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Issues and Analyses
Constructive Ambiguity in Middle East Peacemaking

Constructive Ambiguity in Middle East Peacemaking

Constructive ambiguity is a concept sometimes utilized in international negotiations to overcome remaining, unresolved issues. In such cases, parties agree to adopt a word or an expression that is so ambiguous they can both accept it—typically allowing them to reach an agreement without departing from their original, contradictory positions on certain contentious issues. This article describes instances in Arab-Israeli relations in which fundamental disagreements between the parties have been resolved—in fact, papered over—through constructive ambiguity.

Issues and Analyses|October 15, 2020
Israel and the Arab World: Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Israel and the Arab World: Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Six weeks before the UAE and Israel announced their mutual recognition in August 2020, Tel Aviv University Professor Eyal Zisser published a comprehensive perspective defining the compatible national interests for Arab state and Israeli mutual cooperation. Then resolving the Palestinian issue was still considered the key blockage to entrenching those ties publically. That obstacle was removed with the signing of the September 15, 2020 Bahrain-Israel-UAE Agreement.

Issues and Analyses|September 25, 2020
Israelis Pessimistic on the Country’s Outlook but Hopeful on Peace with UAE

Israelis Pessimistic on the Country’s Outlook but Hopeful on Peace with UAE

As the new year approaches, two-thirds of those interviewed described the public mood in Israel as pessimistic and a fourth as optimistic. There is skepticism about the country’s collective mood but personally the public is optimistic about the future. Two-third of Israelis think that there is a high or very high chance that there will be new elections in four months. (Published with Courtesy of the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute, 2020).

Issues and Analyses|September 8, 2020
Israel-United Arab Emirates Recognition

Israel-United Arab Emirates Recognition

On August 13, 2020, when the United Arab Emirates agreed to pursue full normal relations with Israel, without any Israeli withdrawal from lands it won in the June 1967 war, the sacred negotiating formula, “Land for Peace” that had dominated Arab-Israeli talks for half a century abruptly ended.

Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|August 20, 2020
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
The Western Wall and the Jews: More than a Thousand Years of Prayer

The Western Wall and the Jews: More than a Thousand Years of Prayer

Against the background of the Jordanian condemnation of Israel for work carried out by Israel on the southern extension of the Western Wall and the Muslim denial of the Jewish connection to the Western Wall, Nadav Shragai, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center, published this collection of forgotten and lesser-known facts about the Western Wall, which Muslims are trying to deny.

Issues and Analyses|July 31, 2020
Proven Success in Israel Education: Context, Sources and Perspective

Proven Success in Israel Education: Context, Sources and Perspective

Using original sources and employing perspective are keys to substantive Israel education. Failure to use either, handicaps and prejudices learning about Israel. When documents and texts or a broad overview of the literature in a field are not employed, there is a strong possibility that the educator either has a personal political agenda or, is covering up for their own lack of knowledge of what they are teaching. This premise is true for teaching any country’s history and through the lens of any discipline. I reside in the discipline of history.

Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|July 13, 2020
Coronavirus, Oil and the Middle East

Coronavirus, Oil and the Middle East

Hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people have been put out of work and the result is a massive loss of output and a collapse in the demand for goods and services. There is great uncertainty regarding the development of therapeutics and prevention; health services face massive pressure and many countries have abandoned orthodox economic policies to support households, firms, and financial markets. Conventional economic theory has once again been put to the test and found wanting. The Middle East has been hit by two large overlapping shocks: COVID-19 and the collapse in oil prices.

Issues and Analyses|June 26, 2020
West Bank Areas A, B and C – How Did They Come into Being?

West Bank Areas A, B and C – How Did They Come into Being?

In January, President Donald Trump published his long-awaited plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: “Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People.” The president’s vision calls for Israel to annex roughly 30% of the West Bank – half of Area C – with Areas A, B and the balance of Area C allocated to the future State of Palestine (which is also slated to receive additional land, currently a sovereign part of Israel, of roughly equal size to lands to be annexed by Israel).

Issues and Analyses|June 10, 2020
Wrestling with Annexation: The Elusive Search for a Policy Rationale

Wrestling with Annexation: The Elusive Search for a Policy Rationale

With permission, read full article at Washington Institute for Near East Policy. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/wrestling-with-annexation-the-elusive-search-for-a-policy-rationale As soon as next month, Israel’s new government could approve plans to annex a substantial portion of the West Bank. The trigger…

Issues and Analyses|June 9, 2020
A Guide for Streaming Israeli Content

A Guide for Streaming Israeli Content

In this new world of social distancing and staying at home, life can slip into a monotonous routine, but there are good ways to liven up your time at home. One is by watching captivating television. But even that can become stale. How many times can you watch Love Is Blind, Tiger King or The Office? Instead, try streaming shows that deal with Israel. The past twenty years have seen an onslaught of exciting, mesmerizing and thrilling productions that offer insights into the nuances of Israel’s history and culture.

Issues and Analyses|April 20, 2020
Origins of Yom Hashoah: Holocaust Memorial Day

Origins of Yom Hashoah: Holocaust Memorial Day

Using original sources, learners will explore the origins of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, in Israel. The unit includes historical discussion on the importance of commeorating the tragedy of the Holocaust and different proposals that were put forward in the Land of Israel both before and after the creation of the state doing so. A writing prompt is included for use in school settings.

Issues and Analyses|April 14, 2020
Israeli/Hebrew Music Collections — Easily Accessible

Israeli/Hebrew Music Collections — Easily Accessible

Contemporary Israeli music has long and varied roots. It is rich and dynamically innovative. Instrumental and vocal streams reflect Jewish and Israeli history. Engage your senses in diversely eclectic flavors. Listen wherever you are—links to free online sources; stream Israeli music from many genres and eras.

Issues and Analyses|April 2, 2020
The United States and Israel: The Risk of Growing Apart

The United States and Israel: The Risk of Growing Apart

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s assertion that “the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with inter­national law” is merely the latest example of how US and Israeli policies have marched almost in lockstep since Donald Trump’s inauguration as president. However, the United States and Israel have shared an intense and intimate relationship that long predates the Trump Administration and goes beyond the chemistry of individual leaders. In many respects, in fact, that relationship is unique in American foreign rela­tions and uniquely critical to Israeli security.

Issues and Analyses|April 1, 2020
Social and Economic Resilience in a Crisis Situation: Strategic Implications

Social and Economic Resilience in a Crisis Situation: Strategic Implications

The ability of Israeli society to stay resilient at a time of national emergency – specifically in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic – has direct strategic and security implications, insofar as Israel demonstrates that it is capable of facing adversity. in addition, despite the huge budgetary hit engendered by Corona, it is vital to sustain Israeli investment in advanced military capabilities, and retain an untouchable budget reserve for this purpose.

Issues and Analyses|March 30, 2020
The Calm Before the Storm? Coping With Corona in the Middle East

The Calm Before the Storm? Coping With Corona in the Middle East

The coronavirus is making its way across the Middle East, forcing states to prepare for the possible collapse of governing systems. The virus struck a region already buckling under the weight of armed conflicts, social upheaval, severe economic distress, and identity-related clashes. The data on corona’s spread is far from precise or reliable, given the lack of testing, lagging policies, and likely efforts at concealment on the part of certain regimes.

Issues and Analyses|March 26, 2020
The Corona Epidemic: Systemic Challenges for Israel

The Corona Epidemic: Systemic Challenges for Israel

Israel is in a state of emergency: schools are closed, businesses are shut, and people continue to lose their source of income. Optimal handling of this dramatic challenge demands a combined strategy. The primary thrust, prevention, protection, and containment, must be complemented by a strategy to promote societal resilience as the secondary effort.

Issues and Analyses|March 23, 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 Corona Crisis and Israel’s National Security

The Corona Crisis and Israel’s National Security

A seminar at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) on political and security implications of the corona crisis underscored the prevalent uncertainty regarding the situation, but also highlighted several instructive points. The biggest threat to the global (and Israeli) economy derives from the slowdown or negative growth in the United States, and at the current stage, the American ability to meet the crisis effectively is not clear. As for Israel, the risks of escalation in the northern arena and the Gaza Strip have decreased in the short term, but toughening the restrictions on the border crossings with the Palestinian Authority could lead to its economic collapse.

Issues and Analyses|March 20, 2020
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