Bulletin: Military and Soldiers

Articles

New Article: Arar et al, Educational Leadership for Social Justice in Israel and Turkey

Arar, Khalid, Kadir Beycioglu, and Izhar Oplatka. “A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Educational Leadership for Social Justice in Israel and Turkey: Meanings, Actions and Contexts.” Compare (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2016.1168283

 

Abstract

The research compares principals in Israel (Jewish and Arab) and Turkey and how they perceive and practice their role in promoting social justice (SJ) in their schools in order to bridge socioeconomic and pedagogic gaps. It poses three questions: (1) How do Turkish and Israeli SJ leaders make sense of SJ? (2) What do SJ leaders do in both countries similarly and differently? (3) What factors facilitate or hinder the work of SJ in both countries? The qualitative study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews to collect the narratives of 11 school principals in Turkey and Israel. A comparative, holistic analysis was employed to identify the principals’ perceptions and daily practice of SJ in their schools. The principals reported different sociocultural, national and personal trajectories that shaped their perceptions of SJ, and described strategies used to promote SJ in their daily scholastic policies, processes and practices that meet the school stakeholders’ backgrounds and needs.

 

 

 

New Article: David, PISA Results in Math and Science: A Comparison between Israel and Turkey

David, Hanna. “The PISA Results in Mathematics and Science: A Comparison between Israel and Turkey.” Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists 3.1 (2015): 22-8.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.17478/JEGYS.2015111087

 

Abstract

Comparing the PISA 2012 achievements of Turkey and Israel in Mathematics and science has been an intriguing challenge. Israel was one of the first 12 countries taking part in the first International Mathematics assessment: The TIMSS 1963/4; it had the best achievements both in grade 4 and 8 (ibid). Turkey started participating in International evaluations only in 1999. Since the 1963/4 first international examinations, the Israeli situation has changed substantially by the 80ies, and not in any desirable direction. Turkey, on the other hand, has demonstrated a gradual, constant improvement in the PISA achievements – both in mathematics and science. In this study a brief comparison between these two countries will be presented regarding the achievement in the first decade of the 21st century. This article consists of three main parts: Why comparing Israel and Turkey?, Achievements comparisons between Israel and Turkey, and Why are the Israeli PISA 2012 results actually lower than reported.

 

 

New Article: Rosman, Toward a Classification of Managing Religious Diversity in the Ranks

Rosman, Elisheva. ” Toward a Classification of Managing Religious Diversity in the Ranks. The Case of the Turkish and Israeli Armed Forces”. Armed Forces & Society (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0095327X15613580

 
Abstract

Military establishments view religious soldiers with mixed feelings and must contend with the specific dilemmas these soldiers present. This article suggests what might influence the managing of religious diversity in the ranks, using the idea of dimensions of isolation. The more removed a military is from society, the more likely it is to utilize internal mechanisms when dealing with religious soldiers. The less removed it is from society, the more likely it will be to turn to external mediating mechanisms in this regard. Using three dimensions of isolation (physical, temporal, and psychological), this article discusses the treatment of religious troops in the Israeli and Turkish cases. After exploring what can be learned from these cases regarding the accommodation of religious soldiers, the article concludes with some suggestions for future research.

 

 

 

New Article: Evans and Kaynak, Media Framing in Religious–Secular Conflict in Turkey and Israel

Evans, Matt and M. Selcan Kaynak. “Media Framing in Religious–Secular Conflict in Turkey and Israel.” International Political Science Review 36.2 (2015): 139-52.

 

URL: ips.sagepub.com/content/36/2/139.abstract

 

Abstract

The functioning of the media as a public watchdog and as a neutral forum for society’s different perspectives is a model that is seen as vital in modern democracies. However, in societies with major social rifts these functions may conflict with one another and alter the media’s role. This work contributes to the theoretical discussion of the role of the media, through a study of the media in religious–secular conflict in Turkey and Israel. In recent years, religious parties’ electoral gains have challenged secular communities’ hold on the countries’ decision-making institutions. With the increase in religious–secular political tensions, the media on both sides have taken a central role, highlighting perceived dangers presented by the other side. As the media come to function as the vanguard of the opposing sides, the impact is twofold: loss of an important public watchdog and a deepening of societal rifts.

Reviews: Sarfati, Mobilizing Religion in Middle East Politics

Sarfati, Yusuf. Mobilizing Religion in Middle East Politics. A Comparative Study of Israel and Turkey, Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics. Abingdon: Routledge, 2014.

 

9780415540162

 

Reviews:

  • Allon, Michal L. “Review.” Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online 2.6 (2014).
  • Ramazan Kılınç. “Review.” Turkish Review, November 1, 2014.
  • Rubin, Aviad. “Review.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 47.1 (2015): 212-213.

 

 

 

 

ToC: Israel Affairs 20.3 (2014)

Israel Affairs, Volume 20, Issue 3, July 2014 is now available online on Taylor & Francis Online.

This new issue contains the following articles:

Articles
The ‘Arab Spring’: implications for US–Israeli relations
Banu Eligür
Pages: 281-301
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.922802

The effects of the ‘Arab Spring’ on Israel’s geostrategic and security environment: the escalating jihadist terror in the Sinai Peninsula
Yehudit Ronen
Pages: 302-317
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.922807

Consolidated monarchies in the post-‘Arab Spring’ era: the case of Jordan
Nur Köprülü
Pages: 318-327
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.922803

Turkish foreign policy after the ‘Arab Spring’: from agenda-setter state to agenda-entrepreneur state
Burak Bilgehan Özpek & Yelda Demirağ
Pages: 328-346
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.922806

Myth and reality, denial and concealment: American Zionist leadership and the Jewish vote in the 1940s
Zohar Segev
Pages: 347-369
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.922808

Middle Eastern intellectual correspondence: Jacob Talmon and Arnold Toynbee revisited
Amikam Nachmani
Pages: 370-398
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.922804

Fiscal allocation to Arab local authorities in Israel, 2004–12
Tal Shahor
Pages: 399-409
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.922809

‘Spring of Youth’ in Beirut: the effects of the Israeli military operation on Lebanon
Dan Naor
Pages: 410-425
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.922805

Book Reviews
Bohaterowie, hochsztaplerzy, opisywacze: wokół Żydowskiego Związku Wojskowego [Heroes, hucksters, storytellers: the Jewish Military Organization
Yehuda Bauer
Pages: 426-429
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897470

Israel: a history
David Rodman
Pages: 430-431
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897025

Holy war in Judaism: the fall and rise of a controversial idea
David Rodman
Pages: 431-432
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897027

Saturday people, Sunday people: Israel through the eyes of a Christian sojourner
David Rodman
Pages: 433-434
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897028

The Arab Spring, democracy and security: domestic and international ramifications
David Rodman
Pages: 434-436
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897029

Operation Damocles: Israel’s secret war against Hitler’s scientists, 1951–1967
David Rodman
Pages: 436-437
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897030

A Jew’s best friend? The image of the dog throughout Jewish history
David Rodman
Pages: 437-438
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897031

2048
David Rodman
Pages: 438-440
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897032

Tested by Zion: the Bush administration and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
David Rodman
Pages: 440-441
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897033

Routledge handbook of modern Israel
David Rodman
Pages: 441-442
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897034

Israel’s clandestine diplomacies
David Rodman
Pages: 442-444
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.897026

Erratum
Erratum

Pages: 1-1
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.937589

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

ToC: Israel Affairs 20,1 (2014)

Israel Affairs, Vol. 20, No. 1, 02 Jan 2014 is now available on Taylor & Francis Online.

This new issue contains the following articles:

Articles
Alternative energy in Israel: opportunities and risks
Gawdat Bahgat
Pages: 1-18
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863078

The success of the Zionist strategy vis-à-vis UNSCOP
Elad Ben-Dror
Pages: 19-39
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863079

Israel: ‘occupier’ or ‘occupied’? The psycho-political projection of Christian and post-Christian supersessionism
Kalman J. Kaplan & Paul Cantz
Pages: 40-61
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863082

Misuse of power in Israeli intelligence
Ephraim Kahana & Daphna Sharfman
Pages: 62-74
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863081

The birth of the core issues: the West Bank and East Jerusalem under Israeli administration, 1967–76 (Part 2)
Moshe Elad
Pages: 75-86
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863080

One step forward or two steps back? Unilateralism and Israel’s Gaza disengagement in the eyes of the world
Geoffrey Levin
Pages: 87-103
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863084

Between private property rights and national preferences: the Bank of Israel’s early years
Arie Krampf
Pages: 104-124
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863083

Bandwagoning for profit and Turkey: alliance formations and volatility in the Middle East
Spyridon N. Litsas
Pages: 125-139
DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863085

New Article: Guzansky, Israel’s Periphery Doctrine 2.0

Guzansky, Yoel. “Israel’s Periphery Doctrine 2.0: The Mediterranean Plus.” Mediterranean Politics 19.1 (2014): 99-116.

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13629395.2013.870365

DOI: 10.1080/13629395.2013.870365

Abstract

This article discusses the bilateral ties that have been forming between Israel and its periphery – that is, Greece, Cyprus, Azerbaijan and South Sudan – and draws a comparison to Israel’s previous relations with Iran, Turkey and Ethiopia. It considers the contribution of those partnerships at the security-intelligence and economic level and suggests its potential impact in the political arena. This research concludes that, despite the dividends that can be gained from security, economic and energy cooperation, its value compared to that of its predecessor is lower based on their instability, domestic issues and lower levels of regional or international influence.

Cite: Tepe, Democratic Challenges of Political Fragmentation in Israel and Turkey

Tepe, Sultan. “The Perils of Polarization and Religious Parties: The Democratic Challenges of Political Fragmentation in Israel and Turkey.” Democratization 20.5 (2013): 831-56.

 

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13510347.2013.801254

Abstract

With their “deeply divided societies”, distinctive electoral rules and pivotal religious parties, Israeli and Turkish politics offer crucial cases to probe into “polarization” processes and the ways in which religious parties play a role in them. Using a large sample of public opinion and experimental survey data, the analysis shows how polarization can be marked by some contravening trends. Despite declining social trust, religious party supporters do not denounce any institutions categorically; yet disregard some opposing parties as viable political alternatives. The political positions of religious partisans differ from their party leadership. Supporters assign different levels of significance to polarizing issues and carry the potential of forming issue-based coalitions across different ideological groups. Although they acquire news and political information from different venues, most partisans tend to process factual information through partisan lenses, reinforcing partisan ideological commitments. While religious party supporters increasingly reject the existing markers of politics and show signs of political apathy, they do not withdraw from politics. With their multifaceted commitments, religious party supporters do not fall into mutually exclusive political groups. Given the tendency of the political elite to exacerbate divisions for political expediency, it is ultimately the ability of individuals to engage in politics beyond the confines of party politics that presents an escape from these polarization traps.

Cite: Kanat, Turkish-Israeli Reset: Business As Usual?

Kanat, Kilic Bugra. “Turkish-Israeli Reset: Business As Usual?” Middle East Policy 20.2 (2013): 113-121.

 

URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mepo.12024/abstract

 

Abstract

In the absence of a common regional threat and with the ongoing crisis
between Israel and Palestine, when viewed in the context of the changes
in Turkey’s foreign-policy decision making, what can bring about better
relations between the two countries? Although the Obama administration
played a key role in mediating the dispute, third parties can only play a
limited role in the future of Turkish-Israeli relations. With a
changing Turkey and a transitioning Middle East, strong bilateral
relations can perhaps be restored through a revitalization of the peace
process and the emergence of a more integrated Middle Eastern economy.

Cite: Özdemir, Is Consensus Necessary for Inflation Stabilization?

Özdemir, Yonca. “Is `Consensus’ Necessary for Inflation Stabilization? A Comparison of Israel and Turkey.” Middle Eastern Studies 49.1 (2013): 47-62.

 

URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/mes/2013/00000049/00000001/art00004

 

Abstract

By studying two Middle Eastern cases, Israel and Turkey, this study seeks to understand how countries with chronically high inflation achieve permanent stabilization. It is argued that each case of successful stabilization is facilitated by a combination of favourable political conditions. Having an acute crisis is a necessary though not a sufficient condition. It is argued that what politically seems to help most is the creation of ‘social and political consensus’. A wide support for stabilization is more likely if the stabilization plan distributes the costs of stabilization more equally. Skilful leaders also help build consensus and they are more important where other conditions are unfavourable. All these conditions were instrumental in the case of Israel, which is a stable and established democracy. The Turkish case demonstrates that if stabilization is initiated without a consensus, it would prove to be a political disaster for the implementing government. However, rapid positive economic results and favourable political changes may later contribute to creating political and social support for stabilization. In fact, for stabilization to be successful, consensus in the medium term is as or even more important than consensus in the short term.

Cite: Durna & Özçetin, Mavi Marmara on the News

Durna, Tezcan and Burak Özçetin. “Mavi Marmara on the News: Convergence and Divergence in Religious Conservative Newspapers in Turkey.” Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication 5.3 (2012): 261-281.

URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/mjcc/2012/00000005/00000003/art00003

Abstract

This article presents a discursive analysis of religious conservative daily newspapers’ response to Israeli commandos’ attack on a flotilla of aid ships that were attempting to break an embargo on traffic to Gaza on 31 May 2010. The event not only caused a serious rupture in Israeli-Turkish relations but also resulted in the rise of (already present) anti-Israeli sentiment in the conservative religious sectors of society. Conservative religious media, more specifically the Islamic newspapers, led the anti-Israeli campaign within this process. The authors emphasize that news does not simply represent reality, but, as an active process, works on it. The institutional dependence on regular and reliable institutional sources and the ideological character of language are two major dynamics of this process. The journalistic routine imposes the statements of the institutional sources, or the voice of the powerful, as the only reliable and viable definition of events. The language used in the news enhances this partiality through use of stereotypical, bitter and discriminatory expressions. This article discusses the way news texts influence reality by focusing on the primary and secondary definers in the news, newspapers’ oscillation between humanitarian and Islamic concerns, and between anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic positions.

Cite: Stocker, The Politics of Oil and Gas in the Eastern Mediterranean

Stocker, James. "No EEZ Solution: The Politics of Oil and Gas in the Eastern Mediterranean." Middle East Journal 66.4 (2012): 579-597.

URL: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/the_middle_east_journal/v066/66.4.stocker.html

Abstract

The discovery of oil and natural gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean Sea has the potential to exacerbate conflicts in the area. There are many possible ways to prevent this from happening, but each requires the states of the region to cooperate, which is unlikely for numerous reasons. This article reviews the various conflicts that have emerged or are emerging over this issue and suggests possible solutions.

ToC: Israel Studies 17,3 (2012)

URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/israelstudies.17.issue-3

Conference: The Political Role of the Military in the Middle East (Gildenhorn Institute, U Maryland, March 14, 2012)

GIIS Presents A Conference On:

The Political Role of the Military in the Middle East

 

The Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies will host a Conference On: The Political Role of the Military in the Middle East on Wednesday, March 14, 2012. Registration begins at 8:45am and program begins at 9:15am, which runs until 12:45pm in the Prince Georges Room in the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland.

 

After a brief introduction by Bonnie Thornton- Dill, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, the conference will be divided into two panels. Panel One will be chaired by Shibley Telhami and include expert panelists discussing issues relating to Turkey, Syria, and Jordan. Panel Two will be chaired by Madeline Zilfi and feature expert panelists discussing issues relating to Egypt and Israel. Each panel will be followed by a brief question and answer session. The audience will include guests from think tanks and the diplomatic community, as well as members of the university community.

 

RSVP: http://ter.ps/ia

 

For more information, please visit: http://newsdesk.umd.edu/bigissues/release.cfm?ArticleID=2638

 

Via Jennifer Kilberg (image)

Reviews: Kinzer, Reset Middle East

 

Kinzer, Stephen. Reset Middle East: Old Friends and New Alliances : Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Iran. London and New York: IB Tauris, 2010.

 

Reset Middle East: Old Friends and New Alliances. Stephen Kinzer

 

Reviews

Reviews: Murinson, Turkey’s Entente with Israel and Azerbaijan

Alexander Murinson, Turkey’s Entente with Israel and Azerbaijan: State Identity and Security in the Middle East and the Caucasus. London / New York: Routledge, 2010.

Reviews:

  • Michael B. Bishku, “Review.” Middle East Journal 64,3 (2010): 493-494
  • Jacob M. Landau, “Review.” Middle Eastern Studies 47.6 (2011): 966-967.
  • Umut Uzer, “Review.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 43.2 (2011): 355-358.