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U.S. and Israel
The American Intelligence Threat Assessment on Iran’s Nuclear Program

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.

Issues and Analyses|March 11, 2019
Lessons from American Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Ken Stein

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.

Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|August 25, 2021
As President, Herzog Offers Advancement of Israel-Diaspora Ties

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.

Issues and Analyses|June 4, 2021
Great Powers, the Middle East and the Cold Wars

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.

Issues and Analyses|August 9, 2020
China’s Rise, U.S. Opposition and the Implications for Israel

China’s Rise, U.S. Opposition and the Implications for Israel

This article offers assessments of China in a clear-eyed and non-polemical fashion. It offers not an apology but an explanation for why China, having suffered a century of humiliation by external powers in the 19th century, is focused on re-establishing its role in the world – a role it believes its global economic weight entitles it to have. The Chinese response to the coronavirus is a vivid reminder of the fear that constrains honest discussion or reporting or intellectual development in that vast country.

Issues and Analyses|March 20, 2020
The Deal of the Century: Where Does it Lead?

The Deal of the Century: Where Does it Lead?

“The Deal of the Century,” formulated by the Trump administration, is presented as a new paradigm for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that also shapes the architecture of a new Middle East. In order to keep the State of Israel Jewish, democratic, secure, and moral, it is necessary to adopt the components of the plan that both enhance security and at the same time can jumpstart the process of separation from the Palestinians, thus creating a better strategic reality for Israel.

Issues and Analyses|February 26, 2020
The U.S. Peace Plan: A Return to the Rabin Doctrine of Defensible Borders

The U.S. Peace Plan: A Return to the Rabin Doctrine of Defensible Borders

The U.S. peace plan offers a return to the security-first approach of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and, specifically, the concept of defensible borders. On Jan. 29, 2020, Shimon Sheves, former Director-General of Prime Minister Rabin’s office, told Israel Army Radio, “The Trump plan is essentially the Rabin plan” and a “continuation of Rabin’s legacy.” Journalist Ben Caspit, writing in Maariv, called it “a modern incarnation of Rabin’s plan from 25 years ago.”

Issues and Analyses|February 5, 2020
The Future of U.S.-Israel Relations Symposium

The Future of U.S.-Israel Relations Symposium

The symposium held on December 2, 2019 analyzed the consequences of U.S. retrenchment for the future of Israel and the Middle East. For more than four decades, the United States has played a large part in the Middle East regional order. However, it is now pulling back from the region in a manner that has generated uncertainty and insecurity for America’s allies and partners. The event convened experts to discuss whether Israel is in a particularly exposed position given its traditional dependence on the United States.

Issues and Analyses|December 9, 2019
Are They Legal or Not? Pompeo’s Announcement on the Israeli Settlements

Are They Legal or Not? Pompeo’s Announcement on the Israeli Settlements

The announcement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that “the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law” is in line with Israel’s official position, and its inherent message – that preoccupation with the question of the legality of the settlements narrows Palestinian flexibility and discourages the achievement of a negotiated resolution to the conflict – is correct. However, the announcement’s practical value is minor, and there are even potential risks and costs for Israel.

Issues and Analyses|November 24, 2019
(Podcast) Decision Points: The U.S.-Israel Relationship

(Podcast) Decision Points: The U.S.-Israel Relationship

“Decision Points” is a new Washington Institute podcast that provides fresh insights into critical moments in the U.S.-Israel relationship from prominent historians and policymakers. The series is hosted by Ziegler Distinguished Fellow David Makovsky, a renowned expert on U.S.-Israel relations, including territorial solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Issues and Analyses|November 13, 2019
The American Jewish Community and Israel’s National Security – A Call for Action

The American Jewish Community and Israel’s National Security – A Call for Action

The relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community has been central to the ability of both communities to develop and flourish over the past 70 years; it is likewise vital to the national security of Israel and the entire Jewish people. The current generation has witnessed increasing trends of distance and alienation between Israel and American Jewry, a weakened connection and sense of mutual belonging, and the decline of responsibility and involvement between the two communities. These join the challenges concerning the continuity of the American Jewish community and its political and social influence within the United States.

Issues and Analyses|September 17, 2019
Tectonics, Techno-Economics and National Security: The Strategic Clash Between the United States and China and Implications for Israel

Tectonics, Techno-Economics and National Security: The Strategic Clash Between the United States and China and Implications for Israel

A series of “volcanic” eruptions are reported around the world: “trade war,” mutual imposition of tariffs, sanctions on companies, military signaling in the South China Sea, summits between leaders, and temporary “ceasefires.” All are manifestations of the historic clash between the “tectonic plates” of the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. Like the processes that shaped the earth, the collision will shape the landscape for future generations: politically, economically and militarily. Israel has a marginal and secondary role in this dynamic, but the shockwaves reach its shores and present complex challenges to its policy and national security.

Issues and Analyses|July 15, 2019
Inside the Trump Administration’s Middle East Peace Effort: A Conversation With Jared Kushner

Inside the Trump Administration’s Middle East Peace Effort: A Conversation With Jared Kushner

Jared Kushner, the senior advisor to President Donald Trump, was the keynote speaker of the Washington Institute’s 2019 Soref Symposium dinner. The on-the-record event, “Inside the Trump Administration’s Middle East Peace Effort: A Conversation With Jared Kushner,” took place on Thursday, May 2. Kushner was interviewed by Institute executive director Robert Satloff. Since becoming the President’s senior advisor, Kushner has traveled extensively in the Middle East and has met numerous times with the region’s key leaders. He has been present for major Middle East policy decisions, including moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. He has been central to the development of the administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

Issues and Analyses|May 21, 2019
The Global Trade War: Scenarios and Significance for Israel

The Global Trade War: Scenarios and Significance for Israel

On July 6, 2018, the first tariffs imposed by the United States and China on one another following the American initiative to reduce its trade deficit with China took effect. Prior to that, the US imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum from the European Union, Mexico, and Canada, which responded with their own tariffs.

Issues and Analyses|July 19, 2018
Presidential Promises and Platitudes

Presidential Promises and Platitudes

In 2008 and again in 2012, President Barack Obama made lofty promises and gallant assessments about Iran and the Middle East respectively. His remarks to the annual AIPAC conference four years ago about Israel and Iran have proved to be out and out fictions. Who will hold the 45th President accountable for promises made but not kept?

Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|March 5, 2016
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