Iran Now Free to Achieve Its Military Nuclear Ambitions: An Israeli Perspective on the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate
Any distinction between Iranian military and civilian nuclear programs is artificial. Once they have enough enriched uranium, they will be 3-6 months away from building a nuclear bomb if they decide to do so. Ironically, the NIE opens the way for Iran to achieve its military nuclear ambitions without any interference.
The Bush Visit and Tensions in the U.S.-Israel Relationship
The December “surprise” resulting from the publication of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate disrupted fifteen years of Israeli policy based on working with the international coalition to pressure Iran to drop its nuclear weapons program through sanctions and the threat of military action, and has reminded Israelis of the limits of American security guarantees and strategic cooperation.
Israel and American Jewry: Oslo and Beyond
The problem of Diaspora assimilation threatened to undermine Israel’s position within American society and public opinion. Absent a critical mass of Jews sufficiently committed to the Jewish enterprise to make the case for Israel in the battle of ideas, U.S. Middle Eastern policy could well come to approximate the policies of European democracies.
Israeli Arabs between Palestinianization and Islamism
Israeli Arabs increasingly affiliate with the Palestinians and at the same time are undergoing a rapid increase of Islamization. Most of Israel’s Arab citizens are still seeking greater integration with the Israeli Jewish population. More than 70 percent of Israeli Arabs favor national service so as to gain equal footing with Israeli Jews and Druze, who serve in the army.
After Annapolis: What Chance for Agreement with Abbas and the PLO?
In reality, there is no fundamental difference between the ultimate goals of Hamas and the PLO: Neither accepts the Jewish state’s right to exist and both are committed to its eventual destruction. By categorically refusing to recognize Israel’s Jewishness, the Palestinian leadership has effectively rejected the two-state solution, based, in the words of the UN partition resolution of November 29, 1947, on the creation of “independent Arab and Jewish States” in Palestine.
Quebec Anti-Semitism and Anti-Semitism in Quebec*
Jewish marginality is an ongoing feature of Quebec Jewish life. The Jewish case in Quebec is unique in North America. French Quebec has not come to a full societal resolution of the legacies of its attitudes toward Jews and World War II during the 1930s and 1940s.
Weapons Smuggling from Egypt to Gaza: What Can Egypt and Israel Do?
The next round in Gaza will look more like Lebanon than what Israel faced in Operation Defensive Shield in Judea and Samaria in 2002 or in previous rounds in Gaza. Israel should reoccupy the Philadelphi corridor between Egypt and Gaza and should stay there until we have had a peaceful relationship with the Palestinians for at least 25 years.
The Transformation of Jewish Knowledge over the Decades: The New Edition of the Encyclopaedia Judaica
The new edition of the Encyclopaedia Judaica gives many insights into how Jewish life and Jewish knowledge have been transformed since the first edition came out in 1972. Jews contribute in every sphere of human knowledge and endeavor including arts, music, architecture, science, medicine, and so forth. Jews nowadays feel more able, freer, and more empowered to create—as Jews. They no longer fear that doing so confines them to a cultural or intellectual ghetto.
Decoding the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program
Israel, the prime potential target for a nuclear Iran, cannot afford to take the chance of underestimating the threat, and therefore relies on what policy-makers refer to as a “worst-case” analysis. This means that the focus is on Iranian capabilities, rather than intentions, which can only be guessed.
Is Syria an Ally or Adversary of Radical Sunni Movements?
We should be very realistic about what we can get from Syria. Syria is not about to become a close ally of the United States and part of what we call the moderate camp in the region.
The Palestinian Authority and the Jewish Holy Sites in the West Bank:
Rachel’s Tomb as a Test Case
Rachel’s Tomb lies on the northern outskirts of Bethlehem, about 460 meters (about 500 yards) south of the Jerusalem municipal border, and for more than 1,700 years has been identified as the tomb of the matriarch Rachel. In 2000, after hundreds of years of recognizing the site as Rachel’s Tomb, Muslims began calling it the “Bilal ibn Rabah mosque” – a claim that ignored Ottoman decrees that gave Jews the right of access to the site at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
An Invented Attack Leads to Decreasing Condemnation of Anti-Semitism in France: A Case Study
The affair of a falsely reported anti-Semitic attack on a woman in a suburban Paris train station in 2004 greatly affected how French politicians and media deal with anti-Semitism. Initially, all voices condemned the incident as the “victim” gave dramatic details. The increase in anti-Semitic acts since 2000 lent credence to the supposed aggression. The revelation that the story had been fabricated was met with almost total political silence. The media focused on apologies to nonintegrated communities, the supposed source of the invented assailants. Three years later, in 2007, a real anti-Semitic attack in Marseilles did not receive any public attention. The precedent of the fabricated 2004 incident appears to have significantly harmed the fight against anti-Semitism.
Towards Annapolis: Is U.S. Policy Changing on Israel’s Rights in a Peace Settlement?
The Bush Letter of April 14, 2004, received by Israel as a quid pro quo for the Gaza Disengagement, introduced new elements into the Israeli-Palestinian peace process that completely superseded the Clinton proposals. It is critical for Israeli diplomacy to protect the Bush Letter against those who seek to replace it with a new set of Israeli-Palestinian documents.
Turkey: Between the Iranian-Syrian Axis, Israel, and the West
Three hours after the September 6 incident involving Israel and Syria, the Iranian government sent a warning to Turkey saying that if it was involved in support of Israel and the U.S., Turkey would not get away unscathed. Iran is not exporting its Shi’ism into Turkey, but it is exporting radical Islam into Turkey, feeding it to the Sunni population. In 1999 after a major earthquake in Turkey, Israel was the first nation to come to the rescue and they saved many lives.
On the Situation in Austrian Universities
Austria’s postwar history is characterized by its self-perception as the first victim of the National Socialists. The fact that the majority of Austrian society had supported the Nazis or at least obeyed the Nazi regime was assiduously ignored. This self-perception lasted until the late 1980s, when it was critically reviewed and altered under the impact of the Waldheim affair (discussed below). The latter, however, showed that not only the Social Democrats (SPÖ) but also the Conservatives (ÖVP) had a problematic relationship with the past.
