A major objective of Zionism and Israel remains the “normalization” of the Jewish people in a secure territory of their own. As a worldwide minority through the ages, Jews have lobbied and negotiated with stronger and more numerous powers for existence and recognition. Since the onset of modern political Zionism in the middle of the 18th century, Jewish representatives have engaged foreign powers to allow, catalyze, support and sustain Zionism and then Israel’s existence. For all of its nearly eight decades, Israel has engaged countries and leaders, Diaspora Jewry, and non-Jews to provide diplomatic, economic, financial and philosophical support for the state. It took Israel three decades to achieve diplomatic recognition from Egypt in 1979, with five other Arab states and the PLO having recognized it since. It should not be surprising that among our 60 topics, more than 1,000 posts relate to Foreign Relations, Wars and Defense, Maps, Arabs of Palestine/Israel, and Arab-Israeli Negotiations.
April 2025 CIE has compiled the following list of books and articles, including some available on our website, to guide understanding of Israel’s foreign policy. Bibliographies addressing specific aspects of Israel’s foreign relations can be…
The U.N. partition resolution in 1947 cleared the way for Israel to declare independence six months later, but since then the United Nations has largely been antagonistic and condemnatory toward Israel and a tool for the Palestinians and Israel’s enemies.
Historical Background Unlike any other region of the world, Europe has had the most intimate, impactful and longest-lasting relationship with contemporary Israel and its origins. As the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and with the…
Books Abadi, Jacob. British Withdrawal From the Middle East: The Economic and Strategic Imperatives. Princeton, NJ: Kingston Press, 1982. Ahiram, Ephraim, and Alfred Tovias (eds.). Whither EU-Israel Relations? Common and Divergent Interest. Frankfurt: Lang, 1995….
International legitimacy is granted to establish a Jewish National Home in Palestine. Rules for its establishment clearly give Jews in Palestine distinct advantages over the local Arab population.
The UN recommended establishing Arab and Jewish states in Palestine, with an international regime for Jerusalem. Zionists were jubilant; Arab states and the Palestinians were indignant and rejected two state solution. No Arab state is established, Israel is in 1948
Upon admission to the U.N., Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett said, “It was
the consummation of a people’s transition from political anonymity to clear identity, from inferiority to equal status, from mere passive protest to active responsibility, from exclusion to membership in the family of nations.”
Sharett gives an overview of Israeli foreign policy, key issues, and relationships with UN and Arab states.
The clash of great powers to control the Middle East, particularly between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., neither began after World War II nor ended with the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. Today, China, the U.S., Russia and Middle Eastern regional powers vie to influence everyday politics and resources.
The US-Israeli relationship is complicated, dynamic, multidimensional, and enduring. From initial American governmental opposition to the present, Washington has become Israel’s most trusted ally. Rooted in common bonds, entrenched military sharing, and valued strategic interests, the association has also greatly influenced the shaping and sustenance of American Jewish identity.
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…
By Ken Stein, October 28, 2024 When Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter became the 39th President of the United States in 1977, he had little foreign policy experience, particularly regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict. Despite this, he…
Hamas absolutely opposes Israel’s right to exist, with its leadership repeatedly declaring that all of Palestine belongs to Moslems.
Quietly pursued in the past, long-standing strategic ties between Israel and Gulf states have become public. Building on the historic Joint Agreement signed between Israel and the UAE in August 2020, the Abraham Accords serve as a framework for normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.
Jan. 31, 2023 In this 48-minute webinar recorded Jan. 31, 2023, two experts on Jordan, the Washington Institute’s Ghaith al-Omari and Tel Aviv University’s Asher Susser, help CIE President Ken Stein explore more than a…
May 18, 2025 Contradiction has been a theme in Iran’s relationship with the Jewish people, for nowhere else in the Muslim world have Jews both suffered so grievously and flourished so thoroughly. Nor is the…
