Opinion and Analysis:
Week ending
29 November 2013
(1) The UN and Israel: A history of discrimination
Joshua Muravchik, World Affairs Journal, November/December 2013
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While it is true that most UN bodies are devoid of practical power and cannot enforce their resolutions, this endless drumbeat, from one body to the next, from one corner of the world to another, singling out Israel as the pariah among nations, shapes the political environment in which Israel must live, trade, defend itself, and pursue peace with its neighbours.
(2) Obama needs to take on the Israel lobby over Iran
Gideon Rachman, Financial Times, 25 November 2013
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The outcome of a looming showdown between two leaders who loathe one another will be critical.
(3) Iran hit pause: we need it to rewind
Dr Toby Greene, Left Foot Forward, 25 November 2013
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The good news is that the sight of Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Zarif shaking hands on a deal with the P5+1 states, including the US, is truly extraordinary. For all the flaws in the deal, this should not be overlooked. It is in the interests of the whole world that Iran change the way it relates to the West, and the US in particular.
(4) Let’s not celebrate this Iran deal …. Yet
Aaron David Miller, Politico Magazine, 23 November 2013
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This is big – a potentially historic step in relations between the US and Iran, two adversaries whose bitter rivalry has loomed over the Middle East for a generation. If this interim deal leads to a final accord that mothballs Tehran’s nuclear-weapons program and keeps it that way, it will be worth the heartburn it’s causing Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US Congress, too.
(5) Why Christian Zionism grows despite critics
Sean Savage, Charisma, 23 November 2013
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Despite CUFI’s growth (Christians United for Israel) – it calls itself America’s largest pro-Israel group – Christian Zionists today still face significant threats from anti-Zionist Christians, who use their faith to accost Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians.
(6) Why Netanyahu won’t yield
Michael Oren, LA Times, 21 November 2013
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The prime minister’s hard line on Iran reflects his deep sense of duty to defend the Jewish state against an existential threat.
(7) What Americans don’t know about Palestinian culture
Jonathan Tobin, Commentary Magazine, 20 November 2013
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If more American academics got their heads out of the sand and realized the cancer of hate that is still the dominating feature of Palestinian political culture, the assumption that Israel is the villain of the Middle East conflict might be challenged more often.
(8) Russia cannot replace America in the Middle East
David Gardner, Financial Times, 20 November 2013
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America wants to move out and Russia wants to move in but the region has ideas of its own.
(9) Why Saudi Arabia hates the Iran deal
David Kenner, Foreign Policy, 14 November 2013
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As President Barack Obama pursues a historic deal with Iran over its nuclear program, he has already made history — though perhaps not in the way he intended. For the first time since the US emerged as a major power in the Middle East, all of its key allies — Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia — are in open revolt against its policies
