The rise to power of political parties with Islamic ideology in North Africa, and the possibility that this phenomenon will recur in Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and other neighboring countries places a question mark over the possibility of normalizing relations between Israel and the Arab world.
The September 23, 2011 statement by the Middle East Quartet may prove to be a landmark in the attempts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. The carefully worded statement is drafted in such a way as to allow it to serve as a basis for both parties to resume negotiations. From the Israeli perspective, the statement is particularly welcome, as it calls on the parties to “resume direct bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations without delay or preconditions.” This explicit call for negotiations without preconditions...
In the annals of the European Union, the summer of 2011 will not be remembered as a calm, lazy period. The August 16 meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, which took place against the backdrop of reports of a looming financial crisis in France, and the understandings that were reached on a series of financial matters (on which agreements had been reached in the past) were an additional milestone in the attempt by Euro zone leaders to calm the financial markets – thus far,...
As the month of Ramadan begins, the internal crisis in Syria is intensifying. Reports of the mass murder of civilians and allegations of crimes against humanity by Bashar al-Asad’s regime are multiplying. The number of participants in Friday protest rallies seems to have crossed the one million mark and reflects a central trend: the strengthening of the protest movement and the worsening of the crisis in Syria. It may well be that during Ramadan, Islam’s month of fasting, a critical mass of protesters will form, meaning that Asad’s...
In his appearance before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the prime minister stated that “no one has the power to stop the decision in September at the UN General Assembly to recognize a Palestinian state. . . We expect to receive support from only a few countries.” In light of the balance of power in the UN, this assessment is not surprising. Since the chances are slim (as it appears today) that the Palestinian side will reverse its intention to submit a resolution in September on recognition, the United States...
The historic events underway in the Middle East took the European Union, along with many other elements and observers, by surprise. The region’s European neighbors have viewed the area as generally stable. Arab rulers cooperating with EU member states made sure to realize these states’ interests, chief among them the regular flow of oil, the containment of radical Islam, and prevention of illegal immigration.
Early 2009 saw the EU’s involvement in the efforts of the international community to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, while the end of the year marked the Treaty of Lisbon’s entry into force. The two events are seemingly unconnected, but in practice they are linked. Should the Treaty be implemented as it is formulated, it will allow the EU – or so its proponents hope – to manage foreign relations in general and crises like the Israel-Hamas war in late 2008-early 2009 in particular more efficiently and...
“An historic encounter; a turning point in the history of the organization” was how some of the NATO leaders assessed the summit in Lisbon (November 19-20, 2010). The focus of the summit was approval of the new strategic concept that will underlie the organization’s activities in the coming years. Other issues on the agenda were a plan of action for Afghanistan and relations with Russia. Like the other documents arrived at by consensus, the approved document embodies the broadest common denominator. Differences of opinion between the...
Recent developments in Germany and Sweden are the latest catalysts for international focus on Muslim immigration to Europe. The socio-political storm currently preoccupying Germany’s public consciousness following the publication of Germany Does Away with Itself, which posits several highly controversial theories regarding the plight of Muslim immigrants, joins the success of the radical right wing party in Sweden’s recent parliamentary elections – a party whose platform focuses on limiting the number of Muslim immigrants.
In less than a month the prime ministers of Israel and Greece exchanged official visits; each visit was the first of its kind. It is hard to find a precedent for this proximity of visits in the annals of Israeli diplomacy.
What lies behind the European position on the Middle East? It is important to remember that the European Union has no unifying foreign policy, and at most, enjoys coordination between its members. Thus nation states such as Germany, France, and Great Britain do not necessarily heed the EU’s authority even when the EU seems to be speaking with one voice.
May 9 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the speech by French foreign minister Robert Schuman in which he called for the unification of the coal and steel industries of Germany and France. A year later, the two countries signed an agreement that was to became the first building block in the construction of the European Union, which EU members have been working to complete ever since. At the foundation of Schuman’s historical proposal (which was immediately accepted by Chancellor Adenauer) were the assumptions that without French and...
