DOCSLIB.ORG

The Saban Forum 2006

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Saban Forum 2006 The Saban Forum 2006 A U.S.–Israel Dialogue America and Israel Confronting a Middle East in Turmoil Washington, DC December 8–10, 2006 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-797-6462, Fax: 202-797-2481 www.brookings.edu/sabancenter The Saban Forum 2006 A U.S.–Israel Dialogue America and Israel Confronting a Middle East in Turmoil Washington, DC December 8–10, 2006 Speakers and Chairmen Shai agassi martin S. indyk haim SaBan ami ayalon ted koppel david SatterField howard Berman william kriStol StroBe talBott william J. Clinton tom lantoS yuli tamir hillary rodham Clinton avigdor lieBerman yoSeF vardi roBert danin JoSeph lieBerman JameS wolFenSohn e. J. dionne Jr. amnon lipkin-Shahak david welCh giora eiland tzipi livni ehud yaari thomaS l. Friedman Shimon pereS amoS yadlin Jane harman kenneth m. pollaCk daniel yergin Letter from the Chairman . 5 List of Participants . 8 Executive Summary . 13 Program Schedule . 19 Proceedings . 23 Participant Biographies . 75 Each Saban Forum has garnered increasing public and media attention because of the expertise and experience of the participants who gather to candidly debate the challenges facing the United States and Israel . A feeling of trust and respect has developed which has strengthened the dialogue . A Letter from the Chairman When we established the Saban Forum in 2004, we designed it as a high-level dia- logue between the political, intellectual and societal leaders of two vibrant democ- racies, the United States and Israel. The third annual Saban Forum in December 2006 was a momentous event in this regard. Convened for the second time in Washington DC, this unique dialogue has quickly become part of the American and Israeli political calendar. We met after a year in which the Middle East descended further into crisis. Iraq turned to seemingly endless sectarian violence, prompting public question- ing of the way forward. The Iranian President repeatedly threatened to destroy Israel. Iran’s ally, Hizballah, provoked a full-scale war with devastation and loss of lives in both Israel and Lebanon. The Hamas Palestinian Government continued to reject international demands that it recognize Israel. By the end of the year, however, there were hopeful signs that the United States, the moderate Arab states and Israel might find common cause against extremism and in favor of ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In keeping with the nature of developments in 2006, the theme for the Saban Forum was “America and Israel Confronting a Middle East in Turmoil.” As is now traditional, our sessions were conducted under the “Chatham House Rule,” which allows participants to use the information shared in the Forum, but not to reveal the identity of speakers. Consistent with this rule, we have presented summaries of the discussions without attributing the opinions and judgments to any particular individual. Because of the troubled times Israelis and Americans are confronting, a candid exchange of views is vitally important. I am delighted that this annual dialogue has now achieved critical mass. I hope that through these proceedings you will experience the value of these exchanges. I am very grateful to the staff at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution whose hard work makes the Saban Forum possible. haim sabaN Chairman, The Saban Forum AMERICA AND ISRAEL CONFRONTING A MIDDLE EAST IN TURMOIL S a b a n F o r u m 2 0 0 6 American Participants m i C h a e l a d l e r , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, t e d k o p p e l , Managing Editor, Discovery Channel. Adler Group, Inc; member, International Advisory Council, w i l l i a m k r i S t o l , Editor, The Weekly Standard. Saban Center for Middle East Policy. t o m l a n t o S , United States House of Representatives a l a n B at k i n , Vice Chairman, Kissinger Associates; (D-12th Congressional District of California). Trustee, the Brookings Institution. S a m u e l l e w i S , Board Member, Institute for the Study of S a m u e l B e r g e r , Chairman, Stonebridge International; Diplomacy, Georgetown University and Partners for former National Security Advisor. Democratic Change; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel. h o w a r d B e r m a n , United States House of Representatives J o S e p h l i e B e r m a n , United States Senate (D-28th Congressional District of California). (D-Connecticut). S t e p h e n B r e y e r , Justice, Supreme Court of the n i ta l o w e y , United States House of Representatives United States. (D-18th Congressional District of New York). C h a r l e S B r o n F m a n , Chairman of the Andrea and C a r l o S p a sc u a l , Vice President and Director of the Charles Bronfman Philanthropies. Foreign Policy Studies Program, the Brookings Institution; d a n i e l B y m a n , Nonresident Senior Fellow, Saban Center former U.S. Department of State Coordinator for for Middle East Policy; Director, Center for Peace and Reconstruction and Stabilization. Security Studies, Georgetown University. t o d d p at k i n , founder, Todd G. Patkin Companies. h i l l a r y r o d h a m C l i n t o n , United States Senate n o r m a n p e a r l S t i n e , Senior Advisor, The Carlyle Group; (D-New York). former Editor-in-Chief, Time Inc. w i l l i a m J. C l i n t o n , 42nd President of the United C h a r l e S p e r e z , Co-Founder, Paul Davril Inc; States; member, International Advisory Council, Saban member, International Advisory Council, Saban Center for Center for Middle East Policy. Middle East Policy. r o B e r t d a n i n , Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of k e n n e t h p o l l a C k , Director of Research, Saban Center Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State. for Middle East Policy; former Director for Persian Gulf J a C k S o n d i e h l , Deputy Editorial Page Editor, Affairs, National Security Council. The Washington Post. B r u C e r i e d e l , Senior Fellow, Saban Center for Middle e.J. d i o n n e , J r ., Senior Fellow, The Brookings East Policy; former Senior Director for Near East and North Institution; Columnist, The Washington Post. African Affairs, National Security Council. d a v i d F i S h e r , Chairman of Capital Group International, C a r l a a n n e r o bb i n S , Assistant Editorial Page Editor, Inc. and Capital Guardian Trust Company; member, The New York Times. International Advisory Council, Saban Center for d e n n i S r o ss , Counselor and Ziegler Distinguished Middle East Policy. Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy; h a r o l d F o r d J r ., formerly United States House of former U.S. Special Middle East Coordinator. Representatives (D-9th Congressional District of Tennessee). h a i m S a B a n , Chief Executive Officer, Saban Capital d a v i d F r e u d , Chief Executive Officer, The Portland Trust. Group, Inc.; Chairman, International Advisory Council, Saban Center for Middle East Policy. t h o m a S l. F r i e d m a n , Columnist, The New York Times. d a v i d S at t e r F i e l d , Senior Advisor to the Secretary of J a n e h a r m a n , United States House of Representatives (D-36th Congressional District of California). State and Coordinator for Iraq. C h r i S t o p h e r S h ay S , United States House of m i C h a e l i g n at i e ff , Member of Parliament, House of Commons, Canada. Representatives (R-4th Congressional District of Connecticut). m a r t i n i n d y k , Director, Saban Center for Middle East J a m e S S t e i n B e r g , Policy; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Assistant Dean and J.J. “Jake” Pickle Regents Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Chair in Public Affairs, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin; former Deputy a n d r e a k o p p e l , Congressional Correspondent, CNN. National Security Advisor. THE SABAN FORUM: A U . S . –ISRAEL DIALOGUE S a b a n F o r u m 2 0 0 6 American Participants (continued) d a v i d S t e i n e r, Chairman, Steiner Equities Group; J. r i C h a r d w at e rS, Director for Israel, Palestinian, member, International Advisory Council, Saban Center for Jordanian and Egyptian Affairs, National Security Council. Middle East Policy. C. d a v i d w e l C h, Assistant Secretary of State for Near a n g e l a S t e n t, Director of the Center for Russian, Eastern Affairs. Eurasian and East European Studies, Georgetown t a m a r a C o F m a n w i t t e S, Director of the Arab University.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Rethinking the Two-State Solution
    PolicyWatch #1408 : Special Forum Report Rethinking the Two-State Solution Featuring Giora Eiland and Martin Indyk October 3, 2008 On September 23, 2008, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Giora Eiland and Ambassador Martin Indyk addressed a Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute. General Eiland is former head of the Israeli National Security Council and currently a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. Ambassador Indyk directs the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. The following is a rapporteur’s summary of their remarks. GIORA EILAND Within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies a paradox. Although the two-state solution is well known and widely accepted, and although there is international consensus regarding the need for it, little progress has been made to that end. This means that neither side desires the solution nor is willing to take the necessary risks to move forward and come to an agreement. Ultimately, the most the Israeli government can offer the Palestinians -- and survive politically -- is far less than what any Palestinian leadership can accept. As such, there is a gap between the two sides that continues to widen as the years go on. In many aspects, the current situation is worse than it was eight years ago. In 2000, there were three leaders who were both determined and capable of reaching an agreement: U.S. president Bill Clinton, Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. That type of leadership is missing today. In addition, while the two sides enjoyed a reasonable level of security, cooperation, and trust in 2000, the subsequent intifada has created a completely different situation on the ground today.
    [Show full text]
  • HAMAS DIVIDED: TIME for a NEW POLICY? by Tally Helfont
    Foreign Policy Research Institute E-Notes A Catalyst for Ideas Distributed via Email and Posted at www.fpri.org October 2010 HAMAS DIVIDED: TIME FOR A NEW POLICY? By Tally Helfont Tally Helfont is an FPRI research fellow. Her research focuses on Middle East-related issues and radical Islamic movements. She has also instructed training courses on behalf of K3 Enterprises in Civil Information Management to U.S. Military Civil Affairs Units and Human Terrain Teams assigned to Iraq and Afghanistan. September 2010 marked the beginning of renewed peace negotiations in the Middle East. The American-brokered talks took some time to restart—18-months to be exact—and its two primary participants, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, were reluctant at best. The parties met on three separate occasions: in Washington D.C. from September 1-2, in Sharm El-Sheikh from September 13-14, and at the Israeli Prime Minister's official residence in Jerusalem on September 15. It is difficult to say whether there was any tangible progress achieved during these meetings, but as it currently stands, the continuation of these efforts is uncertain, and some would even say, unlikely. The United States, on the one hand, and Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia on the other, are exerting significant diplomatic pressure to bridge the current gaps and bring the two sides back to the negotiating table. But what about those who seek to obstruct such efforts? Chief among this camp is the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas. Through numerous statements and acts of violence, Hamas seemed intent on attracting attention during this period of negotiations.
    [Show full text]
  • Strategic Assessment, Vol 16, No 1
    Volume 16 | No. 1 | April 2013 Leading from Behind: The “Obama Doctrine” and US Policy in the Middle East | Sanford Lakoff Eleven Years to the Arab Peace Initiative: Time for an Israeli Regional Strategy | Ilai Alon and Gilead Sher The Emergence of the Sunni Axis in the Middle East | Yoel Guzansky and Gallia Lindenstrauss Islam and Democracy: Can the Two Walk Together? | Yoav Rosenberg The US and Israel on Iran: Whither the (Dis)Agreement? | Ephraim Kam Walking a Fine Line: Israel, India, and Iran | Yiftah S. Shapir Response Essays Civilian Casualties of a Military Strike in Iran | Ephraim Asculai If it Comes to Force: A Credible Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Military Option against Iran | Amos Yadlin, Emily B. Landau, and Avner Golov המכון למחקרי ביטחון לאומי THE INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURcITY STUDIES INCORPORATING THE JAFFEE bd CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES Strategic ASSESSMENT Volume 16 | No. 1 | April 2013 CONTENTS Abstracts | 3 Leading from Behind: The “Obama Doctrine” and US Policy in the Middle East | 7 Sanford Lakoff Eleven Years to the Arab Peace Initiative: Time for an Israeli Regional Strategy | 21 Ilai Alon and Gilead Sher The Emergence of the Sunni Axis in the Middle East | 37 Yoel Guzansky and Gallia Lindenstrauss Islam and Democracy: Can the Two Walk Together? | 49 Yoav Rosenberg The US and Israel on Iran: Whither the (Dis)Agreement? | 61 Ephraim Kam Walking a Fine Line: Israel, India, and Iran | 75 Yiftah S. Shapir Response Essays Civilian Casualties of a Military Strike in Iran | 87 Ephraim Asculai If it Comes to Force: A Credible Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Military Option against Iran | 95 Amos Yadlin, Emily B.
    [Show full text]
  • Reviving a Regional Approach
    Reviving a Regional Approach Gilead Sher and Liran Ofek Despite the physical demarcation of the zone of the recent military !"#$!"%&%'!"()*%+**"(,-$&*.(&"/(0&1&-2(%3*()$!&/*$( !"%*4%(+*"%(+*..( beyond the geographical area and the ranges of the rockets shot from it. The operation illustrated the convergence of interests between Israel and 5$&)(-%&%*-2( 3'*\7(897:%(;"/*$(5)/*.(<&%%&3(*.=>'-'2(+3' 3('-(!" *(&9&'"( :.&7'"9(&( *"%$&.(&"/('"\;*"%'&.($!.*('"(%3*(*##!$%-(%!(:$!1!%*(&( *&-*[$*@( Moreover, after the operation, Israeli cabinet ministers spoke of the need to promote a regional initiative, either to achieve a long term solution concerning 0&1&- A and/or as an alternative to bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. 2 0&-(&(#!;"/&%'!"()**"( $*&%*/(#!$(&(:&$&/'91(-3'#%(M(#$!1(&(#$&1*+!$C( of bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to multilateral $*9'!"&.(/'&.!9;*D(,-$&*.R-(!#[ '&.(-%&" *(%!+&$/(%3*(5$&)(F*& *(,"'%'&%'G*2( which is a proposed framework for multilateral engagement, has remained rather skeptical, and many still see it as a prescription for surrender more than an invitation to negotiations. 3 On the other hand, those who support a $*9'!"&.(#!$1&%()*.'*G*(%3&%(%3*(5$&)('"'%'&%'G*('-(1*&"%(%!(.*G*$&9*('"%*$*-%-( !11!"(%!(,-$&*.(&"/(-!1*(!#(%3*(.*&/'"9(5$&)(-%&%*-(H897:%2(>&;/'(5$&)'&2( I!$/&"2(&"/(%3*(J"'%*/(5$&)(81'$&%*-K2(&"/(%3&%(%!(%3'-(*"/2('%(-3!;./()*( reexamined as a framework for negotiations. L3*(5$&)(F*& *(,"'%'&%'G*(+&-(&""!;" */('"(MNNM2(O;-%()*#!$*(P:*$&%'!"( Q*#*"-'G*(>3'*./2(&"/(3&-(-'"
    [Show full text]
  • 26Th Annual Julian Y. Bernstein Distinguished Service Awards Ceremony 2021/5781
    7:30pm 4 Nisan 5781 Nisan 4 Tuesday, March 16, 2021 16, March Tuesday, AWARDS CEREMONY AWARDS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE DISTINGUISHED JULIAN Y. BERNSTEIN Y. JULIAN ANNUAL th 26 WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL Connect Here® Academy for Jewish Religion Hebrew Free Loan Society Sanctuary ACHI - American Communities Helping Israel Hebrew Institute of White Plains Scarsdale Synagogue - Temples - Tremont AIPAC - American Israel Public Affairs Committee HIAS and Emanu-El AJC Westchester/Fairfield Hillels of Westchester Shaarei Tikvah Ameinu, Project Rozana Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center Shalom Hartman Institute of North America American Friends of Magen David Adom ImpactIsrael Shames JCC on the Hudson American Friends of Soroka Medical Center Israel Bonds (Development Corporation for Israel) Sinai Free Synagogue American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) Israel Policy Forum Students & Parents Against Campus American Zionist Movement (AZM) J Street Anti-Semitism (SPACA) Anti-Defamation League (ADL) JCCA Sprout Westchester Areyvut The Jewish Board StandWithUs BBYO Westchester Region Jewish Broadcasting Services (JBS) Stein Yeshiva of Lincoln Park Bet Am Shalom Synagogue Jewish Community Center of Harrison Temple Beth Abraham Bet Torah Jewish Community Center of Mid-Westchester Temple Beth Am Beth El Synagogue Center Jewish Community Council of Mt. Vernon Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester The Blue Card Jewish Deaf (and Hard-of-Hearing) Resource Temple Beth El – Danbury Bronx Jewish Community Council, Inc Center Temple Beth Shalom - Hastings Camp Zeke The Jewish Education Project Temple Beth Shalom - Mahopac Chabad Center for Jewish Life of the Rivertowns Jewish National Fund of Temple Israel Center of White Plains Chabad of Bedford Westchester & Southern CT Temple Israel of New Rochelle Chabad Lubavitch of Larchmont and Mamaroneck Jewish Theological Seminary Temple Israel of Northern Westchester Chavurat Tikvah Justice Brandeis Westchester Law Society Temple Shaaray Tefila of Westchester Children’s Jewish Education Group Keren Or, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel: Growing Pains at 60
    Viewpoints Special Edition Israel: Growing Pains at 60 The Middle East Institute Washington, DC Middle East Institute The mission of the Middle East Institute is to promote knowledge of the Middle East in Amer- ica and strengthen understanding of the United States by the people and governments of the region. For more than 60 years, MEI has dealt with the momentous events in the Middle East — from the birth of the state of Israel to the invasion of Iraq. Today, MEI is a foremost authority on contemporary Middle East issues. It pro- vides a vital forum for honest and open debate that attracts politicians, scholars, government officials, and policy experts from the US, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. MEI enjoys wide access to political and business leaders in countries throughout the region. Along with information exchanges, facilities for research, objective analysis, and thoughtful commentary, MEI’s programs and publications help counter simplistic notions about the Middle East and America. We are at the forefront of private sector public diplomacy. Viewpoints are another MEI service to audiences interested in learning more about the complexities of issues affecting the Middle East and US rela- tions with the region. To learn more about the Middle East Institute, visit our website at http://www.mideasti.org The maps on pages 96-103 are copyright The Foundation for Middle East Peace. Our thanks to the Foundation for graciously allowing the inclusion of the maps in this publication. Cover photo in the top row, middle is © Tom Spender/IRIN, as is the photo in the bottom row, extreme left.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation: Threatening Peace Prospects
    The Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation: Threatening Peace Prospects Testimony by David Makovsky Director, Project on the Middle East Peace Process The Washington Institute for Near East Policy February 5, 2013 Hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, Ranking Member Deutch, and distinguished members of the subcommittee for this wonderful opportunity to testify at your very first session of the new Congress. The issue of unity between Fatah and Hamas is something that the two parties have discussed at different levels since 2007 -- and certainly since the two groups announced an agreement in principle in May 2011. Indeed, a meeting between the groups is scheduled in Cairo in the coming days. One should not rule out that such unity will occur; but the past failures of the groups to unite begs various questions and suggests why unity may not occur in the future. While the idea of unity is popular among divided publics everywhere, there have been genuine obstacles to implementing any unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas. First, it seems that neither Fatah -- the mainstream party of the Palestinian Authority (PA) -- nor Hamas wants to risk what it already possesses, namely Hamas's control of Gaza and the PA's control of its part of the West Bank. Each has its own zone and wants to maintain corresponding control. Second, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has not been willing to commit to a Hamas demand for the end of PA security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank, which has resulted in the arrests of Hamas operatives by the PA.
    [Show full text]
  • Avoiding Another War Between Israel and Hezbollah
    COUNTING THE COST Avoiding Another War between Israel and Hezbollah By Nicholas Blanford and Assaf Orion “He who wishes to fight must first count the cost.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War ABOUT THE SCOWCROFT MIDDLE EAST SECURITY INITIATIVE The Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative honors the legacy of Brent Scowcroft and his tireless efforts to build a new security architecture for the region. Our work in this area addresses the full range of security threats and challenges including the danger of interstate warfare, the role of terrorist groups and other nonstate actors, and the underlying security threats facing countries in the region. Through all of the Council’s Middle East programming, we work with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region. You can read more about our programs at www.atlanticcouncil.org/ programs/middle-east-programs/. May 2020 ISBN-13: 978-1-61977-099-7 This report is written and published in accordance with the Atlantic Council Policy on Intellectual Independence. The authors are solely responsible for its analysis and recommendations. The Atlantic Council and its donors do not determine, nor do they necessarily endorse or advocate for, any of this report’s conclusions. This report is made possible by general support to the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs. COUNTING THE COST Avoiding Another War between Israel and Hezbollah CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................2
    [Show full text]
  • Bracing for an Israel-Iran Confrontation in Syria | The
    MENU Policy Analysis / Articles & Op-Eds Bracing for an Israel-Iran Confrontation in Syria by Ehud Yaari Apr 30, 2018 Also available in Arabic ABOUT THE AUTHORS Ehud Yaari Ehud Yaari is a Lafer International Fellow at The Washington Institute. Articles & Testimony Despite the recent escalation, the United States has options for preventing, or at least limiting the scope of, a regional showdown in Syria. srael and Iran are on course for a collision in the near future. Indeed, a military clash that could expand well I beyond Syrian territory appears almost inevitable. In particular, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is determined to transform Syria into a platform for a future war against Israel, whereas leaders of the Jewish state have sworn to prevent what they often describe as the tightening of a noose around Israel’s neck. The past five years have already seen a series of direct clashes between the two powers. These include more than 120 Israeli Air Force (IAF) strikes against weapons shipments to Hezbollah, Iranian attempts to instigate cross- border incidents along the Golan Heights, and Israeli targeting of arms-production facilities introduced by Iran. In early 2018, these exchanges have escalated to include Israeli airstrikes on Iranian UAV facilities established deep in the Syrian desert, at the T-4 Air Base, and a first Iranian attempt to stage an armed drone attack in Israel. Iran has committed publicly to conducting a forceful retaliation for the Israeli strike in January that killed eight Iranian officers, including UAV unit commander Colonel Mehdi Dehghani. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has threatened vaguely that a confrontation in Syria could prompt Israel to target Iranian territory.
    [Show full text]
  • Military Activism and Conservatism During the Intifadas Murat ÜLGÜL* Abstract Introduction
    Soldiers and The Use of Force: Military Activism and Conservatism During The Intifadas Murat ÜLGÜL* Abstract Introduction Are soldiers more prone and likely to use force Are soldiers more prone to use force and initiate conflicts than civilians? To bring a and initiate conflicts than civilians? new insight to this question, this article compares The traditional view in the civil- the main arguments of military activism and military relations literature stresses that military conservatism theories on Israeli policies during the First and Second Intifadas. Military professional soldiers are conservative activism argues that soldiers are prone to end in the use of force because soldiers political problems with the use of force mainly are the ones who mainly suffer in war. because of personal and organizational interests Instead, this view says, it is the civilians as well as the effects of a military-mindset. The proponents of military conservatism, on the who initiate wars and conflicts because, other hand, claim that soldiers are conservative without military knowledge, they on the use of force and it is the civilians most underestimate the costs of war while likely offering military measures. Through an overvaluing the benefits of military analysis of qualitative nature, the article finds 1 action. In recent decades, military that soldiers were more conservative in the use of force during the First Intifadas and Oslo conservatism has been challenged by Peace Process while they were more hawkish in a group of scholars who argue that the the Second Intifada. This difference is explained traditional view is based on a limited by enemy conceptions and by the politicization number of cases, mainly civil-military of Israeli officers.
    [Show full text]
  • Good News & Information Sites
    Written Testimony of Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein1 Hearing on: A NEW HORIZON IN U.S.-ISRAEL RELATIONS: FROM AN AMERICAN EMBASSY IN JERUSALEM TO POTENTIAL RECOGNITION OF ISRAELI SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE GOLAN HEIGHTS Before the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security Tuesday July 17, 2018, 10:00 a.m. Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2154 Chairman Ron DeSantis (R-FL) Ranking Member Stephen Lynch (D-MA) Introduction & Summary Chairman DeSantis, Vice Chairman Russell, Ranking Member Lynch, and Members of the Committee: Thank you for holding this hearing to discuss the potential for American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, in furtherance of U.S. national security interests. Israeli sovereignty over the western two-thirds of the Golan Heights is a key bulwark against radical regimes and affiliates that threaten the security and stability of the United States, Israel, the entire Middle East region, and beyond. The Golan Heights consists of strategically-located high ground, that provides Israel with an irreplaceable ability to monitor and take counter-measures against growing threats at and near the Syrian-Israel border. These growing threats include the extremely dangerous hegemonic expansion of the Iranian-Syrian-North Korean axis; and the presence in Syria, close to the Israeli border, of: Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Quds forces; thousands of Iranian-armed Hezbollah fighters; Palestinian Islamic Jihad (another Iranian proxy); Syrian forces; and radical Sunni Islamist groups including the al Nusra Levantine Conquest Front (an incarnation of al Qaeda) and ISIS. The Iranian regime is attempting to build an 800-mile land bridge to the Mediterranean, running through Iraq and Syria.
    [Show full text]
  • Spoiler Behavior in the Israeli Palestinian Conflict: the Emergent National Religious Demographic Within Israel
    Spoiler Behavior in The Israeli Palestinian Conflict: The Emergent National Religious Demographic Within Israel Introduction The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is one of the most studied and intractable conflicts in the modern era. The actors involved and the stake holders are myriad, resulting in a wide range of peace spoilers and spoiling behavior. This study focuses on the spoiling effects of Israeli settlements in the West Bank with a particular focus on actions by a national religious contingent within Israel who work to maintain and extend Israeli settlements in the West Bank. National Religious ideology and supporters thwart the potential for peace negotiations by negatively influencing Israel’s political ability to agree to a peace agreement and diminishing Palestinian trust in Israel’s ability to agree to and implement a peace agreement. The term national religious refers to an ideology that calls for the expansion of settlements and the idea of ‘Greater Israel’ that embodies both the West Bank and Gaza Strip; thus they tend to be ardently against territorial withdrawal and settlement dismantlement. Once the domain of secular Zionists, settlement of the West Bank is now dominated by national religious Israelis. They comprise upwards of 80 percent of the 70,000 settlers residing outside the separation barrier in the West Bank and are becoming increasingly anti-statist. International Crisis Group reports that former Israeli Intelligence Chief Ami Ayalon estimates that eight percent of the West Bank’s 250,000 settlers are militantly anti- state.1 This case was written by Laura Nash and was created for the Spoilers of Peace Program in Spring 2010 .
    [Show full text]