Preparing for the Next Round of Iran Talks
February 22, 2013
A new round of P5+1 (meaning the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) nuclear talks with Iran, the first since July of last year, is scheduled for next Tuesday, Feb. 26, in Kazakhstan. There are reports that Iran will be presented with a “substantial and serious offer” from the P5+1 to halt the more worrying enrichment activity – but expectations seems generally modest. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran this week began installing much quicker second generation centrifuges. This Update offers some background to the talks and explores some of the reasons few expect a significant breakthrough.
North Korea and Iran/ The PA’s democracy deficit
February 18, 2013
Following the North Korean nuclear bomb test earlier this week, and the failure of the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting with Iran, this Update discusses the potential implications for the ongoing problems of preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons capabilities.
First up is an editorial on the subject from the Jerusalem Post, which notes that at the very least, the North Korean test was a morale-booster for Teheran.
Israel’s official statement on “Prisoner X”
February 15, 2013
AIJAC has obviously been following closely the reporting and speculation – both in Australia and Israel – concerning the case of “Prisoner X” who died in 2010 in an Israeli prison, and is alleged to have been Melbourne-born Australian-Israeli dual citizen Ben Zygier.
While we can add little to what is already in the media, and have no wish to further burden the bereaved Zygier family, below in full is the translation prepared by Haaretz of the Israeli government statement on Prisoner X released on Wednesday, which has not yet been published here, and we believe sheds some light on aspects of the case which have not gotten sufficient attention.
Egypt’s chaos/ West Bank realities
February 14, 2013
This Update features two pieces related to the increasing street violence in Egypt, and the Muslim Brotherhood-led government’s response to it, plus an important piece on the sad reality behind the Palestinian Authority’s state building efforts in the West Bank, led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.