DOCSLIB.ORG

AA-Postscript.Qxp:Layout 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
AA-Postscript.Qxp:Layout 1 TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2014 LOCAL kuwait digest in my view Mortal sins of Why Arabs go Twitter bats! backwards By Ali Al-Randy By Dr Shamlan Y Al-Essa hoever said that Twitter can be a blessing or a ew York Times, the well known American curse is absolutely right, because in the for- newspaper, published on April 9 a long Wmer, it is used as a means to create a civilized, Nreport on its front page about the problem humane dialogue through which thoughts, visions and of accepting outstanding students in prestigious information can be exchanged. It can also be curse American universities, to a point that made the when over-flooded with mindless, silly chats that famed Stanford University reject outstanding stu- include no information or deep thoughts; when it’s dents who scored up to 95 percent, as the university merely used to exchange superficial or indecent com- Political ments and accusations. Some comments are so impolite accepted only 5 percent of the outstanding students and violate others’ privacy by libeling and blaspheming activist who attempted to enter this university, as 42,167 them by sick-minded people who have no courage to applied for admission and 2,138 were accepted, but confront and hide behind sobriquets, just like bats that at the end only 1,700 registered. cannot fly during daytime and thus resort to the dark- The question: Why do American universities ness of caves with serpents, scorpions and harmful become strict in the policy of students’ admission, insects. while our universities are the only ones who take it Such practices have recently exposed a number of easy in accepting students with low academic unstable personalities and interest-seekers who falsely Al-Anbaa scores? The difference between them and us is that accuse others simply because they stood as strong bar- Western universities brag about thousands of out- riers against their mean illegitimate desires and wishes. Political faction standing students applying for admission, be them No wonder that such campaigns can sometimes be led Americans or foreigners, because strictness in aca- by reputable high degree holders, politicians, academics demic admission elevates the university’s standards, and media, art and legal figures who use the accounts of misled people or even people hired to practice libel- and the more strict universities are in the policy of ing to the dirtiest levels ever in using such media driven admission, the academic level of the university goes by psychiatric diseases, sense of failure and family in my view higher. grudges and complexes that may make people infected Fierce competition among American and foreign with them accuse others of their own literal or moral Palestinian statehood students from all over the globe gives prestigious flows. They would then portray rivals as possessing all American universities uniqueness, because they do the world’s misdeeds. not differentiate between hardworking and out- We believe that all these vices are committed by ‘bats’ By Abdullah H. Erakat standing students, be them citizens or foreigners, whose family and personal history might have been full ot all Palestinians believe that the joining of ments.” The official says the Palestinians broke-off direct because the grades of the students qualify them for of the mortal sins they have been trying to label others United Nations agencies and international treaty talks in March; said “no” to Kerry’s framework and princi- admittance to the university. The American govern- with, namely highly successful people who know the Norganizations by the Palestinian Authority will ples of final status; and “Abu Mazen said ‘no’ to recogniz- ment is not involved in admission policies, even if nature of these venomous scorpions. bring its people closer to statehood. ing Jewish [character of the] state.” He also argued that it the university is a government one. What American However, historically and logically speaking, all UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has issued accept- was the Palestinians who refused a package deal which universities do is different from what we follow in Twitter bats or chicks can never defame righteous peo- ances of the letters of accession signed by Palestinian would have facilitated the prisoner release. “The ple, and neither can these social media clean the records President Mahmoud Abbas last week, including the Palestinians have to look at their own behavior. In the our universities. Minister Al-Mulaifi insisted last year of those coward scorpions who do not have the honor Hague Convention and the Fourth Geneva Convention past months, they have shown an exclusively rejectionist on accepting 11,000 students despite the fact that nor the ability to act in the open and declare their true infuriating Israel and triggering a round of tit-for-tat with position.” our university has the capacity of 6,500 students identities. Those who resort to such cheap conspiracies the Netanyahu government amid what some are calling Abdelkarim, who has been involved in Palestinian poli- only, and this year the minister is insisting on accept- work in collaboration with psychologically-diseased the collapse of the peace mission overseen by US tics for 47 years, said there are constant Palestinian meet- ing all passing students, not only the outstanding people who suffer from inferiority and lack of integrity, Secretary of State John Kerry. The memberships take ings following up on the joining of UN agencies. He said, ones. effect on May 2, thirty-days after the submission of the “The PLO has always viewed it as its right for the state of creditability and honor. As the Arabic proverb says: ‘The original letters and two-days after the deadline for the ini- Palestine to join all conventions and agencies of the The question: Why do American universities and deprived has nothing to offer”. —Translated by Kuwait tial nine-months agreed to by both the Israelis and United Nations.” He failed to offer details of those plans, others in advanced and industrial countries are strict Times from Al-Anbaa Palestinians for Secretary Kerry to broker a peace deal. but suggested that more action may be needed from the in their admission policies, although most of them “It doesn’t translate into any tangible change on the Palestinians to ensure their membership. are private, and do not pay attention to profits, while ground,” said Nadim Khoury, Assistant Professor of Fatah representative Mohammad Hurani said the we, the backward in the Third World countries, take Political Science at Al-Quds Bard Honors College for move to sign the letters of accession this month was a it easy in the admission policy, to a point where kuwait digest Liberal Arts and Sciences. message saying that “the Palestinians have their options” “It may give the Palestinians more leverage diplomati- and put pressure on Israel to agree to follow-through on Mulaifi called for admitting all students who passed cally, but this is a remote and abstract kind of power,” he its commitments. the secondary school exams. Why does their think- Women market wrote in an email to The Media Line. Following the UN gambit, government officials in Israel Other conventions Abbas signed-on to include the announced it would impose economic sanctions on the loses identity! Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and The Palestinians in response to the move, which Israeli Prime Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Minister Binyamin Netanyahu considered to be a unilater- The days of Kuwaiti pride Degrading Treatment or Punishment. “It won’t protect al one. Hourani, a lawmaker, said the Palestinian side was By Arwa Al-Wagyan Palestinians from settler violence or dismantle check- not surprised since “they have nothing to lose.” and prosperity were in the used to feel very happy wandering around the old points and settlements,” Khoury said. “President [Abbas] and the Palestinians know that the But officials of Gaza-based Hamas disagree that it reactions of the Israelis will be a kind of political and eco- fifties until the middle of women’s market (Souq Al-Hareem) in downtown won’t bring statehood closer. “It’s a great step for the nomic punishment,” said Hourani, adding that “there is sixties, during the reign of IKuwait City as a child, listening to Kuwaiti dialects Palestinians,” Isra Al-Modallal, the Hamas government’s always a price you pay in politics.” He argues that US and watching Kuwaiti salesladies doing business. The first female spokesperson said. She said this could be a Secretary of State John Kerry means well, but that he late Sheikh Abdullah Al- market had a beautiful Kuwaiti flavor and fragrance chance to put Israel before the law. needs to exert pressure on the Israeli side. “We think the then. It symbolized Kuwaiti women’s historic self- Americans should make pressure not only on the Salem Al-Sabah. Kuwait was reliance. However, doing the same trip these days, I Direct talks Palestinian side, but on the Israeli side, too,” he said. the country of Arabs, with feel very sad for how identity-less the market has “This is the only way to call for our rights,” she said in a Despite his remarks to the Senate Foreign Relations telephone interview from the Gaza Strip. Committee last week in which Kerry, in the estimation of the full meaning of the word. become. It is not as Kuwaiti as it used to be. Most Qais Abdelkarim, a member of the Palestinian the Israelis, pointed the finger of blame at the Jewish salesladies are Ethiopians or Indians renting the stalls Legislative Council representing the Democratic Front for state enraging Israel’s supporters both domestic and on sublease contracts. The whole market, that once the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), said the Palestine abroad - earning the praise of Hamas’ Al-Modallal-the ing differ from ours? The answer to this question is was considered a wonderful symbol for Kuwaiti work- Liberation Organization (PLO) could have made the move Israeli official nevertheless denied that it was receiving ing women, has become a trade.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Israel's National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict
    Leap of Faith: Israel’s National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict Middle East Report N°147 | 21 November 2013 International Crisis Group Headquarters Avenue Louise 149 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i Recommendations..................................................................................................................... iv I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Religious Zionism: From Ascendance to Fragmentation ................................................ 5 A. 1973: A Turning Point ................................................................................................ 5 B. 1980s and 1990s: Polarisation ................................................................................... 7 C. The Gaza Disengagement and its Aftermath ............................................................. 11 III. Settling the Land .............................................................................................................. 14 A. Bargaining with the State: The Kookists ................................................................... 15 B. Defying the State: The Hilltop Youth ........................................................................ 17 IV. From the Hills to the State ..............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Israel and Overseas: Israeli Election Primer 2015 (As Of, January 27, 2015) Elections • in Israel, Elections for the Knesset A
    Israel and Overseas: Israeli Election Primer 2015 (As of, January 27, 2015) Elections In Israel, elections for the Knesset are held at least every four years. As is frequently the case, the outgoing government coalition collapsed due to disagreements between the parties. As a result, the Knesset fell significantly short of seeing out its full four year term. Knesset elections in Israel will now be held on March 17, 2015, slightly over two years since the last time that this occurred. The Basics of the Israeli Electoral System All Israeli citizens above the age of 18 and currently in the country are eligible to vote. Voters simply select one political party. Votes are tallied and each party is then basically awarded the same percentage of Knesset seats as the percentage of votes that it received. So a party that wins 10% of total votes, receives 10% of the seats in the Knesset (In other words, they would win 12, out of a total of 120 seats). To discourage small parties, the law was recently amended and now the votes of any party that does not win at least 3.25% of the total (probably around 130,000 votes) are completely discarded and that party will not receive any seats. (Until recently, the “electoral threshold,” as it is known, was only 2%). For the upcoming elections, by January 29, each party must submit a numbered list of its candidates, which cannot later be altered. So a party that receives 10 seats will send to the Knesset the top 10 people listed on its pre-submitted list.
    [Show full text]
  • The Temple Mount/Haram Al Sharif: Threats to the Status Quo June - September 2014 October 2014 (Issue 1)
    The Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif: Threats to the Status Quo June - September 2014 October 2014 (Issue 1) This information page, the first of its format, is designed to serve as a supplement to Ir Amim’s 2013 report, Dangerous Liaison: The Dynamics of the Rise of the Tempe Movement and their Implications, offering a periodic resource for monitoring the ongoing erosion of existing arrangements on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound. Public pressure challenging the status quo is rising, not least prominently through Knesset discussion, leading to a growth in the volume of Jews entering the compound and the increasing strength of the campaign fueling this phenomenon. The number of entry restrictions enforced on Muslims seeking to enter the About the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound is likewise growing, along with clashes resulting for reasons including but not For 1,300 years, the Temple Mount/Haram Al- limited to these factors. Sharif has been managed under the exclusive rule of Islamic authorities. Since the 16th The buildup of these developments century, the recognized status quo maintains constitutes an alarming change in existing that the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif arrangements. compound is a Muslim prayer area, while the Western Wall is designated as a prayer area for Introduction Jews. This division was reaffirmed by the Israeli government in June 196 in recognition of the The issue of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif unique sensitivity of the area and in response to international pressure. The Muslim Waqf, is one of the most complex and sensitive in the responsible for management of the compound, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and any deviation is appointed by the Kingdom of Jordan and its from existing arrangements engenders far- status was recognized in the peace agreement 3 reaching political consequences.
    [Show full text]
  • View Daily Report
    Israeli Violations' Activities in the oPt 14 October 2014 The daily report highlights the violations behind Israeli home demolitions and demolition threats The Violations are based on in the occupied Palestinian territory, the reports provided by field workers confiscation and razing of lands, the uprooting and\or news sources. and destruction of fruit trees, the expansion of The text is not quoted directly settlements and erection of outposts, the brutality from the sources but is edited for of the Israeli Occupation Army, the Israeli settlers clarity. violence against Palestinian civilians and properties, the erection of checkpoints, the The daily report does not construction of the Israeli segregation wall and necessarily reflect ARIJ’s opinion. the issuance of military orders for the various Israeli purposes. Brutality of the Israeli Occupation Army Israeli Occupation Army (IOA) chased three Palestinian children while they were in their way to school in Silwan town in Jerusalem city. One of them was identified as Mahmoud Sa’ada (14 years), he fall from a high and broke his leg, and the IOA arrested Ali Da’na (14 years). (Maannews 14 October 2014) Israeli Occupation gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats while they were sailing at Rafah shore, south of Gaza strip. One of the boats was torched. (Al- Quds 14 October 2014) 1 Israeli Occupation Army (IOA) invaded Al-Khader High School for boys in the old city of Al-Khader. The IOA informed the school administration that they will surrounded the school until they arrest two students. (Wafa 14 October 2014) Israeli Occupation Army (IOA) invaded and toured in Arraba, Qabatiya, Misliya, Az-Zababida, and Meithalin villages in Jenin governorate.
    [Show full text]
  • The Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif – Archaeology in a Political Context
    The Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif – Archaeology in a Political Context 2017 March 2017 Table of contents >> Introduction 3 Written by: Yonathan Mizrachi >> Part I | The history of the Site: How the Temple Mount became the 0 Researchers: Emek Shaveh Haram al-Sharif 4 Edited by: Talya Ezrahi >> Part II | Changes in the Status of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif 0 Proof-editing: Noa Granot from the 19th century to the Present Day 7 Graphic Design: Lior Cohen Photographs: Emek Shaveh, Yael Ilan >> Part III | Changes around the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif and the 0 Mapping: Lior Cohen, Shai Efrati, Slava Pirsky impact on the Status Quo 11 >> Conclusion and Lessons 19 >> Maps 20 Emek Shaveh (cc) | Email: [email protected] | website www.alt-arch.org Emek Shaveh is an Israeli NGO working to prevent the politicization of archaeology in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and to protect ancient sites as public assets that belong to members of all communities, faiths and peoples. We view archaeology as a resource for building bridges and strengthening bonds between peoples and cultures. This publication was produced by Emek Shaveh (A public benefit corporation) with the support of the IHL Secretariat, the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs Switzerland (FDFA) the New Israeli Fund and CCFD. Responsibility for the information contained in this report belongs exclu- sively to Emek Shaveh. This information does not represent the opinions of the above mentioned donors. 2 Introduction Immediately after the 1967 War, Israel’s then Defense Minister Moshe Dayan declared that the Islamic Waqf would retain their authority over the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound.
    [Show full text]
  • Dangerous Grounds at Al- Haram Al-Sharif
    One of the most sacred sites on earth has become Dangerous a place of episodic chaos and cacophony, a Grounds at al- place where hatred and contempt are openly expressed, and where an unequal battle is being Haram al-Sharif: waged over incompatible claims. Spearheaded by “Temple Mount” groups, The Threats to the various Jewish “redemptionists” have mounted Status Quo a calibrated campaign for major unilateral Israeli changes to the Status Quo on the Haram Marian Houk al-Sharif (which Jews prefer to call the Temple Mount) in order to advance toward their goals “millimeter by millimeter”. The time has come, these organizations say, to brush aside what’s left of the inconvenient Status Quo arrangements, inherited from the Ottoman period and adapted by Moshe Dayan in June 1967, which left administration of the mosque esplanade in the hands of the Islamic Waqf (or “Trust Foundation”). The truth is, the Status Quo has already been tweaked a number of times – two of the most dramatic changes were in June 1967, after Israel’s conquest of the West Bank and Gaza, and again on 28 September 2000, when Ariel Sharon wanted to make a point, accompanied by about 1,000 armed Israeli soldiers and police. A third moment of change is occurring as this is written, with Israeli officials ordering the exclusion of Palestinian Muslim worshippers in order to make the Jewish visitors more comfortable, and Palestinians desperately trying to devise strategies to retain their acquired rights. What exists, now, on any given day, is a precarious balance of political and diplomatic interests as defined at any given moment by Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel's Religious Right and the Question Of
    ISRAEL’S RELIGIOUS RIGHT AND THE QUESTION OF SETTLEMENTS Middle East Report N°89 – 20 July 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... i I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 II. NATIONAL-RELIGIOUS FRAGMENTATION AND RADICALISATION............ 3 III. THE TIME OF THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX............................................................... 12 IV. JEWISH ACTIVIST TOOLS ........................................................................................ 17 A. RHETORIC OR REALITY? ............................................................................................................17 B. INSTITUTIONAL LEVERAGE ........................................................................................................17 1. Political representation...............................................................................................................17 2. The military................................................................................................................................20 3. Education ...................................................................................................................................24 C. A PARALLEL SYSTEM ................................................................................................................25 V. FROM CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE TO VIOLENCE ....................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Governmental Responsibility for Social Inclusion and Jewish-Arab Equality
    Jewish-Arab Equality Jewish-Arab Social Inclusion & Social Inclusion & Equality Governmental Responsibility for Social Inclusion and Jewish-Arab Equality in Israel in Israel Position Paper ✦ December 2008 Social Inclusion & Equality Governmental Responsibility for Social Inclusion and Jewish-Arab Equality in Israel Position Paper ✦ December 2008 G.G. Communications Center Neve Ilan Harey Yehuda 90850, Israel Tel: 972-2-5349300 Fax: 972-2-5349301 [email protected] ✦ www.abrahamfund.org Social Inclusion &&Equality 2 Social Inclusion &&Equality Overview Considering the deterioration of Jewish-Arab relations over the past decade, this paper proposes governmental actions needed to overcome divisions in Israeli society and achieve social inclusion and integration, inspired by examples from similar initiatives in Northern Ireland. This paper includes the following sections: 1. Background on the State of Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel 2. Government Action for Social Inclusion and Equality: The Northern Ireland Experience 3. Government Policies for Social Inclusion and Jewish-Arab Equality: The Benefits 4. Principles for Governmental Responsibility 5. Summary This position paper was initially presented at the 2008 Herzliya Conference. 3 Social Inclusion &&Equality 1 The Orr Commission Report, published after the October 2000 Background: events, constituted the first official recognition by a government The State of agency of the depth of discrimination and institutional exclusion Jewish-Arab experienced by Israel’s Arab citizens since the establishment of Relations in Israel the state. Many had believed that this seminal event would serve as a turning point in Jewish-Arab relations and be an opportunity for change in the government’s policy toward its Arab citizens.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel and the Middle East News Update
    Israel and the Middle East News Update Monday, January 14 Headlines: ​ ● Israel, in Rare Admission, Confirms Syria Strike ● Lapid and Livni Said to Be in Serious Unity Talks ● Lapid Pledges Not to Join Coalition if Netanyahu Indicted ● IDF Chief Urges Aid to Palestinian Security Forces ● Erdan: Israel Should Punish Abbas Over Gaza Measures ● Funding Shortage Leads to Cuts in Palestinian Food Aid ● Palestinians to Take Over Largest UN Bloc on Tuesday ● Smotrich vs. Ariel in National Union Primary Commentary: ● Forward: “How President Rivlin Appeals To Diaspora Jews” − By Jane Eisner, Editor-in-Chief ● New York Times: “The Man Who Humbled Qassim Suleimani” − By Bret Stephens, Senior Columnist S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● Aaron Zucker, Associate Editor ​ ​ News Excerpts ​ January 14, 2019 The New York Times Israel, in Rare Admission, Confirms Syria Strike Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged on Sunday that Israeli forces had attacked Iranian weapons warehouses in Syria. The rare admission came hours after the military announced it had exposed the sixth and final tunnel under its border with Lebanon, which it says the Iranian-backed Hezbollah dug, wrapping up a six-week operation to seal the cross-border tunnels. By lifting the veil on its campaign to curb Iranian influence, Israel appeared to be trying to convey confidence that the threats from across its northern frontiers were under control. Ha’aretz Lapid and Livni Said to Be in Serious Unity Talks The Yesh Atid and Hatnuah parties are holding serious talks on running a joint ticket in the upcoming Israeli election.
    [Show full text]
  • Israeli Decision Making.Pdf
    The Process of Israeli Decision Making: Mechanisms, Forces and Influences By Karim El-Gendy First published in 2010 by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations P.O. Box: 14-5034, Beirut, Lebanon Tel: +961 1 803644 Tel-fax: +961 1 803643 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.alzaytouna.net © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. For further information regarding permission(s), please write to: [email protected] The views expressed in this book are those of the author alone. They do not necessarily reflect views of al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations THE PROCESS OF ISRAELI DECISION MAKING M E C H A N I S M S, F O R C E S, A N D I N F L U E N C E S By Karim El-Gendy Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies & Consultations, Beirut, Lebanon The Process of Israeli Decision Making __________________________________________________ 3 Table of Contents Table of Contents ………………………………………………………… 3 I. Introduction ……………………………………………………… 6 II. The "Constitutional" Mechanism ……………………………… 13 1. The Knesset: …………………………………………………… 14 1.1. The Knesset’s composition ……………………………………. 14 1.2. The Knesset’s powers and functions …………………………... 16 2. The Cabinet: ………………………………………………….. 17 2.1. The Cabinet’s composition …………………………………... 17 2.2. The Cabinet’s powers and functions ………………………….. 18 3. The relationship between the Cabinet and the Knesset ………... 20 4. The Foreign Ministry Staff …………………………………….. 22 III. Forces and Processes within the Political System …………… 25 1. Coalition politics: …………………………………………… 26 1.1.
    [Show full text]
  • A National Or Religious Conflict? : the Dispute Over the Temple Mount/Al
    PERSPECTIVE | FES ISRAEL A National or Religious Conflict? The Dispute over the Temple Mount / Al-Haram Al-Sharif in Jerusalem MOSHE MA’OZ April 2015 n There is a danger that Arabs and Jews, the children of Abraham, are becoming in- creasingly engaged in a religious conflict. The major focus of this conflict is the Tem- ple Mount/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and East Jerusalem/Al-Quds Al-Sharif. Amalgamated with nationalist and political components of the Arab-Israeli dispute, this conflict also derives from two opposed processes: growing Islamic Judeophobia in the Arab and Muslim world, on the one hand; and accelerated Jewish Islamophobia in Israel and the diaspora, on the other. n Top Israeli and Palestinian leaders, eager to score political gains, have not put an end to these dangerous phenomena. Mahmud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, is not in a position to curb his people’s anger and frustration regarding alleged Jewish intentions to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli Prime Minister Ben- yamin Netanyahu and other right-wing Israeli leaders continue to use the Jewish sanctity of the Temple Mount to garner public support. n Given this situation, the new Israeli government must negotiate with the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League, and arrive at an agreed solution. The United States and the European Union should induce the relevant parties to settle their differ­­en- ces, particularly over the issue of the Temple Mount / Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Otherwise, a bloody Muslim-Jewish conflict may spread globally, especially in European coun- tries. Thus, these countries have a special interest in promoting peaceful dialogues among their Muslim and Jewish citizens.
    [Show full text]
  • Implications of Israel's New Cabinet | the Washington Institute
    MENU Policy Analysis / PolicyWatch 2053 Implications of Israel's New Cabinet by David Makovsky Mar 22, 2013 ABOUT THE AUTHORS David Makovsky David Makovsky is the Ziegler distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations. Brief Analysis A look at the major incoming players in the new Israeli government and where they stand on Iran, the Palestinians, and other key issues. ow that President Obama has completed his visit to Israel, Israelis will return their focus to those figures who N will play a significant role in the country's new government. With the governing coalition consisting of 68 members out of 120 Knesset members in total, certain ministers will shape key foreign policy decisions, and some of these ministers have little foreign policy experience. The list that follows gives a sense of the major incoming players and how they stand on issues ranging from the Iran nuclear crisis to relations with the Palestinians. DEFENSE MINISTER MOSHE (BOGIE) YAALON T he Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff during the second Palestinian intifada, Yaalon is considered one of the few potential successors to Binyamin Netanyahu within the Likud. On the Iran issue, Yaalon is considered less enthusiastic about the idea of a unilateral strike than his predecessor, Ehud Barak. Along with Dan Meridor and Benny Begin, Yaalon was seen as a skeptic regarding such a strike within the "octet," as the members of Netanyahu's weekly national security forum on Iran are known. Yaalon's preference seemingly would be ratcheted-up sanctions and a full trade embargo enforced by the international community -- if possible, before Iran's June election.
    [Show full text]