Bulletin: Israel and International Relations

Articles

 

Reviews

Report

Thesis

New Article: Felson and Silk, National Affairs

Felson, Ethan, Mark Silk. “National Affairs.” American Jewish Year Book 115 (2015):89-106.

 

URL: dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24505-8_3

 

Abstract

This chapter details the major events of the past year, international and domestic, and how they impacted the American Jewish community. Tensions between the Israeli prime minister and the American president, the threat of a nuclear Iran, a war in Gaza, rising Islamic radicalism, and the growth of the boycott, divestment and sanction movement consumed the attention of much of the organized Jewish community. Closer to home, racial unrest in several major cities roiled during the year – and the country awaited a Supreme Court decision requiring recognition of same sex marriage nationwide, a move that liberal Jews sought but which raised concerns among more traditional Jews, particularly those who might be called upon to recognize such unions in their businesses and communities.

 

 

New Article: Bloch-Elkon & Rynhold, Israeli Attitudes to the Obama Administration

Bloch-Elkon, Yaeli, and Jonathan Rynhold. “Israeli Attitudes to the Obama Administration.” In US Foreign Policy and Global Standing in the 21st Century: Realities and Perceptions (ed. Efraim Inbar and Jonathan Rynhold; Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2016): 248-66.

 
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Extract

Overall, the polls show that Israelis strongly support the United States, while also being very critical of the Obama administration’s Middle East policies. More specifically, the findings are that Israelis overwhelmingly view the relationship with the United States as vital to Israeli security. Indeed, they rank it as more important than any factor other than Israel’s own military capabilities. They also clearly view the United States in general as a reliable ally of Israel. However, Israelis are evenly divided as to whether Obama’s approach to Israel is a positive one, and, even more significantly, a clear majority of Israelis view Obama’s policies in the Middle East in a negative light. This is true for the administration’s policies toward the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS), the Iranian nuclear issue, and the Israeli-Palestinian process.

 

 

New Article: Sandler, The Impact of a Transformed US Global Stance on Israel’s National Security Strategy

Sandler, Shmuel. “The Impact of a Transformed US Global Stance on Israel’s National Security Strategy.” In US Foreign Policy and Global Standing in the 21st Century: Realities and Perceptions (ed. Efraim Inbar and Jonathan Rynhold; Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2016): 267-83.

 
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Extract

A reduced US presence in the Middle East would lead to regional instability and upset the balance of power between Israel and its neighbors. Accordingly, Jerusalem may have to reconsider its national security doctrine. Each pillar of Israel’s national security strategy would be affected.

[…]

Finally, without a committed United states to prevent a nuclear Iran, Israel may feel more compelled and less restrained than ever to strike, in order to prevent the nightmare of a potential Iranian “breakout,” and/or the emergence of several threshold Middle Eastern nuclear states.

 

 

 

New Book: Rosenfeld, Deciphering the New Antisemitism

Rosenfeld, Alvin H., ed. Deciphering the New Antisemitism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2015.

new antisemitism

Deciphering the New Antisemitism addresses the increasing prevalence of antisemitism on a global scale. Antisemitism takes on various forms in all parts of the world, and the essays in this wide-ranging volume deal with many of them: European antisemitism, antisemitism and Islamophobia, antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and efforts to demonize and delegitimize Israel. Contributors are an international group of scholars who clarify the cultural, intellectual, political, and religious conditions that give rise to antisemitic words and deeds. These landmark essays are noteworthy for their timeliness and ability to grapple effectively with the serious issues at hand.

 

Table of Contents

Introduction Alvin H. Rosenfeld

Part I. Defining and Assessing Antisemitism
1. Antisemitism and Islamophobia: The Inversion of the Debt – Pascal Bruckner
2. The Ideology of the New Antisemitism – Kenneth L. Marcus
3. A Framework for Assessing Antisemitism: Three Case Studies (Dieudonné, Erdoğan, and Hamas) – Günther Jikeli
4. Virtuous Antisemitism – Elhanan Yakira


Part II. Intellectual and Ideological Contexts
5. Historicizing the Transhistorical: Apostasy and the Dialectic of Jew-Hatred – Doron Ben-Atar
6. Literary Theory and the Delegitimization of Israel – Jean Axelrad Cahan
7. Good News from France: There Is No New Antisemitism – Bruno Chaouat
8. Anti-Zionism and the Anarchist Tradition – Eirik Eiglad
9. Antisemitism and the Radical Catholic Traditionalist Movement – Mark Weitzman

Part III. Holocaust Denial, Evasion, Minimization
10. The Uniqueness Debate Revisited – Bernard Harrison
11. Denial, Evasion, and Anti-Historical Antisemitism: The Continuing Assault on Memory – David Patterson
12. Generational Changes in the Holocaust Denial Movement in the United States – Aryeh Tuchman


Part IV. Regional Manifestations
13. From Occupation to Occupy: Antisemitism and the Contemporary Left in the United States – Sina Arnold
14. The EU’s Responses to Contemporary Antisemitism: A Shell Game – R. Amy Elman
15. Anti-Israeli Boycotts: European and International Human Rights Law Perspectives – Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias
16. Delegitimizing Israel in Germany and Austria: Past Politics, the Iranian Threat, and Post-national Anti-Zionism – Stephan Grigat
17. Antisemitism and Antiurbanism, Past and Present: Empirical and Theoretical Approaches – Bodo Kahmann
18. Tehran’s Efforts to Mobilize Antisemitism: The Global Impact – Matthias Küntzel

List of Contributors
Index

ALVIN H. ROSENFELD holds the Irving M. Glazer Chair in Jewish Studies and is Professor of English and Founding Director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at Indiana University Bloomington. He is editor of Resurgent Antisemitism: Global Perspectives (IUP, 2013) and author of The End of the Holocaust (IUP, 2011), among other books.

 

New Article: Tenenboim-Weinblatt et al, Conflict Narratives in the Israeli News Media

Tenenboim-Weinblatt, Keren, Thomas Hanitzsch, and Rotem Nagar. “Beyond Peace Journalism. Reclassifying Conflict Narratives in the Israeli News Media.” Journal of Peace Research (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022343315609091

 

Abstract

This article presents a general framework for deconstructing and classifying conflict news narratives. This framework, based on a nuanced and contextual approach to analyzing media representations of conflict actors and events, addresses some of the weaknesses of existing classification schemes, focusing in particular on the dualistic approach of the peace journalism model. Using quantitative content analysis, the proposed framework is then applied to the journalistic coverage in the Israeli media of three Middle-Eastern conflicts: the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the conflict surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, and the Syrian civil war. The coverage is examined in three leading news outlets – Haaretz, Israel Hayom, and Ynet – over a six-month period. Based on hierarchical cluster analysis, the article identifies four characteristic types of narratives in the examined coverage. These include two journalistic narratives of violence: one inward-looking, ethnocentric narrative, and one outward-looking narrative focusing on outgroup actors and victims; and two political-diplomatic narratives: one interactional, and one outward-looking. In addition to highlighting different constellations of points of view and conflict measures in news stories, the identified clusters also challenge several assumptions underlying existing models, such as the postulated alignment between elite/official actors and violence frames.

 

 

 

ToC: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (Nov-Dec 2015)

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

November/December 2015 Table of Contents

Interpreting the Middle East for North Americans • Interpreting North America for the Middle East

The U.S. Role in the Middle East and the Israeli Occupation of Palestine

volxxxivno7

8Lack of Hope, Worsening Oppression Spur Young Palestinians to ActRachelle Marshall
12Israel Ratchets up Its Violence Against a New Generation of Palestinians—Four ViewsJonathan Cook, Samah Jabr, Mohammed Omer, John V. Whitbeck

17Sabra and Shatila 33 Years Later—A Personal AccountEllen Siegel

20Egypt Floods Its Border With GazaMohammed Omer

27 Iran Nuclear Agreement Clears Biggest Legislative Hurdle, but More RemainShirl McArthur

SPECIAL REPORTS

22Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara Parallels Israel and PalestineIan Williams

24The U.S. and Russia in Syria—Two ViewsPatrick J. Buchanan, Robert Parry

71 In Memoriam: Dr. Jamal Barzinji (1939-2015)Sami Al-Arian

DEPARTMENTS

5Letters to the Editor

7Publishers’ Page

30New York City and Tri-State News: Bassem Tamimi: “To Liberate Palestine, We Must Have Free Women”Jane Adas

32Northern California ­Chronicle: CAIR-CA, Community Groups Thank Governor for Signing Racial Profiling BillElaine Pasquini

34Israel and Judaism: Will a Freed Pollarld Become a Hero and Role Model for Israel And Its American Friends?Allan C. Brownfeld

37Other People’s Mail

39Southern California Chronicle: Dr. Nabil Azzam Honored at 2015 Arab Music Festival and Conference in CairoPat and Samir Twair

40 Arab-American Activism:

Candidates Woo Arab-American Voters—and Vice Versa
ArabEidFest Entertains and Informs

41 Human Rights:

Syria and Beyond: Assessing the Global Refugee Crisis
Human Rights Group Calls for Justice for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui
Ehud Barak Sued in California for Role in Mavi Marmara Raid

43 Muslim American Activism:

CAIR Celebrates Champions for Justice

44 Music & Arts:

Simon Shaheen Helps UPA Raise Funds for Gaza Children
Palestinian-American Graphic Artist a Hit at SPXPO
Syrian Youth Talent Show

45 Waging Peace:

NCUSAR Policymakers Conference Tackles Middle East’s Pressing Issues
Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and the Devastating War in Yemen
Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize Winner Tawakkol Karman Visits Washington
Egypt’s Economic, Security and Political Challenges
Chomsky, Pappe, Roy, Walt Among Speakers at Biblical Studies Conference
HCEF Conference Explores the Future of Christianity in the Holy Land
Palestinian Christian Leaders Call for Unity, Resistance, Global Action
The Future of Bipartisanship on Israel
Coleen Rowley and Ray McGovern Host Edward Snowden in Iowa City
Gaza Teach-In at Georgetown
ANERA Dinner Raises Funds for Humanitarian Needs
Hebron Children Bring Pinwheels, Hope for Peace to Capitol Hill
Building the BDS Movement for Justice in Palestine
Dr. Cornel West Describes the Legacy of Edward Said
Southern Californians Protest Israeli Oppression
The Israel Lobby and the Iran Nuclear Deal
Protest Outside Israeli Consulate In San Francisco Draws Large Crowd

64 Diplomatic Doings:

Pope Francis Challenges Congress to Advance Peace, Human Dignity
Guests Celebrate Saudi National Day

65The World Looks at the Middle East—Cartoons

66Book Reviews:

William Yale: Witness to Partition in the Middle East, World War I-World War II—Reviewed by Randa A. Kayyali

Modernizing Saudi Arabia—Reviewed by Kevin A. Davis

67Middle East Books and More

69‘Tis the season for Charitable Giving: A Washington Report Compendium

72Obituaries

73 2015 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS

33 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

New Article: Morag, The Strategic Impact of an Iranian Nuclear Weapons Capability on Israel

Morag, Nadav. “The Strategic Impact of an Iranian Nuclear Weapons Capability on Israel.” In Nuclear Threats and Security Challenges, NATO Science for Peace and Security series (ed. Samuel Apikyan and David Diamond; Dordrecht: Springer, 2015): 135-46.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JRME-09-2014-0023

 

Abstract

This paper will address the likely strategic impact of an Iranian nuclear weapons capability on Israeli security, both in terms of the country’s regional standing within the Middle East, and in terms of its homeland security issues. It should be emphasized that an Iranian capacity to produce and deploy nuclear weapons in a fairly short period of time will have largely the same strategic impact on Israel as an already existing Iranian nuclear weapons capability because Iran will be able to claim that, by developing this capacity, it will be able to counter Israeli “aggression” in the Middle East, thus enhancing its prestige in the region and beyond. Moreover, an Iranian capability to develop and deploy nuclear weapons may embolden Iran to risk further confrontation with Israel, the United States, and America’s Arab allies because a nuclear weapons capability is likely to be perceived in Teheran, particularly by regime hardliners, as an insurance policy against a catastrophic attack on Iran that could threaten the regime’s hold on power. Finally, even if Iran does not actually build nuclear weapons, once it has the capacity to build them in a short period of time, Israel will need to think about the implications of their use against Israeli cities and what this means for its homeland security.

 

 

ToC: Journal of Palestine Studies 44.4 (2015)

 
University of California Press
Table of Contents Alert
University of California Press is happy to notify you that the new issue of Journal of Palestine Studies is now available. The online issues of this journal are hosted on JSTOR on behalf of University of California Press.
Journal Cover Journal of Palestine Studies
Vol. 44, No. 4, Summer 2015

Cover
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4

Front Matter
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4

Table of Contents
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4

FROM THE EDITOR
Rashid I. Khalidi
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 5-6.

ARTICLE

The Two-State Model and Israeli Constitutionalism: Impact on the Palestinian Citizens of Israel
Mazen Masri
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 7-20.

INTERVIEW

Elia Suleiman: The Power of Ridicule
Nehad Khader
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 21-31.

ESSAYS

Dream-Work of Dispossession: The Instance of Elia Suleiman
Stathis Gourgouris
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 32-47.

The Way Forward: Full Citizenship for Israel’s Palestinian Minority
Avraham Burg
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 48-56.

REMEMBRANCE

Eric Rouleau: Journalist Extraordinaire, Champion of the Palestinian Cause
Linda Butler
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 57-67.

SPECIAL DOCUMENT FILE

The Iran Nuclear Negotiations: Israel and the U.S. Congress
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 68-92.

RECENT BOOKS

Review: From Palestine to Israel: A Photographic Record of Destruction and State Formation, 1947–1950
From Palestine to Israel: A Photographic Record of Destruction and State Formation, 1947–1950 by Ariella Azoulay
Review by: Issam Nassar
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 93-95.

Review: Colonial Jerusalem: The Spatial Construction of Identity and Difference in a City of Myth, 1948–2012
Colonial Jerusalem: The Spatial Construction of Identity and Difference in a City of Myth, 1948–2012 by Thomas Philip Abowd
Review by: Michael Dumper
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 95-97.

Review: Contested Land, Contested Memory: Israel’s Jews and Arabs and the Ghosts of Catastrophe
Contested Land, Contested Memory: Israel’s Jews and Arabs and the Ghosts of Catastrophe by Jo Roberts
Review by: Awad Halabi
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 97-98.

Review: Conscientious Objectors in Israel: Citizenship, Sacrifice, Trials of Fealty
Conscientious Objectors in Israel: Citizenship, Sacrifice, Trials of Fealty by Erica Weiss
Review by: Mark Levine
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 99-101.

Review: Producing Spoilers: Peacemaking and the Production of Enmity in a Secular Age
Producing Spoilers: Peacemaking and the Production of Enmity in a Secular Age by Joyce Dalsheim
Review by: Anna Bernard
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 101-103.

Review: Violence and Understanding in Gaza: The British Broadsheets’ Coverage of the War
Violence and Understanding in Gaza: The British Broadsheets’ Coverage of the War by Dávid Kaposi
Review by: Ben White
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 103-105.

Review: Intellectual Resistance and the Struggle for Palestine
Intellectual Resistance and the Struggle for Palestine by Matthew Abraham
Review by: Bruce Robbins
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 105-106.

Review: Steve Sabella: Photography, 1997–2014
Steve Sabella: Photography, 1997–2014 by Hubertus von Amelunxen; Hubertus von Amelunxen; Kamal Boullata
Review by: Dorothea Schoene
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 106-108.

SELECTIONS FROM THE PRESS
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 109-136.

PHOTOS FROM THE QUARTER
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 137-144.

PALESTINE UNBOUND
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 145-152.

UPDATE ON CONFLICT AND DIPLOMACY
Paul Karolyi
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 153-193.

CONGRESSIONAL MONITOR
Paul Karolyi
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 194-243.

DOCUMENTS AND SOURCE MATERIAL
Journal of Palestine Studies Summer 2015, Vol. 44, No. 4: 244-268.

 

Research in Progress: Scoping Study of U.S.-Israel Dialogue (Chen Kane, Middlebury Institute of Int’l Studies)

Scoping Study of U.S.-Israel Dialogue
Performer: Middlebury Institute of International Studies
Project Lead: Chen Kane
Project Cost: $70,000
FY15-16

URL: http://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/45427

Objective:
Over the last twenty years, there has been an increase in security-related Track 2 dialogues in the Middle East. Yet, with Israel, one of the region’s most important states and a nuclear power, few Track 2 dialogues addressing mutual security concerns have been held. They are needed to foster a more open exchange and discussion of emerging mutual security issues. This study will evaluate the feasibility and scope of a future Track 2 dialogue between the United States and Israel within the 2016 timeframe.

Approach:
This project involves background research and analysis, including of past attempts to establish Track 1.5 strategic dialogues and the reasons they have failed. Additionally, researchers will conduct in-depth consultations with current and former U.S. government and non-government personnel. They will also travel to Israel to discuss the project’s objectives with a select group of Israeli government and non-government interlocutors. Subjects for discussion will include Iran’s nuclear program, Syria’s civil war, a Middle East WMD-free zone, extended deterrence, missile defense, and other emerging security issues.

Click here for PDF.

New Article: Jahn, Israeli, Jewish and German Sensitivities

Jahn, Egbert. “‘With What Ink Remains’: Stabbing a Pen into the Hornet’s Nest of Israeli, Jewish and German Sensitivities.” In his World Political Challenges (trans. Anna Güttel-Bellert; Heidelberg and Berlin: Springer, 2015): 187-203.

 

world political challenges

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-47912-4_11

 

Abstract

Once again, a prominent member of public life in Germany has been the brunt of serious accusations of anti-Semitism, and is now likely to be ostracised both in Germany and abroad. This time, it is Günter Grass who with his brief political declaration on the foreign and military policy of Israel has been greeted with fury and condemnation from almost all sides and rejection elsewhere, while attracting support only from the margins of the political establishment. However, there are some sharp critics of the declaration by Grass who defend the author against the accusation of being anti-Semitic in general. And as always in such cases there are mumblings in the hidden corners of society that it is not permitted in Germany to say anything critics about Jews or Israel without immediately being battered by the political and moral bludgeon of the ruling German political class and being branded a social pariah. And so the most prudent reaction was to say nothing on the subject of Israel and the Jews, since unlike Günter Grass, not everyone can afford to break their silence on this subject and present their political declaration in the form of a poem, with the special protection of artistic expression. However, the German chattering classes are once more in full agreement with Grass; only the outsiders of the Easter March movement had the courage to say so in public.
As in the cases of Jenninger, Möllemann, Walser, Hohmann and Sarrazin, the Grass affair has its own particular features. What is common to all of them, however, is bare, overarching condemnation and labelling as “anti-Semitic”, guaranteed to ruin any reputation, instead of dealing with the opinions set out in the text itself and to disagree with them individually on a factual basis, something that would also be entirely possible in the case of Grass. Above all, nobody in Israel and in the world would claim that Israel has a “right to a first (nuclear) strike” that “could eliminate the Iranian people”, a ridiculous conjecture that in the context of the public threat by Israel, however, to potentially make a conventional air strike on Iranian nuclear power facilities adopts a highly explosive tone. The downplaying of the repeated official Iranian threat to destroy the state of Israel, referring to it as “loudmouthery”, fails to recognise the dangerous potential power wielded by ideologues who currently (as yet) have no potential for gaining real political power, not least due to the military strength of Israel and its de-facto alliance partners, the USA. Grass is right only in stating that in Germany (unlike in Israel and the USA) there is no political discussion regarding the attitude of Germany to the Israeli threat of an offensive war against the Iranian nuclear power stations. There is much evidence to support the fact that rather than triggering it, the Grass affair will probably make such a debate less likely since it merely mobilises traditional, indiscriminate thought patterns rather than challenging them.
Since this lecture was given on 16 April 2012, relations between Iran and the west have improved enormously at a fundamental level following the election of Hassan Rohani as President on 14 June 2013. He initiated a far more cooperative foreign and atomic policy in Iran. As a result, the risk of war has been considerably reduced.

 

 

New Article: Beres, Defending Israel against Iranian Nuclear Aggression

Beres, Louis René. “Defending Israel against Iranian Nuclear Aggression: War, Genocide, and International Law.” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23739770.2015.1049400

 

Excerpt

Under authoritative international law, aggressive war and genocide need not be mutually exclusive. On the contrary, war can intentionally create the conditions that would make genocide possible; it can also be the more direct or immediate instrument of closely related crimes against humanity. It follows then, as Iran comes ever closer to achieving a viable nuclear weapons capability, that Israel has an especially good reason to fear future conflicts with such an aggression-prone Islamic republic.

Ultimately, any war launched by Iran could become genocidal.

ToC: Tikkun 30.3 (2015)

Table of Contents for Tikkun 30.3 (2015):

 

Letters

Editorials

  • RABBI MICHAEL LERNER

Repenting for What Israel Did to Gaza—Without Condoning the Wrongs Committed by Hamas

Tikkun (2015) 30(3): 5-7

Politics & Society

SAM ROSS-BROWN

  • JESSICA BENJAMIN

Acknowledging the Other’s Suffering: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Trauma in Israel/Palestine

Tikkun (2015) 30(3): 15-16

  • PETER GABEL

The Spiritual Dimension of Social Justice: Transforming the Legal Arena

Tikkun (2015) 30(3): 17-23

 

VANDANA SHIVA

Special Section: Nonviolence in Foreign Policy

Strengthening Local Economies: The Path to Peace?

Tikkun (2015) 30(3): 34-38

Rethinking Religion

JOY LADIN

Culture

Books

RAMI SHAPIRO

PHILIP TERMAN

The Poetry of a Jewish Humanist

Tikkun (2015) 30(3): 56-58; doi:10.1215/08879982-3140236

Poetry

Chana Bloch

Tikkun Recommends

New Article: Beres, Israel’s Strategic Doctrine

Beres, Louis René. “Israel’s Strategic Doctrine: Updating Intelligence Community Responsibilities.” International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence 28.1 (2015): 89-104.

 
 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08850607.2014.962359

 

Excerpt

So long as a fully-nuclear Islamic Republic of Iran is not regarded in Jerusalem as incapable of coexistence with a Jewish State, Israel’s optimal doctrinal emphases should now be placed on more suitable configurations of diplomacy, nuclear deterrence, and ballistic-missile defense. Reevaluating the longstanding Israeli policy of deliberate nuclear ambiguity will be very important, including also the precise ways in which the country’s nuclear capacities and inclinations are newly communicated to potential aggressors. In all associated responsibilities for “bomb in the basement” policy assessment and disclosure, the Israel Intelligence Community must play a prominent and promising role. By such “wise counsel,” Israel could do much better than prepare for any future war. It could best avoid such a war altogether, thus providing its people the most meaningful “victory” of all.

 
 
 

New Article: Magen, Media Strategies and Manipulations of Intelligence Services

Magen, Clila. “Media Strategies and Manipulations of Intelligence Services. The Case of Israel.” International Journal of Press/Politics 20.2 (2015): 247-65.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1940161214556514

 

Abstract

Existing research on the relationship between Israeli intelligence services and the media is limited and fragmented. This work attempts to fill in the gaps by shedding light on four main strategies that have been commonly implemented by the Israeli intelligence community: ambiguity and concealment of media relations, the “if you would only know” strategy, exploiting patriotism and cooptation, and information manipulations and psychological warfare. These strategies were utilized frequently by Israel’s intelligence services, and thus have had an impact on the intelligence services’ accountability. However, significant changes in Israel’s society and media have created new challenges to the intelligence services in the public sphere. This study examines these changes and differentiates between the organizations within the intelligence community, domestic and foreign, which, facing differing challenges, tailor different methods for addressing the media as a result. This paper is based on several years of research and a large database of literature, media coverage, and in-depth interviews with key figures in Israel’s intelligence community (former Mossad and Israeli Security Authority directors), senior journalists, and politicians.

Reviews: Ayoob, Will the Middle East Implode?

Ayoob, Mohammed. Will the Middle East Implode? Cambridge: Polity, 2014.

0745679242

Reviews

  • Waterbury, John. “Review.” Foreign Affairs Capsule Review, March/April 2014.
  • Postel, Danny. “Review.” Middle East Policy 21.3 (2014).
  • Delgado, Magdalena C. “Review.” LSE Review of Books blog
  • Beckerman-Boys, Carly. “Review.” Global Policy, December 18, 2014.
  • Khashan, Hilal. “Review.” Middle East Quarterly 22.3 (2015).
  • Cappucci, John. “Review.” Political Studies Review 13.3 (2015): 465-66.

 

New Article: Rezaei and Cohen, Iran’s Nuclear Program and the Israeli-Iranian Rivalry

Rezaei, Farhad and Ronen A. Cohen, “Iran’s Nuclear Program and the Israeli-Iranian Rivalry in the Post Revolutionary Era.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 41.4 (2014): 442-60.

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13530194.2014.942081

Abstract

The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran led to a set of major shifts in the Middle East and an anti-Israeli stance became a central approach of the revolutionaries. Up to 1979, however, Tel Aviv had a close relationship with Tehran whose enmity with its Arab neighbours was anchored in a historical struggle for regional supremacy. Israel has remained an enemy of Islam and the Muslims for the revolutionary leaders and as Iran’s power grew Israel’s anxiety increased accordingly. A new division of power in the region and Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons led to a direct rivalry between Iran and Israel and consequently many Israelis have come to regard Iran and its nuclear program as an existential threat to Israel that has to be halted. This article explores the roots of enmity between these two countries, scrutinizes the threats of a nuclear armed Iran for Israel and attempts to determine what kind of measures might work to convince Iran to renounce its nuclear program. The article has four sections with the first section covering the history of the relations and the origins of hostility between Iran and Israel. The second section provides a brief overview of how the division of regional power led to direct rivalry between Tehran and Tel Aviv. The third section details Iran’s nuclear program and examines its threats to Israel and the last section covers the current sanctions debate over what type of measures might work to compel Iran to renounce its nuclear weapons.

 

New Article: Küntzel, The German–American Dispute over Iran

Küntzel, Matthias. “Hidden Diplomacy: The German–American Dispute over Iran.” American Foreign Policy Interests 36.4 (2014): 225-33.

 

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10803920.2014.947873

 

 

Excerpt

A policy that seeks to integrate Iran into a strategic partnership is flawed for several reasons. It is naïve, because it ignores the hostile national and foreign policy interests of Shiite Islamism. It is unrealistic, because religious totalitarianism cannot be harnessed for secular ends. It is arrogant, because, in currying favor with a country that “in fact shows little inclination to adopt the Western political and economic model as its ideal,” it assumes that Iranians are neither ready nor capable of living in freedom and democracy. It is morally untenable, because it shamefully betrays the Western world’s most threatened country—Israel. According to Hans Morgenthau, “political realism is aware of the moral significance of political action” and must judge it “by universal moral principles, such as that of liberty.”

New Article: Weisberg, Jewish Voting in the 2012 Election

Weisberg, Herbert F. “Tradition! Tradition? Jewish Voting in the 2012 Election.” PS: Political Science & Politics 47.3 (2014): 629-35.

 

URL: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9285831

 

Abstract

The voting of Jews in the 2012 US presidential election is discussed in this article within the context of a recent reexamination of historical data on Jewish voting. Two Election-Night polls of Jews and the largest scientific survey of Jews to date make this detailed exploration of Jewish voting possible. Voting differences among Jews are analyzed, especially among major denominational movements. The role of American policy on the Middle East merits specific attention, particularly given concern about the potential Iranian nuclear threat to Israel. Explanations of Jewish liberalness and Democratic identification are considered, with a special focus on the role of social identity. A reluctance of Jewish conservatives to identify as Republicans is discussed as well as how Jewish conservatives react to economic and social issues. The possibility of a party realignment of Jews along generational and denominational lines is considered, as well as the impact of the Republican alliance with Evangelical Christians and the Tea Party.

ToC: Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, 8.1

At Issue: Iran
Iran Thirty-Five Years After the Islamic Revolution: A Conversation
David Menashri
“Like Two Scorpions in a Bottle”: Could Israel and a Nuclear Iran Coexist in the Middle East?
Louis René Beres
“No Permanent Allies, No Permanent Enemies, Only Permanent Interests”: Israeli–Iranian Relations
Avi Primor
Middle East Currents
Breakdown and Possible Restart: Turkish–Israeli Relations under the AKP
Matthew S. Cohen and Charles D. Freilich
Egypt’s Quest for Normalcy
David Sultan
Internationalizing the Arab–Israeli Conflict
Yehuda Bauer
European Currents and Retrospectives
Israel and the EU: Beyond the Horizon
Frans Timmermans
Combating Antisemitism in Europe
Michael Whine
Two Vignettes on Israeli–European Economic Community Relations in the Late 1950s
Sharon Pardo
Linking the Vistula and the Jordan: The Genesis of Relations between Poland and the State of Israel
Szymon Rudnicki
Counterpoints
Absolving the Allies? Another Look at the Anglo–American Response to the Holocaust
Alexander J. Groth
Holocaust Rescue Revisited: An Unexplored Angle
Wojtek Rappak
Reviews
Israel Has Moved by Diana Pinto
Reviewed by Colette Avital
Israel in Africa 1956–1976 by Zach Levey
Reviewed by Joel Peters
The Wisdom of Syria’s Waiting Game: Foreign Policy Under the Assads by Bente Scheller
Reviewed by Dimitar Mihaylov
Shiism and Politics in the Middle East by Laurence Louër
Reviewed by Harold Rhode
Beyond War: Reimagining American Influence in a New Middle East by David Rohde
Reviewed by Juliana Geran Pilon
The Nixon Administration and the Middle East Peace Process, 1969–1973: From the Rogers Plan to the Outbreak of the Yom Kippur War by Boaz Vanetik and Zaki Shalom
1973: The Road to War by Yigal Kipnis
Reviewed by David Rodman
Race and US Foreign Policy: The African-American Foreign Affairs Network by Mark Ledwidge
Reviewed by Fred A. Lazin
Useful Enemies: John Demjanjuk and America’s Open-Door Policy for Nazi War Criminals by Richard Rashke
Reviewed by Efraim Zuroff
The Influence of Airpower upon History: Statesmanship, Diplomacy, and Foreign Policy since 1903 edited by Robin Higham and Mark Parillo
Reviewed by Danny Shalom
Governments-in-Exile and the Jews during the Second World War edited by Jan Lánič ek and James Jordan
Reviewed by Alexander J. Groth
Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937–1945 by Rana Mitter
Reviewed by Yitzhak Shichor
Letters
Bertram Marc Katz, Rafael Medoff, Konrad Baumeister