DOCSLIB.ORG

Israel and the Middle East News Update

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Israel and the Middle East News Update Israel and the Middle East News Update Monday, May 23 Headlines: Lieberman: Coalition Talks with Likud Have Hit a ‘Dead End’ Bennett Ultimatum to Bib: Fix Security Cabinet Defects or No Coalition Deal PM: I’m Responsible for Israel’s Defense, ‘Stop the Crying’ Herzog Under Attack by Own Party After Failed Coalition Effort In Scrapped Coalition Deal, PM Takes Positive Stance on Arab Peace Initiative Bibi Urges France to Ditch Regional Parley, Set Up Two-Way Summit w/Abbas New U.S. Defense Bill Includes $600 Million for Missile Defense Israel Resumes Cement Shipments to Gaza for Reconstruction Commentary: The New York Times: “Israel’s Army Goes to War with Its Politicians” By Ronen Bergman, Senior Military and Intelligence Correspondent, Yedioth Ahronoth Times of Israel: “Why Bibi Dumping Defense Minister Was No Ordinary Move” By David Horovitz, Founding Editor, Times of Israel S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● David Abreu, Associate Editor News Excerpts May 23, 2016 Arutz Sheva Lieberman: Coalition Talks with Likud Have Hit a ‘Dead End’ Yisrael Beiteinu chairperson Avigdor Liberman spoke about the coalition negotiations with Likud during a meeting of his party on Monday, and revealed the talks have hit a dead end. "Unfortunately we still haven't reached agreements in terms of the pension reform, and we are waiting for another offer," said Liberman, who was given his request to be appointed Defense Minister. Another condition Liberman had claimed last week was applying the death penalty for terrorist murderers, but he apparently has folded on that demand. See also, “Netanyahu Rejects Lieberman Claim That Coalition Talks Hit Dead End” (Ynet News) Jerusalem Post Bennett Ultimatum: Fix Cabinet Defects or No Coalition Deal As the government scrambles to solidify coalition changes, Education Minister and Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an ultimatum on Monday, calling on him to fix what he said were problems within the cabinet in order to receive approval for Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman to join the government. Bennett said his call came "In light of the lessons learned from Operation Protective Edge and the Second Lebanon War, in which cabinet members did not share quality intelligence and weren't properly trained for their roles, when tested with the responsibility for the army." Times of Israel PM: I'm Responsible for Israel's Defense, 'Stop the Crying' Seeking to assuage fears over the expected appointment of Avigdor Liberman as defense minister, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said he has the final word on Israel’s security operations. The prime minister also urged Israelis to stop their “crying and moaning,” over the dramatic political shake-up that saw former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon abruptly leave political life on Friday, with Liberman set to replace him and bring his five-seat Yisrael Beiteinu party into the razor-thin coalition. See also, “PM: Quit Crying and Moaning” (Ynet News) Ynet News Herzog Attacked by Own Party After Failed Coalition Effort Opposition leader Isaac Herzog came under scathing criticism from his own Zionist Union party on Sunday in the wake of his failed attempt to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. During a stormy faction meeting Herzog sought to explain his actions when he found himself under attack by his own supporters. Five MKs from the Labor party—Stav Shaffir, Shelly Yachimovich, Erel Margalit, Mickey Rosenthal and Yossi Yona—decided to boycott the meeting, signaling their opposition his actions. Justifying the boycott, Rosenthal said that “I lost faith in the chairman of my party and his abilities to lead the opposition against Netanyahu.” See also, “Herzog Declares Coalition Talks 'Over and Done'” (Times of Israel) 2 Times of Israel In Scrapped Coalition Deal, PM Took Positive Stance on API A clause in the scrapped coalition agreement between the Likud party and the Zionist Union stated that the government would “relate positively” to the idea of a regional reconciliation agreement between Israel and several Arab states, as well as to certain elements of the Arab Peace Initiative to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The clause in the document further stated that Israel would “express a readiness for the first time to enter a dialogue on the matter with the relevant Arab states.” The contents of the file were confirmed by the Prime Minister’s Office. See also “Netanyahu: Arab Nations Can Help Bring ‘Real Peace’” (Breaking Israel News) Ha’aretz Bibi Urges France to Ditch Peace Confab for a Summit w/ Abbas Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged his French counterpart to ditch the idea of a regional peace conference in Paris and, instead, to set up a bipartite meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. At the start of his meeting with Manuel Valls in Jerusalem on Monday, Netanyahu reiterated his view that direct talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders would be more effective than a regional conference with many participants. Valls arrived in to Israel on Sunday and is also scheduled to meet with Abbas in Ramallah. The French peace initiative will be one of the main topics discussed during the visit. See also, “Netanyahu Rejects Paris Peace Bid, But Offers to Meet Abbas” (Times of Israel) Ha’aretz New U.S. Defense Bill Includes $600 Million for Missile Defense A number of measures for Israel have been attached to a defense spending bill approved in the U.S. House of Representatives, including $600 million in missile defense cooperation. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Thursday welcomed the missile defense component of National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that outlines defense spending policies. The spending “will help Israel defend its citizens against rocket and missile threats, and contribute to America’s missile defense,” AIPAC said a day after the House approved the act. Voice of America Israel Resumes Cement Shipments for Gaza Reconstruction Israel resumed cement shipments to the Gaza Strip on Monday, ending a 45-day-old ban it imposed after it accused the Palestinian enclave's Hamas rulers of seizing some of the stock meant for rebuilding homes destroyed in a 2014 war. Hamas has denied Israeli charges that it siphons off cement imports to fortify attack tunnels. Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, welcomed the resumption of the shipments, saying in a statement that "all sides need to ensure that cement deliveries reach their intended beneficiaries and are used solely for civilian purposes." 3 The New York Times – May 21, 2016 Israel’s Army Goes to War with Its Politicians By Ronen Bergman In most countries, the political class supervises the defense establishment and restrains its leaders from violating human rights or pursuing dangerous, aggressive policies. In Israel, the opposite is happening. Here, politicians blatantly trample the state’s values and laws and seek belligerent solutions, while the chiefs of the Israel Defense Forces and the heads of the intelligence agencies try to calm and restrain them. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offer last week of the post of defense minister to Avigdor Lieberman, a pugnacious ultranationalist politician, is the latest act in the war between Mr. Netanyahu and the military and intelligence leaders, a conflict that has no end in sight but could further erode the rule of law and human rights, or lead to a dangerous, superfluous military campaign. The prime minister sees the defense establishment as a competitor to his authority and an opponent of his goals. Putting Mr. Lieberman, an impulsive and reckless extremist, in charge of the military is a clear signal that the generals’ and the intelligence chiefs’ opposition will no longer be tolerated. Mr. Lieberman is known for ruthlessly quashing people who hold opposing views. This latest round of this conflict began on March 24: Elor Azariah, a sergeant in the I.D.F., shot and killed a Palestinian assailant who was lying wounded on the ground after stabbing one of Sergeant Azariah’s comrades. The I.D.F. top brass condemned the killing. A spokesman for Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, the chief of staff, said, “This isn’t the I.D.F., these are not the I.D.F.’s values.” But right-wing politicians backed Sergeant Azariah. “I.D.F. soldiers, our children, stand before murderous attacks by terrorists who come to kill them,” the prime minister said. “They have to make decisions in real time.” Mr. Lieberman, then still the leader of a small far- right opposition party, turned up in military court to support the soldier. Mr. Netanyahu also called the soldier’s father to offer support. An I.D.F. general told me that the top brass saw the telephone call as a gross defiance of the military’s authority. The deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, chose one of the most sensitive dates on the Israeli calendar, Holocaust Memorial Eve, to react: He suggested that Israel today in some ways resembles Germany in the 1930s. Mr. Netanyahu countered that General Golan’s words do Israel an injustice and “cheapen the Holocaust.” His defense minister, Moshe Ya’alon, a former chief of staff and a member of Mr. Netanyahu’s party, backed the army. He told a gathering of top officers to speak freely, even if it went against political leaders. The prime minister summoned Mr. Ya’alon to an “urgent clarification discussion.” Shortly after, he invited Mr. Lieberman to join the government coalition with his small parliamentary faction and offered him the defense portfolio. In Israel’s short history, army commanders and the heads of the intelligence agencies have often advocated the use of force and in many cases showed contempt for the law and human rights.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • And Other Enemies of the People
    ‘Anti-Zionists’ and other Enemies of the People “Did you know? Jeremy Bird, the American strategist, who came to help the left oust Bibi comes from anti-Israeli circles that argue that Gaza is the only place in the world in which soldiers [IDF] kill kids for sport.”(My Israel: Doing Zionism) A couple of weeks ago, Labor MK Stav Shaffir’s impromptu Knesset speech went viral. Social media called it “Who is a Zionist?” Shaffir attacked Habayt Hayehudi’s MKs for pretending they are “more Zionist than Ben-Gurion,” while taking public money and giving it to their friends in the Yesha Council. “Real Zionism,” she said “means dividing the budget equally among all the citizens of the country. Real Zionism is taking care of the weak. Real Zionism is solidarity, not only in battle but in everyday life.” Shaffir was responding to Naftali Bennett and Binyamin Netanyahu’s attack on the Zionist camp for being “Anti-Zionist.” Both Bennett and Netanyahu picked a list of candidates on Labor’s list and labeled them anti-Zionist: MK Merav Michaeli once said Israeli mothers should not send their sons to the army; MK Stav Shaffir, according to a book on the 2011 social protests, called “Hatikva” a racist song; Prof. Yossi Yona said he does not connect to the concept of Zionism; Zouheir Bahloul said his Palestinian identity is stronger than his Israeli identity. Bennett called on former President Yitzhak Navon not to join the Zionist Camp list in the honorary last place (120). “This is not a ‘Zionist Camp’, nor is it Zionism,” Bennett declared.
    [Show full text]
  • FYS 1602 Understanding Israeli-Palestinian Relations
    Carleton University Winter 2009 Department of Political Science PSCI 3702A Peace and Conflict in the Middle East Thursdays 8.35-11.25 Please confirm location on Carleton Central Professor Mira Sucharov Office: B649 Loeb Office Hours: W&Th 11:45-1:30 Phone: 520-2600 x. 3131 Email: [email protected] Please note that I check my email much more frequently than my voice mail. Course Description: This course offers a conceptual and theoretical analysis of the contemporary Middle East through an exploration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace process. Using the lens of political science and international relations (IR) theory, we will address questions such as what is nationalism? How is identity created? What is the role of historical memory in shaping foreign policy? How do international conflicts start, sustain themselves, and ultimately end? What are the basic issues at stake for the actors in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict? And why, despite continued efforts at peacemaking, are the parties still “at war?” While the conflict often leads to impassioned debate, we will make an effort to address the issues through an explanatory – rather than moral – lens. The course will not attempt to argue that one party is right or wrong; instead, we will, according to the aims of social science, attempt to understand and explain why various actors act the way they do. To this end, we will make use of the website “bitterlemons.org,” where Israelis and Palestinians each give their “take” on an issue. We will analyze these debates in order to understand the experience of each side in the conflict, rather than to adjudicate between them.
    [Show full text]
  • It's the Settlements, Stupid
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/its-the-settlements-stupid/ It’s the settlements, stupid By David Horovitz October 14, 2014, 3:25 pm timesofisrael.com ‘The next few minutes will be personally rather painful for me… I was a friend of Israel long before I became a Tory. My wife’s family were instrumental in the creation of the Jewish state. Indeed, some of them were with Weizmann at the Paris conference [of 1919]… In the Six Day War, I became personally involved. There was a major attempt to destroy Israel… Six years later, in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the same situation happened again… “I have stood by Israel through thick and thin, through the good years and the bad. I have sat down with ministers and senior Israeli politicians and urged peaceful negotiations and a proportionate response to prevarication, and I thought that they were listening. But I realize now, in truth, looking back over the past 20 years, that Israel has been slowly drifting away from world public opinion. The annexation of the 950 acres of the West Bank just a few months ago has outraged me more than anything else in my political life, mainly because it makes me look a fool, and that is something that I resent… “I am not yet convinced that it [Palestine] is fit to be a state… Under normal circumstances, I would oppose the motion tonight; but such is my anger over Israel’s behavior in recent months that I will not oppose the motion. I have to say to the Government of Israel that if they are losing people like me, they will be losing a lot of people.” – Sir Richard Ottaway, Conservative MP for Croydon South, who visited Israel with his wife on a Conservative Friends of Israel trip three years ago.
    [Show full text]
  • NGO Comments on the Initial Israeli State Report on Implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
    NGO Comments on the Initial Israeli State Report on Implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Mixed Bag: Lawmaking to Promote Children’s Rights, Ongoing Discrimination, and Many Serious Violations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prepared for the Pre-sessional Working Group UN Committee on the Rights of the Child – 31st Session by Defense for Children International – Israel Section in consultation with members of The Israeli Children's Rights Coalition April 2002 DCI-Israel and Coalition page 2 NGO Report This NGO Report was prepared by Defense for Children International – Israel in consultation with members of the Israeli Children’s Rights Coalition. However, this report represents the views of DCI – Israel alone. Members of the Israel Children’s Rights Coalition do not necessarily support all aspects of the Report. A preliminary draft report written by Hephzibah Levine was circulated among coalition members. The contributions and comments by members of the Israel Children’s Rights Coalition have been integrated into the report by Dr. Philip Veerman, who also did a systematic analysis of the implementation of all of the articles of the CRC, further research and rewriting. Radda Barnen (Swedish Save the Children) and the Haella Foundation in the Netherlands contributed financial support for the production of this report by DCI – Israel in cooperation with the NGO’s. ISBN 965-90445-0-X © All Rights Reserved by Defense for Children International-Israel, Jerusalem, 2002 Deposited at the Register of Publications in the Israel Center for Libraries, Bnai Brak. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher, the Israel section of Defense for Children International, (DCI- Israel) P.O Box 8028, Jerusalem, 92384, Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • Help Starts Here
    INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MISSION TO ISRAEL TENTATIVE ITINERARY Join this mission for one, two, or all 7-days – all according to your availability and time-frame. th Monday September 8th | Arrival Friday, September 12 | Shabbat Preparation AM Breakfast at hotel. PM Arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport. Visit to the Kotel for private reflection. Transfer to Ashkelon/ Jerusalem. PM Machne Yehuda, 'The Shuk', experience the pre Shabbat buzz Check in to hotel. in Jerusalem's famous market. EVE Dinner and guest speaker David Horovitz, Lunch on own. Founding Editor of The Times of Israel. Drive South for Shabbat in Ashkelon/Ein Zurim. Overnight: Jerusalem EVE Check in to the kibbutz. Optional Kabbalat Shabbat Services. ! Overnight: Ein Zurim/Ashkelon Tuesday September 9th | Life in the Region AM Breakfast at hotel. ! Tour of Sderot - Sderot Media Center. ! th Volunteering in Sderot. Shabbat, September 13 | Option: Hotel in Ashkelon PM Lunch in Sderot Restaurant. or the religious Kibbutz Ein Zurim Briefing about the aims and rationale of the IDF action in Gaza. AM Breakfast at hotel. Visiting wounded soldiers. Optional services. Iron Dome visit and explanation. Guest speaker. Return to hotel. PM Lunch with kibbutznikim or local community in Ashkelon. EVE Dinner at the hotel with local residents. Guest speaker and free time to use the hotel or kibbutz facilities. Overnight: Jerusalem EVE Dinner and free evening in Ashkelon ! Overnight: Ein Zurim/Ashkelon ! ! Wednesday September 10th | Supportive Organizations ! AM Breakfast at hotel. Sunday, September 14th | First Aid and Humanitarian Aid i24 Israel's new 24 hour news channel and the front line of Israel AM Early breakfast at hotel.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel and Hamas: Conflict in Gaza (2008-2009)
    = 87&*1=&3)= &2&8a=43+1.(9=.3=&?&=,**28,**3== .2=&3499.`= 447).3&947= 3&1>89=.3= .))1*=&89*73=++&.78= &741=.,)&14;.9?= 5*(.&1.89=.3= .))1*=&89*73=++&.78= *7*2>=_=-&75= 5*(.&1.89=.3= .))1*=&89*73=++&.78= &8*>=_=)).8= 3&1>89=.3= .))1*=&89*73=++&.78= -7.8945-*7=_=1&3(-&7)= 3&1>89=.3= .))1*=&89*73=++&.78= -4)&=&7,*8843= 5*(.&1.89=.3=39*73&9.43&1=:2&3.9&7.&3=41.(>= *'7:&7>=+3`=,**3= 43,7*88.43&1= *8*&7(-=*7;.(*= 18/1**= <<<_(78_,4;= .*+*+= =*5479=+47=43,7*88 Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress 87&*1=&3)= &2&8a= 43+1.(9=.3=&?&=,**28,**3== = :22&7>= On December 27, 2008, Israel launched a major military campaign dubbed “Operation Cast Lead” against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli offensive came in response to markedly increased Palestinian rocket fire following the expiration of a six-month cease-fire on December 19. On January 3, 2009, Israel began a ground offensive into Gaza. Despite international pressure to halt the fighting (including the passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1860 on January 8), the conflict continued until January 18, when Israel unilaterally ceased fire and Hamas followed suit shortly thereafter. Israel’s technological superiority and reliance on heavy armor and firepower contributed to a wide disparity in casualties—approximately 1,440 Palestinians have died (with some organizations estimating that at least half of the dead are civilians), compared with 13 dead (including four civilians) on the Israeli side.
    [Show full text]
  • The Jewish Agency South Africa: a Year in Review
    ZIONIST ANNUAL REPORT DGNJSR The Jewish Agency South Africa: A Year in Review 2013 DGNJSR TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THE ISRAEL CENTRE 2 GREETINGS 4-6 ISRAEL ENCOUNTER 2013 7 THE JEWISH AGENCY MISHLACHAT 8-9 (DELEGATION) TO SOUTH AFRICA 2013-14 THE ISRAEL QUIZ 2013 10 ZIONIST CARAVAN 11 ALIYAH2GETHER 12 HIGHER EDUCATION EXPO 13 ABOUT THE ISRAEL CENTRE The Israel Centre represents The Jewish Agency for Israel in South Africa. We are committed CYCALIVE 14 to strengthening the connection between the South African Jewish community and the PARTNERSHIP2GETHER ARTISTS DELEGATION 15 State of Israel, through various programmes and comprehensive Zionist Education. ALIYAH NOW EXPO 2013 16 Through Partnership2Gether, we are proud to join with the Beit Shemesh-Mateh Yehuda region in Israel and Washington DC to connect Jewish Communities in Israel and the PARTNERSHIP2GETHER COEXISTENCE SOCCER DELEGATION 17 Diaspora. ZIONIST YOUTH MOVEMENTS 18-19 Working closely with our Shlichim, we maintain vital ties with our Zionist Youth SAZF ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT 2013 20-23 Movements. JNF ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT 2013 24-25 The Israel Centre offers various educational programmes, including Israel Encounter and ABOUT THE SOUTH AFRICAN ZIONIST FEDERATION 26 Masa Israel Journey gap year, study abroad, post-college and volunteer programs in Israel. With over 200 unique programmes on offer, the Israel Centre does its best to match the ABOUT THE JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL 26 most suitable programme to the individual. Through our Maoz Education Program, the Israel Centre works closely with the formal and informal Jewish education systems to create and maintain the vital bond between young Jews and Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • The Unexplored Option: Jewish Settlements in a Palestinian State
    Penn State International Law Review Volume 25 Article 4 Number 1 Penn State International Law Review 7-1-2006 The nexU plored Option: Jewish Settlements in a Palestinian State David Morris Philip Follow this and additional works at: http://elibrary.law.psu.edu/psilr Recommended Citation Philip, David Morris (2006) "The nexU plored Option: Jewish Settlements in a Palestinian State," Penn State International Law Review: Vol. 25: No. 1, Article 4. Available at: http://elibrary.law.psu.edu/psilr/vol25/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Penn State Law eLibrary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Penn State International Law Review by an authorized administrator of Penn State Law eLibrary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Unexplored Option: Jewish Settlements in a Palestinian State David Morris Phillips* I. Introduction The withdrawal of Israeli settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip in August and September 2005 inevitably focused both Israeli and world attention upon the fate of Jewish settlements on the West Bank.' World focus only intensified with formation of a new Israeli government led by the Kadima party and its head, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,2 following Hamas' victory in the Palestinian National Authority elections.3 In accord with prior campaign pledges,4 0 lmert announced his intention to * Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law. This article was presented at faculty seminars at Touro Law School and Northeastern University School of Law. The author would like to thank Darleen Cantelo, Sholom Fine and Stacey Dippong, Northeastern University law students, and Sue Zago, Sharon Persons, and Alfreda Russell, Northeastern University law librarians, for their invaluable research assistance.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel's Next Northern War: Operational and Legal Challenges
    Israel’s Next Northern War: Operational and Legal Challenges JINSA’s Gemunder Center Hybrid Warfare Task Force October 2018 DISCLAIMER The findings and recommendations contained in this publication are solely those of the authors. Task Force and Staff Members General Gilmary M. Hostage, USAF (ret.) Former Commander, Air Combat Command Lieutenant General Richard Natonski, USMC (ret.) Former Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command Lieutenant General Michael S. Tucker, USA (ret.) Former Commanding General, First United States Army Colonel Marc Warren, USA (ret.) Former Senior Staff Judge Advocate for Coalition Forces in Iraq Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Corn, USA (ret.) Presidential Research Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law, Houston Gemunder Center Staff Michael Makovsky, PhD President & CEO Jonathan Ruhe Associate Director Ari Cicurel Policy Analyst Harry Hoshovsky Policy Analyst Table of Contents I. Executive Summary 7 II. Introduction 15 III. Reality and Perception: LOAC and IDF Doctrine 18 A. How Does International Law Regulate War? 1. Jus ad Bellum 2. Jus in Bello B. IDF LOAC Protections C. Israel’s Strategic Communications Challenges IV. Losing the Battle, Winning the War: Israel's Adversaries Weaponize the Law 28 A. Weaponizing the Law B. Second Lebanon War C. 2014 Gaza Conflict D. Implications: Turning Defeat into Delegitimization V. Hezbollah's Ascendance 36 A. Strategic Context and Flashpoints 1. Hezbollah: Iran’s Primary Terrorist Proxy 2. Failures of UNSCR 1701 3. Hezbollah’s Growing Power in Lebanon 4. Iran Transforms Hezbollah into Unprecedented Threat 5. Escalating Tensions in Syria and Beyond B. Hezbollah’s Capabilities and Strategy 1. Increasingly Large, Accurate and Lethal Missile Arsenal 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cost of Occupation
    The Cost of Occupation The Burden of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict 2010 Report SHLOMO SWIRSKI JUNE 2010 POB 36529 Tel Aviv 61364 Phone: 03-5608871 Fax: 03-5602205 [email protected] Board of Directors Dr. Yossi Dahan, Chair Ms. Gilberte Finkel, Treasurer Professor Ismael Abu-Saad Dr. Nitza Berkovitch Dr. Dani Filc Professor Rachel Kallus Professor (Emeritus) Hubert Law-Yone Professor Uri Ram Dr. Yitzhak Saporta Professor Rivka Savaiya Professor Oren Yiftachel Professor Yossi Yona Audit Committee Attorney Ovadia Golestany Attorney Dori Spivak Staff Executive Director: Ms. Barbara Swirski Academic Director: Dr. Shlomo Swirski Research Coordinator: Ms. Etty Konor-Attias Researcher: Attorney Noga Dagan-Buzaglo Economists: Ms. Safa Agbaria, Ms. Hala Abu-Khala, and Ms. Yael Slater Researcher & Co-coordinator, Women’s Budget Forum: Ms. Yael Hasson Co-coordinator, Women’s Budget Forum: Ms. Maysoon Badawi Advocacy Expert, Women’s Budget Forum: Ms. Valeria Seigelshifer Popular Education Coordinator: Ms. Nelly Markman Office Manager: Ms. Mira Oppenheim 2 3 3 The Cost of Occupation ADVA CENTER 2010 The Cost of Occupation The Burden of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 2010 Report The Burden of the Conflict June 2010 marks the 43rd anniversary of the Six economic development, possibilities of self defense, Day War, during which Israel occupied all of the immigration policy, freedom of movement and freedom area of Mandatory Eretz-Yisrael/Palestine. Since then, of trade. the fate of the area has been in Israel’s hands. While Both sides are paying a high price for the absence of Israel cannot institute a political solution unilaterally, it a political solution to the conflict for over a hundred is the party to the conflict that holds most of the cards, years.
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond Images Project
    THE BEYOND IMAGES PROJECT www.beyondimages.info Israel website guide: Resources for busy advocates by Andrew White - last updated 28 August 2010 The purpose of this guide…. and how it is organised Many people wish to speak up for Israel. This guide to websites is designed to support advocacy which is coherent, well-informed, humane, pro-active and balanced. The guide is divided into the following categories (and there is some overlap between them): News, analysis and the Israeli government Gaza, Israel and Hamas – specific resources Thinktanks International law, Israel and the Middle East Advocacy tools, resources and techniques Israeli society Israel‟s medical and humanitarian contributions around the world Jewish-Arab coexistence projects in Israel Media monitoring projects on Israel Monitoring media in the Arab and Muslim world NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) How have the websites been chosen? There are many websites on Israel. Obviously, this guide is very selective. I highlight resources which focus on education and information. I do not cover the (often excellent) websites of Zionist federations, lobbying or communal organisations or party political groups, because their sites normally have a different emphasis. I have chosen to provide a diverse range of sites, which reflects the diversity of opinion in Israel itself. All listed websites are in English. Many offer multiple languages. See each site for details. Andrew White is a London-based lawyer, founder of the Israel advocacy/education project Beyond Images, and author of the Beyond Images website (www.beyondimages.info). All opinions expressed below about sites, and site selections, are Andrew‟s personal opinions.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel: Background and U.S. Relations
    Israel: Background and U.S. Relations Jim Zanotti Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs February 27, 2015 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL33476 Israel: Background and U.S. Relations Summary Since Israel’s founding in 1948, successive U.S. Presidents and many Members of Congress have demonstrated a commitment to Israel’s security and to maintaining close U.S.-Israel cooperation. Bilateral closeness has been based on common perceptions of shared democratic values and religious affinities. The question of Israel’s security regularly influences U.S. policy considerations regarding the Middle East, and Congress provides active oversight of executive branch dealings with Israel and other actors in the region. Israel is a leading recipient of U.S. foreign aid and a frequent purchaser of major U.S. weapons systems. By law, U.S. arms sales cannot adversely affect Israel’s “qualitative military edge” over other countries in its region. The two countries signed a free trade agreement in 1985, and the United States is Israel’s largest trading partner. Israel has many regional security concerns. Aligning U.S. and Israeli policies to address these concerns has presented persistent challenges. By voicing criticism of international diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear program, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu may seek to give Israel a voice in an ongoing negotiating process in which it does not directly participate, though observers debate whether his efforts are more likely to boost or diminish his influence over outcomes. Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint meeting of Congress on the matter on March 3, 2015. In addition to concerns over Iran, Israel’s perceptions of security around its borders have changed since 2011 as several surrounding Arab countries have experienced political upheaval.
    [Show full text]