Continuing to Distort the Holocaust: 2009-2011
In recent decades, the Holocaust has become the major contemporary symbol of absolute evil. As such, it has acquired a central place in the collective memory of Western societies. This development has been accompanied by an ongoing intentional distortion of its meaning.
Manfred Gerstenfeld
How Arab Media View a Declaration of Palestinian Statehood
Unlike the vibrant debate in Israel over the Palestinian plan to seek support for statehood in September at the UN, the Arab media is occupied with the wave of changes sweeping Arab countries, leaving little room for discussion of the projected Palestinian plan.
How Did Israel Entrap Itself With The Idea of Land Swaps
On May 19, 2011, when President Barak Obama first made his controversial reference to the 1967 lines as the basis for future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, he introduced one main caveat that stuck out: the idea that there would be “land swaps” between the two sides. He additionally mentioned that both sides were entitled to “secure and recognized borders.” But the land swaps captured the imagination of those who tried to analyze the full significance of what Obama said. It also raised many questions. Did the promise of a land swap counterbalance or offset his statement about the 1967 lines?
“Land Swaps” and the 1967 Lines
Just because the idea of “land swaps” was discussed in the past, does that make it part of the diplomatic agenda in the future?
Does Israel have an interest in Assad’s fall?
About a month ago, a new rumor started to spread in Washington that Israel did not want to see Assad fall. Those critical of Israel privately said that the reason the Obama administration was not pressuring Syria the way it had pressured Libya was because of Israel. In fact, the Israeli government has been extremely careful not to express its opinion regarding the uprising in Syria because it is an internal issue. Nonetheless, senior academics and former Israeli officials have been widely interviewed as private citizens in the international media. The main view voiced is that it is better for Israel to work with the “devil we know, rather than the devil we don’t know.”
Does Israel Have an Interest in Assad’s Fall?
The main view voiced is that it is better for Israel to work with the “devil we know, rather than the devil we don’t know.”
Power Dynamics Inside Hamas: The Increasing Weight of the Gaza Leadership
The recent overt confrontation between Mahmoud al-Zahar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Gaza, and Damascus-based Hamas political bureau leader Khaled Mashaal reflects underground currents feeding the tension within the Hamas leadership in Gaza and Syria.
Latin America: Iran’s Springboard to America’s Backyard
Iran is exploiting its growing ties with Latin American countries for subversive and propaganda activity, terror and smuggling, and the development of long-range military capabilities. There have been reports that Iran is seeking to establish a missile base in Venezuela, at the doorstep of the great Satan.
The Gaza Flotillas to Come: Some Ground Rules before Setting Out
There is no humanitarian emergency among the civilian population in Gaza, and hence there can be no justification for conveying emergency shipments intended to alleviate an emergency that clearly does not exist. Provoking a confrontation with Israel continues to be the primary aim of flotilla organizers like the Turkish IHH.
Why Iran Is Pushing for a Shiite Victory in Bahrain
Vol. 11, No. 2 June 2, 2011 Bahrain is the locus of a titanic struggle between regional powers representing polar extremes of Islam (Shiite Iran vs. Sunni Saudi Arabia), and international powers’ economic and geo-strategic interests. Washington has been regarded as Bahrain’s main ally. The command of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, operating in the Persian Gulf […]
The Misleading Interpretation of Security Council Resolution 242 (1967)
Download the pdf Among the UN resolutions concerning the Middle East that are quite often mentioned and referred to is Security Council Resolution 242 (1967).1 It has even been considered the building block of peace in the Middle East.2 Unfortunately, however, it has often been misunderstood or misrepresented. This chapter will deal with two of […]
Defending Israel’s Legal Rights to Jerusalem
When it came to defending Israel’s rights to Jerusalem, their writings were extremely clear. Israel had rightful claims to be sovereign in Jerusalem.
A UN Resolution to Recognize a Palestinian State within the “1967 Borders” Would Be Illegal
The following is a letter drafted jointly by lawyers of the Legal Forum for Israel and by Amb. Alan Baker, Director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
The Arab Spring from a Counter-Terrorism Perspective
World War III is occurring right now. It is a religious war – first and foremost within the religion of Islam. It is a war of the culture of Islamic radicalism against the rest of the world, which includes the majority of Muslims worldwide.
Post-Soviet Jewry on the Cusp of Its Third Decade – Part 2
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee continues to do essential work in the post-Soviet states, but financial distress has caused the organization to sharply curtail its welfare services to vulnerable Jewish population groups. The cutbacks are due as much to decisions by North American Jewish federations to reduce subventions to international programs before the onset of the current financial crisis as to the crisis itself.
