Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Samira Shackle
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Ceasefire needs serious effort if it's to be a prelude to peace
The last eight days have seen the deaths of 150 Palestinians and five Israelis. Hamas launched around 1,000 rockets into Israel, which pounded Gaza with more than 1,500 air strikes. With the cycle of violence continuing and the death toll rising, the announcement of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday...
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What does an Irish EU presidency mean for Israel?
Israel’s relations with the European Union are not at a high at the moment. Indeed, an unusually strong condemnation by the EU of Israel’s continued construction of illegal settlements led some foreign policy experts to go so far as to say that the relationship is at an all time...
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No need for panic over Chuck Hagel
If Chuck Hagel, Barack Obama’s nominee for Defense Secretary, is appointed, it would be a “slap in the face for pro-Israel Americans”, according to the Republican Jewish Coalition. Senator Lindsay Graham said Hagel would be “the most antagonistic Secretary of Defense toward the state of Israel in our nation’s...
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Qatar's enigmatic diplomacy and the Arab Spring
This week, 48 Iranian prisoners being held by rebels in Syria were freed, in return for 2,100 prisoners being held by the Syrian authorities. It was one of the biggest prisoner swaps since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad began nearly two years ago. But that is not the only...
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As the death toll in Syria rises, hope for a diplomatic solution fades by the minute
Syria’s bloody civil war has been going on for nearly two years. Two things are certain. Firstly, we are no closer to a diplomatic solution. The International Crisis Group has called out the international community’s “divisions, dysfunctionality, and powerlessness” in failing to reach one. Secondly, this stalemate is costing...
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What does the election of another Likud-led coalition mean?
Israel’s general election will take place on Tuesday 22 January. It has long been forecast that Binyamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister, will win a comfortable majority. Opinion polls have varied in recent months, but the consensus remains that the next government will be another Likud-led coalition. The party...
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Netanyahu's opportunism and the crisis in Mali
Eleven days ago, France launched an operation in Mali to help the government push back Islamist rebels with links to Al-Qaeda. The move had considerable international support. One of the world leaders congratulating French president Francois Hollande for taking action was Israel’s Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. “You took a...
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Jordan's reluctant reformer
During 2011’s Arab Spring, protests swept the Middle East. Dictators were ousted, civil wars erupted, and even countries where out and out regime change was not on the cards saw rumblings of discontent. No country was completely exempt. Jordan was one such relatively stable nation. Its monarchy has remained...
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Israeli government imposition of contraception on Ethiopian Jews causes 50% drop in birth-rate
Birth rates among Israel’s Ethiopian Jewish community have fallen by nearly 50 per cent in the last 10 years. Now, for the first time, a government official has acknowledged that women of Ethiopian origin were being injected with the contraceptive drug Depo-Provera, frequently without their consent. In a letter,...
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What next after Israel's attack on Syria?
On Wednesday, an Israeli air strike hit a target on the Syrian-Lebanese border. It is still unclear exactly what the target was. Syrian state television claims that warplanes were aiming for a “scientific research centre” near Damascus, while other reports suggest that they hit a convoy carrying anti-aircraft weapons...
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Israel's tussle with the Vatican over the site of Jesus' Last Supper undecided
Jerusalem is a city rich in religious history and holy sites for three of the Abrahamic religions. This is one of the reasons it has been so hotly contested. In particular, one building on Mount Zion in Jerusalem epitomises these rival claims. The ground floor is a Jewish holy site...
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Corruption still plagues armed forces across the Middle East
“I believe that the will of the people is resolved by a strong leadership,” the former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir once said. “Even in a democratic society, events depend on a strong leadership with a strong power of persuasion, and not on the opinion of the masses.” This...
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Why is Obama going to Israel?
Despite the close relationship between the two countries, it is unusual for sitting US presidents to visit Israel. Since the Jewish state was formed in 1948, only four US presidents have visited whilst in office – Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W Bush. Although Barack Obama...
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Hopes for a diplomatic solution with Iran
Amid talk of the economy and jobs in this year’s State of the Union address, Barack Obama called for Iran’s leaders to “recognise that now is the time for a diplomatic solution” over the country’s nuclear programme. He added: “we will do what is necessary to prevent them from...
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More questions than answers about Prisoner X
The basic facts of the “Prisoner X” case are like something out of a Kafka-esque nightmare. The man, also referred to as “Mr X”, was imprisoned in Ayalon Prison, a maximum security jail in Israel. His arrest was so shrouded in secrecy that even his guards did not know...
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Is Russia part of the problem or the solution in Syria?
Throughout the Syrian conflict, Russia has stood firmly by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Along with Iran, the country has defended its ally against calls by western powers for ever greater sanctions. The schism between Russia and other countries in the Security Council has consigned the UN to...
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Egypt's opposition must decide whether it wants to be part of the political process
In recent weeks, Egypt has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. As the two year anniversary of the revolution which ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak arrived, riots erupted in many parts of the country. More than 1000 were injured and more than 70 killed in protests against...
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Canada steps out of line on Palestine
In November 2012, 138 out of 193 member countries voted to upgrade Palestine’s United Nations status to that of “non-member observer state”. It was a way of symbolically supporting the Palestinian cause and right to statehood, as well as giving Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas a boost, as rival...
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Israel is adding obstacles to peace
Increasingly, Jewish settlements in the West Bank are defined by the international community as the biggest obstacle to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. However, Israel is seeking to redefine that consensus by putting another obstacle on the table: how the UN defines Palestinian refugees. At a meeting of...
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King Abdullah placates his American audience and angers many at home
By all accounts, Jordan’s King Abdullah II prides himself on being blunt. That is certainly in evidence in Jeffrey Goldberg’s long profile in the Atlantic, which was based on several interviews with the monarch, carried out over the course of four months. Other Middle Eastern leaders, the Jordanian secret...
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What does Israel's apology mean for future relations with Turkey?
In May 2010, the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship, led a flotilla bound for Gaza, which planned to break the Israeli naval blockade. It was a humanitarian mission protesting against the harsh blockade, which was preventing essential food and medical supplies from reaching the Gaza Strip. On 31 May,...
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Arab League and Iran differ over Syria, making solution ever more unlikely
Two years down the line and the bloodletting continues in Syria. Despite the fact that the opposition to the Assad regime consists of many different groups with wildly varying agendas, a crucial component of most international peace plans is that the Syrian President should step down. Kofi Annan’s plan...
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Sectarian violence continues to divide Iraq
Throughout his reign in Iraq, Saddam Hussein played up ethnic and sectarian tensions at every opportunity. He spearheaded a long campaign of violent oppression against Shi’ites (who make up the majority of the population), and massacred Kurds in northern Iraq. Six years after his death in 2007, and ten...
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What's behind the proposed visit of Qatari royal to Israel?
Qatar’s foreign policy is nothing if not enigmatic. Since the Arab Spring, the small Gulf state has drastically upped its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, the culmination of years of efforts to become a global player. The latest development is that Qatar’s Prince Khalifa Al-Thani is expected to...