New Developments in Iran’s Missile Capabilities: Implications Beyond the Middle East
Iran is vigorously pursuing several missile and space programs at an almost feverish pace with impressive achievements.
Modern Orthodoxy and the Challenges to Its Establishment
American Modern Orthodoxy consists of at least two rather distinct types, an intellectual and a sociological one. Intellectual Modern Orthodoxy has an ideology of joining the best of Western civilization with a commitment to Jewish law and traditional Jewish values. Sociological Modern Orthodoxy numbers many more people and is mainly a lifestyle choice. It is a commitment to Jewish law combined with the better things in life.
Holocaust Deflection and Whitewashing
Holocaust deflection entails admitting that the Holocaust happened while denying the complicity or various types of participation of countries, specific groups, or individuals despite ample evidence to the contrary. Major examples of deflection occur in those countries where, during the war, Germans were helped massively in the killing, deportation, and despoliation of the Jews.
Iran’s Nuclear Aspirations Threaten the World
The Islamic Republic has already proved it only uses talks with the West as a delaying tactic as it relentlessly pursues nuclear arms. Only severe sanctions backed by military threat will have any impact.
Will Fatah Give Up the Armed Struggle at Its Sixth General Congress?
To what extent will Fatah’s Sixth General Congress advance or retard the prospects for re-launching the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Is Fatah going to waive its historical principle of “armed struggle” and devote itself to peace negotiations based on compromise? Fatah’s “Internal Order” document retains the armed struggle as a strategy in order to liberate the whole of Palestinian and eliminate Israel.
Syria and Hizbullah After the Lebanese Elections
The desire in Washington and Riyadh to repair damaged relations with Damascus is admirable, but should not come at the expense of Lebanon and the larger U.S. strategic goal of weakening Iranian influence in the Levant. While a diplomatic rapprochement with Syria might result in some marginal improvements in its behavior, this would likely have little impact on Syria’s thirty-year strategic relationship with Tehran.
The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem: Why Continued Israeli Control Is Vital
The Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, that the Palestinians demand to transfer to their control, is the most important Jewish cemetery in the world. The area has constituted a religious and national pantheon for the Jewish people and the State of Israel, containing the tombs of the illustrious dead of the nation over the course of 3,000 years.
The U.S.-Israeli Dispute over Building in Jerusalem: The Sheikh Jarrah-Shimon HaTzadik Neighborhood
The Sheikh Jarrah-Mt. Scopus area – the focus of a dispute between the Obama administration and Israel over building housing units in the Shepherd Hotel compound – has been a mixed Jewish-Arab area for many years. Many observers incorrectly assume that Jerusalem is comprised of two ethnically homogenous halves: Jewish western Jerusalem and Arab eastern Jerusalem. Yet in the eastern part of Jerusalem there are today some 200,000 Jews and 270,000 Arabs living in intertwined neighborhoods.
Soldiers’ Testimonies to “Breaking the Silence”:
Was It Really Like This?
The public debate about anonymous soldiers’ testimonies to the Breaking the Silence (Shovrim Shtika) organization shows how rarely those testimonies were read in full. The testimonies indicate a state of preparedness for warfare which is different from the ongoing security situation in the territories as part of the Second Lebanese War; they bear witness to the IDF fighting ethic and also include claims (as distinct from hearsay) of a suspected breach of the laws of armed conflict in a number of isolated, localized events which did not originate from orders issued by senior command ranks, and which require in-depth investigation by the IDF.
Present-Day Anti-Semitism in Turkey
Turkish intellectuals have always taken a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli stance. Islamists associate the "Palestine question" with alleged Jewish involvement in the rise of Turkish secularism. Leftists see Israel as an imperialist state and an extension of American hegemony in the Middle East. Comparable themes are found among nationalist intellectuals.
Jewish Grandparenting in the United States
Many stereotypes exist about Jewish grandparents. One is that in their children’s interfaith marriages they will be the ones to teach grandchildren about being Jewish, thus functioning as transmitters of the Jewish heritage. In reality-in such a sensitive situation-grandparents are often afraid to fulfill this role, even if they are knowledgeable about Judaism.
The Unfolding Economic Crisis: Its Devastating Implications for American Jewry
The full impact of the current economic crisis may not be felt for years. In the midst of it, core institutions are being fundamentally reshaped and individual lifestyles reconstructed. These economic challenges threaten the existing infrastructure of the American Jewish community, leading to a new order of institutions and leaders.
German Leftists on European Power
The anthology Weltmacht Europa – Hauptstadt Berlin? was published as part of the “Konkret Texte” series under the heading “imperialism.” The choice of title indicates that this collection of texts is part of a debate within the political Left of Germany, and not really a comprehensive handbook in the classical sense. Nevertheless, it draws a clear line against those so-called “anti-imperialist” elements of the German Left which indiscriminately view the U.S. and the EU as evil empires and regard Israel as an imperialist bridgehead, if not the single power calling the shots.
International Law and Military Operations in Practice
I will examine the practicalities, challenges and difficulties faced by military forces in trying to fight within the provisions of international law against an enemy that deliberately and consistently flouts international law.
Alexander Arndt on Die deutsch-israelischen Sicherheitsbeziehungen: Vergangenheit, Gegenwart, Zukunft [The German-Israeli security relations: Past, present, future], edited by Milena Uhlmann
Relationship Status: Special, but Complicated
Die deutsch-israelischen Sicherheitsbeziehungen: Vergangenheit, Gegenwart, Zukunft [The German-Israeli security relations: Past, present, future], edited by Milena Uhlmann, Berlin: Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag, 2008, 164 pp. [German/English]
Reviewed by Alexander Arndt
