DOCSLIB.ORG

Iasbaba's Monthly Magazine

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Iasbaba's Monthly Magazine JANUARY 2020 IASBABA'S MONTHLY MAGAZINE INTERNET SHUTDOWN AND SECTION 144 MODEL (AGRICULTURE) LAND LEASING ACT BRU/REANG REFUGEE CRISIS CORONAVIRUS MIDDLE INCOME TRAP BLOCK CHAIN TECHNOLOGY UAPA ACT P a g e | 1 PREFACE With the present shift in examination pattern of UPSC Civil Services Examination, ‘General Studies – II and General Studies III’ can safely be replaced with ‘Current Affairs’. Moreover, following the recent trend of UPSC, almost all the questions are issue-based rather than news- based. Therefore, the right approach to preparation is to prepare issues, rather than just reading news. Taking this into account, our website www.iasbaba.com will cover current affairs focusing more on ‘issues’ on a daily basis. This will help you pick up relevant news items of the day from various national dailies such as The Hindu, Indian Express, Business Standard, LiveMint, Business Line and other important Online sources. Over time, some of these news items will become important issues. UPSC has the knack of picking such issues and asking general opinion based questions. Answering such questions will require general awareness and an overall understanding of the issue. Therefore, we intend to create the right understanding among aspirants – ‘How to cover these issues? This is the 56th edition of IASbaba’s Monthly Magazine. This edition covers all important issues that were in news in the month of JANUARY 2020 which can be accessed from https://iasbaba.com/current-affairs-for-ias-upsc-exams/ VALUE ADDITIONS FROM IASBABA Must Read and Connecting the dots. Also, we have introduced Prelim and mains focused snippets and Test Your Knowledge (Prelims MCQs based on daily current affairs) which shall guide you for better revision. ‘Must Read’ section, will give you important links to be read from exam perspective. This will make sure that, you don’t miss out on any important news/editorials from various newspapers on daily basis. Under each news article, ‘Connecting the dots’ facilitates your thinking to connect and ponder over various aspects of an issue. Basically, it helps you in understanding an issue from multi-dimensional view-point. You will understand its importance while giving Mains or Interview. Must Read Articles: We have not included them in the magazine. Those following DNA on daily basis may follow it- https://iasbaba.com/current-affairs-for-ias-upsc-exams/ “Tell my mistakes to me not to others, because these are to be corrected by me, not by them.” www.IASbaba.com P a g e | 2 CONTENTS HISTORY/CULTURE/GEOGRAPHY ........................................................................ 9 Bhima-Koregaon battle of 1818: 202nd Anniversary .............................................................. 9 Lord Curzon .............................................................................................................................. 9 Martyr’s Day ............................................................................................................................ 9 Savitribai Phule ...................................................................................................................... 10 Gurudwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan ................................................................................. 10 Nagardhan excavations : Insights into Vakataka dynasty ..................................................... 10 Queen Prabhavatigupta ......................................................................................................... 11 AUSCHWITZ – 75th Anniversary of its liberation .................................................................. 11 Vanga nari (Fox- Jallikattu) .................................................................................................... 11 Bojjannakonda: Buddhist site in Andhra Pradesh ................................................................. 12 Madhavpur Mela ................................................................................................................... 12 Basant Panchami ................................................................................................................... 12 Beating Retreat Ceremony .................................................................................................... 13 Nagoba jatara: Month long fair comes to an end ................................................................ 13 Belum Caves........................................................................................................................... 13 Northeast ( winter) monsoon ................................................................................................ 13 Rann Utsav ............................................................................................................................. 14 POLITY/GOVERNANCE ...................................................................................... 15 National Population Register (NPR): Trial form gets governments approval ....................... 15 Satcom technology: Rajasthan to utilize it in big way ........................................................... 15 NITI Aayog’s Baseline Report of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index ..... 16 Civic technology: An Indian Case ........................................................................................... 18 Aadhaar: Must for Welfare Pension in Odisha ...................................................................... 19 10% reservation Quota for Economically Weaker Sections .................................................. 20 Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN): objective assessment & transparency of scheme.......... 20 UJALA: Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All ...................................................................... 20 JUS COGENS ........................................................................................................................... 21 Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS): Trimming of the Railway Board, the powerful body that governs the Indian Railways ................................................................................. 21 Chief of Defence Staff (CDS): The dual-hatted role ............................................................... 23 National Human Rights Commission ..................................................................................... 24 Zonal Councils ........................................................................................................................ 25 Inter- state border dispute: Maharashtra-Karnataka Belgaum tension (Part-2) .................. 25 Concept of Democracy, then and now .................................................................................. 28 www.IASbaba.com P a g e | 3 Curative Petition: Nirbhaya Case convicts file Curative pleas in Supreme Court ................. 30 Internet Shutdown and Section 144 ...................................................................................... 30 Challenges of Non-Scheduled Indian Languages ................................................................... 33 Sabarimala case: Supreme Court not to review Sabarimala case ......................................... 34 Kerala files suit against CAA .................................................................................................. 35 Data Protection Bill: JPC to invite views from all stakeholders ............................................. 36 Model (Agricultural) Land Leasing Act................................................................................... 36 Electoral bonds scheme not to be stalled ............................................................................. 39 Government to seek green clearance for water aerodromes............................................... 40 Kerala’s move to challenge CAA ............................................................................................ 40 High Court of Karnataka: Police need to be trained to follow SC guidelines on registering FIRs 41 Electoral Bonds ...................................................................................................................... 42 India drops 10 ranks in Democracy Index ............................................................................. 45 Speaker’s role in disqualification ........................................................................................... 45 Goa Opposition disrupts assembly proceedings over Mahadayi river dispute .................... 47 Centre refuses to give more funds to Kerala for flood relief ................................................ 47 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act ................................................................ 48 Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD): New agreement signed ...................................... 48 Indian Judiciary’s Evolution ................................................................................................... 49 Missing Persons Data now available Online .......................................................................... 50 Anticipatory Bail .................................................................................................................... 51 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ....................................................................................... 51 SOCIAL ISSUE/WELFARE .................................................................................... 53 Nepal’s Language Seke Near Extinct ....................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • As Israel's Political Parties Fight for Role of Kingmaker, Religious
    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 8 1 Volume 2 1 , Number 1 2 Parshas Vayikra March 20 , 20 2 1 As Israel’s Political Parties Fight for Role of Kingmaker, Religious - Secular Divide Comes to the Fore By Haviv Rettig Gur timesofisrael.com March 15, 2021 Two very different parties have found in each other lawmakers and some Haredi party activists sharing p hotos the perfect enemies. of emaciated bodies being carried on wheelbarrows during Eight days to election day, the race between the pro - the Holocaust. and anti - Netanyahu camps is close. So close, in fact, that The video clip of that line went viral on Hebrew - neither side can hope to piece together an effective language social media. Few noticed the exchange that government. followed, in which Liberman went on to explain If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu manages to something important about his campaign strategy — he eke out a slim majority, it will likely b e so slim that he will needs to boost support by driving secular voters to the find himself forced to cater to the whims of the most polls. right - wing lawmakers on the ballot. Netanyahu’s Challenged again by Asayag that he cannot push both opponents, meanwhile, theoretically led by Yair Lapid of Netanyahu and the Haredi parties out of government Yesh Atid, may well be too divided and diverse to produce simultaneously and will end up “hugging [Shas leader a manageable coa lition.
    [Show full text]
  • Highlights of Iran's Perilous Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons
    INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY REPORT Highlights of Iran’s Perilous Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons By David Albright with Sarah Burkhard and the Good ISIS Team August 25, 2021 Iran’s Perilous Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons chronicles the Islamic Republic of Iran’s effort to acquire nuclear weapons. It started slowly, building to a crash nuclear weapons program in the early 2000s to create five nuclear weapons and an industrial complex to produce many more. Under international pressure, fearful of military attack, the program was driven to downsize and deeper secrecy. Nonetheless, Iran remains on the brink of becoming a nuclear weapons power; its nuclear material production capabilities stronger than ever, its weaponization capabilities lurking under the surface. But just how close did Iran get to nuclear weapons during its crash program and how close is it today? Up until the events of a cold, clear night in January 2018, the world could only guess. In a dramatic nighttime raid, the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service Mossad broke into a warehouse in Tehran and seized a large cache of documents detailing Iran’s darkest and long- denied secret. The Amad Plan, the codename for its crash nuclear weapons program, was far larger and made much more progress than previously known. Containing many top secret details, the seized documents offer unprecedented insights into Iran’s progress—and the hurdles it faced in building nuclear weapons. With what Iran learned about building nuclear weapons during the Amad Plan, combined with its subsequent accomplishments, the Islamic Republic has developed a sophisticated capability to make nuclear weapons.
    [Show full text]
  • Iranian Scientist's Death Only the Latest in Long Line of Attacks Blamed on Israel
    INFOSOURCES.INFO/IRAN/NUCLEAR PROGRAM https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/27/iran-has-long-accused-israel- of-killing-its-nuclear-scientists Iranian scientist's death only the latest in long line of attacks blamed on Israel Oliver Holmes 27-11-2020 Mohsen Fakhrizadeh may be the most senior Iranian nuclear scientist to have been assassinated but he is certainly not the first, joining at least four others during the past decade. In killings Iran said were aimed at sabotaging its nuclear energy ambitions – it does not acknowledge using the technology for weapons – the country has consistently pointed the finger at Israel, its regional arch-foe. Israel has long cited its enemy’s pledges to destroy it. It says, often without specifics, that it has the right to defend itself by blocking Iran from becoming a military nuclear power. The country’s foreign intelligence agency, Mossad, has a record of using targeted assassinations. Iranian scientist killings appear to have followed a pattern, often taking place as the men were on their way to or from work. In 2010, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, an expert on particle physics, was killed by a remote-control bomb strapped to a motorcycle as he was leaving his Tehran home. Later that year, another nuclear scientist, Majid Shahriar, died in similar manner when attackers rode up alongside him and stuck bombs to his car. Fereidoon Abbasi Davani, Iran’s atomic chief at the time, survived an assassination attempt that same day. Both men are believed to have worked with Fakhrizadeh. In 2011, Darioush Rezaeinejad, an academic whose affiliation to the country’s nuclear activities is disputed, was shot by gunmen riding on motorcycles.
    [Show full text]
  • End- Ing Us Participation in the Nuclear Agreement with Iran Hearing
    PROTECTING AMERICA FROM A BAD DEAL: END- ING U.S. PARTICIPATION IN THE NUCLEAR AGREEMENT WITH IRAN HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JUNE 6, 2018 Serial No. 115–84 Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov http://oversight.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 31–273 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:27 Sep 20, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 H:\31273.TXT APRIL KING-6430 with DISTILLER COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM Trey Gowdy, South Carolina, Chairman John J. Duncan, Jr., Tennessee Elijah E. Cummings, Maryland, Ranking Darrell E. Issa, California Minority Member Jim Jordan, Ohio Carolyn B. Maloney, New York Mark Sanford, South Carolina Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of Columbia Justin Amash, Michigan Wm. Lacy Clay, Missouri Paul A. Gosar, Arizona Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee Jim Cooper, Tennessee Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Gerald E. Connolly, Virginia Thomas Massie, Kentucky Robin L. Kelly, Illinois Mark Meadows, North Carolina Brenda L. Lawrence, Michigan Ron DeSantis, Florida Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey Dennis A. Ross, Florida Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois Mark Walker, North Carolina Jamie Raskin, Maryland Rod Blum, Iowa Jimmy Gomez, Maryland Jody B. Hice, Georgia Peter Welch, Vermont Steve Russell, Oklahoma Matt Cartwright, Pennsylvania Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin Mark DeSaulnier, California Will Hurd, Texas Stacey E. Plaskett, Virgin Islands Gary J. Palmer, Alabama John P.
    [Show full text]
  • AIR-46-1-Digital.Pdf
    AUSTRALIA/ISRAEL REVIEW VOLUME 46 No. 1 JANUARY 2021 AUSTRALIA/ISRAEL & JEWISH AFFAIRS COUNCIL IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES Israel likely heading for yet another election just as the Biden administration takes over in Washington UNRWA’S TURNING POINT? MARRAKECH UNFORGETTABLE COLD PEACE, EXPRESS LESSONS WARM PEACE A unique opportunity to reform Israel’s historic nor- Innovative new How the UAE normalisa- the controversial UN agency for malisation deal with Holocaust education tion differs from Israel’s Palestinian refugees ....................... PAGE 30 Morocco ........PAGE 20 programs in longstanding peace with Australia ........PAGE 25 Egypt .................PAGE 6 NAME OF SECTION WITH COMPLIMENTS AND BEST WISHES FROM GANDEL GROUP CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE 1341 DANDENONG ROAD CHADSTONE VIC 3148 TEL: (03) 8564 1222 FAX: (03) 8564 1333 With Compliments from P O BOX 400 SOUTH MELBOURNE, 3205, AUSTRALIA TELEPHONE: (03) 9695 8700 2 AIR – January 2021 AUSTRALIA/ISRAEL VOLUME 46 No. 1 REVIEW JANUARY 2021 EDITOR’S NOTE NAME OF SECTION his month’s AIR edition focuses on Israel’s apparent drift toward new elections – the ON THE COVER Tfourth in two years – just as the Biden administration takes office in the US. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Amotz Asa-El explains the events that look very likely to lead to Israeli voters going Netanyahu (R) and alternate-PM back to the polls in March, while Israeli pundit Haviv Rettig Gur looks at recent devel- and Defence Minister Benny opments that may make long-serving Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu more vulnerable Gantz attend the weekly cabinet this time around. In addition, American columnist Jonathan Tobin argues the upcoming meeting in Jerusalem on June inauguration of Joe Biden makes a new Israeli poll sensible, while, in the editorial, Colin 21, 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • The Israeli Campaign Regarding the Iranian Nuclear Program
    Consciousness as Leverage: The Israeli Campaign regarding the Iranian Nuclear Program Ronen Dangoor1 Background Iran’s nuclear program has constituted a central security issue for Israel over the past two decades. Against this backdrop, Israel has conducted a multifaceted drive to block it, in part through a complex cognitive campaign that extended from the summer of 2002 – when the Iranian nuclear program was revealed – to July 2015, when the agreement between Iran and the world powers on restricting the nuclear program was signed. This article discusses the central characteristics of the cognitive campaign, which included four main components and motifs: the first and most basic, which was a constant for the entire period, was exposing and raising awareness of the dangers of the Iranian nuclear project; the second emphasized the other threats that the Iranian regime poses, chief among them its aggressive policy, which includes involvement in terrorism and extensive activity to develop long range missiles; the third component was the threat of a possible Israeli military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which was prominent as a central narrative mainly during the years 2010-2012; and the fourth component, which dominated from 2013, dealt with the negotiations between the world powers and Iran and with the nuclear deal that was reached between them. The struggle against the agreement has intensified in recent months against the backdrop of the United States’ withdrawal from it, but that development is not addressed here due to the lack of sufficient perspective. 1 Ronen Dangoor is a former Deputy Director of the Research Department at the Prime Minister’s Office.
    [Show full text]
  • Preventing the Erosion of Strategic Stability
    International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe PREVENTING THE EROSION OF STRATEGIC STABILITY Edited by Dr. Viatcheslav Kantor President of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe 2018 УТВЕРЖДАЮ В ПЕЧАТЬ Евсеев Владимир ISBN 978-5-906532-12-1 Preventing the Erosion of Strategic Stability / National Institute of Corporate Reform. – 2018. – 172 pages. This book follows a conference of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe held with the intellectual support of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Geneva in June 2018. Leading experts in nuclear security, arms reduction and nuclear non-proliferation from Russia, the United States and other countries came together to discuss the most important and pressing issues of strategic and regional stability. This book, prefaced by the President of the Luxembourg Forum, contains chapters on the dynamics of the strategic relationship between Russia and the United States, arms control, global nuclear weapons proliferation and its consequences for strategic stability, and the two leading nuclear powers’ plans to upgrade their arsenals. The official website of the International Luxembourg Forum: www.luxembourgforum.org ISBN – 978-5-906532-12-1 © International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, 2018 CONTENT INTRODUCTION BY VIATCHESLAV KANTOR, PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL LUXEMBOURG FORUM ...........................5 I. PRACTICE AND THEORY OF STRATEGIC STABILITY 1.1. A PEACEFUL KOREAN PENINSULA: REAL OR
    [Show full text]
  • Iran: Limited Retaliation for Assassination of Nuclear Scientist Likely
    The Cambridge Security Initiative IRAN: LIMITED RETALIATION FOR ASSASSINATION OF NUCLEAR SCIENTIST LIKELY DECEMBER 2020 Richard C. Baffa Iran almost certainly will retaliate for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh; however, Tehran’s response probably will be limited, proportional, and in kind, calculated to avoid a broader regional conflict and keep the door open for negotiations and sanctions relief with the incoming Biden administration. Iranian leaders rapidly condemned the assassination and blamed Israel; some also implicated the US in the attack. Iran’s top nuclear scientist was assassinated near Tehran on 27 November, prompting the Supreme National Security Council to convene an emergency meeting. Fakhrizadeh was considered the father of Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program known as the “Amad project”, according to US and Israeli intelligence. A 2011 International Atomic Energy Agency report indicated he was a central figure in suspected Iranian work to develop technology and skills needed for nuclear weapons, including designing a warhead small enough to fit atop a missile and survive re-entry into the atmosphere. Iran repeatedly refused to allow IAEA inspectors access to Fakhrizadeh and has consistently denied it has or has had a nuclear weapons program. Fakhrizadeh would have played a vital role in the event Tehran decided to jump start its weapons program. Senior Iranian officials began making statements within a few hours of his death, condemning the assassination, blaming Israel and the U.S. and vowing to retaliate. Their response, however, tempered expectations for a rapid, military response. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran’s first priority was “definitive punishment of the perpetrators and those who ordered it,” but he added, “The Iranian nation is smarter than falling into the trap of the Zionist.
    [Show full text]
  • The Shahid Boroujerdi Project for Production of Uranium Metal & Nuclear Weapons Components
    A copublication of INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY A Key Missing Piece of the Amad Puzzle: The Shahid Boroujerdi Project for Production of Uranium Metal & Nuclear Weapons Components By David Albright, Olli Heinonen,1 Frank Pabian,2 and Andrea Stricker January 11, 2019 • Documentation from the Nuclear Archives reveals a major, former nuclear weapons site under Project 110 of the Amad Plan that was not previously identified. Project 110 was charged with the development and production of nuclear warheads; • The most likely purpose of this site was as a production-scale facility to produce uranium metal components for nuclear weapons, fulfilling Iran’s long-time quest to acquire and develop uranium metallurgy and components suitable for nuclear weapon manufacturing; • Satellite imagery analysis supports these findings; • The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors should urge the IAEA to verify sites, locations, facilities, and materials involved in these activities, and urge Iran to cooperate fully in these investigations. Background Documentation seized in January 2018 by Israel from the Iranian “Nuclear Archive”3 revealed key elements of Iran’s past nuclear weaponization program and the Amad program more broadly, aimed at development and production of nuclear weapons. The material extracted from the archives4 shows that the Amad program had the intention to build five nuclear 1 Olli Heinonen is Former Deputy Director General of the IAEA and head of its Department of Safeguards. He is a Senior Advisor on Science and Nonproliferation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 2 Frank Pabian is a retired Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Fellow from both the Global Security and Science-Technology-Engineering Directorates, most recently in the Geophysics Group, Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, with 45 years of experience in satellite remote sensing for nuclear nonproliferation.
    [Show full text]
  • Zionism: an Indigenous Struggle Aboriginal Americans and the Jewish State 20 What It Means to Be an Oglala Sioux Jewish Woman the Disputed 2020 U.S
    CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH RESEARCH L’INSTITUT CANADIEN DE RECHERCHES SUR LE JUDAÏSME IDecemberS 11, 2020R A Chanukah 25 KislevF 5781 A Vol. XXVIII,X Number 301 AMERICA’S ELECTION & ISRAEL P.O. Box 175, Station H, Montreal, Quebec H3G 2K7 Tel: (514) 486-5544 Fax: (514) 486-8284 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.isranet.org CONTENT EDITORIAL 2 THE U.S. ELECTION & ISRAEL: WINNING DE IURE, AND DE FACTO THE U.S. ELECTION & ISRAEL: 4 WEEKLY QUOTES 5 SHORT TAKES WINNING DE IURE, AND DE FACTO 6 AFTER THE ELECTION: WHAT NOW? Frederick Krantz 7 WILL “PROGRESSIVES” PULL MORE THAN THEIR WEIGHT IN A BIDEN ADMINISTRATION? 8 BIDEN: MORE PRO-ISRAEL THAN OBAMA, BUT LESS THAN TRUMP? 9 FREEDOM OF THE PRESS OR FREEDOM TO DENIGRATE 11 INCREASING ARAB CRITICISM OF THE PALESTINIANS 12 RBG: HOW JEWISH WAS SHE? 14 ERDOGAN, L’ALLIÉ MÉSALLIÉ 16 THE THREAT OF A NUCLEAR IRAN - TIMELINE 19 ZIONISM: AN INDIGENOUS STRUGGLE ABORIGINAL AMERICANS AND THE JEWISH STATE 20 WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN OGLALA SIOUX JEWISH WOMAN THE DISPUTED 2020 U.S. ELECTION MIRRORED DEEP POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DIVISIONS. 21 CRITICAL RACE THEORY AND ITS DISCONTENTS 22 THE IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRATING THE It may well be that all the Trump Ad- looks like they will prevail in the Jan.5 ETHIOPIAN JEWISH HOLIDAY OF SIGD ministration claims of electoral fraud, Georgia run-offs and hold onto con- 24 THE BEZALEL SCHOOL AND THE ERETZ- deception, and un-Constitutional pro- trol of the Senate. YISRAEL STYLE ceeding will come to nothing, and In the end, Biden may win de jure, for- 26 CIJR REVIEW OF BOOKS that the Supreme Court, even if it mally (though the issue is not yet ir- does finally enter the picture before 28 SHALOM KHAVERIM FROM CIJR’S revocably decided), but if so, the December 14, will fail decisively to set TORONTO CHAPTER! Republicans and Trump will in key re- aside the election results.
    [Show full text]
  • Written Evidence Submitted by Mr Davis Lewin at Friends of Israel Initiative (UKI0023)
    Written evidence submitted by Mr Davis Lewin at Friends of Israel Initiative (UKI0023) THE UK AND IRAN 1. The Friends of Israel Initiative (FOII) is a global organisation devoted to fighting the delegitimization of the State of Israel and to support its right to live in peace within safe and defensible borders. It is headed by its current Chairman The Hon Stephen Harper, former Prime Minister of Canada. FOII believes that Israel is an integral and vital part of the West, a dynamic, vibrant and prosperous democracy. As such Israel deserves to be fully accepted as a normal Western nation, treated with fairness as any other democracy in the world. FOII was founded in 2010 as a group of global leaders, former Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers, and eminent personalities from diverse fields. In order to further its message, FOII members engage their peers in direct and frank dialogues, invite relevant people to field trips to Israel, call on expert groups to prepare reports and policy papers, disseminate analysis affecting the future of Israel, and publish opinion editorials in pertinent media outlets, among other activities. The Friends of Israel Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. 2. FOII considers it imperative that the United Kingdom: - Reorients its approach to a posture of coercive diplomacy and deterrence vis-a-vis Iran’s government, so as to reflect the reality of the Islamic Regime’s outlook, actions and the threat it presents to the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Southwest Asia regions and the stability of the international community.
    [Show full text]
  • Possible Attack from Iran: Analysis & U.S
    Memo - December 2020 JINSA’s Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy Possible Attack From Iran: Analysis & U.S. Policy Implications Charles Perkins - Director for U.S.-Israel Security Policy Ari Cicurel - Senior Policy Analyst As the anniversary of the U.S. strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani on January 3, 2020 nears, the U.S. military is reportedly preparing for Iranian reprisals. Although important, strategic signaling, such as by flying B-52 bombers over the region, is not adequate to stopping more likely lower-level Iranian attacks, especially since the U.S. is drawing down its regional forces at the same time. To deter and defend against Iranian aggression, both the Trump and Biden teams will have to communicate resolve to defend U.S. personnel and partners, alike. This policy memo from JINSA staff provides background on U.S.-Iran tensions in 2020, possible Iranian motivations if the regime decides to strike, and policy recommendations for U.S. officials. Key Takeaways • The main rationale that Iran would have to launch a reprisal attack for Soleimani’s death a year ago would be to deter further such U.S. military actions. However, Tehran might conclude that retaliation at this point would have minimal deterrence value against the United States as President Trump is soon leaving office and President-Elect Biden is less likely to be as militarily aggressive. • However, Iran might want to retaliate for domestic political reasons and/or to deter further sabotage of its nuclear program, such as the recent assassination of top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakrizadeh. • Iran might take action that: 1) saves face domestically; 2) happens close enough to, or shortly after, the U.S.
    [Show full text]