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57771. American Evenhandedness in the Mideast Peace Process: Lessons From Camp David II and the Al-Aqsa Intifada

Author:
Saul Singer
Publication Date:
12-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
Ask Israelis or Arabs to characterize the U.S.-Israel relationship and most, particularly on the Arab side, will argue that the picture is one of unwavering support for the Jewish state. Indeed, the outgoing Clinton administration has been widely perceived and labeled as the closest to Israel in the history of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Though the ties between the U.S. and Israel are indeed close, deep, and institutionalized, a closer examination reveals a constant tension between support for Israel and "evenhandedness" between Israel and the Arab world.
Topic:
Security and Religion
Political Geography:
United States, America, Middle East, Israel, and Arabia

57772. Israel's Major Economic Challenge: Closing the Gap in the Field of Business Economics

Author:
Manfred Gerstenfeld
Publication Date:
12-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
Why is it that Israel's per capita GNP still lags substantially behind that of the leading countries of the world? Why is it likely to take decades for the Israeli economy to catch up? This is while the Israeli papers are full of news about very promising high-tech start-ups, and we even hear occasionally about payments of billions of dollars by major foreign firms to acquire Israeli businesses which were founded a few years ago and have at most several hundred employees.
Topic:
Security, Economics, and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East and Israel

57773. Factors Impeding the Implementation of Privatization

Author:
Yaakov Ne'eman
Publication Date:
11-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
A number of factors are impeding the implementation of privatization in the Israeli economy. Here I will review those factors based on my own experience, both as someone who has represented investors who purchased government companies through privatization processes, and (from the other side of the fence) in my positions in the Ministry of Finance, when I had an opportunity to observe the governmental process from the inside.
Topic:
Security, Government, Privatization, and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East and Israel

57774. The "Post-Secular" Era

Author:
Eliezer Schweid
Publication Date:
10-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
With the completion of the process of secularization within the Jewish people, it is now clear that secularism is no substitute for religion. Despite the influence of materialism and the unprecedented control of man over nature and over himself, the need for religion has intensified due to continuing moral, social, and spiritual-existential problems and the profound human need for a connection with the sources, and for continuity and permanence. The time has come for the representatives of religious and secularist movements to begin a substantive dialogue that will enable creative life together.
Topic:
Security and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East and Arabia

57775. Interpretations of Jewish Tradition on Democracy, Land, and Peace

Author:
Gerald M. Steinberg
Publication Date:
10-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
During the past twenty years, beginning with the Israeli-Egyptian disengagement talks following the 1973 war, the tension between secular and religious perspectives on the Middle East peace process and the "land for peace" formula has grown steadily.
Topic:
Security and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Arabia, and Egypt

57776. A New Paradigm For Arab-Israeli Peacemaking: A Comprehensive Regional System For Security and Cooperation

Author:
Abraham Tamir
Publication Date:
09-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
Over the last two decades, the reliance on separate negotiating tracks in the Arab-Israeli peace process has resulted in a cumulative loss of territories vital for the defense of Israel's very existence, without any corresponding buildup of peace and security for Israel that could last for generations. The military capabilities of Israel's potential adversaries have not diminished, but, in fact, have expanded considerably. The normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab world, as stipulated in the peace treaties between Israel, Jordan and Egypt, has not advanced, but, rather, has been held hostage to further Israeli concessions in each of the separate negotiating tracks. Finally, the employment of terrorism and violence by Israel's neighbors became part of the negotiating process with Syria and the PLO.
Topic:
Security, Religion, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Syria, and Egypt

57777. The Emerging Threat of Iraq and the Crisis of Global Security

Author:
Richard Butler
Publication Date:
09-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
Ten years ago the UN Security Council imposed upon Iraq some very specific requirements for disarmament. After Iraq had been expelled from Kuwait, the Council decided unanimously that Iraq may not have nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons; or missiles which could fly beyond 150 km. The Security Council's decisions were taken with the full authority of international law.
Topic:
Security, International Law, Religion, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, Kuwait, and Arabia

57778. The Role of Islam in Contemporary South East Asian Politics

Author:
Colin Rubenstein
Publication Date:
08-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
The political influence of Islam is increasing in South East Asia. While the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Communist bloc have contributed to the decline of communism as a revolutionary political force in the region, religious and ethnic issues are now assuming renewed and increasing significance. Religious divisions based on Islam have exacerbated ethnic differences, and some religiously-oriented groups are engaging in violent and extreme acts that pose a potentially serious long-term threat to stability in the region.
Topic:
Security, Islam, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East, Soviet Union, Arabia, and Southeast Asia

57779. Religion and the Public Square: Attitudes of American Jews in Comparative Perspective - Part Two

Author:
Steven M. Cohen
Publication Date:
08-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
Attitudes toward separation-accommodation are related to support for (or opposition to) the expression of religion in public life. Within each of the three samples, church-state separationists were more likely than accommodationists to oppose expanded religious influence in society and the involvement of churches and church leaders in political affairs. Table 5 contains several relevant questions in this domain.
Topic:
Security, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
United States

57780. Prime Minister Barak's First Year: Diplomacy and Politics

Author:
Zalman Shoval
Publication Date:
07-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
Prime Minister Ehud Barak's tenure started out with almost everything going his way. He had what was often, though misleadingly, described as a "landslide victory" in the 1999 elections (though, in truth, Jewish voters gave him only a slim 3.2 percent majority over Netanyahu - compared to the almost 12 percent margin by which Netanyahu had defeated Peres in the previous elections). Nonetheless, it is true that Barak achieved better electoral results than most other prime ministers in Israeli history. As a result, no Israeli prime minister in recent memory had begun his term with a greater degree of goodwill from different segments of the population - including many who had voted for the other candidate.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Diplomacy, and Politics
Political Geography:
Middle East and Israel