Explainer: Arabs of Palestine/Israel

Explainer: Arabs of Palestine/Israel

Some ancestors of modern Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, like those of Israeli Jews, lived in the Land of Israel millennia ago, but most came to the area when Muhammad’s successors took Jerusalem and settled there…

Explainer Articles|January 20, 2025
(Podcast) Begin, Sadat and Carter: Camp David Breakthrough

(Podcast) Begin, Sadat and Carter: Camp David Breakthrough

This episode focuses on the first Arab-Israeli peace breakthrough, the Camp David Accords of 1978. Camp David resulted from Egyptian president Anwar Sadat’s electrifying visit to Jerusalem. Host David Makovsky discusses this major decision point with Dr. Ken Stein, who has been a professor of contemporary Middle Eastern history, political science, and Israel studies at Emory University for forty-three years.

Issues and Analyses|June 1, 2024
Reassessing Sadat, Begin and Carter

Reassessing Sadat, Begin and Carter

It is now apparent that distances between the Carter administration and Israel did not begin in earnest after Begin’s May 1977 election or over the settlements. Newly available materials show that from its outset, the Carter administration prioritized curbing Israeli influence in Washington.

Kenneth Stein,  “Separate Palestinians, Israelis through a Trusteeship” Orlando Sentinel, October 14, 2002

Kenneth Stein,  “Separate Palestinians, Israelis through a Trusteeship” Orlando Sentinel, October 14, 2002

Note by the author: As a faculty member at Emory University, I wrote several articles per month for national and local newspapers. This article appeared in October 2002 in the Orlando Sentinel. The idea for a trusteeship to be possibly be considered to manage the Israeli-Palestinian relationship emerged from my decades of study of the Palestine Mandate, understanding the concept of separation of the two communities that was offered by the British on more than one occasion during the 1930s and 1940s, and the American suggestion in early 1948 to create a trusteeship for Palestine’s future. Martin Indyk, a US diplomat published an article about considering a trusteeship as a future political option in a Foreign Policy magazine article in July 2003.

Oslo Faces Belied Handshake

Oslo Faces Belied Handshake

Michael Jacobs September 15, 2023 “Hopes for Peace Hang on Handshake.” That was the headline I wrote for the Sept. 14, 1993, front page of The Washington Times about what happened when Israel and the…

Issues and Analyses|September 15, 2023
Era II: Zionism to Israel, 1898 to 1948

Era II: Zionism to Israel, 1898 to 1948

From 1898 to 1948, Zionism evolved from an idea to a concrete reality: the actual establishment of the Jewish state, Israel. Slowly, a few immigrating Jews created facts by linking people to the land. For half a century, fortuity and fortitude made the Zionist undertaking a reality. They exhibited pragmatism and gradually constructed a nucleus for a state. Through perseverance Zionists empowered themselves.