Gush Emunim Established
February 7, 1974 Gush Emunim (Bloc of the Faithful), a settler movement closely tied to the National Religious Party, is founded by followers of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, including Hanan Porat, Haim Drukman and Rabbi…
Israel Sends 10 Athletes to Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics
Israel is competing in bobsled, alpine and cross-country skiing, skeleton, and figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy.
Puntos de vista y acciones mixtas de musulmanes y árabes hacia Judíos, sionismo e Israel 1932-2024
Durante más de un siglo, los líderes árabes y musulmanes han expresado odio hacia los judíos, el sionismo e Israel, aunque algunos también han señalado internamente los fracasos del movimiento nacional árabe palestino.
Kushner, Gaza Officials Present Rapid Gaza Redevelopment, January 2026
While the Palestinian official leading the technocratic Gaza administration promises to open the Rafah Crossing and the Bulgarian high commissioner for Gaza urges the world to focus on the big picture, U.S. envoy Jared Kushner lays out a vision for Gaza as a rapid, phased real estate redevelopment.
Netanyahu al Canciller Merz, diciembre de 2025: Hamás y el Holocausto buscaron el aniquilamiento de los judíos
Chancellor Merz’s visit coincides with Germany signing the largest Israeli military arms export agreement, covering the Arrow 3, and his support of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Netanyahu recalls centuries of efforts to annihilate Jews, including those in Germany and by Hamas, and says Israel will not give up military control of West Bank land.
Resolución 2803 del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas, por la que se adopta el Plan de Alto el Fuego en Gaza
The U.N. Security Council voted 13-0 on November 17, 2025, to adopt Resolution 2803, endorsing the 20-point Trump peace plan to end the Hamas-Israel war. The precedent-setting resolution provides a pathway to stability in the Gaza Strip and offers a chance for less violence in the Palestinian-Israeli relationship.
El presidente Trump se dirige a la Knéset sobre el alto el fuego en Gaza y la paz en Oriente Medio
Donald Trump takes a victory lap and lays out short- and long-term visions for Gaza, Israel and the Middle East while becoming the fourth U.S. president to address the Knesset.
Conferencia Internacional de Alto Nivel de las Naciones Unidas – Declaración de Nueva York sobre la solución pacífica de la cuestión de Palestina y la implementación de la solución de dos Estados
Seized by the severity of the Gaza war and nonmovement on a Palestinian-Israeli negotiating process, the U.N. offers a diplomatic road map to end the war and start negotiations. Led by France and Saudi Arabia, it asserts PA primacy as the legitimate Palestinian political representative, addresses possible Palestinian governance reform, seeks to empower a sovereign and economically viable state of Palestine living side by side in security with Israel, and contains other vague PA promises. Israel and the U.S. reject the Declaration. The Israeli government refuses to have outside parties determine the outlines or pace of negotiations with any country because negotiations impact Israeli security today and tomorrow.
Zionist Organization Statement to Paris Peace Conference, 1919CIE+
A Zionist delegation to the Paris Peace Conference makes an effective, largely successful case for the League of Nations to incorporate a future Jewish national home into the British Mandate for Palestine.
Charter of the Board of Peace, January 2026CIE+
The Trump administration’s proposed charter for the Board of Peace, the body the United Nations has charged with overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, does not mention Gaza or any other specific location of operation but does grant its chairman, Donald Trump, extensive control over its mission and operations.
Status of Israel’s Judicial Overhaul, January 2026CIE+
Three years after the Israeli government began the process to overhaul the judiciary, and after two years of war delayed efforts, the drive to rein in judicial independence continues.
Aharon Barak, December 2025: Israeli Democracy Depends on Judicial IndependenceCIE+
Former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak makes the case against the Netanyahu government’s efforts to overhaul the judiciary, arguing that Israeli democracy requires judicial independence and protection for minority rights.
Israeli Supreme Court President Defends Judiciary Against Intentional Disruption (With Justice Minister’s Response), December 2025CIE+
Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit warns about the danger to the Israeli public and democracy of sustained political attacks on the judiciary and individual judges.
Explainer: A Short History of HamasCIE+
Updated January 5, 2026; originally posted October 2023. By Ken Stein Hamas’ Origins The 1988 Hamas Charter and remarks by its leaders and other publications express hatred of Zionism, Israel and Jews. It is thus unmistakable that Hamas…
New Year’s 2026 Unrest in Iran and Its Context for Israel and the Middle EastCIE+
January 2, 2026 A week of unrest in Iran does not guarantee a revolution even if 85-plus million Iranians are angry at the country’s autocratic, theological rulers. Iran is a security-clerical oligarchy where kleptocracy, cronyism…
#154 Contemporary Readings December 2025
Maya Rezak and Ken Stein, December 31, 2025 Yousef Algoos, “MBS in Washington: A new era of strategic tech-alliance,” Al-Arabiya, December 14, 2025. Thomas Albery, “A Crisis of crises: What is going on in Iran?”…
U.S.-Israel Meeting, December 2025: Trump, Netanyahu United in Threatening Hamas, IranCIE+
In their fifth U.S. meeting of 2025, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu show unity on Gaza, Hamas, Iran and their mutual appreciation for each other but offer glimpses of differences on Turkey, Syria and the West Bank.
Secretary of State Baker Lays Out Israel’s Path to Madrid, Oslo in AIPAC Speech, 1989CIE+
Secretary of State James A. Baker III brings a realistic and prescient vision of Arab-Israeli peace negotiations and U.S. mediation to AIPAC early in the George H.W. Bush presidency.
U.S. Defense Law Focuses on Postwar Middle East, Israel, December 2025CIE+
The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act shifts U.S. military cooperation with Israel to a postwar focus, including support for neighbors facing Iranian proxies and a response to military embargoes of Israel.
1945-1949 — Una colección de opiniones razonadas sobre la condición disfuncional del estado de cosas político de los árabes palestinos
Cinco historiadores árabes y no árabes detallan la constante desintegración de la sociedad árabe palestina entre 1945 y 1949, citando divisiones sociales internas, empobrecimiento económico, miedo, endeudamiento y disfunción política.
Secretary of State Rubio Foresees Gaza-Israel Peace Efforts Lasting Beyond Trump, December 2025CIE+
Secretary of State Marco Rubio explains the urgent need to establish the Board of Peace and the International Stabilization Force for Gaza to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 in the ceasefire, but he also warns that the work likely will last longer than the Trump administration.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 476, 1980: Israel Warned on Status of JerusalemCIE+
Failing to account for the effects on his re-election hopes, President Jimmy Carter for the second of three times in 1980 lets the U.N. Security Council enact a resolution criticizing Israeli behavior beyond the Green Line.
Stockholm Declaration, 1988: American Jewish Leaders Help Arafat Clear Way to U.S. DialogueCIE+
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat issues a declaration with five American Jewish leaders in an effort to meet U.S. conditions for dialogue and thus strengthen his position as the leader of the Palestinian national movement.
Carter Brings “Concern and Caution and Hope” to Knesset in Final Treaty Push, 1979CIE+
In an unprecedented presidential political gamble, President Carter meets Prime Minister Begin and then President Sadat to tie up loose ends for an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, signed two weeks later. During the trip, he delivers the first Knesset address by a U.S. president.
