Middle East Strategy at Harvard

From Alan Dowty
The meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu has triggered a stampede of soothsayers. Every aspect of their encounter is scrutinized for clues to their personal chemistry and, by extension, the future course of U.S.-Israeli relations. But these relations are rooted in forces more fundamental than personalities, intriguing as these two iconic [...]

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From MESH Admin
From May 31 to June 4, Israel will conduct its largest country-wide civil defense drill ever, code-named “Turning Point 3.” At its height, on June 2, a siren will sound, and all Israelis will be expected to enter protected rooms and shelters for a few minutes. In advance of the drill, Israel’s Home [...]

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From Robert O. Freedman
As Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu prepares to meet U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, there are a number of issues on the table for discussion, including questions about Netanyahu’s willingness to accept a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel’s building of settlements and settlement outposts on the West Bank, [...]

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From Stephen Peter Rosen
The prospect of being hanged, we are told, wonderfully concentrates the mind, but on what? The prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon now concentrates our attention on the possibility of Israeli preventive military action or on American sanctions, both of which might prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. These are important policy [...]

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From Alan Dowty
Israeli public discourse over Iran’s nuclear weapons program is dominated by two analogies: the Holocaust and the 1981 Israeli attack on the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq.
The prominence of the Holocaust—the most horrific genocide in human history—should be no surprise. Jewish history seen through the Zionist lens is a chronicle of powerlessness and [...]

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From MESH Admin
The latest contribution to Middle East Papers is by Robert O. Freedman, who blogs about Israeli affairs at MESH. As Iran’s nuclear drive continues unimpeded, and the Obama administration pursues a policy of “engagement,” Israel approaches a moment of decision. Freedman explains why diplomacy and sanctions are unlikely to succeed, and considers plausible [...]

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From Robert O. Freedman
As Binyamin Netanyahu takes over as Israel’s new prime minister, the key to the future of his government may well be Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the predominantly Russian-immigrant-based Yisrael Beiteinu Party, who was selected by Netanyahu as his foreign minister.

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