June 2025 Pew Research Center Surveys on Israel
Divided at home and condemned abroad, public opinion of Israel sinks in response to war and domestic politics.
US-Israeli Relationship
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.
Timeline: Hamas-Israel Relations With Events, Statements and Clashes, 1988-Present
Hamas’s genocide against Israelis, unleashes the long blistering hatred that Hamas possesses for Israel and Jews. Entries include severe Arab criticism of Hamas, its detriment to Palestinian nationalism, statements by its leaders, and the war’s unfolding.
Kenneth W. Stein, “Evolving a Diplomatic Legacy From the October War: The US, Egyptian, and Israeli Triangle”
Kenneth W. Stein, “Evolving a Diplomatic Legacy From the October War: The US, Egyptian, and Israeli Triangle,” in Asaf Siniver (ed.), The October 1973 War Politics, Diplomacy, and Legacy, London: Hurst and Company, 2013. This…
Netanyahu’s Persistent Advocacy for Strong Israeli-U.S. Relationship: What Is Next for Both Countries With Changing Middle East Landscapes?
Since coming to office the first time in 1996, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has met with four presidents (Clinton, Obama, Trump and Biden) on 11 occasions. Four times he has addressed Congress, each…
Second Trump Administration’s Views on Israel, Middle East
By Aidan New and Michael Jacobs (updated April 9) President Donald Trump’s second administration had an impact in the Middle East even before his inauguration Jan. 20, 2025: Special Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff was…
Hamas-Israel January 2025 Cease-Fire — Commentary and Implications
The details of the three-stage Hamas-Israel cease-fire that went into effect January 19, 2025, along with unanswered questions, insightful analyses and the relevant U.N. resolution from June 2024.
Post-Presidency Insider Ken Stein Offers Insights on Jimmy Carter
Professor Ken Stein spent decades working with and researching the presidency and post-presidency of Jimmy Carter and shared many of his insights with the media and fellow scholars after the 39th U.S. president died Dec….
Jimmy Carter — An Obituary: The Audacious Camp David Mediator and His Naive Approach to Israel, Iran, the Palestinians and the Whole Middle East
January 9, 2025 By Dr. Kenneth Stein, Emeritus Professor, Emory University As the 39th president of the United States, James Earl Carter held office from 1977 to 1981. Carter was the longest-surviving former United States president…
Jim Zanotti, “Major Issues and U.S.-Israel Relations,” Congressional Research Service
This is an excellent historical review of the relationship, including discussion of the Israel-Hamas War (31p.).
Congressional Research Service, Israel and Hamas Conflict in Brief: Overview, U.S. Policy, and Options for Congress, October 2024
On Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, or FTO) led surprise attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals (including at…
“Jimmy Carter’s Middle East Legacies,” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, September 2024
September 2024 By Kenneth Stein Kenneth Stein is Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Middle Eastern History, Political Science and Israel Studies at Emory University and President of the Atlanta-based Center for Israel Education. He is the author…
David Makovsky, “Disagreements on Hostages Loom Over Netanyahu’s Washington Trip,” July 19, 2024, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
With permission Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s latest Washington visit will center around a July 24 speech to a joint session of Congress and a meeting with President Biden two days earlier, marking their first…
Ronald E. Neumann, “Lessons for Postwar Gaza From the American Experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, July 2024
(with permission) “Don’t repeat our mistakes—we can do it ourselves.” This line occurred to me as I listened to discussions of “the day after” in Gaza. Plans and ideas need to address the detailed problems…
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.
Biden’s Lifelong Support for Israel: Compatibility to American Strategic Interests in the Middle East
Scott Abramson and Ken Stein, Center for Israel Education Common political, emotional and strategic threads are present in President Joe Biden’s speeches and comments about the brutal reality of the Hamas attacks on Israel and…
2024 – Hanin Ghaddar, “Reinforcing U.S. Diplomacy to Stop a Hezbollah-Israel War,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy
View PDF Since the Hamas-led attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollahsecretary-general Hassan Nasrallah has made five public appearancesto address the group’s own confrontation with Israel along the Lebaneseborder. Taken together, these speeches acknowledge…
Congressional Research Service, September 22, 2022, Israel: Background and U.S. Relations in Brief
Political instability and fall 2022 election, Israeli Palestinian issues, Abraham Accords and Israeli normalization, countering Iran, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine
2022 — Revisiting the Possibility of a Regional Military Alliance, Kobi Michael and Yoel Guzansky, INSS
Notwithstanding the signing of the Abraham Accords (1920) and the growing prominence of the cooperation between Israel and the Arab Gulf states, including on security matters, the road toward its establishment increasingly rests with American involvement or leadership. Will this be a Biden priority when he visits the region over the summer?
The American Intelligence Threat Assessment on Iran’s Nuclear Program
On Jan. 29, 2019, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence: “We do not believe Iran is currently undertaking the key activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device.” However, experience helps us realize that the American intelligence community has a very problematic track record in revealing, on time, nuclear weaponization efforts of many countries (e.g., North Korea, India, Pakistan, Syria, and Iraq) including Iran itself, so one has to be very humble about this kind of assessment.
Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty — Context and Implications
March 26, 2025 By Ken Stein The ripe conditions that prefaced the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli treaty and might presage additional Arab-Israeli agreements are almost totally absent in 2025. Why? Today, there is an absence of political…
Lessons from American Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Ken Stein
In August 2021, the U.S. withdrew its military from Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war. Correctly, we needed to prevent another 9/11 on our doorsteps. We still have that imperative. Our departure does not diminish America’s need for stable allies, like Israel and Arab states. The US should build an effective alliance system among them. We should have a small, substantive and selective US footprint in the region for support of friends and deterrence of foes, not for nation-building.
As President, Herzog Offers Advancement of Israel-Diaspora Ties
Isaac “Bougie” Herzog’s election as Israel’s 11th president on June 2 was such “big” news that it was all but impossible to find on the home page of The Times of Israel a day later. That’s because reporting on a largely ceremonial position was overwhelmed by the end of a two-year wait for the monumental announcement of an eight-party government coalition, including Islamist Arabs and religious Zionist Jews, to unseat the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history.
Great Powers, the Middle East and the Cold Wars
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.
