Failure of Perception and Self-Deception: Israel’s Quest for Peace in the Context of Related Historical Cases
An examination of the historical record reveals many examples of failures of perception, and of leaders and governments refusing to integrate compelling information of existential importance. Taking account of new information and responding to changing circumstances is vital to man’s relationship with his environment. When a dysfunction in the process of absorbing important new knowledge and correcting mistakes occurs, the faculty of rational judgment may be fatefully impaired.
Apocalyptic Fears Now; Unforseen Risks Tomorrow: Israel’s Poorly Predicted Future
After seven years of the peace process, catastrophic remarks about the end of the State of Israel are much more frequent than they were before the Oslo agreements. Judaism has a long tradition of religious apocalyptic thought; in the secular end-of-days fantasies of the last few months, however, no salvation is offered the community.
The Conflict Between Israel and the Palestinians: A Rational Analysis
Israel’s Confused Leadership / Applying Game Theory / The Possibilities / Is Arafat Irrational? / Does Peace Depend Only on Israel? / Deciphering Arafat’s Intentions / Arafat’s Internal Political Price / Choosing the Correct Strategy / The Right Response
Jerusalem in International Diplomacy: The 2000 Camp David Summit, the Clinton Plan, and Their Aftermath
Since its independence in 1948, and indeed even in prior times, Israel’s rights to sovereignty in Jerusalem have been firmly grounded in history and international law. The aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War only reinforced the strength of Israel’s claims. Seven years after the implementation of the 1993 Oslo Agreements, Prime Minister Ehud Barak became the first Israeli prime minister to consider re-dividing Jerusalem in response to an American proposal at the July 2000 Camp David Summit.
The Israel Swing Factor: How the American Jewish Vote Influences U.S. Elections
There are two clashing myths on the political power of American Jewry. One claims that the community is too small to affect national elections; Jews make up less than 3 percent of the U.S. population.
“The Poor in Your Own City Shall Have Precedence”: A Neo-Zionist Critique of the Katzir-Qaadan Decision
As events that accompanied the establishment of the State of Israel receded into the history books, the extraordinary accomplishments of the Zionist movement also began to fade. For many Israelis growing up after 1948, Zionism became a negative term, satirized and trivialized, and the details of its achievements were rarely taught in the Israeli schools.
American Evenhandedness in the Mideast Peace Process: Lessons from Camp David II and the Al-Aqsa Intifada
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.
Israel’s Major Economic Challenge: Closing the Gap in the Field of Business Economics
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.
FACTORS IMPEDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PRIVATIZATION
Who Should Manage Privatization? / Lessons from the Past / Restrictions on Tenders / “Golden Shares” for the State of Israel / The Cable & Wireless Debacle / Appointment of Directors / State Land and Bezeq
The Use of Palestinian Children in the Al-Aqsa Intifada
Watching the television coverage of the daily Palestinian riots, known as the Al-Aqsa intifada, one is immediately struck by the near total absence of adults. Indeed, most of those hurling Molotov cocktails and stones are teenagers; many are even younger.
THE “POST-SECULAR” ERA
With the completion of the process of secularization within the Jewish people, it is now clear that secularism is no substitute for religion.
Interpretations of Jewish Tradition on Democracy, Land, and Peace
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.
A New Paradigm for Arab-Israeli Peacemaking: A Comprehensive Regional System for Security and Cooperation
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 Emerging Threat of Iraq and the Crisis of Global Security
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.
The Role of Islam in Contemporary South East Asian Politics
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.
