Publications

Last year, as the Israel-Hamas war unfolded, pro-Palestinian protests, encampments, building occupations, and votes on Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) resolutions spread across hundreds of US university campuses. Over the last several weeks, three major studies timed for the start of the academic year provide the first systematic evidence of the breadth and impact of the protest movement. Protesters achieved some, but not all, of their aims and created an environment that many Jewish students perceived as hostile. Still, the...

On January 13, William Lai, the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was elected president of Taiwan. A few days earlier, for the first time in four years, the United States-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks took place in Washington, marking the end of a prolonged round of tension between the two powers, which had peaked in August 2022 when the speaker of the US House of Representatives visited Taiwan. Taiwan is a major point of friction in the already tense relations between the two powers. Managing the...

Since October 7 and the launch of the Swords of Iron war, and against the backdrop of increased public unrest and a wave of protests branded as “pro-Palestinian,” there has been a sharp uptick in the number of antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents in the West. These demonstrations are greater in scale and intensity than ever before, though the identity of the organizers of most of them comes as no surprise. As has been the case for the past two decades, the organizers are activists in civil society organizations. Many have a patently...

Current Situation  – Great power competition · Struggle over world order · Technology core issue · Potential escalation (Ukraine, Taiwan) · Less collaboration · Middle East lower priority | Current Israeli Strategy  – “Between the raindrops” maneuver ·  Rely on the US while advancing relations with other powers | Recommended Strategy – Alternative 2: Strengthen the US strategic mainstay · Stand by the US as a member of the Western camp · Pursue differential foreign policy, adjusted to era of great power competition

The international system is struggling with many crises and challenges, led by the continued efforts at economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis while coping with the pandemic itself; the intensifying competition between the United States and China, which heightens the divisiveness in the international dynamic; and the climate crisis, which tests the ability to cooperate despite disagreements. The US administration has less attention for the Middle East, and is restoring human rights considerations to a central place in its policy,...

Shahar Eilam, head of the research project on contemporary antisemitism in the US at the INSS, and Tom Eshed, a research assistant with the project, examine the wave of antisemitic events in the US in May 2021, during and immediately after Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls. Based on these events, they analyze various and broad aspects of antisemitism in the US and their effect on the American Jewish community and on Israel.

This report, produced by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), in collaboration with the Jewish Agency for Israel, examines and analyzes the phenomenon of contemporary antisemitism in the political discourse of five major Western European countries—Germany, France, Britain, Spain, and Ireland. The research is based on systematic mapping of public expressions of antisemitism by elected officials, over a period of one year, from late 2019 until late 2020. The findings indicate that some politicians in Western Europe—on...

Below is a collection of articles that have been written as part of a comprehensive research project on contemporary antisemitism in the United States. During 2020, our research team studied the phenomenon employing a multi-pronged methodology which includes open-source documents, and dozens of interviews and learning sessions with Israeli and American officials, academics and civil society leaders. Our objective is to provide a comprehensive analysis geared towards concrete policy recommendations to improve the response to multiple...

If 2020 is remembered for the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 stands to be the year of the vaccine. Nonetheless, the coronavirus will continue to shape the world, and the likely scenario is a gradual decline of the pandemic, marked by sporadic outbreaks. In the second half of the year, the effects of the vaccine will be felt, the Biden administration will settle in, and there may be a new government in Israel. The international system remains polarized, even as each country focuses on its individual problems. The Biden...

In recent years, the Jewish world has been beset by two longstanding diseases – growing antisemitism and the delegitimization campaign against Israel. The struggle against antisemitism has lately commanded increased attention and resources among Jewish communities, various governments around the world, and even the Israeli establishment. In tandem, the coronavirus crisis has changed the global agenda and created difficulties for Jewish communities in the Diaspora that have yet to be fully understood. The struggle against threats to...

A comparative analysis enables us to examine different approaches to the challenges posed by the corona pandemic around the world. Most countries have adopted a similar coping strategy, based on three components: the first is a lockdown policy (to varying degrees), in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus and avoid overloading the health system; the second is the improvement of preparedness and readiness in health systems; and the third is a broad economic aid package in response to the sudden economic shutdown and the deep...

After three decades of United States dominance as the only global superpower, the third decade of the 21st century begins amidst strategic competition in the international arena on multiple levels. Countries, organizations, and international corporations are part of this competition, which is led by the world powers: the United States, which is still the strongest in the world in terms of resources and capabilities; China, which uses its economic power as leverage for political influence and increased military power, even though its...