Assessing Biden’s Mideast trip
July 23, 2022 | AIJAC staff
This Update follows up on last week’s coverage of the first day of US President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East with some comment on the events and implications of the four day trip as a whole.
US President Biden in Israel
July 15, 2022 | AIJAC staff
US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia this week is again on the top of the agenda in this Update. While in an op-ed in the Washington Post ahead of the trip, Biden placed an emphasis on the Saudi component of the tour, the President’s time in Israel was anything but routine, both in style in substance.
How to handle the Iran threat
July 8, 2022 | AIJAC staff
US President Joe Biden will be visiting Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to 16, and no doubt one pressing issue his Israeli and Saudi hosts will be eager to discuss will be the increasing threat posed by Iran.
Israel headed for yet another election
June 28, 2022 | AIJAC staff
The appropriate legislation will not be passed until Wednesday, Israel time, but it now appears to be a done deal that Israel will go to the polls yet again – either on Oct. 25 or Nov. 1. This Update looks at what happened to get here, what might happen in the upcoming election campaign, and what is at stake in the actual poll.
One year later, Israel’s diverse Government looks shaky
June 18, 2022 | AIJAC staff
This Update focuses on both the achievements and the increasingly shaky position of Israel’s 8-party ruling “coalition of change” Government, which was sworn in one year ago but is not expected by most political observers to last much longer, given recent defections. It also has an important piece on the latest “report” issued about Israel-Palestinian issues by an unprecedented Commission of Inquiry set up by the UN Human Rights Council, and the larger pathologies it reflects at the world body.
IAEA Board rebukes Iran; Iran shuts off IAEA surveillance cameras
June 11, 2022 | AIJAC staff
This Update focuses on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors’ decision to censure Iran for non-compliance at its meeting this week, and Iran’s retaliation in the form of turning off 27 IAEA surveillance cameras at its nuclear facilities.
International implications of Iran’s economic unrest
May 31, 2022 | AIJAC staff
Iran is in the grip of yet another round of popular protests sparked by huge spikes in prices of staples such as bread and cooking oil. These economic protests have been exacerbated by the collapse of a building in Abadan, killing at least 19 people, last week. This Update is about some potential international implications of Iran’s economic problems and the unrest they have sparked.
Election setback for Hezbollah
May 21, 2022 | AIJAC staff
In the Lebanese election on Saturday, May 14, allies of the Iranian proxy terror group Hezbollah – which effectively dominates that failing nation – appear to have suffered major setbacks. This Update looks at what this may mean and includes some thoughts from an Iranian dissident regarding the latest wave of unrest in Iran itself.
Controversy follows tragic death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
May 13, 2022 | AIJAC staff
This Update is about the tragic death of the well-known Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during an Israeli-Palestinian firefight in Jenin on Wednesday – and the political firestorm that has erupted since then concerning the circumstances of her death.
The implications of Israel’s recent spat with Russia
May 7, 2022 | AIJAC staff
This Update deals with Israel’s very public dispute with Russia this week that resulted from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov telling Italian television on May 1 that “Hitler also had Jewish blood. It means absolutely nothing…the most ardent antisemites are usually Jews”.
