greenwald
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: We can envision the advent of a new economic revolution forming in the Shia crescent as a new, cohesive political force in the Middle East between Sunni Gulf Arabs and Israel by deepening rapprochement to counter Iran’s expansion. Alongside years of discreet contact and informal diplomatic backchannels between Gulf Countries and Israel, the future portends closer economic links between these power blocs. With the combination of Israeli technology and Gulf capital, there is no shortage of synergies eager to be developed, as Gulf States explore new visionary economic reforms looking beyond a dependence on oil revenues.
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

806. Protests Challenge Gulf Counterrevolution

Author:: James M Dorsey
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
Abstract:: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Much of the Middle East’s recent turmoil stems from internecine Middle Eastern rivalries spilling onto third country battlefields and Saudi and UAE-led efforts to roll back the achievements of the 2011 popular Arab revolts and pre-empt further uprisings. The recent successful toppling of ailing Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and months of anti-government demonstrations that have put Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir on the defensive suggest that the Saudi-UAE effort may be faltering.
Topic:: International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

807. Israel’s Information Campaigns: An Alternative to Kinetic Strikes

Author:: Yaakov Lappin
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
Abstract:: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In recent months, the Israeli defense establishment has made increasing use of “information campaigns,” or exposure through the media of enemy activity that has been detected by Israeli intelligence. This modus operandi has developed into an alternative to kinetic strikes
Topic:: International Security
Political Geography:: Israel

808. Belarus Could Be Russia’s Next Big Geopolitical Target

Author:: Emil Avdaliani
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
Abstract:: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Russia’s geopolitical projection has shifted over the past two decades. The country has tried to reverse its losses in Ukraine and the South Caucasus, but it is in Belarus that Moscow will most likely try to further extend its leverage to keep the EU and NATO at bay.
Topic:: International Affairs and Geopolitics
Political Geography:: Israel

809. Sanctions on the IRGC Will Be Judged by Results – and by Iran’s Reaction

Author:: Yaakov Lappin
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
Abstract:: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Trump administration’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity will ultimately be judged by how successful it is in changing Iran’s conduct.
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

810. US Designation of Revolutionary Guards Risks Escalation

Author:: James M Dorsey
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
Abstract:: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The US designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, and the Iranian response, has potentially put US military personnel in the region in harm’s way. The designation increases economic pressure on Iran because the IRGC is not only an army but also a commercial conglomerate – but it remains to be seen to what degree the sanctions will affect the IRGC
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

811. With Italy on Board, China’s BRI Gets a Major Boost

Author:: Emil Avdaliani
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
Abstract:: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: China’s grand Belt and Road Initiative, which is intended to connect the Asia-Pacific with the European market, had a major boost in March when Italy – the first of the G7 states – effectively signed onto the project. This event illustrates how difficult it is becoming for European countries to resist Chinese investment at a time of economic troubles in the EU
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

812. A New EastMed Friendship, with US Support

Author:: George N Tzogopoulos
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
Abstract:: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The prospective EastMed pipeline would be the flagship project of the Cypriot-Greek-Israeli collaboration, a developing friendship that enjoys deep foundations. The US has now made its support for that partnership official.
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

813. Mariupol: An On-Site Report

Author:: Jiri Valenta and Leni Friedman Valenta
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
Abstract:: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Although Vladimir Putin has not articulated the final objective of his proxy war in eastern Ukraine, his actions seem to indicate that he is determined to create a land bridge from Mariupol to Odessa – two major seaports vitally important to Ukraine's economy. Putin's overall strategy in Ukraine seems to be to strangle it economically by disrupting shipping between the Odessa and Azov Sea ports, with the aim of eventually subjugating Ukraine to Russia
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

814. U.S Recognition of Golan Heights Annexation: Testament to Our Times

Author:: Victor Kattan
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: On 25 March 2019, U.S. president Donald Trump signed a proclamation recognizing the occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel. The Golan Heights proclamation, which endorses Israel’s annexation of the territory captured from Syria in the 1967 war, was issued two weeks before the Israeli general election in a photo-op with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Undermining internationally agreed-upon norms prohibiting states from recognizing the annexation of territory by force, the proclamation could have detrimental consequences for the international legal order, providing a precedent for other states to take steps to annex territory they claim is necessary for their defense.
Topic:: International Political Economy, International Affairs, and Occupation
Political Geography:: Israel and Palestine

815. BDS Supression Attempts in Germany Backfire

Author:: Shir Hever
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: German organizations are among the last Palestine solidarity groups in Europe to have embraced the call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), launched in 2005. Pro-Israel German groups have been quick to respond with aggressive rhetoric equating a BDS-favorable stance with Nazism. The vilification of the movement has had the unintended consequence of inserting BDS into German politics, both at federal and local levels. Select case studies show that the BDS debate in Germany has developed somewhat differently than in other European countries, and that religious discourse is significant in shaping attitudes to Israel and Palestine. While the Palestine solidarity movement tends to single out the “Anti-Germans”—a pro-Israel formation that grew out of the Left after the reunification of Germany—as the major culprit, it is in fact conservative Christian, mostly Evangelical, organizations that are largely responsible for discouraging BDS activism.
Topic:: International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

816. The Kushner Plan: Keeping Israeli-Palestinian Peace out of Reach

Author:: Paul R. Pillar
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The U.S. administration’s Israeli-Palestinian “peace plan,” under President Donald Trump, has so far yielded only an inconclusive talkfest about economic development. The underlying rationale of the plan—that economics must come before any addressing of core political issues—is fundamentally flawed for several reasons. The biggest impediments to Palestinian economic development stem from aspects of the Israeli occupation that would continue under the plan, which rejects a two-state solution and is a slightly revised and renamed version of the current arrangement of limited Palestinian autonomy under Israeli domination. The plan flows directly from the Trump administration’s policy of acquiescing in the preferences of the right-wing government of Israel. Accordingly, the political portion of the plan is indefinitely delayed and might never be announced. Keeping the full plan under wraps serves the Israeli government’s purpose of holding out the promise of—but never delivering—peace with the Palestinians, while more facts are created on the ground
Topic:: International Relations, International Affairs, Fragile States, and Populism
Political Geography:: Israel and Palestine

817. Forecasting the Mideast in 2020

Author:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: Israel must be ready to tackle Iran militarily on its own and fight a pre-emptive war with Hizballah.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Military Strategy, Conflict, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, and Israel

818. The Russian Role in World Affairs: A View from Israel

Author:: Eran Lerman
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: It would undoubtedly serve Israel’s interest for Russia to draw closer to the US on a wide range of issues, and above all, on Iran.
Topic:: Hegemony, Strategic Stability, Strategic Interests, and Intervention
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Iran, Middle East, and Israel

819. The Gulf: Signs of a Partial Thaw in the Intra-Sunni Cold War?

Author:: Joshua Krasna
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: Israel needs to make clear to Washington the harm done in the region, and the potential for more harm, by the perception of American policy disarray, weakness and withdrawal.
Topic:: Military Strategy, Hegemony, Conflict, and Regionalism
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, North America, and United States of America

820. The Battle for Northwestern Syria: Better Sooner than Later

Author:: Aiman Mansour
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: It is in Israel’s interest that Assad regain control of northwestern Syria. Aside from improving the economic situation in Syria, this may increase Israeli leverage in the campaign against Iran’s military entrenchment.
Topic:: Security, Economics, Military Strategy, Conflict, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Syria

821. Erdogan’s Dangerous Diagonal: What can be Done to Counter Turkey’s EEZ claims?

Author:: Eran Lerman
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: Israel needs enhanced naval capability for the protection of its own EEZ and for the creation of a proper balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean.
Topic:: Security, Military Strategy, Hegemony, Navy, Maritime, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Israel

822. Russia-Israel Relations: Expectations and Reality

Author:: Micky Aharonson
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: Syria remains the main point of contention between the two countries.
Topic:: Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Military Strategy, Bilateral Relations, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Middle East, Israel, and Syria

823. Making the Best of US Withdrawal from Syria

Author:: Aiman Mansour
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: Given Iran’s presence in Syria, Israel must employ focused, operative rhetoric and policy versus the strategic threats it faces.
Topic:: Security, Military Strategy, Hegemony, Military Intervention, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, Israel, Syria, North America, and United States of America

824. Winter 2019 issue of Contemporary Eurasia

Author:: Ruben Safrastyan
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contemporary Eurasia
Institution:: Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
Abstract:: ARMENIA IN THE REGIONAL CONTEXT SAREN ABGARYAN BELT & ROAD INITIATIVE AND THE INCREASING RELEVANCE OF ARMENIA-CHINA BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATY ...................... 4 MANE BABAJANYAN TACKLING ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN RELATIONS IN THE POST-SOVIET AGE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES .............. 21 ANNA KARAPETYAN THE NEW DYNAMICS ՕF THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INTERNAL PROCESSES IN ARMENIA IN 2018 .......................................................................................................... 47 RESOURCE COMPETITION IN THE MIDDLE EAST ARAM ABAJYAN THE ROLE OF GULF REGION’S ENERGY SUPPLIERS IN CHINA’S ENERGY SECURITY AT THE TURN OF THE 21ST CENTURY ............. 62 SHOGHIK TADEVOSYAN HYDRO-HEGEMONY IN ACTION: THE PROBLEM OF WATER IN THE ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT ................................................. 82 WORKSHOP DEDICATED TO CONTEMPORARY EURASIA ............ 106
Topic:: Security, Treaties and Agreements, Water, Conflict, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Energy Sector
Political Geography:: China, Eurasia, Middle East, Israel, Asia, Palestine, Armenia, Georgia, and Nagorno-Karabakh

825. Israel politics: The guns of February

Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics and News Analysis
Political Geography:: Israel

826. Middle East and Africa politics: Quick View - Israel-Iran clashes escalate in Syria

Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics, News Analysis, Forecast, and Political stability
Political Geography:: Iran, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria

827. Middle East and Africa politics: Confrontations raise risk of new war breaking out in Syria

Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics and News Analysis
Political Geography:: Iran, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria

828. Israel/Lebanon politics: Quick View - Border dispute over wall and maritime boundary reopens

Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: International Relations, Politics, News Analysis, and Forecast
Political Geography:: Israel and Lebanon

829. Israel politics: Police recommend prime minister face charges

Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics and News Analysis
Political Geography:: Israel

830. Israel/Palestine politics: Quick View - Trump’s comments raise fresh doubts over a new peace plan

Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: International Relations, Politics, News Analysis, and Forecast
Political Geography:: Israel and Palestine

831. Israel politics: Quick View - Police make arrests in Bezeq corruption probe

Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics, News Analysis, Forecast, and Political stability
Political Geography:: Israel

832. Middle East and Africa politics: Democratic progress still undermined by regional insecurity

Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics and News Analysis
Political Geography:: Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Israel, Kuwait, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Tunisia, Oman, and UAE

833. Israel's Qatari Dilemma

Author:: Yoel Guzansky and Kobi Michael
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)
Abstract:: Qatar’s support for Hamas and its investment in the Gaza Strip, though based more on pragmatism than on ideological identification, suit its foreign policy, which supports political Islam and aims to increase Doha’s influence in the Middle East.
Topic:: International Relations
Political Geography:: Israel

834. Germany-Israel Relations: Unique or Normal?

Author:: Shimon Stein
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)
Abstract:: Recent events and statements by German figures indicate a change in Germany’s attitude to Israel. What for decades was a unique bilateral relationship – grounded in the memory of the Holocaust and the commitment that Germany consequently made to Israel’s existence and security – has been increasingly shaped by considerations of realpolitik that formerly played a secondary role.
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel and Germany

835. Jewish-Arab Coexistence in Jerusalem and Local Elections

Author:: Nadav Shragai
Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: A new survey, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion among the Arabs of east Jerusalem, indicates an increasing desire among the city’s Arab population to participate in upcoming municipal elections.
Topic:: International Cooperation
Political Geography:: Israel

836. Givat Hamatos: A Strategic Jerusalem Neighborhood

Author:: Nadav Shragai
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: A plan to build a Jewish residential neighborhood in Givat Hamatos (Airplane Hill) in southern Jerusalem was approved in 2014, but has been frozen for four years due to pressure from the U.S. and EU countries. The area is adjacent to a main traffic artery of west Jerusalem.
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

837. Guiding Principles for a New Israeli Foreign Policy Paradigm

Author:: Mitvim
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: Israel lacks a coherent foreign policy. This has a harmful effect on its position in the world, on the role of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs in decision making processes, and on the conduct of Israel’s diplomacy. Israeli foreign policy is subordinated to the security establishment and focuses on public diplomacy (hasbara) efforts, rather than advancing diplomatic processes that would enable Israel a fresh start among the nations, regional belonging, and a future of peace, security and prosperity. The Mitvim Institute is working to change that. A multi-disciplinary Mitvim task-team formulated guiding principles for a new Israeli foreign policy paradigm - a pro-peace, multi-regional, outward looking, modern and inclusive foreign policy. This paper presents these guiding principles.
Topic:: International Relations
Political Geography:: Israel

838. Fresh thinking for old problems: comparing conflicts to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace

Author:: Dahlia Scheindlin
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: Fresh thinking for old problems: comparing conflicts to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

839. Preventing an Israel-Iran Escalation in Syria via Diplomacy

Author:: Michael Harari, Ofer Zalzberg, Nimrod Goren, and Gil Murciano
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: After an Iranian drone entered Israeli airspace 10 February 2018, Israel responded by striking Iranian and Syrian targets in southern Syria. Anti-aircraft fire led to the downing of an Israeli F-16 warplane. This was the first direct confrontation between Israel and Iran in Syria, and it has prompted concern over further military escalation along the Israeli-Syrian border. In order to prevent such an escalation, Israel cannot rely only on security means. It should also make effective use of diplomacy: to identify clear and feasible policy goals regarding Syria, to foster alliances with countries that can help advance these goals, and to mobilize these countries into constructive action. This document includes experts’ perspectives on Israeli interests at stake, and diplomatic channels that can be promoted with Russia, the US, Turkey, and Germany in order to prevent further escalation. It is based on a policy workshop convened by the Mitvim Institute on 15 February 2018
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

840. Voting Patterns in UN Institutions Regarding Israel, 2009-2017, Dr. Roee Kibrik & Dr. Nimrod Goren

Author:: Nimrod Goren and Roee Kibrik
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: Voting Patterns in UN Institutions Regarding Israel, 2009-2017, Dr. Roee Kibrik & Dr. Nimrod Goren
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

841. Opportunities for Israel's Foreign Relations towards 2018, Mitvim's Annual Conference, Panel Summary

Author:: Mitvim
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: The 2017 annual conference of the Mitvim Institute was held on 1 November 2017 in Jerusalem, in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. As part of the conference, a public panel was held on opportunities for Israel’s foreign relations towards 2018. It featured Helit Barel, Prof. Elie Podeh, Dr. Thabet Abu Rass, and Eran Etzion who spoke about issues related to the Iran nuclear deal, Israel-US relations, Israel in the Middle East, the involvement of Israel’s Arab citizens in foreign affairs, Israeli-European relations, and the status of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Israel

842. Israel/Palestine politics: Quick View - Palestinians reject US mediation after Jerusalem decision

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: International Relations, Politics, News Analysis, and Forecast
Political Geography:: Israel and Palestine

843. Israel politics: Quick View - Controversial legislation is making headway

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics, News Analysis, Forecast, and Political stability
Political Geography:: Israel

844. Middle East and Africa politics: UAE continues with assertive foreign policy stance

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics and News Analysis
Political Geography:: Israel, Yemen, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and UAE

845. Israel/Palestine politics: Quick View - Israel destroys tunnel running between Gaza and Israel

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: International Relations, Politics, News Analysis, and Forecast
Political Geography:: Israel and Palestine

846. Israel/Jordan politics: Jordan's king struggles to balance regional ties

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics and News Analysis
Political Geography:: Israel and Jordan

847. India/Israel politics: Quick View - Israeli prime minister makes extended visit to India

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: International Relations, Politics, News Analysis, and Forecast
Political Geography:: India and Israel

848. Middle East and Africa politics: Quick View - US vice-president's visit focuses on peace process

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: International Relations, Politics, News Analysis, and Forecast
Political Geography:: Israel, Palestine, and Jordan

849. Israel/Bahrain politics: Improving ties between Bahrain and Israel

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Politics and News Analysis
Political Geography:: Israel and Bahrain

850. Middle East and Africa politics: Quick View - Netanyahu raises concerns over Hizbullah in Putin meeting

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Country Data and Maps
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: International Relations, Politics, News Analysis, and Forecast
Political Geography:: Israel, Lebanon, and Syria

851. Palestine and the Arab–Israeli Conflict: 100 Years of Regional Relevance and International Failure

Author:: Karim Makdisi
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: This paper asserts that the Arab–Israeli conflict, and in particular the question of Palestine, has been the major issue of regional concern across the Middle East for over a century. It claims that the failure to resolve the question of Palestine will continue to impact on the region’s stability and its geopolitical dynamics and to shape popular opinion while limiting Arab leaders’ options. It first situates the Arab–Israeli conflict as a core regional issue in historical context – which is crucial for understanding where we are today – before critically reviewing the Oslo “peace process” and its failure to deliver a just and sustainable peace within the framework of a “two-state solution”. It suggests that this failure has resulted in the ramping up of lingering regional problems (e.g. southern Lebanon, the Golan Heights, refugees and in Palestine itself) and the rise of new challenges and frameworks (e.g. the Resistance Axis and the BDS movement). It concludes that the time has come for the international community – including the European Union, which has contributed to the failure of the two-state solution – to consider alternative paradigms and actions.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Refugees, Syrian War, Negotiation, and Peace
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria

852. Trends in Israel’s Regional Foreign Policies: July-December 2018

Author:: Roee Kibrik and Nimrod Goren
Publication Date:: 07-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: This document briefly outlines major trends in Israel’s regional foreign policies over the past six months. It is based on the Mitvim Institute’s monthly reports that cover ongoing developments in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process/conflict, Israel’s relations with the Middle East, Europe and the Mediterranean, and the conduct of Israel’s Foreign Service.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, International Affairs, and Peace
Political Geography:: Russia, Turkey, Middle East, Israel, Greece, Jerusalem, Gaza, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, and European Union

853. U.S. Strategy, the JCPOA Iranian Nuclear Arms Agreement, and the Gulf: Playing the Long Game

Author:: Anthony H. Cordesman
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: Few recent American foreign policy decisions have been as divisive as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear arms control agreement with Iran. Advocates of the agreement have focused far too exclusively on its potential benefits. Opponents equally exclusively on its potential faults. Both sides tend to forget that any feasible arms control agreement between what are hostile sides tends to be a set of compromises that are an extension of arms races and potential conflicts by other means. As a result, imperfect agreements with uncertain results are the rule, not the exception. President Trump has made it clear that he opposes the agreement and would like to terminate it. His dismissal of Rex Tillerson as Security of State, and his replacement by Mike Pompeo – along with his dismissal of General H.R. McMaster and replacement with John Bolton – indicate that President Trump may well seek to terminate the agreement in the near future – action which might or might not have significant bipartisan support. He faces a May 5th to decide whether to again waive economic sanction against Iran, a decision which comes up for renewal every 120 days.
Topic:: Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Nuclear Weapons, Military Strategy, Deterrence, and JCPOA
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Iran, Middle East, and Israel

854. Developing a Containment Strategy in Syria

Author:: Seth G. Jones
Publication Date:: 05-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: The Issue Some U.S. policymakers have argued that the United States should withdraw its military forces from Syria. But the United States has several interests in Syria: Balancing against Iran, including deterring Iranian forces and militias from pushing close to the Israeli border, disrupting Iranian lines of communication through Syria, preventing substantial military escalation between Israel and Iran, and weakening Shia proxy forces. Balancing against Russia, including deterring further Russian expansion in the Middle East from Syrian territory and raising the costs—including political costs—of Russian operations in Syria. Preventing a terrorist resurgence, including targeting Salafi-jihadist groups like the Islamic State and al Qaeda that threaten the United States and its allies. Our Recommendations: Based on U.S. interests in Syria, Washington should establish a containment strategy that includes the following components: Retain a small military and intelligence footprint that includes working with—and providing limited training, funding, and equipment to—groups in eastern, northern, and southern Syria, such as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Coordinate with regional allies such as Jordan and Israel to balance against Iran and Russia and to prevent the resurgence of Salafi-jihadists. Pressure outside states to end support to Salafi-jihadists, including Turkey and several Gulf states. As the war in Syria moves into its seventh year, U.S. policymakers have struggled to agree on a clear Syria strategy. Some U.S. policymakers have argued that the United States needs to withdraw its military forces from Syria. “I want to get out,” President Trump said of the United States’ military engagement in Syria. “I want to bring our troops back home.”1 Others have urged caution, warning that a precipitous withdrawal could contribute to a resurgence of terrorism or allow U.S. competitors like Iran and Russia—along with their proxies—to fill the vacuum.2 In addition, some administration officials have argued that the Islamic State has been decimated in Syria and Iraq. The National Security Strategy notes that “we crushed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorists on the battlefields of Syria and Iraq.”3 But between 5,000 and 12,000 Islamic State fighters remain in Syria and continue to conduct guerrilla attacks, along with between 40,000 and 70,000 Salafi-jihadist fighters in Syria overall.4
Topic:: Civil War, Terrorism, Military Strategy, and Military Intervention
Political Geography:: United States, Iran, Middle East, Israel, and Syria

855. Restoring the Eastern Mediterranean as a U.S. Strategic Anchor

Author:: Jon B. Alterman, Heather A Conley, and Donatienne Ray
Publication Date:: 05-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: U.S. strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean is long overdue for revision. Policies, priorities, and activities girded by U.S.-led alliance structures were developed to stabilize Europe and deter Soviet aggression at the dawn of the Cold War. Seventy years later, they are no longer fit for purpose. However, the region remains a linchpin for an array of vital U.S. interests. In the last decade alone, regional conflicts and state fragmentation have caused millions of migrants and internally displaced to flee their homes, creating one of the largest migration crises since World War II. The arrival of an unprecedented number of migrants has triggered political backlash and polarized domestic politics in Europe and in the Eastern Mediterranean. Many of the littoral states in the Eastern Mediterranean have faced destabilizing economic crises that have created deep political and strategic vulnerabilities. Significant natural gas deposits discovered off the coasts of Israel, Cyprus, and Egypt could boost regional economic prospects as a potential energy-producing region, but a divided Cyprus, historical animosities, as well as a lack of infrastructure connectivity hinder this regional economic potential.
Topic:: Imperialism, Military Strategy, Infrastructure, Fragile/Failed State, Military Intervention, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Africa, United States, Middle East, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, and Mediterranean

856. The Escalating Conflict with Hezbollah in Syria

Author:: Seth G. Jones
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: The Issue: Hezbollah and Iran have accumulated a substantial amount of weapons and fighters in Syria that pose a threat to the United States and its allies in the region. In response, Israel has conducted a growing number of strikes against Iranian, Hezbollah and other targets in Syria. An escalating war has the potential to cause significant economic damage, lead to high numbers of civilian casualties and internally displaced persons, and involve more countries in the region than did the 2006 Lebanon War. The stakes are high, making it critical for Washington to help prevent such an escalation.
Topic:: Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Syrian War, and Hezbollah
Political Geography:: United States, Iran, Middle East, Israel, and Syria

857. Hezbollah’s Missiles and Rockets

Author:: Shaan Shaikh and Ian Williams
Publication Date:: 07-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: Hezbollah is a Lebanese political party and militant group with close ties to Iran and Syria’s Assad regime. It is the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor—aptly described as “a militia trained like an army and equipped like a state.”1 This is especially true with regard to its missile and rocket forces, which Hezbollah has arrayed against Israel in vast quantities. The party’s arsenal is comprised primarily of small, man-portable, unguided artillery rockets. Although these devices lack precision, their sheer number make them effective weapons of terror. According to Israeli sources, Hezbollah held around 15,000 rockets and missiles on the eve of the 2006 Lebanon War, firing nearly 4,000 at Israel over the 34-day conflict. Hezbollah has since expanded its rocket force, today estimated at 130,000 rounds.2 Hezbollah asserts that its rocket forces are primarily for deterrence—a means to retaliate against Israel in the event of conflict. In May 2006, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah explained “The purpose of our rockets is to deter Israel from attacking Lebanese civilians…The enemy fears that every time he confronts us, whenever there are victims in our ranks among Lebanese civilians, this will lead to a counter-barrage of our rockets, which he fears.”3 Indiscriminate rocket fire, particularly from small, easily transportable launchers makes the suppression of fire with airpower more challenging. This forces Israel to rely more heavily on ground forces in a conflict. Lacking any air force of its own, Hezbollah prefers ground wars in its own territory to bombardment from the skies. As Human Rights Watch notes, however, none of these arguments justifies targeting civilians under international law.4 The continued growth of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket forces is undesirable for several reasons. It may, for example, embolden the party to overstep Israeli red lines. Hezbollah’s push to acquire longer-ranged and precision-guided munitions could likewise spur Israel into preemptive action. Hezbollah’s weapons acquisition also raises the prospects for the proliferation of missile technology and know-how. According to Saudi and UAE officials, Hezbollah militants have worked with their Houthi forces in rocket development and launch divisions in Yemen.5 Hezbollah forces in Syria and Iraq similarly operate with various Shiite militias. Growing relations among these groups presents risks for the dissemination of missile technology and knowledge. The following is a summary compilation of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket arsenal. It is limited by the availability of public source information and does not cover certain topics such as rocket strategies, evolution, or storage locations. This brief instead focuses on the acquisition history, capabilities, and use of these forces.
Topic:: Non State Actors, Violent Extremism, Missile Defense, and Hezbollah
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon

858. Iran Sanctions at the Halfway Point

Author:: Sarah Ladislaw and Frank A. Verrastro
Publication Date:: 08-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: On May 8, President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement endorsed by Iran, the United States, France, Germany, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Concurrent with that action, Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act of FY 2012 (NDAA) was reactivated, along with other U.S. sanctions under the Iran Freedom and Counter-proliferation Act (IFCA), the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), and the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (ITRSHRA). Departments and agencies are implementing these sanctions with 90-day and 180-day wind down periods, after which time the applicable sanctions come back into full effect.1 Since May, administration officials from several agencies have been travelling around the world to explain the rationale for the decision to pull out of the JCPOA and persuade countries to comply with the sanctions program. Earlier this week (following the end of the first 90-day wind down period), the administration announced that on August 7 sanctions would be reimposed on: Iran’s automotive sector; Activities related to the issuance of sovereign debt; Transactions related to the Iranian rial; Iran’s trade in gold and other precious metals; Graphite, aluminum, steel, coal, and software used in industrial processes; The acquisition of U.S. bank notes by the government of Iran.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Nuclear Weapons, Sanctions, and JCPOA
Political Geography:: United States, Iran, Middle East, and Israel

859. A Comprehensive Israeli Concept for a WMD/DVs-Free Zone in the Middle East/Gulf

Author:: Shemuel Meir
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:: Attempts to achieve a zone free of weapons of mass destruction (WMD-Free Zone) in the Middle East have become even more complicated than in the past. This Policy Forum issue provides a fresh look at the topic in order to offer common ground for positive discussions on Middle East disarmament. Its main novelty is to look at the security threat as perceived by Israel in the context of an Israeli-Egyptian-Iranian triangle that complements the old paradigm of an Israeli-Egyptian dyad. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA or agreement/accord) with Iran is a challenge for some regional actors but at the same time could form a basis for bridging the disarmament gap, especially with its unprecedented robust verification regime. From a purely strategic angle, the JCPOA is beneficial to Israel’s national security interests. It is therefore to be hoped that this multilateral agreement will withstand the Donald Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle it.
Topic:: National Security, Treaties and Agreements, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Weapons, and Donald Trump
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, Israel, and United States of America

860. A New Egyptian Track II Approach to the WMD/DVs-free Zone in the Middle East/Gulf

Author:: Mona Ahmed Saleh
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:: This Policy Forum issue revisits the stalemate in the negotiations of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems (WMD/ DVs-Free Zone) in the Middle East/Gulf, which has been negatively impacted by several regional developments. It starts by highlighting the basic gap in the different conceptions of such a zone by the Egyptian-led Arab states, in addition to Iran, on the one hand, and Israel, on the other. Arguing from a comprehensive security perspective in the region, this Policy Forum issue presents a new Track II Cooperative Idea by viewing the establishment of the WMD/DVs-Free Zone as an incremental, multi-stage, long-term process that should take place on different tracks and should combine the traditionally incompatible calls for “Disarmament First!” and “Peace/Recognition First!” of the respective negotiating parties. While emphasizing how important it is to keep (in-)formal talks going – and to be patient – a Preparatory Commission for a WMD/DVs Treaty is proposed whose mandate would include special assignments for Track II actors.
Topic:: Weapons of Mass Destruction, Weapons, and Disarmament
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Egypt, and Gulf Nations

861. Towards a Missile-Free Zone for the Middle East – Moving Beyond the Nuclear Dimension of the JCPOA

Author:: Marc Finaud and Bernd W. Kubbig
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:: The highly controversial missile problem in the Middle East should – and can – be constructively tackled by not singling out Iran and by avoiding onesided maximalist and unrealistic demands towards Tehran. The authors aim at providing incentives for Iran to start discussion on its missile arsenal in three ways: they propose (a) applying vital elements that led to the successful conclusion of the JCPOA; (b) regionalising future talks in a triangle that includes from the beginning the missiles of Saudi Arabia and Israel; and (c) starting with modest confidence-building steps among the three major powers. Among the extra-regional players the United States continues to have a special responsibility for engaging in such a cooperative approach.
Topic:: Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, Israel, and Saudi Arabia

862. Israel and China Take a Leap Forward—but to Where?

Author:: Arthur Herman
Publication Date:: 11-2018
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Hudson Institute
Abstract:: There is certainly no denying that, in terms of trade and investment alone, the burgeoning economic partnership between Israel and China has at least the potential of transforming not only Israel itself but also Israel’s position vis-à-vis the rest of the Middle East—and most notably vis-à-vis Iran, which happens to be Beijing’s other key partner in the region. Inevitably, it could also have an impact on Israel’s relations with the United States. But is this a marriage made in heaven? Or is it something else? Weighing the answer to that question involves probing beneath the two countries’ currently successful dynamic of trade and commercial transactions to their respective geopolitical agendas. When it comes to Israel, the acknowledged junior partner, it also requires examining whether and how the relationship with China could become a dependency. Such a change might please Beijing, but it would impose on Israeli national security a new kind of vulnerability, one very different from the challenges it has faced successfully in the past.
Topic:: Diplomacy, National Security, Bilateral Relations, Partnerships, Geopolitics, and Economy
Political Geography:: China, Middle East, Israel, and Asia

863. El uso de la cuestión palestina en la política egipcia (1981-2016): Continuidad y adaptaciones

Author:: Bárbara Azaola
Publication Date:: 05-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: Uno de los pilares en los que se ha basado la política regional de Egipto desde que en 1979 firmase el tratado de paz con Israel, ha sido su voluntad de jugar un papel de mediador entre israelíes y palestinos. En este artículo se analiza cómo desde la época de Hosni Mubarak el régimen egipcio se ha servido, tanto a nivel regional, internacional e interno, de su papel de mediador en el conflicto palestino-israelí. Este rol ha sido usado no sólo para su reconocimiento hacia el exterior sino también como instrumento de legitimación ante su opinión pública. Ni siquiera bajo la presidencia del islamista Mohamed Morsi (2012-2013) se produjo un realineamiento radical a nivel regional. A partir de 2013, con la llegada al poder del militar Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, los vínculos con Israel se han estrechado a distintos niveles. Se analiza, también, si en el Egipto post-Mubarak, la oposición política y la sociedad civil han mantenido la tradicional movilización por la causa palestina como forma de aumentar su visibilidad pública, habiendo sido esta “tolerada” previamente para que actuase como válvula de escape.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Regional Cooperation, History, Domestic Politics, and Mediation
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt

864. Some New Suggestions for Solving the Israeli–Palestinians Disputes

Author:: Gideon Biger
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: Many suggestions have been presented for solving the Israeli – Palestinian dis- pute. As for now, none of those suggestions, presented during more than thirty years of ne- gotiations, have been accepted by both sides. As for this, some new ideas have to be entered the arena. Here some new, “out of the box”, geographical proposals are presented, based on actual events and geographical realities which exist in other areas. These proposals could be seen as un-human or politically wrong suggestions but as all other proposals were rejected, the decision makers of both sides, as well as the leaders of the world, can use the presented suggestion as a base for future negotiations.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Territorial Disputes, Conflict, and Negotiation
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

865. Choice of Language and the Quest for Israeli Identity in the Works of Tuvia Ruebner and Aharon Appelfeld

Author:: Michal Ben-Horin
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: Immigration highlights the question of language and raises the dilemma of the relationship between the mother tongue and the language of the new land. For writers this question is even more crucial: should they write in the language of the place and its readers? Immigration to Israel is not exceptional, of course. What choices are open to those writers, and how are they to convey the complexities inherent in the formation of an Israeli identity? This paper focuses on two writers who demonstrate the role played by the “chosen language” in the cultural construction and deconstruction of Israeli identity. Tuvia Ruebner emigrated from Bratislava, Aharon Appelfeld from Bukovina. Ruebner shifted from German to Hebrew and back to German; Appelfeld wrote only in Hebrew. In both cases, their arrival in Israel en- abled them to survive. However, the loss of their families in Europe continued to haunt them. Inspired by Walter Benjamin’s concept of ‘translation’ and responding to Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s concept of ‘minor literature’, the paper shows how their work conveys a mul- tilayered interrelation between national and foreign languages, and between images of exile and homeland, past, present and future – all of which shed light on contemporary issues of Israeli identity.
Topic:: Nationalism, Immigration, Culture, Displacement, Language, and Identity
Political Geography:: Europe, Middle East, and Israel

866. The Hero’s Wife: The Depiction of Female Holocaust Survivors in Israeli Cinema Prior to the Eichmann Trial and in its Aftermath

Author:: Liat Steir-Livny
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: Israeli culture in the 1940s and 1950s was dominated by ideological consider- ations. Zionist films, as other aspects of Eretz-Israel and Israeli culture, distinctively propa- gated Zionist ideas. As a consequence of their sociopolitical focus, these films neglected the complexities of the relationship between Holocaust survivors and the native Jews in Eretz- Israel. Instead, Holocaust survivors were reduced to a homogeneous entity that bore distinct negative connotations. Films depicted female Holocaust survivors as mentally unstable, unfit mothers, and often played up negative sexual stereotypes. In these films, the women were “cured” or went through a process of “purification” thanks to the Zionist establishment. Historical research often cites the trial of Adolf Eichmann (1961) as being a turning point in the Israeli public’s perception of the Holocaust, and its representation in Israeli culture. This article will focus on an analysis of the film The Hero’s Wife (Peter Frye, 1963) that was produced in the aftermath of the trial. It will discuss the innovative representations of this unresearched film, and will seek to answer the questions of why, and in what way, its narra- tive comprises a subversive antithesis to the narrative shaped by Zionist fiction films made prior to the Eichmann trial.
Topic:: Culture, Media, Film, Zionism, Holocaust, Psychology, and Stereotypes
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

867. Israeli Identity on the Run: the Quest for a Non- National Position in Contemporary Israeli Literature

Author:: Shira Stav
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: My essay discusses a new attempt in young Israeli novels to break out of the suffo- cation and stagnation of the dominant literary protagonist. The discussion revolves around Ilai Rowner’s recent novel, Deserter (2015), which suggests ‘desertion’ as an option of to overcome nationalized structures of the self and of break new ground for its existence. The protagonist’s escape and quest for a non-national position is destined to failure, however, reflecting the current state of political consciousness among young Israeli authors, and, I ar- gue, the unthinkability of political exile in contemporary Israeli novels. The discussion presented here follows the renewed interest in Hanna Arendt’s exem- plary essay “We Refugees” (1943) in light of the current refugees’ crisis in Europe among scholars such as Giorgio Agamben, Amal Jamal and Itamar Mann. While Agamben develops a phenomenology of being-a-refugee, severing the bond between nation and territory, his work lacks an experiential account on being a refugee. In light of this absence, I argue that Rowner’s protagonist remains blind to the particular identities he encounters, actively eras- ing the profound differences between deserters and refugees, persecutors and persecuted. While he recognizes the haunted element in him, Rowners’ protagonist’s obliviousness to the specific experiential trappings of his own story effectively sterilizes the novel’s political acuity through the effort to adopt an all-human perspective.
Topic:: Nationalism, Culture, Refugee Crisis, Identities, and Novels
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

868. Deconstructing the Topos of Poland as a Jewish Necropolis in Texts by Israeli Authors of the Third Post- Holocaust Generation

Author:: Jagoda Budzik
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The paper aims at recognizing and describing the ways of deconstructing the to- pos of Poland as a Jewish necropolis, a process that in the last decade appears more and more often in the works of Israeli authors of the third generation after the Shoah. The generation concept – as I argue – can serve here as a useful tool for understanding the shift which oc- curred in the specific national context of Israeli Holocaust discourse and strongly influenced the image of Poland in Israeli literature and culture. Poland depicted as a Jewish necropolis has become one of the central motifs present in Israeli literary as well as the artistic canon of Shoah representations. As the central space where the Shoah occurred, Poland was obviously perceived as a land marked by death and formed exclusively by the experience of the Holo- caust. However, in the aftermath of two major shifts that have occurred in the last decades: a meaningful change in the Israeli Holocaust discourse and the new reality of Poland after 1989, and also as a consequence of the growing time distance separating yet another genera- tion from the events themselves, numerous authors born in Israel mostly in the 1970s and in the 1980s began approaching the abovementioned motif critically. This tendency, one of the few typical for the third generation, is demonstrated either through the motif ’s deconstruc- tion and subversive usage or, more radically, by employing the genre of alternate history and changing the place’s identity (e.g. Tel Aviv by Yair Chasdiel). The topos of Poland as a ne- cropolis has therefore been turned into a part – or even a starting point – of the reflection on collective memory patterns (e.g. Kompot. The Polish-Israeli Comic Book), stereotypes (e.g. Bat Yam by Yael Ronen), and on the authors’ own roots and identity (e.g. The Property by Rutu Modan). By analyzing the abovementioned texts, I will explore the process of constant interaction occurring between collective and the individual memory, between the Israeli national perspective and Polish landscapes, between an author and the space and, finally – between the category of the third generation and its representatives themselves.
Topic:: Nationalism, Culture, Holocaust, Memory, and Literature
Political Geography:: Europe, Middle East, Israel, and Poland

869. Matrilineality as a Historical and Cultural Context of Ethical Reflection on the Use of In Vitro Fertilization in Israel

Author:: Teresa Marcinow
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: On one hand Israel is a leader in the field of high-tech industry, but on the other it remains a country focused on traditions. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is one of the most common treatments among many possibilities which were created in the field of assisted re- productive technology (ART). Indeed, the number of Jewish women as intensive consumers of IVF has increased in the past few years. Due to the great importance of motherhood and raising families in Jewish tradition, Israel strongly supports health care procedures assisting Jewish adults in becoming parents. There is no doubt that for Jews life is the most precious value in its religious and political meaning, however, they are quite flexible in accommodat- ing modern technologies in order to serve life. The State has historically focused on increas- ing birthrates and nowadays a woman’s biological clock is an important element not only in the context of matrylineal descent and for the answer to the question of Jews identity but it is also intervening as a part of the reproductive industry.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Emerging Technology, Parenting, and IVF
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

870. The Response of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to the Crisis of Soviet Jewish Émigré Dropouts (Noshrim) in the 1970s

Author:: Fred Lazin
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The JDC is an American Jewish organization that assists overseas Jewish commu- nities in distress. It is responsible to “American Jewry” and those organizations that fund it. Bauer (1974, 19) argued that the JDC has been guided by its founding “pledge of impartiality – it steers clear of political involvements” and takes pride in being “probably the only really non-partisan organization in Jewish life.” This paper examines the role of the JDC in caring for Soviet émigrés who left on visas for Israel but chose to resettle elsewhere. They were known as “dropouts” (Noshrim in Hebrew). It also deals with the JDC policy toward recently settled Russian Jews who left Israel to resettle elsewhere. In its work with Soviet Jewish emi- gres did the JDC serve the interests of the Israeli government, its donors and or the emigres? Did the JDC abide by its pledge of impartiality? Did the JDC try to force them to resettle in Israel against their wishes? The paper focuses on the spring of 1976 when the number of dropouts outnumbered those resettling in Israel. This led to a joint committee of Israelis and American Jews to coordinate a response. The ‘freedom of choice’ debate ensued; should So- viet Jews resettle in Israel or have the freedom to choose where to resettle? The findings here are based on archival records in the JDC, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the CJF (Jewish federations) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC). The author also conducted interviews and reviewed secondary sources. The paper should contribute to a better under- standing of the JDC and its past ties to Israel and the American Jewish community.
Topic:: Migration, Religion, Culture, Judaism, Displacement, and NGOs
Political Geography:: United States, Middle East, Israel, and North America

871. Creating a National Identity through Agricultural Education in Mandatory Palestine

Author:: Esther Yankelevitch
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: Formation of agricultural education in high schools was a milestone in the early 20th century history of Zionist education, and in the Jewish society in Mandatory Palestine in general. Agricultural education was a means of changing the character of the Jewish peo- ple by imparting agricultural knowledge and training. Candidates came from agricultural settlements, but mainly – and this was its uniqueness – they also came from the towns. In addition, agricultural education provided a framework for absorbing immigrant youth. This educational framework was, among other things, ideological because those who joined it were usually motivated by a desire to change the character of the Jewish society, return to the land and work it. The cost of funding agricultural schools was high for the local Jewish community, and therefore these schools remained dependent on private initiative and phi- lanthropy. In spite of the widespread ideological support, not many students actually took part in agricultural education due to the high cost of tuition on the one hand, and the need to help support their own families on the other. It can also be said that during this period, parents who had the means to provide their children with higher education, favored the “Gymnasium” high school model, which could lead to them engaging in other professions.
Topic:: Agriculture, Nationalism, Culture, and Identity
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

872. Beyond “Recognition”. The Polish Perspectives on Israeli and Palestinian National Identities: Preliminary Assumptions of Research

Author:: Jaroslaw Jarzabek and Marcin Szydzisz
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The paper aims to provide an overview of the main streams of perception of Israeli and Palestinian national identities by Polish authorities and society, as well as analyze their sources. The study covers the period of time when both of the national identities took shape, that is since the beginning of the mass Jewish migration to Palestine at the beginning of the XXth century until the present time. As the Jews have for a long time been an impor- tant part of Polish history and society, Poles have a strong perception of Jewish, and conse- quently also Israeli, identity. Polish Jews, who played a crucial role in establishing the Israeli state and shaping Israeli national identity, were treated by many Poles as “our Jews”. This perception was conditioned by internal factors, such as social relations, cultural proximity, historical memory or political views. In contrast, a perception of the Palestinian identity from the very beginning was conditioned externally, because it resulted from international political developments and a narrative imposed by foreign powers. Another special feature of the Polish perception of Israeli and Palestinian identity is the fact that public opinion very often differs significantly from the political position of state authorities.
Topic:: Nationalism, Culture, State Building, and Identity
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

873. Dual Citizenship in Poland and in Israel: Selected Legal Aspects in a Comparative Perspective

Author:: Przemysław Zawada
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The tragic years of World War II, followed by the unfriendly communist policy in Poland towards the Jewish community, changed the country from a multicultural into the most homogeneous state in the European Union nowadays. At the same time, Israel, as a meeting place for various cultures, enjoys the influence of inhabitants from nearly all over the world. The dissimilar experiences and problems faced by the governing bodies should influence different approaches to dual citizenship in Poland and Israel. In view of the above, in the presented work the author would like to analyze the issue of the legal approach to dual citizenship both in Poland and in Israel. The main goal of the paper, beyond comparison of the effectiveness of the legislations, is finding the answer to the question: what is the state’s attitude towards the issue of the dual citizenship of their citizens? The hypothesis that the article will verify states, that due to the small number of people with dual citizenship in Poland, Polish legislation devoted to this topic is not extensive and has dissimilarities to the law in Israel, which, in contrast, is more complex and better responds to the needs of society. The reason for comparing Poland and Israel is the fact that Polish citizenship has been very popular among the citizens of the Jewish state, especially since 2004 when Poland became a member of the European Union. This issue in the long run may be one of the key determi- nants of Polish-Israeli and Polish-Jewish relations.
Topic:: Nationalism, Citizenship, Dual Citizenship, and Identity
Political Geography:: Europe, Middle East, Israel, and Poland

874. The Diversity of Citizenship of Palestinians and its Impact on their Mobility: Passport and Visa Issues

Author:: Maciej Cesarz
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: This article explores the formal impact of various citizenships and travel docu- ments held by Palestinians on their freedom to engage in international travel. Based on a theoretical analysis of passports and the global visa regime, it claims that international recognition is not only pre-requisite of statehood but also affects the scope of mobility in cases of citizens of de facto states, including the Palestinian Authority. The research is fo- cused on the following themes: the status of the population holding a Palestinian Authority Passport in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in comparison to Palestinians who are citizens of Israel and carry passports of this state, the exceptional situation of East Jerusalemites as well as the case of Palestinians with Jordanian passports. Visa availability and other formal barriers for international travel are also examined. The argumentation is supported by the analysis of visa restriction indexes referring to the Palestinian Authority and to Israel. The article concludes that the mobility of Palestinians varies to a large extent depending on trav- el documents held and the recognition of a citizenship and the passport that comes with it is strictly dependent of the recognition of state sovereignty. Although in some cases citizenship can be divorced from the international recognition, the scope of visa-free mobility related to passports is always impaired.
Topic:: Border Control, Citizenship, Mobility, and Travel
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

875. Israeli Innovation Policy: an Important Instrument of Perusing Political Interest at the Global Stage

Author:: Joanna Dyduch and Karolina Olszewska
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: Israel is perceived in the international environment as a one of the top leaders in innovation. This is proven by the progressively high position of this country in international rankings and the participation of Israeli scientists and technologists in prestigious inter- national programs. In this article we claim that the aims of Israeli innovation policy, which has the biggest impact on the shape and content of the innovation ecosystem, are highly politicized. The status quo driven by the key assumption of the state strategy, according to which obtaining a competitive predominance in the political international environment will be achieved through economic instruments, primarily technological innovation. Therefore the aim of this article is to critically analyze Israeli innovation policy and the innovation ecosystem, paying special attention to the state interest and the government activities in this realm. For the purpose of this analysis some basic assumptions of the neoliberal economy redefined by Arie Krampf will be utilized. Furthermore to better describe and explain the link between politics and economy in the Israeli innovation ecosystem we will refer to the K.N. Waltz considerations on mechanisms of the political and economic system in a global- izing world.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Research, and Innovation
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

876. Understanding the Dispute over the Treatment of Products Exported to the European Union from the Occupied Territories in the Context of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Author:: Oskar J. Chmiel
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: While the European Union (EU) does not recognize any legal Israeli sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, it does not grant preferential access to the EU market for goods produced in the Israeli settlements in this area, contrary to the preferential treatment for goods produced in Israel. This situation is different, however, as regards the United States (U.S.) trade policy, which does not make any distinction between goods pro- duced in Israel and in the Occupied Territories, since it grants the preferential access to both. Furthermore, the currently suspended negotiations of the super-regional trade agreement called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), spurred the enacting of a law that set the principal negotiating objectives of the U.S. regarding commercial partner- ships, which included some provisions to discourage politically motivated economic actions against the State of Israel. As TTIP embraced the free trade agreement between the EU and the U.S., the EU differentiation policy could become problematic for the two partners, which despite the failure of the negotiations, revealed much about economic diplomacy. Conse- quently, this article attempts to show the different approaches adopted by the two trading powers, in order to deal with the dispute over the treatment of products exported to the EU from the Occupied Territories.
Topic:: Territorial Disputes, European Union, Investment, Trade, and Transatlantic Relations
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and North America

877. The Domestic Dimension of Israeli Public Diplomacy

Author:: Jitka Panek Jurkova
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The paper adds to the body of recent scholarly literature that emphasizes the role of domestic publics in public diplomacy – a field until recently examined with only minor attention to the domestic realm. It suggests conducting analysis of the domestic dimension of public diplomacy on three levels: individual, organizational, and national. By doing so, we are able to understand in a complex manner the environment from which public diplomacy practice grows, and thus also its specific dynamics. Applying this model of analysis to the case of Israel, the paper describes major domestic factors shaping Israeli public diplomacy: the culture of individual engagement (individual level), the clash of organizational ethea of institutions responsible for public diplomacy (organizational level), and the intertwining of public diplomacy and nation building (national level). The analysis also allows us to bet- ter grasp the dilemma faced by Israeli public diplomacy between efficiency and democratic character.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Nationalism, Culture, Public Policy, State Building, and Participation
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

878. Israel’s Neoliberal Turn and its National Security Paradigm

Author:: Arie Krampf
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: Since the early 2000s, Israel has adhered to a particularly virulent strain of eco- nomic neoliberalism which has led to an unprecedented rise in nationwide levels of poverty and inequality. Attempts to explain this phenomenon have ignored a key aspect: The need of Israel – and especially its right-wing governments – to create an economic reality that reduces the pressure Israel faces from the international community in the wake of its con- tinued occupation of the territories.
Topic:: National Security, Nationalism, Poverty, and Neoliberalism
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

879. From Religion to Pragmatism: Habayit Hayehudi’s Attitude toward Judea and Samaria

Author:: Paweł Pokrzwinski
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: Judea and Samaria became a really important element in Israeli right-wing and religious debate following the Six Day War, because the State of Israel began to control it militarily and politically and started settling in this area. Nonetheless, Judea and Samaria had a deeper meaning within Religious Zionist ideology and its main representative Mafdal (NRP). After 1967 Religious Zionists were also influenced by the Messianic ideology, thus biblical territories accelerate Redemption. Hence, the NRP insisted on creating and develop- ing Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, both in leftist and rightist governments. The situation has changed since the Oslo Accords and Sharon’s disengagement from Gaza. Both were shocking for the Religious Zionism camp, the state was no longer a steady defender of Jewish settlements. In 2008 the Mafdal was absorbed by the newly created Habayit Hayehudi (the Jewish Home) which was treated as a hope for Religious Zionism to restore its former glory. The head of the Jewish Home – Naftali Bennett – called his party a real right-wing camp. He is thought to be a representative of settlers but he also tries to widen his electorate with secular citizens. Habayit Hayehudi is the best example of a party which wants to achieve ideas of Religious Zionism in the new political reality after Oslo. The article will analyze the attitude of the Jewish Home party towards Judea and Samaria and party’s ideological course.
Topic:: Religion, Judaism, Zionism, and Conservatism
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

880. Benjamin Netanyahu’s Long Premiership and the Rise of the New Political Center: Is there a Qualitative Change in the Israeli Party System?

Author:: Artur Skorek
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: Israel’s party system has been characterized by the bipolar rivalry between the left-wing and right-wing blocks since the late 1970s. In recent years we could have seen at least two trends that seem to diverge from this model. For the last 9 years the Likud party has formed three successive governments which has made Benjamin Netanyahu the longest continuously serving prime minister in the history of Israel. Another new occurrence is the preservation of a significant representation of the center parties for four Knesset terms in the row. The aim of the paper is to verify whether Israel’s party system has departed from the two-blocs bipolar model. Based on the empirical data (election results, government formation, party’s political platforms) it examines whether the parties’ rivalry in the years 2009–2018 differed qualitatively from the previous period. To answer this question the pa- per investigates three hypotheses. First – Likud has become a dominant party in Israel. Sec- ond – a dominant and stable Israeli right-wing parties’ bloc has formed. Third – an enduring and relevant center sector has emerged in Israel’s party system.
Topic:: Leadership, Conservatism, Political Parties, Party System, and Multi Party System
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

881. Keeping Parties Together? The Evolution of Israel’s Anti-Defection Law

Author:: Csaba Nikolenyi
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: In 1991, the Knesset passed a package of legislation with the aim of preventing the rampant party switching and defections by elected representatives. At the time of its adop- tion, the so-called anti-defection law was supported by an all-party consensus. Although the legislation has remained in effect, its apparent continuity conceals the way in which it has become transformed from what was at first an “efficient” institution to a “redistributive” one (Tsebelis 1990). In this paper, I review the development of the Israeli anti-defection law and argue that whereas at the initial moment of its adoption the anti-defection law was consid- ered to benefit all parties in the system, over time it has become an instrument in the hands of the governing coalition to manipulate divisions and engineer further defections among the opposition in order to shore up its often fragile legislative base.
Topic:: Domestic Politics, Legislation, and Political Parties
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

882. What is Left from the Identity of the State of Israel Proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence?

Author:: Mordechai Schenhav
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The purpose of this article is twofold. First, to look at the Identity of Israel as both Jewish and democratic State in its Declaration of Independence and the status it acquired over the years within the Constitutional and law system. The second, to examine, through the evolution of the enounced principle of equality in the situation of economic, gender, reli- gious and national minorities, how it was implemented and what has changed after 70 years. From the outset, the Declaration was not given a constitutional status but later the Supreme Court gave it an interpretive quality. With the two Basic Laws on Human Rights, limited as they were, it gave the Supreme Court much more advantage to intervene and impose the Identity of the State as Jewish and democratic in its interpretations of laws in spite of strong criticism and even to influence and criticize the Knesset legislation. However, Israel is still not a true liberal Democracy since the rights within it are determined more according to the ethnic-national religious belonging of the person than according to its citizenship and the principle of equality is only partially adopted in practice with different degrees as regards the various minorities. In some aspects, it even moves away from the original intended Iden- tity of an exemplary liberal Democratic Nation State.
Topic:: Nationalism, Law, Legislation, State Building, Identity, and Equality
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

883. Russian Forces in Syria and the Building of a Sustainable Military Presence: What About Iranian-backed Syrian Militias?

Author:: Alimar Lazkani
Publication Date:: 07-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:: There is constant talk of the “soft conflict” between Iran and Russia in Syria. Most research and media reports focus on the areas of influence and control of each party. Without going into the relationship between Iranian and Russian forces on Syrian soil, in which the Iranian of influence weakened following the entry of Russian troops, it is important to distinguish the nature of these two forces to help identify the characteristics of this conflict, which are not limited to areas of influence. In fact, there is a clear difference between Iranian and Russian interests as well as strategy on two major issues. The first is the relationship with Israel. While Russia sees Israel as a strategic ally in the region, Iran gains its regional legitimacy by emphasizing the continuity of conflict with it. The second is the way each party sees the future of Syria, and its own role in it. Iran is not capable of establishing a centralized state in Syria because of its ideological hostility to the Sunni majority there. Therefore, a state based on sectarian militias will be the cornerstone of Iran’s continued presence on Syrian soil as it has the capacity to manage militias with no national project. Russia, on the other hand, has a vision of a centralized state that is based on the fundamental pillar of a disciplined and dutiful army. Thus, the “soft conflict” involves not only the geographical divvying-up of Syria, but also fundamental matters related to the structure of Syria’s security and military system. This paper is the second part of a broader study of Russia’s policy of establishing a military influence in Syria. It will look at the Syrian militias that Iran has fostered and supported, and Russia’s approach in dealing with them on the ground. However, it does not consider non-Syrian militias on Syrian soil brought by the Iranians, such as Hezbollah, the Fatemiyoun, the Zainabiyoun, and other Shia militias because of their close association with Iranian politics and their temporary posting in specific conflict areas, making them a foreign presence on Syrian soil.
Topic:: Military Strategy, Military Intervention, Sunni, and Shia
Political Geography:: Russia, Iran, Middle East, Israel, and Syria

884. Policing the Digital Sphere: The Impact of Palestine’s Cybercrime Legislation

Author:: Chiara Ayad
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:: This paper lays out fundamental issues about transparency in legislative processes and government accountability in establishing legal frameworks for the protection of citizens in the Palestinian context. It addresses how a protective citizen-centered cyber-security law that seeks to improve citizens’ digital security can become a tool for quashing civil dissent and silencing political opposition. Certainly, the Israeli government’s practices of mass surveillance and control of ICT infrastructure limit the protective capacity of Palestinian cybersecurity measures. However, this paper will not focus on the role of the Israeli government but rather on the role the Palestinian government has had in increasing its citizens fear of surveillance and insecurity on digital platforms. By examining the Palestinian Authority’s first cybercrime legislation, Law no. (16), the paper will discuss how such measures have backlashed, negatively impacting civil liberties and the general political climate. It will also discuss the role civil society organizations had in pressuring the government to issue new cybercrime legislation, law no. (10).
Topic:: Cybersecurity, Surveillance, Accountability, and Transparency
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, and West Bank

885. The Palestinian Diaspora and the State-Building Process

Author:: Taher labadi
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:: Displacement, dispersal, denial of nationhood, and global power shifts define the existence of the Palestinian diaspora, hindering their ability to connect to each other and to their homeland. This paper outlines diaspora-homeland relationships that, it argues, are shaped by both settler-colonial policies and globalization. “Diasporization” also impacts power dynamics among Palestinians, reflected in the shifting centre of gravity of Palestinian politics toward the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the growing marginalization of the Palestinian diaspora – especially those residing in neighbouring Arab countries. This paper also addresses the emergence of Palestinian diaspora elites who have been involved in inward-bound dynamics within the state-building process. Of particular note are increasing attempts to mobilize Palestinian “expatriates,” intending to strengthen their involvement in both economic development and state-building processes.
Topic:: Globalization, Diaspora, Colonialism, State Building, and Economic Development
Political Geography:: Africa, Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

886. The Holocaust and the Nakba: A New Grammar of Trauma and History

Author:: Bashir Bashir and Amos Goldberg
Publication Date:: 11-2018
Content Type:: Book
Institution:: Columbia University Press
Abstract:: In this groundbreaking book, leading Arab and Jewish intellectuals examine how and why the Holocaust and the Nakba are interlinked without blurring fundamental differences between them. While these two foundational tragedies are often discussed separately and in abstraction from the constitutive historical global contexts of nationalism and colonialism, The Holocaust and the Nakba explores the historical, political, and cultural intersections between them. The majority of the contributors argue that these intersections are embedded in cultural imaginations, colonial and asymmetrical power relations, realities, and structures. Focusing on them paves the way for a new political, historical, and moral grammar that enables a joint Arab-Jewish dwelling and supports historical reconciliation in Israel/Palestine. This book does not seek to draw a parallel or comparison between the Holocaust and Nakba or to merely inaugurate a “dialogue” between them. Instead, it searches for a new historical and political grammar for relating and narrating their complicated intersections. The book features prominent international contributors, including a foreword by Lebanese novelist Elias Khoury on the centrality of the Holocaust and Nakba in the essential struggle of humanity against racism, and an afterword by literary scholar Jacqueline Rose on the challenges and contributions of the linkage between the Holocaust and Nakba for power to shift and a world of justice and equality to be created between the two peoples. The Holocaust and the Nakba is the first extended and collective scholarly treatment in English of these two constitutive traumas together.
Topic:: Holocaust and Nabka
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine
Publication Identifier:: 9780231544481
Publication Identifier Type:: ISBN

887. Preserving a Genre under Duress

Author:: Brittni Foster
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Abstract:: How a class assignment led to MAAS alum Dan Walsh’s lifelong passion for preserving Palestine’s visual heritage. When Dan Walsh (MAAS ’11) was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Marrakesh in the early 1970s, his language tutor encouraged him to practice his budding Arabic and Moroccan Darija skills by translating the posters that papered the buildings around town. Walsh, now the curator of the world’s largest collection of posters on Palestine, remembers how grateful he was for the break from verb conjugations but says he never could have imagined how that assignment would change the course of his career. He credits his hours spent walking the streets of Marrakech and Rabat reading posters—Arabic dictionary in hand—with not only improving his language skills, but also igniting what has become one of his life’s passions.
Topic:: Culture, Media, Peace Corps, and Higher Education
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, North America, and United States of America

888. R2P Monitor, Issue 42, 15 November 2018

Author:: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:: 11-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:: R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 42 looks at developments in Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Syria, Yemen, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Nigeria, South Sudan and Venezuela.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Israel, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, Syria, Venezuela, Nigeria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Global Focus

889. R2P Monitor, Issue 41, 15 September 2018

Author:: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:: 09-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:: R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 41 looks at developments in Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Syria, Yemen, Cameroon, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Nicaragua, Nigeria and South Sudan.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Community, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Israel, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, Nicaragua, Syria, Nigeria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, Cameroon, and Central African Republic

890. R2P Monitor, Issue 40, 15 July 2018

Author:: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:: 07-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:: R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 40 looks at developments in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Myanmar (Burma), Syria, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Burundi, Cameroon, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Nigeria.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, Syria, Nigeria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, Cameroon, and Central African Republic

891. R2P Monitor, Issue 39, 15 May 2018

Author:: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:: 05-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:: R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 39 looks at developments in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar (Burma), Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Burundi, Iraq and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, Syria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

892. The Witness as Object: Video Testimony in Memorial Museums

Author:: Steffi De Jong
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Book
Institution:: Berghahn Books
Abstract:: In recent years, historical witnessing has emerged as a category of "museum object." Audiovisual recordings of interviews with individuals remembering events of historical importance are now integral to the collections and research activities of museums. They have also become important components in narrative and exhibition design strategies. With a focus on Holocaust museums, this study scrutinizes for the first time the new global phenomenon of the "musealization" of the witness to history, exploring the processes, prerequisites, and consequences of the transformation of video testimonies into exhibits.
Topic:: Mass Media, Media, Holocaust, and Museums
Political Geography:: United States, United Kingdom, Israel, and Global Focus

893. Are Iran’s ballistic missiles designed to be nuclear capable?

Author:: Michael Elleman and Mark T. Fitzpatrick
Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Institute for Strategic Studies
Abstract:: Iran has the largest and most diverse ballistic-missile arsenal in the Middle East – could these systems one day be used to launch nuclear weapons? In a new report, IISS analysts Michael Elleman and Mark Fitzpatrick offer a detailed assessment of the design intentions behind each missile within Iran’s inventory. The result is a clear picture as to which platforms the United States and its allies should seek to remove, and which ones can be discounted. The common claim that Iran’s missile development must be stopped altogether because these systems could deliver nuclear weapons in the future rests on broad generalisations. While there is reason for concern, priority attention should be given to those missiles that might realistically be used for such a purpose, if Iran were to go down a perilous nuclear path. The international standard – but not treaty – for determining the inherent nuclear capability of missiles is the threshold developed in 1987 by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which seeks to forestall exports of missile systems able to deliver a 500kg payload a distance of 300km or more. Eight of Iran’s 13 current ballistic missile systems – the largest and most diverse arsenal in the Middle East – exceed this threshold and are thus deemed to be nuclear capable. The other five, all within the Fateh-110 family of missiles, are certainly lethal, especially when shipped to Hizbullah for use against Israel, but they are clearly not intended for nuclear use. Because capability does not equal intent, the MTCR guidelines should be just the first step in an assessment of Iran’s intentions for its missiles. When the United Nations Security Council drafted a new resolution in July 2015 to accompany the Iran nuclear agreement finalised that month, an element of intent was added to previous sanctions resolution language that prohibited launches of Iranian missiles that were ‘capable of delivering nuclear weapons’. The 2015 resolution calls upon Iran not to engage in activity concerning missiles ‘designed to be’ capable of delivering nuclear weapons. What it means ‘to be designed’ is undefined. Judging intent is partly subjective, but technical clues and intelligence information can guide analysis. The soundest approach is to disaggregate Iran’s various missile systems, and to assess design intentions on the basis of the technical capabilities and lineage of the different missiles.
Topic:: Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Nuclear Weapons, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Iran, Middle East, Israel, and North America

894. Future Challenges for Israel’s Iron Dome Rocket Defenses

Author:: Ari Kattan
Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
Abstract:: After Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets at northern Israel during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War, the Israeli government began a crash program to find a technological solution to the rocket threat. The result was Iron Dome, which shot down its first rocket on April 7, 2011, and saw large-scale combat during wars in 2012 and 2014. The system has been hailed in Israel and worldwide as a success, with the Israeli military claiming a 90 percent interception rate. Some American defense commentators have even touted Iron Dome as evidence in favor of ballistic missile defense. However, serious questions remain about Iron Dome’s true technical efficacy, both in terms of its past performance and how it is likely to perform in the future under different conditions. Because so much about Iron Dome is classified, information provided by the Israeli military cannot be independently verified. Analyses performed by outside experts—both those questioning Iron Dome’s efficacy and those defending the Israeli government’s claims—are inconclusive. Assuming for the sake of argument that Iron Dome did, in fact, perform as advertised during its previous engagements, it is far from certain that it will be as successful in future engagements, where the volume of rocket fire will be higher and the rockets more accurate. This paper argues that Israel may have already reached “peak Iron Dome,” and the system’s military and political benefits will decrease in future wars until another technological breakthrough is made on rocket defense. This is not to say that Iron Dome was not worth the cost and should not have been procured. But expectations about Iron Dome from the Israeli military, Israeli civilians, and interested parties abroad should be tempered. If they are not, Iron Dome’s decreased success rate in future wars may pose political problems for Israel domestically and give Israel’s adversaries a decisive propaganda victory.
Topic:: Violent Extremism, Missile Defense, Hezbollah, Propaganda, and Anti-Semitism
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

895. Main Strategic Considerations of Contemporary Israel

Author:: Yossi Peled
Publication Date:: 05-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
Abstract:: The relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem draw once again the attention of international community to Israel. The event of relocation is in line with the decision of the Trump administration reached in December last year, a move that has its legal foundation in the Jerusalem Embassy Act that was passed by the US Congress as far as 1995. For more than twenty years, the American administrations have been delaying the decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, and the Jerusalem Act was void of presidential signature until Donald Trump became president. In the same year when he took of�ice president Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of the State of Israel and ordered the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv. Ever since the time of David, the king of Israel who conquered Jerusalem more than three thousand years ago, and his son king Solomon who built the First Temple, Jerusalem was the Holy City for Jews around the world and the center point for Israel and Judaism. At the same time Jerusalem is a holy site for the Palestinians and the Muslim world, hence a source of confrontation for the two sides. Notwithstanding, people of Israel believe that Jerusalem cannot be divided and that only Jerusalem due to its cultural, historical and religious importance for the Jews, is and can be the only capital city of the State of Israel. However, this status of Jerusalem is still not fully internationally recognized, with a number of United Nations states who do not acknowledge the right of Israel to sovereignly rule in Eastern Jerusalem, including the Old City where most sacred sites of Judaism are located – the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Imperialism, International Cooperation, Religion, and Anti-Semitism
Political Geography:: United States, Israel, Palestine, and Jerusalem

896. Two States or One? Reappraising the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse

Author:: Edward P. Djerejian, Marwan Muasher, Nathan Brown, Samih Al-Abid, Tariq Dana, Dahlia Scheindlin, Gilead Sher, and Khalil Shikaki
Publication Date:: 09-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: The Israeli and Palestinian communities are growing ever closer physically while remaining separated politically. Any solution must adequately address the needs of both sides. This report attempts to look at actualities and trends with a fresh and analytical eye. At first glance, the two halves of this report contain two very different views of a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: one presents the case for a two-state solution, the other suggests that it is time to look at the idea of a single state with all its variations. But the two halves do not differ on the facts of the current situation. Nor do they differ much on the trajectory. The same facts can be used to support two different conclusions: Do we need new ideas or new determination and political will behind previous ones? The two chapters also highlight an important political reality: any solution must adequately address the needs of both sides. Imposed solutions will not work. The section authored by the Baker Institute does not deny that a one-state reality is emerging and the two-state solution is in trouble, but it argues that the two-state solution should not be abandoned as it provides the most coherent framework for a democratic Israeli state living in peace and security next to an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. Carnegie’s section recognizes that a one-state reality is emerging, whether desirable or not, and calls for scrutinizing solutions that take this reality into account instead of wishing it away. At a time when ideas to solve the conflict are being speculated about without much context, this report attempts to objectively analyze and present the two major options for a negotiated peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and to explain the consequences of both for the parties involved and the international community. It is our hope that it will serve as not only a reminder of past efforts but also an incubator for future ones.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Treaties and Agreements, Territorial Disputes, Conflict, Negotiation, and Peace
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

897. The JDP’s Changing Discursive Strategies towards Israel: Rhetoric vs. Reality

Author:: Gencer Özcan
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: Justice and Development Party [JDP] governments’ policies towards Israel were informed by the priorities that the party’s power strategies entailed. In a stark contrast to the friendly policies in its first term in power, the JDP began to employ different discursive strategies based on an anti-Israeli rhetoric since 2009. Geared to bolster the party’s prestige at home and abroad, the new rhetoric seemed to have addressed to the changing priorities of the party leadership. However, the new strategies led to the emergence of a widening gap between the anti-Israeli rhetoric and subtle efforts that the JDP paid to maintain its relations with Israel. Revisiting the last 15 years, the article tries to answer the question as to how Turkey’s relations with Israel were adjusted to meet necessities of miscellaneous power strategies that the JDP leadership pursued.
Topic:: International Relations, Politics, Arab Spring, and Political Parties
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Israel

898. The Impact of the Iranian Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) on the Geopolitics of the South Caucasuss

Author:: Aydan Er
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: his paper examines the evolution of Iran’s foreign policy towards the three South Caucasian republics since the agreement of the Iran Nuclear Deal on 14 July 2015 be- tween Iran, P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and the European Union (EU) until today. This paper presents a number of key issues – energy, transportation and trade – related to Iran’s policy towards Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Furthermore, it provides consideration of the effects of other international actors such as Rus- sia, Turkey and Israel. The aim of this study is to show the complexity of bilateral relations be- tween the states surrounding the South Caucasus and the impact of their multiple overlapping interests on the whole area.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation, Diplomacy, Military Strategy, Denuclearization, and JCPOA
Political Geography:: Iran, Turkey, Middle East, Israel, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and South Caucasus

899. Journal of Advanced Military Studies: Gender Integration and the Military

Author:: Natalia Zalietok, Steven Merritt Miner, Ann Todd, William A. Taylor, María Concepción Márquez Sandoval, Bradford A. Wineman, Rebecca Jensen, and Shlomi Chetrit
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Advanced Military Studies
Institution:: Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
Abstract:: The past century has demonstrated a clear history of crossing lines and breaking down barriers. With each advancement, women were told “no further.” And with each subsequent generation, women pushed the boundaries to do more—until there were no more boundaries. In December 2015, thenSecretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter announced that all military occupational specialties were open to women. Carter declared that “they’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat. They’ll be able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers, and everything else that was previously open only to men.”4 The history of women in the Marine Corps offers only one small part of the story. Women across the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the world have their own experiences, their own stories to tell. Few know these stories, as the focus usually remains on one’s own Service or country. A gap exists in understanding how other militaries have (or have not) integrated women successfully. This special issue is intended to fill that gap and provide differing perspectives on how other militaries have dealt with gender integration. Every Service and nation has walked its own path toward full integration of women. Some, such as the former Soviet Union and Israel, witnessed tremendous gender integration advances during wartime—World War II and the War for Independence, respectively—only to see those improvements nearly disappear during peace. Others made steady progress, experiencing full integration early on (e.g., Canada in the late 1960s). Still others advanced in some areas but waited decades for others (e.g., Australia integrated submarines in the 1990s but only opened infantry to women a few years ago). The authors here offer a variety of histories describing this journey of integration of women into the armed services of a variety of countries and cultures. From Mexico to Israel as well as the United Kingdom and the former Soviet Union, the diversity of experiences becomes clear. The reasons for integration (or not) are as diverse as the nations’ cultures and offer unique insights into how a nation views women and their contribution to their community and their country, for the integration of women reflects directly on their role in society.
Topic:: Gender Issues, History, Military Affairs, Women, Psychology, and World War II
Political Geography:: Britain, Israel, Soviet Union, Palestine, Latin America, and United States of America

900. Is the IDF Ready for Our Next War?

Author:: David M. Weinberg
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:: The IDF is building an impressive capacity to crush Hezbollah, Hamas and Iranian assets in future fighting. But it must not neglect defense of the periphery or go soft on its ethos and fighting spirit.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Military Strategy, Conflict, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, and Israel

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS