Selected articles concerning Israel, published weekly by Suburban Orthodox Toras Chaim’s (Baltimore) Israel Action Committee Edited by Jerry Appelbaum ( [email protected] ) | Founding editor: Sheldon J. Berman Z”L

Issue 8 7 3 Volume 2 2 , Number 0 4 Parshias Bo J anuary 23 , 20 2 1

Memo to President Biden: Please Don’t Mess Up the Abraham Accords By Bret Stephens commentarymagazine.com February 2021 In November 2013, I participated in an interview at (with the help of some U.S. diplomatic bribery) ententes the Wall Street Journal with Alwaleed bin Talal, a with Morocco and Sudan, will probably soon make a deal Saudi prince of legendary riches and blunt, if with Oman, and seems ultimately destined to strike one sometimes unsavory, views. with Saudi Arabia itself. The prospect that the Arab – Israeli To New Yorkers with lon g memories, Alwaleed was con flict, long thought to be the world’s most intractable, the man who, after September 11, 2001, had sought to might be brought to an end much sooner than anyone donate $10 million to the city, along with the suggestion dreamed possible offers powerful lessons to the incoming that the U.S. government “adopt a more balanced stance Biden administration for how to conduct a successful toward the Palestinian cause.” (Then - mayor Rudy Giuliani Mideast peace policy — provided it has th e humility and returned the check.) To the Journal, he was a major good sense to learn them. shareholder in News Corporation, the paper’s parent This is a story in three parts. The first is about the company. Getting a meeting with the editorial board, of Arab world and its belated reckoning with the which I was then a member, was not a problem. consequences of decades of domestic misrule. The second It turned out to be an exceptionally interesting is about Israel, and the policies it pursued in defiance o f interview . Three months earlier, Barack Obama had relentless international condemnation. The third is about surrendered his red line in Syria, refusing to make good on the United States, and what it can achieve when it his prior threats of military action in response to Bashar al - abandons decades of conventional wisdom regarding the Assad’s use of chemical weapons. Instead, Obama seized nature of the Middle East’s problems and the solutions to on a Russian proposal to have Assad vo luntarily relinquish them. his declared arsenal — a proposal that proved remarkably One : The Arab Reckoning easy to violate while heralding a new era of American It is not much of an exaggeration to say that Arab fecklessness in the Middle East. civilization at the beginning of this millennium resembled “The U.S. has to have a foreign policy,” Alwaleed said nothing so much as a gigantic prison of desperate inmates, that day. “Well - defined, well - structur ed. You don’t have it dangerous gang leaders, cruel wardens, and crumbling right now, unfortunately. It’s just complete chaos. walls. It was also a civilization that had long been in denial Confusion. No policy. I mean, we feel it. We sense it.” about the causes of its failures. As the historian Bernard As dismayed as Alwaleed was by Obama’s climbdown Lewis pointed out at the time, for centuries much of the in Syria, he was even more alarmed by Obama’s turn Arab world had developed an almost reflexive habit of toward Iran, in the form o f an interim nuclear deal that accounting for its misfortunes by asking: “Who did this to would later become the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of us ?” There was never a shortage of scapegoats: Mongol Action, or JCPOA. The prince warned that Iran’s invasions in the 13th century, Ottoman overlords in the supposedly moderate leaders were not to be trusted, and 17th and 18th, British and French imperialists in the 19th that the only policy that could work was to “put maximum and 20th, and then, after 1948, the Zionists and their pressure now on the United States not to succumb to the friends in America. president of Iran’s soft talk.” He also hinted that Saudi The endless s earch for outside culprits, Lewis noted, Arabia had a nuclear option thanks to an “arrangement served to deflect a more difficult, if also more productive, with Pakistan.” question: “What did we do wrong?” That began to change And then Alwaleed dropped a little bomb of his own. in 2002, when the United Nations Development Program “For the first time,” he sai d, “Saudi Arabian interests and published the first of five landmark studies, written by Israel’s are almost parallel. It’s incredible.” prominent Arab scholars. The Arab Human Development That a prominent Saudi prince was willing to say it on Reports collectively served as a kind of 360 - degree mirror the record, in the pages of a leading U.S. daily and in for a civilization that had spent decades trying either to impolitic defiance of an American president, proved how deny its own problems or otherwise locate their source in right he was. anyone and anythi ng except itself. In many ways, the meeting with Alwaleed was the first Among their findings: Spain translated more foreign hint of what, seven years later, would bear fruit in the books into Spanish in a single year than the Arab world peace deals known as the Abraham Accords. Israel signed had translated foreign books into Arabic in a millennium. the first of them in September with Bahrain and the Spain also had a larger gross domestic product than all 22 United Arab Emirates. It is in t he process of finalizing states of the Arab League combined. Half of all Arab Focus o n Israel January 23, 2021 Page 2 women were illiterate. Per capita income growth in Arab Taken together, these developments underscored to countries was the second - lowest in the world, after sub - Arab leaders — at l east those still standing — the Saharan Africa’s, with 20 percent of people living on less tenuousness of their position. Could they survive major than $2 a day. Unemployment was high and gett ing higher, internal upheaval? Would the U.S. continue to guarantee especially among the youth. In terms of demography, their security? Was it possible to return the genie of nearly 40 percent of all Arabs were under the age of 14, Islamist fanaticism to its bottle? How could they reform the largest youth cohort in the world. th eir economies and societies in ways that provided What kind of future could such a world have in store opportunity and hope? Above all, what could be done to for them? halt Iran’s seemingly unstoppable rise? Though the report contained the o bligatory throat - Two : Israel’s Rise clearing about the alleged evils of Israeli occupation, it was As Arab leaders struggled to come to grips with their refreshingly candid about where the real problems lay. The vulnerabilities, Israel was gaining a k eener sense of its own Arab world, it argued, suffered from critical deficits in strengths. political and personal freedoms, educational resources and The Jewish state had also been in a bad state at the scientific know - how, and women’s empowerment. These turn of the millennium. The misbegotten 1993 Oslo were not the result of perfidious outsiders, but of Accords collapsed seven years later in a diplomatic repressive leaders, corrupt elites, and a broader inability to humiliation at Camp David for then - prime minister Ehud master the challenges of modernity. Barring urgent Barak. This was followed by an eruption of Palestinian domestic reforms, the inevitable endpo int for such failures terrorism, in which more than 1,000 Israelis — the was social collapse of the sort that would soon come to proportional equivalent of 43,000 Americans — were places like Libya, Yemen, and Syria. murdered. The economy went into a deep recession. The If the conclusions of the Development Report seemed Israeli left, along with its fellow travelers abroad, could n ot academic, its point would quickly be driven home by a understand the flaw in their almost messianic belief that more direct set of challenges. From about 2003 onward, the creation of a Palestinian state had to be realized at Islamist terrorism — hitherto directed mainly against non - great speed and almost any cost. Media solons insisted that Muslims — turned the weight of its savagery inward. The Israel could not possibly defeat terrorism through military same Arab leaders and secular intellectuals who privately means. In many pl aces, Israel was treated as a pariah state. saw the attacks of 9/11 as an overdue comeuppance for Yet within a few years, and despite stumbles such as the United Sta tes, or had celebrated suicide attacks against the 2006 Lebanon War, Israel had turned itself around. Israelis during the second intifada, quickly learned how The IDF crushed the second intifada. The economy easily such methods could be turned against them. That recovered and thrived, with GDP rising from $132 billion was true not least in Saudi Arabia, once the leading in 2000 to almost $400 billion in 2019. Is rael’s financier and practitioner of Islamic extrem ism and then, demographic picture did not, contrary to the usual anxious suddenly, among its leading targets. predictions, darken: On the contrary, as the Herzl The hard consequences of Arab economic Institute’s Ofir Haivry has shown, Israel’s fertility rate is by mismanagement came home to roost as well. In 2007 – 08, far the most robust in the developed world, while fertility global food prices rose sharply. Arab countries, which rates in the A rab world (including among Palestinians) import most of their food, were especially vulnerable. In have gone into a steep decline. On the diplomatic front, Egypt, consumer prices for bread rose as much as fivefold Jerusalem significantly strengthened its ties with India, in the months before the 2011 collapse of Hosni Japan, Greece, Oman, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Mubarak’s regime. In 2014, oil prices collapsed, brought and Chad — all countries of strategic significan ce to Israel. about in part by a fracking revolution that lessened U.S. And while Israel fought three wars against Hamas dependence on Middle Eastern energ y. following the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, the Palestinian The hardest shock of all was the Obama question has, for the time being at least, become less of an administration’s abrupt abandonment of decades of U.S. existential threat and more of a chronic condition, policy in support of our allies. This came in the form of manageable rather than fatal. serial decisions to call for Mubarak’s departure, withdraw What makes Israel’s progress all the more remarkable all U.S. forces from Iraq, steer clear of involvement in is that it achieved it by consistently defying the reigning Syria, accept a Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt, international consensus as to what it should do. negotiate a nuclear deal with Tehran guaranteed to In 2011, then - secretary of defense Leon Panetta said strengthen its regional hand, and treat Russia’s military that Israel was becoming increasin gly isolated in the region reentry in the Middle East with near - indifference. If much and that it was time for it to get to “the damn table.” Said of the Arab world ’s street had been infuriated by the Bush Panetta: “I understand the view that this is not the time to administration’s invasion of Iraq, its leaders were no less pursue peace, and that the Arab awakening further imperils appalled by the policy of American disengagement carried the dream of a safe and secure, Jewish and democ ratic out deliberately under Obama. Israel. But I disagree with that view.” Page 3 January 23, 2021 Focus on Is ra el

In 2014, Obama warned in a Bloomberg interview that wide domain; standing up to Barack Obama in time was running out for Israel to come to terms with the Washington; and responding forcefully to attacks and Palestinians. “If Palestinians come to believe that the provocations from Hamas. In doing all this, Israel possibility of a contiguous sovereign Palest inian state is no demonstrated to its neighbors that, far from being their longer within reach,” the president said, “then our ability enemy, it could well be their most valuable asset against to manage the international fallout is going to be limited.” their enemy. Secretary of State John Kerry added his own confident In 2014, senior Israeli and Saudi figures, led by Israeli prediction in 2016. “There will be no separate peace diplomat Dore Gold and retired Saudi general Anwar between Is rael and the Arab world,” he said. “I’ve heard Majed Eshki, began holding a series of secret talks. In several prominent politicians in Israel sometimes saying, March 2015, Be njamin Netanyahu delivered his speech to ‘Well, the Arab world’s in a different place now, and we Congress to warn against the Iran deal over the just have to reach out to them and we can work some administration’s furious objections. Much of the things with the Arab world, and we’ll deal with the commentariat, both in the U.S. and Israel, fretted that Palestinians.’ No. No, no, and no.” Netanyahu was needlessly driving a wedge between What was it that Israel’s leaders understood about the Washington an d Jerusalem while risking Israel’s bipartisan region that the Obama administration didn’t? The answer support in Congress. could fill a book. But four main points stand out. But Netanyahu had a broader audience in mind when, For starters, Israelis distrusted the so - called Arab in the middle of his address, he went out of his way to street and hence were not enthusiastic about the so - called note that Iran had tried to assassinate the Saudi Arab Spring. Where many Westerners saw images of ambassador to the United States in a Washington, D.C., Cairo’s Tahrir Square filled with anti - Mubarak restaurant. Though Arab ambassadors had declined demonstrators and thought of the pro - democracy protests invitations to attend the speech, it was no secret that the in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s, man y Israelis were put Israeli prime minister was speaking for them. in mind of the mass demonstrations that brought down In November 2015, Israel opened a full - time the Shah of Iran in the late 1970s. In other words, Israelis diplomatic office in Abu Dhabi, of ficially as part of the understood, in a way that relatively few Westerners did, International Renewable Energy Agency, making it the that the two most plausible alternatives to a secular first permanent Israeli foreign - ministry station in a Gulf dictatorshi p like Mubarak’s were, on the one hand, a country. Such contacts would only become more frequent radical theocratic regime led by the Muslim Brotherhood, in the years leading up to the Abraham Accords. There or, on the other, chaos. (It was a lucky break for Israel that were handsh akes between senior Saudi and Israeli figures Abdel Fatah el - Sisi’s 2013 military coup averted that at the Munich Security Conference; there was intensified outcome in Egypt — at least for now.) intelligence cooperation; and Benjamin Netanyahu made a Isra elis had also tired of the standard Western analysis public visit to Oman. To anyone paying attention, the that it was “two minutes to midnight” before the last Abraham Accords could not have come as any sort of hopes for peace with Palestinians expired. A solution for surprise. the Palestinians would have to wait until Palestinian leaders Three : American Fecklessness stopped rejecting every Israe li peace offer and brushing Near the end of the Obama administration, a friend of aside every Israeli olive branch. In the meantime, Israel mine half - joked that Obama had belatedly earned his 2009 would continue to thrive. Nobel Peace Prize — by uniting Arabs and Israelis in Israelis understood, too, how vulnerable Arab leaders horrified opposition to him. There was more than a grain were in the face of Tehran’s tightening grip over a crescent of truth to it. In the space of a few years, Obama, whose of Arab capitals that stretch ed from Baghdad to Damascus election was supposed to herald a new era of global respect to Beirut to Gaza to Sana’a. That vulnerability was all the for America, had succeeded in infuriating or betraying more acute as it became clear that the Obama nearly all of America’s traditional allies in the region while administration was not interested in standing up to winning no new friends. Tehran’s imperialism and was in fact happy to abet it in the This was no way to conduct U.S. foreign policy. Much form of sa nctions relief. If Arabs wanted a determined and as many Americans may wish it otherwise, the U.S. capable ally, they would have to look elsewhere. continues to have vital interests in the Middle East. The Finally, Israelis knew that, in the Middle East, the coin U.S. cannot allow a hostile power to dominate a region of the realm isn’t love. It’s respect. that accounts for close to 40 percent of global oil In bidding for the world’s love during the Oslo years, production (and oil that is much cheaper to produce than Israel had lost much of that respect. But in the last 20 what is extracted by fracking from shale). We cannot allow years, the Jewish state won it back by: crushing the the world’s most fanatical regimes to acquire nuclear Palestinian terror apparatus; locating and eliminating a capabilities, setting off an arms race in the world’s most North Korean nuclear reactor in eastern Syria; co mbustible region. We cannot accept the permanent assassinating powerful Hezbollah commanders such as establishment of jihad incubators similar to what the Imad Mugniyeh in Damascus; challenging Iran across a Taliban established in Afghanistan, the Islamic State in Focus o n Israel January 23, 2021 Page 4

Iraq and Syria, Hezbollah in much of southern Lebanon, It puffs the vanity of Palestinian leaders and and Hamas in Gaza. We cannot allow chaos in the region encourages them to pursue maximalist demands and reject once again to spill into Europe, setting off the chain of every compromise, since it is only through the events that produced not only a massive humanitarian perpetuation of conflict that they remain relevant actors on crisis but also a populist backlash in the West. the world stage. The paradox of the Palestini an issue is Finally, we have a long - term interest in encouraging that the greater the public and diplomatic attention paid it, reformers in the region where ver we might find them — the harder it is to solve. whether it’s in government ministries in Riyadh, a protest It stands in the way of full normalization of ties movement in Tehran, or a TV station in Dubai. But such between Israel and Arab states by tying normalization to encouragement is a far cry from the sort of democracy demands that Israel cannot safely meet, such as promotion that was embraced by the Bush and later relinquishing the Jordan River Valley or allowing the Obama administr ations, which wound up legitimizing descendants of Arab refugees from 1948 to return to political movements like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt Israel. or the Sadrists in Iraq that view democracy merely as a It feeds anti - Semitic stereotypes. As one French vehicle to establish their own authoritarianism. ambassador put it not long after 9/11, “All the current Where does the creation of a Palestinian state rank on troubles in the world are because of that sh *** ty little thi s list of American priorities? Not high, in the final country, Israel. Why should the world be in danger of analysis. There’s a shopworn argument that the failure to World War III because of those people?” “solve” the Israeli – Palestinian conflict is a major reason In sum, not only did the Obama administration harm for ideological extremism and jihadist terrorism. Yet to the U.S. interests and values by overworking the Israeli - extent that extremists a nd jihadis care about, and act upon, Palestinian issue, it harmed Israeli, Arab, and even their Palestinian grievance, it’s to destroy Israel in its Palestinian interests as well. Could the Trump entirety, not to create a Palestinian state alongside a Jewish administration do better? one. There is also an argument that a Palestinian state of To its credit — and to the pleasant surprise of some of some kind will be necessary to preserv e Israel’s Jewish and its critics, including me — it did, in spades. democratic character. But even if one concedes the point, Four: Trumpian Discontinuity it’s an argument about Israeli interests, not American ones. In February 2017, toward the end of my te nure at the The upshot is that the infatuation so many U.S. Wall Street Journal, I wrote a column titled “Mideast Rules policymakers have with Palestinian statehood has disserved for Jared Kushner.” Donald Trump’s son - in - law had been American interests in myriad ways. handed the Israel – Palestine brief by the new president, and It confuses a vital national interest with a political so I addressed him directly. “For Mr. Kushner,” I wrote, wish — in this case, the wish of American presidents like the goal of diplomacy isn’t to “solve” the Palestinian Bill Clinton and secretaries of state like John Kerry to be problem. It’s to anesthetize it through a studied lauded as peacemakers. combination of economic help and diplomatic neglect. It wastes the White House’s politic al capital and The real prize lies in further cultivating Jerusalem’s ties to diplomatic time. Cairo, Riyadh, Amman and Abu Dhabi, as part of an It perpetuates the damaging myth that the plight of the Alliance of Moderates and Modernizers that can defeat Palestinians is the gravest in the region — to the detriment Sunni and Shiite radicals from Raqqa to Tehran. The goal of other Middle Eastern people, such as the Kurds, who should be to make Palestinian leaders realize over time that have fared far worse at the hands of Turks, Iraqis, an d they are the region’s atavism, not its future. Syrians alike. I don’t know whether Kushner read the piece, but the It perpetuates the false notion that a solution to the ideas I was expressing offered an intellectual foundation Palestinian issue would somehow solve everything else. for what would become the Abraham Accords. It allows the Arab world to go on asking “Who did To the extent that the Accords are about the this to us?” rather than “What did we do wrong?” — Palestinian issue at all, it is that they turn conventional thereby fostering a mindset of blame - avoidance, thinking about it on its head. Instead of the usual view that conspiracy thinking, and political prevarication. a Palestinian state is the precondition to full Arab - Israeli It plays into the propaganda of America’s radical normalization, the Accords suggest that a Palestinian state enemies, led by Iran, that Israel’s behavior, rather than will happen only as a result of that normalization. There is their own, is the chief source of turmoil and injustice in an intuitive and compelling logic to this. If Israel does not the region. have to fear a hostile or chaotic neighborhood, either now It asks t hat this same ally, Israel, weaken its defenses or in the future, it has less to fear from a Palestinian state. and take the proverbial “risks for peace,” when what And if Palestinians observe that good relations between America most needs from Israel is a strong country that Israel and other Arab states are the norm, there’s less of a can defend itself, come to the aid of its neighbors, provide reason for them to stand out as the violent exception. the U.S. with critical intelligence an d tactical know - how, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and serve as a bulwark against the region’s radicals. President Donald Trump, Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid Page 5 January 23, 2021 Focus on Is ra el bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, and United Arab Emirates Foreign allies. If anything, it did the opposite. Why? In part Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al - Nahyan on the Blue Room because Arab sol idarity with Palestinians has always been balcony after signing the Abraham Accords, September 15, opportunistic. But it’s also because what Arab states want 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) from the U.S. isn’t balance. It’s reliability as an ally. An Yet the Abraham Accords are not, at bottom, about America that supports Israel to the hilt is one that the Palestinians at all. On the contrary, they are about understands the value of loyalty — an attra ctive feature to decoupling the Israeli – Palestinian conflict f rom the Arab – any country that looks to the U.S. for support. Israeli conflict. Doing so has obvious benefits for all sides. I write all this as someone who has never disguised or Israeli airliners no longer have to take a circuitous flight disavowed my disdain for Trump: I supported both of his path to avoid overflying the Arabian peninsula. Abu Dhabi impeachments and have never regretted my opposition to can acquire state - of - the - art F - 35 jets from the U.S. without him. But I believe in giv ing credit where credit is due. Nor risking a de facto veto from Israel’s friends in Congress. am I optimistic about the direction of Mideast policy American military strategists and intelligence operatives under Biden, whose sole idea for the region seems to be can leverage this burgeoning alliance both as an added his eagerness to bring the U.S. back to the JCPOA. But I deterrent and a force multiplier against regional enemies. believe in giving new presidents the benefit of the d oubt. The significance of the A ccords goes deeper. Had In the short term, Biden’s effort to return to the raison d’état governed the calculations of Arab statesmen, JCPOA will probably strengthen Israel’s strategic ties with their quarrels with the Jewish state would have ended long its new partners — at America’s expense. U.S. outreach to ago. But the longstanding Arab refusal to accept Israel’s Iran will also likely stiffen Israeli resistance to U.S. pressure legitimacy is the expression not of national interests. It’s a to resume negotia tions with Palestinians. Jerusalem would civilizational impulse. It stems from centuries of faltering be rash to cede an inch if sanctions on Tehran are eased, confidence and wounded pride, which even the most clear - to the benefit of Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestine Islamic eyed Arab statesmen — including Anwar Sadat and Jordan’s Jihad, and other Iranian terrorist proxies on Israel’s late King Hussein — found hard to challenge. Overcoming doorsteps. it requires a change no t just of policy but also mentality, a Still, there is no need for Biden to replicate Obama’s willingness to rethink assumptions that are as much Mideast mistakes. And it behooves the incoming cultural and psychological as they are political and administration to at least consider how the Abraham strategic. It means looking at Israel as a regional role Accords can advance traditional Democratic foreign - policy model and strategic partner, and at Palestinians as jus t objectives. another nation. That at least two Arab leaders were Peace: American presidents have sought, with mixed prepared to do all this in exchange for no territorial success, to normal ize Israeli – Arab relations since Harry concessions by Israel is a considerable tribute to their Truman was in the White House. This is not just a matter farsightedness. In this sense, the Accords are about finally of altruism. The U.S. benefits when its allies are not at coming to grips with the fund amental causes of the decline daggers drawn and Washington doesn’t have to worry of the Arab world, not just the immediate threats to its about placating one side at the expense of the othe r. The existence. history of Israeli – Arab wars has also been a story of U.S. As for the Trump administration, whatever else might foreign - policy crises, whether it was the Eisenhower be said about its conduct of foreign policy, it was administration’s rupture with Britain and France in 1956 refreshingly indifferent to State Department formulas and over Suez, the nuclear alert during the Yom Kippur War in shibboleths that had governed 50 years of U.S. policy and 1973, the U.S. interve ntion in Lebanon in the early 1980s, condemned it to futility. Land - for - peace? One state or or Iraq’s Scud - missile attacks on Israel during the 1991 two? The status of Jerusalem? The genius of the Accords is Gulf War. The Abraham Accords are a major step toward that they bypass these questions to achieve realizable ensuring that these sorts of crises never happen again. policy objectives with m ajor strategic benefits. Global strategy: If the Biden administration believe s They also show how little the U.S. gains through a that the U.S. needs gradually to reduce the scale of its policy of Mideast evenhandedness. To his considerable Mideast commitments — perhaps for the sake of pursuing credit, Trump shut down the Palestinian mission in the Obama - era pivot to Asia — then it had better do so in a Washington. He moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. way that neither leaves chaos in its wake nor creates He recognized Israeli s overeignty over the Golan Heights. openings for American adversarie s. Broad normalization He offered a peace plan for an eventual Palestinian state between Israel and Arab states can never fully compensate that clearly tilted toward Israel. The plan later provided the for a diminished U.S. footprint in the region; no Israeli pretext for the Abraham Accords, after the U.A.E. offered aircraft carriers exist to patrol the waters of the Persian Israel a peace deal in exchange for Benjam in Netanyahu Gulf. But it can help. A united Israeli – Arab front could backing off from his pledge to annex parts of the West stymie Iran’s bid to become a regional hegemon, prevent Bank. Assad from regaining full control of Syria, and undermine Simply put, U.S. policy of being maximally pro - Israel transnational threats like Hezbollah or the remnants of did nothing to diminish America’s standing with its Arab ISIS — all of them threats to the U.S. as well. Focus o n Israel January 23, 2021 Page 6

Regional integration: Israel’s relations hip with leaders and people alike abandon their long - held goal of Azerbaijan, to which it sells arms (some of them used to destroying Israel as a Jewish state, both by renouncing the appalling effect against ethnic Armenians in the recent so - called right of return and forswearing the use of terror. conflict over Nagorno – Karabakh) and which it uses for Both those conditions would be signifi cantly advanced in a intelligence purposes against neighboring Iran, is one world where Israel had normal relations with most of its model for how Israel coul d cooperate with, say, Bahrain. A neighbors. The road from Jerusalem to Ramallah may lead, better goal for Israeli – Arab relations would be the old however circuitously, through Riyadh. Turkish – Israeli alliance, which involved close commercial Five: Can Biden Accept It? ties, extensive tourism, and mutually productive diplomatic Will the Biden administration pay heed to any of this? cooperation. That relationship held for more tha n 50 years Given the usual tendency of incoming administrations until the Islamist prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the opposing party to view everything done by their came to power. Arab – Israeli economic integration cannot immediate predecessor as dangerous, stupid, or both, my by itself address the Arab world’s social and economic hopes aren’t high. It hasn’t helped that the Abraham challenges. But it points the Arab world in the right Accords were treated by much of mainstream media with direction: cultivating hu man capital, and not letting past characteristic churlishness, as if acknowledging that the grievances stand in the way of future opportunities. Trump administration had accomplished something of A (somewhat) more reputable United Nations: value was tantamount to an endorsement of fascism. Imagine a UN whose business was less lopsidedly anti - But the new administrati on ought to pay heed because Israel. (To adapt a line from Lennon, it isn’t easy even if the alternative will be failure. Iran has made it clear that it you try.) Bu t normalization might dampen the has no interest in returning to the JCPOA on anything but organization’s infamous biases against the Jewish state, the deal’s original terms, which would have lifted the arms restoring some of its long - lost credibility while making the embargo on Iran last year, and then lift rest rictions on job of U.S. diplomats at Turtle Bay easier. centrifuges and enrichment within the decade. Whatever Anti - fundamentalism: The biggest prize for Israel, as the Biden team thinks of that, it’s unacceptable to Israel for the United States, would be for Saudi Arabia to join and its new allies. For the U.S. to return to the deal would the Accords, which seemed to come tantalizingly close to bring the region closer to war. Nor will a resumption of fruition after Netanyahu paid a not - so - secret visit to the talks betwee n Israelis and Palestinians yield better results kingdom late last year. For the Saudi royal family, now than the last time they were tried, during Barack Obama’s deeply riven over the question, it would also mark the second term. The leaders are the same; the differences are ultimate reversal of policy: from being the principal Sunni the same; the stakes are the same. In diplomacy as in chess, underwriter of anti - Western, anti - Christian, and anti - playing the same moves with t he same pieces will always Semitic Islamism (a point abundantly documented in Dore yield the same result. Gold’s 2003 book, Hatred’s Kingdom) to being a friend But what if Biden simply accepted that a new dynamic and partner of the Jewish state. That, in turn, would is at last afoot in the Middle East, and that there can be require a profound shift in how the kingdom approaches immense upsides — and more than enough credit to the practice of Islam, what it teaches its schoolchildren, the share — by harnessing it to American purposes? Wh at if the mosques and madrassas it supports overseas. If what the new president adopted the old maxim that there is no limit U.S. ultimately needs most in the Middl e East is a region to what a man can do or where he can go if he does not that doesn’t export misery and fanaticism, then a prime mind who gets the credit? Even Jimmy Carter had the objective of the Biden administration’s policy should be to good sense to build on diplomatic openings created by the push the kingdom toward Israel. Nixon and Ford adminis trations to get to the Camp David Yes, the Palestinians: A Palestinian state will never Accords, the one lasting achievement of his presidency. come into being on account of U.S. or international No matter what one thinks of Joe Biden, America pressure. It could, however, come into existence when two desperately needs a successful presidency. The logic conditions are met. The first would come about when contained in the Abraham Accords offers him one shot at Israeli leaders have complete confidence that territorial success i n a place that matters, and where so many others withdrawals in the West Bank will not lead to Gaza - style have failed. results. And t he second could happen when Palestinian

Benjamin Netanyahu Courts the Arab Vote By Haviv Rettig Gur timesofisrael.com January 13, 2021 It could make the difference for him in the next vote b ecause “the Arabs are voting in droves” had been election. twisted by his political opponents. It was 1968, and America’s cities were aflame. “They twisted my words,” said Netanyahu, claiming In a rare visit to the Arab city of Nazareth on that “My intention was not to protest against the fact of Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a Arab citizens voting in elections,” but rather “to protest 2015 video broadcast in which he urged Likud voters to go Page 7 January 23, 2021 Focus on Is ra el agai nst their voting for the [Arab - majority] Joint List Passing the anti - violence plan has become a major party.” policy priority for Arab MKs. The plan was formulated by His remarks, made on the day of the 2015 elections, Netanyahu’s office in collaboration with the National were widely seen as a racial dog whistle, implying that Arab Council of Arab Mayors and Arab civil society groups. citizens of Israel were a traitorous fifth column who, when Netanyahu had already promised to pass the plan in exercising the right to vote, threatened Israeli security. Novembe r while speaking to a Knesset parliamentary “The rule of the right is in danger,” he said on March committee. But as the country slid towards its fourth 17, 2015. “Arab voters are moving in droves to the polling round of elections in two years, the plan fell off the stations. Left - wing organizations are busing them in.” docket. “Whoever says we only remember the Arab public Eyewitnesses who spoke to The Times of Israel befo re the elections is either lying or ignorant of the facts,” estimated around 200 - 300 people attended a Netanyahu claimed Wednesday. demons tration outside the health clinic the premier was Regardless, Netanyahu said: “I apologized then and I visiting. apologize today as well.” “Bibi, get out! Get out! Go home!” demonstrators Arab Israeli politicians were quick to criticize chanted. The protesters were a mix of local Nazareth Netanyahu’s remarks. The prime minister must think the residents, as well as a notable sprinkling of Jewish anti - Arab community has a “short memory,” said Joint List Netanyahu activists affiliated with The Black Flags protest chair Ayman Odeh. movement, which seeks the premier’s resignation. The premier visited the city as part of a campaign to Nazareth mayor Ali Salam, who has voiced support pursue support among Arab Israelis ahead of the March for Netanyahu, scoffed at the turnout, which he deemed to elections, in a stark about - face from his party’s previous be light. “Some people demonstrated, sure. If I were to un substantiated warnings of electoral fraud in Arab demonstrate, I would have brought thousands with me,” communities and repeated attacks on Arab lawmakers. Salam commented acidly. After visiting a clinic where coronavirus vaccines were “T he only way to ensure the interests of the Arab being dispensed, Netanyahu heralded what he called the community is a unified voice of Arab citizens and its opportunity for a “new era” for Jewish and Arab relations Jewish partners who are fighting with honor and dignity in Israel. for its interests — peace, equality, democracy, and social “If Jews and Arabs can dance together in the streets of justice,” said Odeh, whose party has ca ptured the vast Dubai, they can dance together here in Israel. A new era majority of the Arab vote in recent elections. begins today, of prosperity, integration and security,” The Joint List has been sliding in the polls recently, Netanyahu said, referring to the recently signed with some surveys showing it could drop from 15 to 10 normalizatio n deals between Israel and four Arab states. seats in the Knesset. Netanyahu claimed on Wednesday Most Arab Israelis have vigorously opposed that this was due in part to “t he rising support for me and Netanyahu, saying that he has incited racism against them. the Likud in Arab society.” They point to laws such as the 2018 nation - state law, Joint List MKs, such as Aida Touma - Suleiman and which enshrined Israel as the nation - state of the Jewis h Heba Yazbak, were also present at the protest. Touma - people and demoted the status of Arabic, and the 2017 Suleiman bore a sign decrying Netanyahu’s support for the Kamenitz law, which deliberately targeted illegal Arab 2018 nation - state law. Former Knesset me mber Hanin construction. Zoabi also showed up, holding a sign which declared: “We Netanyahu’s Likud party has also previously warned will sweep the Zionist parties out of Nazareth.” about what they have deemed to be Arab voter fraud, Members of three of the Joint List’s four factions — including seeking to install cameras in voting centers. Arab Hadash, Ta’al and Balad — attended the protest. But no Israelis widely decried the attempt as an attempt at voter parliamentarians from Mansour A bbas’s renegade Ra’am intimidation. faction turned out to demonstrate. Joint List politicians were quick to condemn the Abbas, a conservative Islamist politician, has been premier’s statements, including Ahmad Tibi who called it publically seeking a rapprochement with Netanyahu for “an attempt to make [Arab Israelis] into us eful idiots.” some time. He has said he would be willing to consider “Arab voters will not be the rescue vehicle of being a minister in a right - wing gover nment — or even Netanyahu. There’s nothing for him here in this election vote to provide the indicted premier immunity from campaign,” said Joint List MK Sondos Saleh. prosecution — in exchange for advancing the key And the prime minister promised that he will pass a priorities of Arab Israelis. wide - ranging plan to combat violence and o rganized crime A Ra’am party official told The Times of Israel that in Arab communities “very soon.” In opinion polls, Arab senior members of the Islamic Movement were present at Israelis have consistently pointed to solving the violence in the demonstration, but that most of Ra’am’s Arab communities as their highest priority — the murder parliamentarians were currently in quarantine. rate has gone up nearly 50 percent in four years. Israel Police reported 19 arrests while forcefully clearing demonstrators away from the Clalit health clinic F ocus o n Israe l January 23, 2021 P a g e 8 which the prime minister was visiting. Videos from the Nazareth Mayor Salam, speaking alongside Netanyahu, scene showed riot police dragging away demonstrators expressed disappointment with the Joint List. Salam, one behind a barricade, including parliamentarians, despite the of Arab Israeli politics’ wild cards, has never supported the immunity granted by their status as Knesset members. Joint List; he first rose to notoriety in a viral video showing Joint List MK Saleh was taken to a hospital after being him yelling at Joint List chair Ayman Odeh. dragged away from the scene, with injur ies in her hand and “We voted for them, [and] with all due respect, the back. Arab community is disappointed by the m. They got our “Even though they knew she was a member of votes and did nothing,” Salam said. Knesset, the police dragged her and pushed her forcefully, Salam did make sure to mention the Palestinian cause, hurting her. They violated her parliamentary immunity,” a however. spokesperson for Saleh said in a statement. “I am declaring from here, to the whole world, from “Netanyahu ought to transl ate his ‘sudden love’ for Nazareth… we have a good life [here] and we will Arabs into nullifying the nation - state law, ending home continue to live together in our country and our request is demolitions and uprooting criminal organizations,” Tibi that you don’t forget to make peace with the Palestinians,” said. Salam told Netanyahu.

Will Israelis Embrace Biden? By Fania Oz - Salzberger momentmag.com January 5, 2021 Not if Israeli fake news ‘gurus’ have anything to say complex campaign politics, failing to register Trump’s about it. attacks against democracy and his dismal failure on Five days after the U.S. elections, my husband and I COVID - 19. Far more, apparent ly, swallowed the fake enjoyed a rare Pilates class between lockdowns. Next to us, narrative offered by right - wing gurus on social media, lock, two American residents of our Israeli hometown of stock and barrel. I have followed the Facebook, Twitter Zichron Yaakov loudly celebrated Joe Biden’s emerging and homepages of some of these mandarins, including victory, to which they had contributed crucial v otes: One Middle East expert Guy Bechor, historian Gadi Taub and was from Pennsylvania, the other from Illinois. We were journalis t Caroline Glick. They, alongside several happy to congratulate them. commentators from right - wing television Channel 20, Our Pilates studio is in the minority. According to a provided a large Israeli audience with an alternative history November 3 poll, only 23 percent of Israelis belonged to of the campaign, the polls and the victor. What they have our haggard, sleep - deprived and hopeful little club of pro - in common, besides a near - religious faith in Rudy Biden Israelis, who followed the campaign, the election Giuliani’s version of reality, is their staunch support of night and its aftermath with a tentative but gradually Netanyahu. widening smile. Why so few? Amazingly, their storyline caught on. Before the One reason is obvious. The Trump - negotiated election, they promised their followers a huge Trump Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab victory. After the election, they echoed every tweet and Emirates and Bahr ain, followed by the opening in litigation attempt, promising dramatic twists and Morocco, are wonderful news to most Israelis, including redemptive court decisions. In late December, when most those who are sworn anti - Palestinians and racist deriders of their Israeli believers had called it quits and accepted of Israel’s Arab citizens. Many of my centrist and left - Biden’s victory, some of these gurus were still predicting leaning fellow citizens agree with Prime Minister Benj amin that Vice President Mike Pence would crown Trump b y Netanyahu that Donald Trump is the best friend of Israel heeding the “true” electors on January 6. ever to have occupied the White House. (My own vote The gurus wisely refrained from attacking the U.S. would go to Harry Truman, but most Israelis have never Supreme Court. Instead, Bechor turned against the Jewish heard of him.) Who cares, a friend recently asked me, if Americans who had voted for the Democrats, accusing Trump is bad for his country o r for democracy? He is them of a devious plot against Trump. In an intervie w on good for us, and we cannot afford to be finicky. Haven’t the mainstream Channel 13, he went so far as to propose the Jews suffered enough? that “progressive” Jewish Americans be summarily The poll, commissioned by the Israeli radio station excluded from Israel’s Law of Return. 103FM, had 57 percent of Israel’s citizens rooting for Despite the best efforts of responsible journalists, Trump. Among right - leaning Israelis, the sc ore was a commentators and bloggers, many Israelis fell for the f ake whopping 84 percent. These numbers are something of a news gurus. The reason, I think, is that Israel has no Fox mystery. If Biden and the Democrats are a very rough News. Its serious news media — Haaretz and the three equivalent of the Israeli center and center - left parties, why mainstream television channels — have long been branded did Biden not win the hearts of the 46 percent who left - wing, biased or downright lying by Netanyahu’s media supported those parties in Israel’s last elections? circle, and the stigma has stu ck. No right - leaning news Two main reasons stand out: ignorance and outlet inhabits the vacuum between the demonized main manipulation. Many Israelis simply avoided America’s media and the Bibi - crowd. The result is, well, sad. Fox Page 9 January 23, 2021 Focus on Is ra el

News acknowledged Biden’s victory weeks before Israel’s trouble sustaining his ugly and successful manipulation of Channel 20, and thousands of Israelis woke up one the Israeli media, especially the social networks. Israelis are morning to fin d their trusted media mandarins far to the bound for further rude awakenings, and Bi den may yet right of Mitch McConnell. surprise them by proving that he, not Trump, is our true This reality shock may bode well for Biden, especially and moral - backboned friend. If he does, my Pilates class if he plays the strong Middle Eastern hand that now seems minority is likely to grow miraculously and fast. to be Trump’s best legacy. Netanyahu may lose an election, Ms. Oz - Salzberger is an Israeli historian and essayist and a or quit his job due to his ongoing trial, quite early in professor at the Un iversity of Haifa. Biden’s presidency. Whoever succeeds him may have

Mike Pompeo Rejects One of the Myths of the Palestinian Refugees By Jimmy Quinn nationalreview.com January 15, 2021 According to a classified Obama - era report, there are citizens of other countries or live within Palestinian le ss than 200,000. territories. Most were not displaced by conflict. Yet Mike Pompeo’s Twitter account has apparently tucked @StateDept has promoted UNRWA’s fiction for decades a notable policy statement into an otherwise unremarkable – with taxpayer $. legacy - burnishing tweetstorm — and it has significant And so, the U.S. government’s estimate, as the implications for U.S. support of Israel at the U.N. outgoing secretary of state notes, is that the actual number The tweet was just one o f the dozens that the secretary of refugees is less than 200,000 — and Goldberg suggests of state’s account has fired off every day since the start of that it could be even lower than that. And despite what 2021 to note his foreign - policy accomplishments as he skeptics of the current administra tion’s foreign policy may nears the end of his tenure. It’s generally unremarkable think, this isn’t a Trump - era fabrication. In fact, the figure stuff — some old pictures and graphics with snappy, appears to come from a report completed during the occasionally stilted sloganeering (though more than a few Obama administration that has remained classified in the Pompeo critics have seized on it as an opportunity to go years since. after the top Trump official). These numbers matter. For one, there remains But Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the s ignificant support at the U.N. for the agency and its Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noticed a activities as they stand (never mind the numerous decision that has otherwise gone unremarked upon: When corruption and anti - Semitism scandals that have roiled the @SecPompeo shared the 2018 press release announcing agency over the years). Just last month, the U.N. General the U.S. decision to halt funding to the U.N. Relief and Assembly passed one of its annual, lopsidedly anti - Israel Works Agency (UNRWA), the post stated that “it’s resolutions expressing its continued support for UNRWA. estimated <200,000 Arabs diplaced in 1948 are still alive According to the tally kept by U.N. Watch, an NGO that and most others are not refugees by any rational criteria.” monitors U.N. malfeasance, only four countries opposed UNRWA serves Palestinian refugees exclusively — it it. says that there are 5.8 million of them in Lebanon, Jordan, To a domestic audience, this figure will play a role in Syria, and Palestine — and it’s the only organization within the fut ure debate over U.S. support for UNRWA, which is the U.N. system that focuses on a specific set of refugees. facing a significant budget shortfall. Before the Trump (All other refugee group s are handled by the U.N. High administration cut off funding for the agency, the United Commissioner for Refugees.) It’s a testament to the U.N.’s States accounted for about a quarter of its budget. With a single - minded obsession with criticizing Israel, holding the new president set to take office, there could well be a Jewish state to a different standard. return to the status quo. UNRWA commissioner - general But what actually makes someone a refugee? Many Philippe Lazzarini expressed his hopes during a press have disputed the 5 million number as a gross inflation conference this week that the incoming Biden that purposefully overstates the true refugee population in administration would resume funding for the organization. order to undermine Israel at the U.N. Goldberg, dissecting He also admitted that th e agency had distributed textbooks Pompeo’s statement, takes square aim at a longstanding that glorify violence and identify Israel as “the enemy.” myth: The disclosure of the number of people that can truly UNRWA claims to serve millions of “Pale stinian be considered refugees should make anyone think twice refugees.” These “refugees” are in some cases kept in about returning to the status quo of U.S. support for t he poverty and hopelessness, told they are waiting for the day agency, and it chips away at some persistent myths. when they will return to their rightful homes within Mr. Quinn is a William F. Buckley Fellow in Political Journalism modern Israel (to end the Jewish majority of the state). at National Review. Of course, most people s erved by UNRWA don’t V isi t suburbanorthodox.org for th e c urr en t is s u e . meet basic criteria for refugee status. Most are either

F ocus o n Israe l January 23, 2021 P a g e 10

Palestinian elections: Why now? By Eyal Zisser jns.org January 18, 2021 Whether or not P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas ’s goes to elections. And generally speaking, in the announcement of the first Palestinian elections in Palestinian Authority as in o ther parts of the Arab world, more than a decade was intended for the incoming leaders aren’t chosen in elections in any case, but are rather U.S. administration, it poses a problem for Israel. decided upon behind the scenes — and sometimes after Mahmoud Abbas has been president of the Palestinian violent, bloody power struggles. Elections are just for Authority for 16 yea rs, and in its name, he rules over the appearances, to lend legitimacy to leaders who have in f act Palestinian population in Judea and Samaria. He has already won power. vigorously avoided holding elections, despite having It’s possible the election announcement was intended originally been elected for a four - year term, apparently not for the ears of the new tenant in the White House, with feeling he needs them to maintain his legitimacy in the eyes the aim of ushering in a new era of relations between the of the world or his subjects. Palestinians and Washington. Indeed, Biden’s It was always possible to blame Israel for impeding administration will l ikely be more receptive than its elections, but truth be told, Abbas himself didn’t want predecessor to a well - rehearsed pretense of democracy. them and even feared them. After all, the last elections, in Either way, these declared elections in the Palestinian 2006, were calamitous for him and the Palestini ans in Authority pose a dilemma for Israel. In 2006, under general, with the Hamas terror movement winning a pressure from the friendly U.S. administration of President majority, paving its path to seize control of the Gaza Strip. George W. Bush, Israel allowed Hamas to run, despite the Today, the only barrier between Hamas and Abbas’s seat terrorist organization’s refusal to recognize the Oslo in Ramallah is the Israeli security forces, a fact of which Accords. The results are history, and Israel cannot afford Abbas is well aware. to fall into the same trap or succumb to similar pressure. Now, however, he has altered course and even reached At any rate, it’s doubtful they will be held. But even if an agreement with Hamas, albeit a rather suspicious one. the Palestinians do head to voting stations, at the very We can hardly assume Abbas has suddenly decided to most these elections might change some of the faces we trust Hamas. Nor does the Palestinian population appear have grown accustomed to, though they certainly won’t overly eager or even interested in elec tions. Certainly, there bring about any real change on the ground. is no ground - level pressure to hold them. Mr. Zisser is a lecturer in the Middle East History Abbas will celebrate his 86th birthday this year — not Department at Tel Aviv University. the age at which one embarks on a new political career or

The Arab - Israeli Conflict Has Come to an End By Michael Oren tabletmag.com January 12, 2021 And the myths that go with it are dying. with Israeli leaders, and years before making peace with Entire shelves of my office library are devoted to the Israel, Jordan’s King Hussein maintained an open line with Arab - Israeli conflict. The titles range from The History of Jerusalem. Peace proposals were routinely exchanged and the Arab - Israeli Conflict, 5th Edition, to the Rout ledge weighed, sometimes with the most virulently anti - Zio nist Atlas of the Arab - Israeli Conflict, and Teaching the Arab - regimes. Israeli Conflict. There are the reference books once Even the term “Arab - Israeli conflict” was a misnomer. considered essential — The Arab - Israeli Conflict: Readings Israelis at various stages battled British and Soviet troops and Documents, by John Norton Moore, and Walter as well as pro - Arab terrorists from Germany and Japan. Laqueur’s, The Arab - Israel Reader. There are right - and The Arabs fought not only Israelis but Anglo - French and left - wing perspectives, works by Muslims, Christians, Jews, American forces, and volunteers from around the world. the memoirs of peacemakers and generals. The literature Sometimes, as in the Jordanian civil war of 1970 or the spans over seven decades and seemed destined to expand 1982 Lebanon War, some Arab armies were openly or through many more. But, suddenly, these books about indirectly allied with Israel. The conflict was never history hav e become books of history. Now, with the exclusively Arab or Israeli or comprehensively a conflict at signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel, the all. United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Bahrain, and the Still, acknowledging the nuanced nature of the Arab - Moroccan - Israeli peace deal, the Arab - Israeli conflict is Israeli conflict and even the inaccuracy of the term does dead. not in any way diminish its long and often desperate In fact, it was never fully alive. The notion that Israel chronicle of violence. The five Arab armies that invaded faced an Arab world uniformly devoted to its destruction the nascent Jewish state in May 1948 sought not only to was belied by years of secret talks, even in - depth defeat it in battle but, uniquely, to destroy it entirely. The cooperation, between Israel and several Arab states such as same was true of Nasser who, after severing his secret ties Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Shortly after seizing power in with Israel, allied with the Soviet Union and declared his 1952, a young Gamal A bdel Nasser warmly corresponded determination to “liberate Palestine.” The Ar ab forces that Page 11 January 23, 2021 F ocus o n Israel massed on Israel’s borders in May 1967 openly stated their became official American policy. “Of all the problems the goal of “driving Israel into the sea,” and might have if not administration faces globally ... This is the epicenter,” swiftly defeated in June. Six years later, Egypt and Syria President Obama’s National Security Adviser, Jim Jones, launched a surprise Yom Kippur assault across the Sinai declared in 2010. “If God had appeared in front of the Desert and the Golan Heights which, if not for valiant President and sa id he could do one thing on the planet it Israeli defenders, could have ended in Haifa and Tel Aviv. would be the two - state solution.” Six years later, Secretary Throughout, there were attacks by Palestinian terrorists of State John Kerry insisted that “There will be no ... backed by Arab states and the Israeli retaliations against Separate peace with the Arab world without ... Palestinian those states. There was an Arab economic boycott and peace. That is a hard reality.” maritime blockade of Israel designed to strangle it Like t he Arab - Israeli linkage concept, the reduced economically and an Arab oil embargo which, in 1973 - 74, Israeli - Palestinian version was disproved by the Abraham sought to isolate Israel internationally. Accords and the agreement between Israel and Morocco. The duration and frequency of these clashes, and the Though the Arab signatories continued to pledge fealty to intense media attention they rec eived, no doubt the Palestinian cause, they effectively si destepped the issue contributed to the conflation of the Arab - Israeli conflict and even hinted that the Palestinians themselves were to with all Middle Eastern conflicts in general. Iraqis and blame. After rejecting three offers of statehood in the Iranians could engage in a brutal eight - year war, and the West Bank and Gaza — in 2000, 2001, and 2008 — and then Lebanese could massacre each other for 15, yet the term failing to take advantage of the eight years of Barack “Middle Ea st conflict” referred almost exclusively to that Obama’s highly s ympathetic presidency, the Palestinians between Israelis and Arabs. This misconception was could no longer wield a veto power over peace. Eager to instilled in generations of American students whose access Israeli technology and to ally with Israeli military universities offered popular courses on the Arab - Israeli strength, many Arabs states were ready to move on. conflict and all but ignored other regional dis putes. Not Their decision has irrevocably changed the region and surprisingly, successive American administrations, created numerous opportunities. In addition to wedding Republican and Democratic alike, subscribed to the notion the world’s most innovative state with some of the most of “linkage.” This held that the core conflict in the Middle affluent, the treaties will help erect a united front against East was that between Arabs and Israelis. Resolve it and all common threats. They will also alter the peacemaking other struggle s would fall dominolike in peace. paradigm. If, in the past , the assumption was that Arab The Abraham Accords merely dealt a coup de grace to countries would first sign peace agreements with Israel and this myth, but it had in fact been dying for decades. The then only gradually normalize their relations with it, now process began with the Egypt - Israel peace treaty of 1979, normalization comes first with peace rendered largely a the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO and formality. If formerly Israel enjoyed peace with t he leaders t he following year, Israel’s peace agreement with Jordan. of Egypt and Jordan but not with their citizens, now the Two Gulf wars, in 1991 and 2003, proved once again that peace is not only between governments but peoples. the Arabs had faced bigger threats than Israel, and the But there is one achievement that these diplomatic Arab Spring of 2011 demonstrated that Middle Easterners breakthroughs have not produced: an end to Middle had other things on their minds , such as democracy and Eastern conflict. On the contrary, s uch disputes will freedom. continue to plague the region and even proliferate. In place Yet still the myth persisted, albeit in a pared - down of the Arab - Israeli conflict, there is now a broader and form. If, in the past, regional stability was only attainable potentially more explosive showdown between the Sunnis through Arab - Israeli peace, now that peace could be supported by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and the Gulf states, achieved solely through Israeli - Palestinian reconciliati on and the Shiites backed by Iran. There is battle between and the creation of a Palestinian state. This notion was moderate Sunnis and Islamic extremists, many of them enshrined in numerous organizations such as the U.S. - embraced by Turkey. And there will still be civil wars in based Alliance for Middle East Peace and the European Syria and Yemen and chronic instability in Iraq. And there Union’s Middle East Peace Projects, which were not really will be an unresolved conflict betwee n Israel and the dedicated to regional peace but almost exclusively to an Palestinians waged in the U.N. and in the international Israeli - Palestinian accord. “Recognizing that the Israeli - courts but also, occasionally, on the battlefield. Palestinian issue was at the core of the Arab - Israeli Mr. Oren, an historian who served as Israel’s ambassador to the conflict,” the Foundation for Middle East Peace was United States, a Member of Knesset, and the Deputy Minister in the established in Washington. P rime Minister’s Office, is the author, most recently, of The Night Not surprisingly, then, Palestinian - Isr aeli linkage Archer and Other Stories.

Iran’s Recent Troublemaking Is a Sign of Weakness By Yossi Kuperwasser jcpa.org January 11, 2021 The U.S. should press its advantage . further flagrant violation of its commitments under the Iran has begun enriching uranium to a level of 20%, in nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Focus o n Israel January 23, 2021 Page 12

Action (JCPOA). At the same time, Iran has emphasized expression of this was stated by the designated national that its action is reversible, and it is ready to return to its security adviser in the Biden administration, Jake Sullivan, obligations if the United States returns to the agreement who, on the basis of what he described as the failure of and lifts sanctions. American pressure, reiterated the familiar mantras of the The Iranian move is aimed at achieving several incom ing administration about the need for a return to the objectives. The fi rst, shortening the period needed to JCPOA before negotiations on a broader agreement achieve adequate amounts of enriched uranium to a level begin.1, 2 On the other hand, the Trump administration higher than 90% for producing a nuclear explosive device. has determined that this is an “attempted nuclear Iran currently has 4.5% enriched material that, if enriched blackmail, an attempt designed to fail.” further, will be sufficient for more than two nuclear Iranians’ Willingness to Return to Agreement explosive devices. The time it takes Iran to obtain the Shows Their True Will amount of uranium required for one device from the In light of the economic pressure, the Iranian situation moment it decides to do so (“breakout”) is about two is entirely different from the image its leaders are trying to months, but if the enrichment to 20% is carried out only create. The new Iranian measures reflect distress. The by the 1,000 centrifuges opera ting in the deep economic press ure and regional developments – the underground facility at Fordo, as the Iranians have done so “Abraham Accords” and the reconciliation between Qatar far, it will take longer. The Iranians recently installed and Saudi Arabia – worry Tehran. The enrichment cascades (sets) of advanced centrifuges at the underground acceleration for a nuclear device is worrisome, but it facility in Natanz, and if 20% enrichment is also conducted necessitates crossing a dangerous threshold whereby th ere, the time needed to stockpile the material will be military a ction against Iran may occur while continuing the shortened. economic sanctions that could jeopardize the stability of Another aspect is the illustration of the “maximum the regime. pressure” policy on Iran adopted by the Trump For now, Iran will be happy to take that safe bet on administration and its failure to stop Iran from advancing the way to a toothless nuclear agreement that will give on the bomb. them not only one nuclear b omb but a large arsenal of Enriching uranium to a level of 20% is also an nuclear weapons in a decade – without suffering militarily expression of Iranian pluck. This is a move with no or economically. The declared willingness of Iran to return immediate risk of a strong reaction from the United States to the agreement testifies to its preferences. after the bluster of Tehran’s implied threats that did not How to Respond materialize into a violent Iranian response against the The appropriate response to the Iranian move is to Amer icans on the anniversary of the assassination of make clear that any attempt to move towards the acquiring Qassem Suleimani. (Also, the threats after the elimination of enough enriched uranium for the production of nuclear of senior Iranian scientist General Mohsen Fakhrizadeh weapons will be met harshly, and in this context, “all were never realized.) options are on the table.” At the same time, the economic In this respect, the Iranian measure is intended to help pressure must be continue d in order to compel Iran to divert public attention from the regime’s caution, which accept a new agreement that would scrupulously prevent reflects recognition of its weakness and recoils from any possibility of its stockpiling nuclear weapons, which widespread confrontation with the United States, in light includes full oversight everywhere and at all times, the of U.S. warnings. lifting of restrictions on the duration of the agreement, the The fourth and most important goal is to make it clear demolition of the enrichment facility in Fordo, and the to incoming President Biden that the best option for him, inclusion of ballistic missiles in the deal. in order to stem Iran’s nuclearization, is to return quickly The likelihood of this kind of scenario in a Biden to the nuclear agreement according to Iranian dictates, i.e., administration is not great, but if it chooses this path, the a concurrent return of both sides of the accord, and an new President is going to have a good chance to force Iran Iranian refusal to change the characteristics a nd scope of to accept a new agreement. Such a Biden policy can expect the agreement or even discuss such changes. European cooperation, Arab and Israeli support, and Iran South Korean tanker cannot present him as a sworn enemy of Tehran like they The initial international response to the move has tried to do with his predecessor. For the immediate future, been slack. More attention is given to Iran’s hijacking of a an escalation during Trump’s last days in office is possible South Korean tanker, which is also an Iranian pressure if Iran dares to take action against American interests. tactic, this time against Seoul, in anticipation of releasing Brig. - Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser is Director of the frozen Iranian funds. There is evidence in this weak Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the response of Iran’s correct assessment that the reluctant Jerusalem Center. He was formerly Director General of West does not want a confrontation and will return to the the Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs and head of the nuclear agreement according to Iranian dictates. A clear Research Division of IDF Military Intelligence.

Page 13 January 23, 2021 F ocus o n Israel

Why Pakistan Won’t Be Israel’s Next Muslim Ally B By Efraim Inbar jiss.org.il Janu ary 12, 2021 Anti - Semitism, Islamism, and geopolitics stand in the Pakistan should be under no illusion that Israel will way. give up what Narendra Modi has called “a strategic The Abraham Accords have brought about peace partnership” between India and Isra el. The India - Israel tie between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, with Sudan and involves strategic coordination, cooperation against terror, Morocco also set to develop full diplomatic relations with transfer of military technology, co - production of weapons, Israel. and arms sales. The guessing game i s on as to which Arab or Muslim Moreover, India is a huge and lucrative market for a country night be next to recognize Israel. Pakistan is often variety of Israeli products and services. India is also a mentioned in this regard and the Pakistani media have rising global power that in realpolitik terms is much more speculated about this too. important than its western neighbor. But near - term Pakistani - Israeli peace is unlikely Finally, for Israel the alternative to India’s economic because of Pakistani domestic co nstraints and Islamabad’s and strategic weight is China. China’s interactions with foreign policy orientation. Israel are strictly limited to the economic realm due to Public debate in Pakistan regarding an approach to American concerns about transfer of military or dual - use Israel is not a new phenomenon, and it is no longer taboo technology to its global rival. to advocate for normalization of relations. The leader of The repeated discussions in Pakistan about ties with Pakistan in 2003, General Pervez Mu sharraf, advocated Israel are followed with interest only by the narrow Israeli publicly for warming relations with Israel. foreign policy community. M ost Israelis do no know much In September 2005, Pakistani Foreign Minister about Pakistan. Generally, its image is associated with Kurshid Kasiri met his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Islamist terrorists that attacked, inter alia, Jewish targets in Istanbul – a rare public meeting – but it failed to thaw India in 2008. relations between the two coun tries. The fact that Osama bin Laden found refuge in There have been other secret meetings between Pakistan reinforced this image. A growing num ber of leaders of the two countries. There are journalists and even Israelis, partly former backpacker hikers (over 20,000 per religious leaders that have spoken publicly about the need year), feel sympathy towards India, which is seen as the for Pakistan to open up to Israel. largest democracy displaying tolerance for Jews. What is equally clear is the great opposition to Nevertheless, Israel would welcome in principle any rapprochement with Israel, particularly among various approach by an important Muslim state such as Pakistan. Islamist circles that carry considerable political weight. Israel always seeks to expand its international recognition Moreover, anti - Semitic convictions are widespread in and legitimacy. Pakistan. According to a 2019 Pew poll, 74% of Pakistanis Israel also has an interest in diluting the religious held unfavorable views of Jews. dimension of conflict in the ethno - religious Israeli - The official government position requires “a just Palestinian conflict. In contrast to the more sec ular West, settlement” to the Palestinian issue before a change in Israelis understand the importance of religious matters in policy towards the Jewish state can be considered. politics. Recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan even admitted In fact, the Abraham Accords were received in Israel to resisting pressures from the US (and another enthusiastically, partly because the mere name of Abraham unidentified country believed to be Saudi Arabia) to – a common ancestral father – lent religious legitimacy to establish diplomatic ties to Israel. Israel . It remains unclear, however, whether the Pakistani Israel also values its good relations with Muslim states political elite can emulate Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Israelis expect Muslim states in decoupling the Palestinian issue from the states not to link disagreements regarding progress on the potenti al benefits of building ties to Israel. A corollary Palestinian question to decisions about establishing unknown is the ability of more pragmatic elements of the bilateral relations with Isr ael. Pakistani political elite to act against popular sentiments. Unfortunately, international politics do not augur well Pakistan’s enmity towards Israel is of no real for a near - term improvement in Israel - Pakistan ties. advantage to Pakistan. Arab states have not really Pakistan is getting closer to Iran, a country whose supported Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. By boycotting leadership seeks the destruction of Israel. Israel, Pakistan forfeits much needed Israeli expertise in Islamabad’s relations with Ankara, which is ruled b y a agriculture, telecommunications, water management, Turkish version of the Muslim Brotherhood, have been medical services and high tech. traditionally close. Turkey’s aggressive policies including A relationship with Israel also could open door s in sending mercenaries to fight in Kashmir are viewed in Washington, where Pakistan is increasingly under Jerusalem as an increasing security challenge. suspicion for cooperation with China and Islamist Pakistan has also challenged Saudi lea dership in the terrorists. Muslim world, while Riyadh is moving closer to Israel and Focus o n Isr ael January 23, 2021 P age 14 has played an important supporting role in American Force, an int ernational anti - money laundering and anti - diplomatic efforts to expand the Abraham Accords. terrorism financial institution. In short, Pakistan’s current Furthermore, Pakistan’s links to China, its role in foreign policy makes it an unattractive partner for Israel. nuclear proliferation and its ambiguous posture towards Considering domestic realities in Pakistan and Islamist extremists do not endear Pakistan in Washington, Pakistan’s foreign policy orientation, the o ccasional rumors which is of course Israel’s most important ally. of a breakthrough in ties between Jerusalem and Islamabad To Washington’s displeasure, Pakistan also has failed are likely to remain just that – unsubstantiated rumors . to comply with guidelines of the Financial Action Task

Land of Wine and Honey? By Reuters and Algemeiner Staff algemeiner.com January 17, 2021 Israeli settlers export to UAE, to Palestinian chagrin. States, Israel’s closest ally, said its imports from Wine produced in an Israeli settlement in the West settlements should be marked “Made in Israel” or Bank and labelled “from the land of Israel” will soon be “Product of Israel.” available for sale in the United Arab Emirates, settler US President - elect Joe Biden has been critical of business leaders said. Israel’s settlements, but has not said if he would change Palestinians have condemned the export d eal, claiming the Trump administration’s labelling guidelines. settlements are illegal under international law, a view PALESTINIAN S OBJECT shared by many countries but disputed by Israel and the “It breaks your heart to see your Muslim brothers (in United States. the UAE) support your enemy at your expense,” said After forging official relations with the UAE last year Nizam Abdul Razzaq, 57, a Palestinian olive and bee under a US - brokered deal that enraged some Palestinians, farmer in Yasouf, a village two km (1.2 miles) from a business conglomerate in the Arab Gulf state said it has Rehelim. an import deal for wine and olive oil with the Tura Winery Photos posted to Tura’s Faceb ook page show it held a in the Rehelim settlement. signing ceremony in Dubai in December with FAM The winery’s owner, Vered Ben - Sa’adon, told Reuters Holding, a UAE business conglomerate. A bottle of Tura the exports showed that new Israel - UAE ties also wine can be seen on the table at the event. extended to settlements, on West Bank land captured in a A FAM representative said it had import deals for 1967 war and that Palestinians seek for a state. wine and olive oil with Tura and for honey with Paradise “It’s very exciting for (people in the UAE) to feel the Honey, a company in the West Bank settlement of peace process, to be a part of it. When you sit in a hotel in Hermesh. Abu Dhabi, and drink a glass of Tura (wine), it’s to be a FAM’s Israel imports have been approved by the UAE part of history,” said Ben - Sa’adon, 44. government, the representative added, without saying if Tura, which also produces and has sent olive oil to the origin labels would be required. UAE, places labels on its wine bottles that include the line: Matan Paradise, whose family runs Para dise Honey, “WINE FROM THE LAND OF ISRAEL”. said they had sent a “small, first shipment to Dubai. I hope Tura said the term applied to an area that is referr ed to in the next month we will send a lot more.” in the Bible as Judea and Samaria. The economy ministry of the Palestinian Authority, The UAE declined comment when asked for the which has limited self - rule in the West Bank, called the government’s position on Israel’s settlements, but it has UAE’s purchase of settlement go ods “a flagrant violation said that its relations with Israel would advance peace in of international laws … and an attempt to legitimize the region. settlements in occupied territory.” The UAE has not said if it would place spe cial labels Israel disputes that its settlements are illegal, citing on settler goods saying they were produced in settlements. biblical, historical and political connections to the land, as Such labels are required by the European Union. well as security need s. Around 600,000 settlers live in the But under guidelines issued by outgoing President West Bank among some 2.5 million Palestinians. Donald Trump’s administration last year, the United

Accusations of Israeli Apartheid Completely Disconnected from Ugly Realities of South African Hist ory By Eugene Kotorovich en.kohelet.org.il January 13, 2021 The closest thing to apartheid is the Palestinian ban domination by one racial group over any other racial group on selling land to Jews. or groups, and committed with the intention of The Apartheid accusation in Btselem’s recent report is maintaining that regime.” These “acts” include such things not just totally false, it is anti - Semitic. A partheid is not just as “widespread” murder and enslavement. The legal a term for policies one dislikes – it is an international crime standard for labeling a government an “apartheid regime” defined as “inhumane acts committed in the context of an is set quite high — indeed, so high that no c ountry since the institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and end of South African apartheid has ever received the Page 15 January 23, 2021 Fo cus on Israel distinction. Despite massive systematic oppression of racial Authority governs 90% of the Palestinian population, as and ethnic minorities in countries from China to Sri Lanka provided in the Oslo Accords. to Sudan, the apartheid label has never been applied to Blacks in South Africa were deprived of their political those coun tries or any other country by the U.S. or anyone rights. Isr ael Arabs have full voting rights for the Knesset, else. while Palestinians in the territories have voting rights for Invoking the heinous crime of Apartheid to criticize the Palestinian Legislative Council. Israeli citizens do not Israeli policy is a classic anti - Semitic rhetoric: it accuses have voting rights in the Palestinian government, because Jews, uniquely among the peoples of the world, of one of it is a different and ind ependent government – even the most heinous crimes, whil e also judging the Jewish though it passes laws that greatly affect Israelis, like the state by a metric not applied to any other country. And the “pay for slay” rewards program for terrorists.By the same clear agenda is to entirely delegitimize Israel: the remedy token, Palestinians do not vote in the Knesset – not for apartheid is not reform, it is the abolition of the regime because it is Apartheid, but because since the 1993 Oslo itself and a total reshaping of the government Accords, they have had their own government. The very essence of apartheid was the physical Some policies do resemble Apartheid rules – in separation – apartness – of people based on a legislated particular, the Palestinian Authority’s prohibition, with racial hierarchy. There is no racial or ethnic distinctions in severe penalties, of selling any real estate to Jews. Israeli law. Under the Reservation of Separate Amenities Ironically, the closest thing in the region to an Ap artheid Act of 1953, municipal grounds c ould be reserved for a policy is not mentioned at all. particular race, creating, among other things, separate Most of Btselem’s contentions are based on the beaches, buses, hospitals, schools and universities. Inside Palestinians having their own government since the Oslo of Israel there are no separation of this sort. In Judea and Accords – in essence, they are saying the internationally Samaria Israelis and Palestinians buy at the same stores , accepted Oslo Accords are apartheid, an absurd work together and etc.In South - Africa Public beaches, contenti on. swimming pools, some pedestrian bridges, drive - in cinema Unlike non - White South Africans, the Palestinians parking spaces, parks, and public toilets were segregated. have been offered full international statehood by Israel in Restaurants and hotels were required to bar blacks. In numerous times – and have turned it down as many times. Israel and all territories un der its jurisdiction, Palestinians Through the history of Apartheid, Whites never offered patronize the same shops and restaurants as Jews do. It is internationally - recognized stat ehood to Blacks. And when true that Jews are de facto excluded from Palestinian - they finally did, Nelson Mandela promptly accepted. controlled territory, but that is not the Apartheid Btselem Indeed, the Palestinian ability to reject full statehood offers has in mind. shows that the conditions under which they live cannot be Under the Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act of 1970, compared to Apartheid. the Government stripped black South Africans of their Btselem says what has sent Israel over the brink to citizenship, which deprived them of their few remaining Apartheid is the Nation State Law and political discussions political and civil rights in South Africa. In parallel with the about applying Israeli law to the West Bank creation of the homelands, Sou th Africa’s black population (“annexation”). This is perhaps their most ludicrous was subjected to a massive program of forced relocation. statement. While the wisdom of the Nation State law can Israel did not dislocate Arabs citizens to the PLO be criticized, it does n othing like what any apartheid laws territories or revoked citizenships. did, and instead closely resembles numerous European The black “Bantustans” were created by the Apartheid democratic constitutional provisions. Indeed, it is almost government itself under a ser ies of laws. Because they were entirely declarative. As for talk of “annexation,” it has generally regarded as puppets of Praetoria, their supposed nothing to do with Apartheid, and moreover, it can not be independence was not recognized by other countries. The the basis for any claims of Apartheid because it has not Palestinian government was created by the Palestinians happened and is unlikely to happen. Apartheid was not evil themselves and is recognized internationally as the because of things that were discussed and did not happen leg itimate representative of the Palestinian people by – Apartheid was something that did happen. almost every country in the world. The Palestinian

Is J Street a Left - Wing and Pro - I srael Organization, or Simply an Anti - Israel One? By Alan Baker jcpa.org/is January, 8 2021 Refusing to praise peace, or condemn incitement. our deeply held Jewish and democratic values and that According to its website, the Congressional lobbying help secure the State of Israel as a democratic homeland organization calling itself “J Street” was established “to for the Jewish people.”1 serve as the political home and voice for pro - Israel, pro - In its founding aims and principles, J Street declares its peace Americans” through “organizing pro - Israel and pro - overriding aim as “reshaping political percepti ons of what peace Americans to promote U.S. policie s that embody it means to be pro - Israel.” Focus o n Isr ael January 23, 2021 P age 16

The first and evidently central provision of J Street’s infamous 2016 Security Council Resolution 2334, as well basic principles acknowledges that Israel faces enemies, as in numerous biased political statements uttered by and J Street expresses support for Israel to defend itself Palestinian and European leaders. and live in security and peace within intern ationally J Street: “calls on Biden to consider a number of recognized boundaries. measures should Israel continue at pace, including the However, J Street’s political manifesto detailed on its cessation of blanket diplomatic protection.” website would appear to run counter – and even to In so doing, J Street has adopted a narrative that is undermine – any such sentiments. hostile to Israel’s interests. So much so that it attempts to On the one hand, pre - empt and prejud ge J Street presents itself the agreed - upon and and is perceived by internationally - many naïve elements supported negotiating wi thin the Jewish and process in which issues non - Jewish such as boundaries, communities as a Jerusalem, settlements, genuine lobbying security, and the organization with the permanent status of the veneer of supporting territories, are all open Israel and expressing negotiating issues that concern for its welfare. have yet to be settled. But, on the other While refer ring to hand, one can Israel as the state of the nevertheless see, Jewish people, J Street behind the misleading has nevertheless platitudes and adopted and openly sweeping state ments in advocates complete its manifesto, that J Street’s substantive political viewpoint submission to the Palestinian narrative without even is openly radical and partisan, identifying itself clearly with requiring any change, without calling for Palestinian the Palestinian narrative, and aligning itself with other acceptance of Israel as the nation - state of the Jewish openly critical - of - Israel organizations such as the Israel people, and without calling for halting Palestinian Pol icy Forum, Brookings, and the International Crisis incitement to hatred, terror, and anti - Semitism. Group. J Street has failed to welcome and promote the J Street fails to call upon the Palestinians to completely normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states, stop the payment of salaries to terrorists, even though such apparently because they downgrade the urgency J Street payments violat e internationally - accepted counter - terror feels for a Palestinian state. The orga nization has actively conventions, as well as central commitments in the Oslo lobbied against military aid to those Arab states that Accords. normalized relations. J Street’s website is replete with anti - Israel propaganda As such, J Street is clearly undercutting any genuine and blanket, one - sided condemnations of Israeli security concern for Israel’s security and is, in fact, undermining actions, presented out of context, all of which reads more Israel’s right to defend itself. like a summary of UN Israel - bashing resolutions. Its J Street: I n light of “creeping annexation,” J Street website even reproduces and attempts to fuel the false calls for a “reexamination of how U.S. security assistance is accusations claiming that Palestinians “living under provided to Israel, including the restriction of any aid occupation in the West Bank and Gaza” do not have toward any activities that perpetuate conflict.” access to COVID - 19 v accines and have not been included J Street ignores and attempts to by - pass the in the Israeli government’s current vaccination plans. agreements and other documents signed by the Fabricating International Law Palestinians and Israel during the course of the Middle In calling for Israel to “give up the vast majority of East peace negotiation process. These include the occupied territory in favor of a Palestinian state based on internationally - accepted and sponsored Oslo Accords to the pre - 1967 lines,” J Street is prejudging the agreed - upon which the United States, together with Russia, the EU, and negotiation process for the permanent status of the others are signatories, and the UN sponsored. territories, as well as the issue of negotiating boundaries. J Street has adopted a political viewpoint that parallels Their declared preference for a two - state solution ignores and parrots positions expressed in numerous politically - the fact that any solution, whether it would involve generated, anti - Israel resolutions in the UN and other establishing one, two, or three states, a federation, international fora, including ca lling to stop defending Israel confederation, or any other permutation, can only be the against one - sided international decrees such as the outcome of direct negotiation between the parties. Page 17 January 23, 2021 Fo cus on Israel

J Street, that presumes concern for Israel’s welfare, global anti - Semitism. However, it urges Biden to reject cannot advocate imposing a solut ion upon Israel that proposals that attempt to codify any definitions of anti - would be an anathema to Israel’s basic interests. Semitism pertaining to Israel that restrict free speech in a In determining that Israel’s settlement policies are in domestic context.” violation of international law, J Street is not only In a further attempt t o undermine the internationally - misrepresenting international law and thereby misleading accepted and agreed peace negotiation process called for in its supporters but is also prejudging and attempting to UN Security Council resolutions and implemented through undermine the agreed negotiating process between the the Oslo Accords, J Street advocates setting aside bilateral, Palestinians and Israel on the issue of settlements. direct negotiation, preferring to recommend a “multilateral In calling for reinstating an independent U.S. approach to resolving the conflict.” Such a multilateral diplomatic mission to the Palestinians in east Jerusalem, J approach echoes ongoing Palestinian attempts to by - pass Street advocates a policy that runs counter to numerous direct negotiations with Israel and to transfer the issue to congressional resolutions, as well as attempting, again, to an international conference that would impose a solution prejudge the agreed - upon negotiating issue of Jerusalem. on Israel. In supporting a J Street Sides right for the with Iran Palestinians to join Despite universal international condemnation of Iran’s organizations, declared hostility instituti ons, and towards Israel, its oft - conventions as a repeated intention to member state, J attack Israel, and its Street is deliberately deep involvement in ignoring the legal encouraging and situation in which, financing international pending the outcome and regional terror, J of the permanent Street is neverthel ess status negotiations, pressing the incoming there is no such thing Administration to relax as a “Palestinian sanctions on Iran. It state.” J Street is not encourages a return to only seeking to the JCPOA prejudge the issue of arrangement that the future permanent status of the territory but sanctions would enable Iran to push ahead with its aims to achieve a and encourages a material breach of the Oslo Accords in nuclear weapons capability. which the Palestinians have committed themselves not to How does J Street equate its supposed concern f or join international organizations and conventions, pending Israel’s security and welfare while at the same time the outcome of neg otiations on the permanent status of deliberately ignoring Iran’s direct existential threats against the territories. Israel and advocating a policy of appeasement vis - à - vis Evenhandedness Does Not Mean Twisting Iran? Israel’s Hand All of the above is indicative that J Street has evolved In J Street’s most recent flurry of activity aimed at from an organizat ion justifying its existence by expressing influencing the incoming Biden administration, it has concern for Israel’s security and welfare into an reportedly presented to President - elect Biden and his organization that is actively working to undermine Israel’s advisors detailed policy recommendations that echo a interests, its legitimacy, security, and international standing, distinct Palestinian, anti - Israel narrati ve. Such proposals as well as its democratically - elected government. include reversing the Trump peace plan, reversing the J Street is doing so first and foremost within the U.S. State Department’s legal opinion regarding the legality of Jewish community, and secondly, within the U.S. settlements, reopening the Palestinian diplomatic mission congressional and governing bodies. in Washington, restoring U.S. financial aid to the In J Street’s recent flurry of activity aimed at Palestinians, c anceling the penalization of boycott activity influencing the incoming Biden administration, it seems to against Israel, and diluting the accepted international be more intent on bolstering its own stature within new definition of anti - Semitism.3 White House and Congressional circles, rather than acting J Street: “Recommends that the U.S. government in accordance with its declared aims. To the contrary, J reject calls to penalize constitutionally protected boycott Street is increasingly acting to harm Israel, side with activity, while i ncreasing resources devoted to combating Focus o n Isr ael January 23, 2021 P age 18

Israel’s enemies, fuel fa lse information, and incite against J Street cannot presume to determine for Israel the Israel. details of its government, security, and political interests. While logical and substantive criticism of any In attempting to do so, it deceives its constituency, acts particular action or policy by Israel may well be legitimate, with unclean hands, and misrepresents its true intentions. J Street, by its actions and policies, has redefined itself as J Street is working to undermine Israel , its an anti - Israel organization. What is per haps even worse is democratically - elected government, and the Israeli public’s that through its activities and incitement, J Street is will. It is nothing more than another anti - Israel pressure permitting itself to be a tool for use by Palestinian and group that has blindly adopted the Palestinian narrative. European organizations hostile to Israel, which utilizes its It is therefore high time that J Street remove the letter ostensible “concern” for Israel to bolster and enhance “J” from its na me, and replace it with the letter “P,” and their o wn credibility and status. admit to its supporters and donors that it is functioning Any purported concern for Israel as a means of solely to undermine Israel, promote Palestinian interests, justifying and mobilizing support and financing from and maintain itself. donors and organizations within the U.S. Jewish Amb. Baker is Director of the Institute for community is patently false. It is nothing more than a Contemporary Affairs at the Je rusalem Center and the sham, a thin veil of decep tion, poorly camouflaged intense head of the Global Law Forum. He participated in the and obvious aversion, both to Israel’s democratically - negotiation and drafting of the Oslo Accords with the elected leadership and government, as well as a deep - Palestinians, as well as agreements and peace treaties with rooted and radical political agenda that is an anathema to Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. He served as legal adviser Israel’s security and national interests. and deputy director - general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Israel’s ambassador to Canada.

Pentagon moves Israel under Central Command By Tim Ripley janes.com January 18 , 2021 The US Department of Defense (DoD) has “The move is part of unified command plan changes,” transferred responsibility for military - to - military the DoD said. “When the Reagan administration set up engagement and defence planning with Israel from CENTCOM in 1983, officials left Israel as part of US European Command (EUCOM) to US Central EUCOM. Arab nations, except Egypt, did not recognise C ommand (CENTCOM). the Jewish state. US mil itary The move announced by co - ordination in the region – the Pentagon on 15 January including multilateral exercises follows recent diplomatic and operations – would have moves by outgoing US been complicated.” President Donald Trump to “The easing of tensions end the political and military between Israel and its Arab isolation of the Jewish state neighbours subsequent to the with several Arab countries. Abraham Accords [in 2020] has Before the realignment, provided a strategic EU COM was responsible for opportu nity for the United co - ordinating military - to - States to align key partners military links with the Israel against shared threats in the Defense Forces (IDF) from its Middle East,” it added. “Israel headquarters in Stuttgart, is a leading strategic partner for Germany. Now CENTCOM the United States, and this will will fulfil these functions from open up additional its main headquarters in Tampa, Florida, and deployed opportunities for co - operation with our US Central headquarte rs in the Middle East. Command partners while maintaining strong co - operation between Israel and our European allies.”

C urrent issue also avail able at su b urbanorthodox.org . I f you see so meth ing , s end something” – edito r