History and Politics of the Modern Middle East
Published in the Washington Post.
They have acted in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative, also known as the Saudi peace plan, which called on the Arab League to terminate belligerency with Israel. It also envisioned a comprehensive peace agreement with Israel in exchange for Israel withdrawing to the June 4, 1967 lines and agreeing to “a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem” that accorded with “UN General Assembly Resolution 194 while rejecting all forms of patriation.”
I am thrilled to announce the release of my first book, Nasser’s Peace: Egypt’s Response to the 1967 War with Israel.
Gamal Abdel Nasser was arguably one of the most influential Arab leaders in history. As President of Egypt from 1956 to 1970, he could have achieved a peace agreement with Israel, yet he preferred to maintain his unique leadership role by affirming pan-Arab nationalism and championing the liberation of Palestine, a common euphemism for the destruction of Israel.
In that era of Cold War politics, Nasser brilliantly played Moscow, Washington, and the United Nations to maximize his bargaining position and sustain his rule without compromising his core beliefs of Arab unity and solidarity. As the 50th anniversary of the 1967 War approaches, Nasser’s Peace provides timely analysis of how a developing country can rival world powers and how fluid the definition of “peace” can be.
Nasser’s Peace is available on Amazon.
For those interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Corey Gil-Shuster, a Canadian-born peace activist, has done the public a great service. Through his YouTube page, he accepts provocative and inquisitive questions about the conflict, and then goes and interviews random Israelis and Palestinians on their thoughts. Continue reading “Weekend Thinking: Mideast Public Service Announcement”
Reuters reports that both the Israeli prime minister and defense minister want to eliminate Iranian nuclear sites before U.S. elections in November. These threats seek to achieve two aims: to scare Iran into abandoning its nuclear program (a prospect which seems unlikely) and to explore the possibility of attacking Iran while Americans are preoccupied with choosing their next president. Continue reading “Weekend Thinking: Israel-Iran”
In case you missed this week’s important stories from the Middle East and beyond.
Israel
Jonathan Tepperman’s bold essay in The Atlantic argues that while Israel is in a position of strength, it should control its own destiny with the Palestinians. Although bilateral negotiations have failed to achieve a political settlement, Israeli unilateral actions in the West Bank may be the only pragmatic solution, as a continuation of the status quo in the unpredictable climate of the Middle East coupled with demographic trends could have grave consequences for the sustainability of Israel’s national identity. Continue reading “Weekend Thinking: Israel, China and Russia”
The failure to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have produced a surge of commentary among analysts and pundits advocating various alternatives. The primary scenarios proffered include maintaining the status quo and refusing to compromise, a one-state bi-national option, a two-state option in which a Palestinian state lives next to Israel, and a three-state option in which the West Bank and Gaza Strip each with their separate governments form distinct states, perhaps uniting with Jordan and Egypt, respectively. Continue reading “Weekend Thinking: Israelis and Palestinians”
In November 2011, the first parliamentary election was held in Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak’s abdication. Egyptians began voting for the National Assembly (lower house) in three phases. The first phase allocated a majority of votes to the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and al-Nour, the more fundamentalist Salafist party. At the end of December, the second round of parliamentary elections concluded with another plurality for Islamist parties. The final round of voting is scheduled for tomorrow, with Islamists anticipating similar gains. Continue reading “Egypt’s Islamists and Israel”
The Islamist radical movement Hamas – designated a terrorist organization by Canada, Japan, the United States, European Union and Israel – made headlines that it is in favor of “non-violent, popular resistance.” On December 17, Fatah leader Mohammed Shtayyeh declared that Hamas has decided to renounce violence and will embrace the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Continue reading “An Assessment of Recent Hamas Declarations”
Michael Sharnoff, PhD 