Sanctions relief and Iran’s regional ambitions
May 14, 2015
In what seems a major breach of the sanctions on Iran, Mahan Airlines, which is associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, has reportedly received nine commercial airliners, via an Iraqi front company. (A good comment on what this says about the state of the sanctions comes from Jonathan Tobin.) Meanwhile, two heads of state from the Gulf Cooperation Council are apparently boycotting a summit called by US President Obama because they perceive that the US is not willing to do enough to counter Iranian regional aggression. This Update deals with both aspects of the road to an Iranian nuclear deal – the state and future of sanctions, and the likely effect of such a deal on Iran’s regional efforts to subvert neighbouring states and sponsor terror groups.
UN Gaza incident report lacks transparency, clarity
May 11, 2015 | Ahron Shapiro
On April 27, the United Nations released a summary of a report by a Board of Inquiry (BOI) into ten different incidents that occurred at UN facilities in the Gaza Strip during the 50-day Gaza War last year. There has been much superficial media coverage surrounding this report.
In this blog post, AIJAC looks deeper into the report, which for the first time officially confirms that Palestinian militants have been using UN schools for weapons storage, as command and control centres and even as rocket launch pads. On the other hand, other parts of the report dealing with damage, injuries and deaths incurred at UN shelters blame Israel for all incidents without backing such accusations up with publicly verifiable evidence or fully taking into account extenuating circumstances.
Israel’s new narrow coalition government
May 8, 2015
As readers are probably aware, on Wednesday night, incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu succeeded in forming a narrow, one-seat majority coalition, just beating a constitutional deadline by an hour or two, following his March election win. This Update explains the make-up of this new government, what deals were made to get it formed, and its implications both in terms of stability and Israel’s diplomatic stance.
Hamas and Gaza/ The Israeli Economic Miracle
May 7, 2015
This Update features two stories about the situation in Hamas-controlled Gaza and the dilemmas this poses for Israel. Plus, it also includes an article with some fascinating statistics exploring Israel’s near-miraculous economic transformation over the past 30 years.
Israel in the frontline in Nepal
May 1, 2015 | Anthony Orkin
In times of humanitarian crises anywhere in the world, Israel has developed a reputation of having unique expertise in offering much-needed assistance – particularly in terms of search and rescue and emergency medicine – more quickly than anyone else. This was exemplified by the fact that, as of Monday, Israel had sent more emergency personnel to earthquake-ravaged Nepal than any other country.
Israel and its Arab allies
May 1, 2015 | Sharyn Mittelman
As the Middle East erupts in sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shia powers and terrorist groups threaten state borders and security, increasingly Israel’s Arab neighbours – and especially the younger generation – appear to be realising that Israel is not the biggest threat in the region and that it could even be seen as an ally.
Israeli coalition takes shape/ Iran’s foreign policy goals
May 1, 2015
This Update leads with analysis of recent news from the negotiations to assemble a new government in Israel following the March 17 election. With the negotiations scheduled to finish by May 7, Washington Institute expert David Makovsky notes that a narrow centre-right coalition appears to be taking shape (Netanyahu has just signed agreements with two key coalition partners) – despite some rumours over recent weeks that a national unity government might be being considered and discussed. Makovsky corrects those who assume that this will mean right-wing policies on settlements and other issues related to the Palestinians, and identifies a number of other policies on which there are likely to be fissures within any such government.
Audio: Dr. Tzvi Fleischer on Iran and ISIS
April 29, 2015
Dr. Tzvi Fleischer spoke on April 28 with Michael Burd, host of “Nothing Left” on J-AIR radio (87.8 FM in Melbourne), on Iran and ISIS…
Israel at 67 – trailblazing into the future
April 28, 2015 | Ahron Shapiro
One of the highlights of last week’s Israel’s Independence Day festivities was the official torch lighting ceremony at Jerusalem’s Mt Herzl. Honoured this year were people considered to be innovators and trailblazers in their respective fields.
A labour of enmity: HRW’s distorted Jordan Valley report
April 21, 2015 | Ahron Shapiro
On April 13, Human Rights Watch released a report accusing Israeli farms in the Jordan Valley of exploiting Palestinian children for labour.
It received widespread media reporting, including a one-sided, uncritical and detailed article in the Fairfax newspapers. Yet this story, and the stories written about it, suffer from an increasingly common syndrome affecting NGO reports about Israel – they are political documents where the language of human rights is used to further predetermined political goals, and neither reasonable standards of evidence, nor fairness, nor context are allowed to stand in the way of furthering these goals.
