Israel's Rights as a Nation-State in International Diplomacy


Book Description

A collection of articles about Israel's right of establishment as a Jewish homeland and as an independent country.




Israel and the Family of Nations


Book Description

Amnon Rubinstein and Alexander Yakobson explore the nature of Israel's identity as a Jewish state, how that is compatible with liberal democratic norms and is comparable with a number of European states.







Israeli Foreign Policy


Book Description

Uri Bialer lays a foundation for understanding the principal aspects of Israeli foreign policy from the early days of the state's existence to the Oslo Accords. He presents a synthetic reading of sources, many of which are recently declassified official documents, to cover Israeli foreign policy over a broad chronological expanse. Bialer focuses on the objectives of Israel's foreign policy and its actualization, especially as it concerned immigration policy, oil resources, and the procurement of armaments. In addition to identifying important state actors, Bialer highlights the many figures who had no defined diplomatic roles but were influential in establishing foreign policy goals. He shows how foreign policy was essential to the political, economic, and social well-being of the state and how it helped to deal with Israel's most intractable problem, the resolution of the conflict with Arab states and the Palestinians.




The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy


Book Description

Originally published in 2007, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, by John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in America: the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy. A work of major importance, it remains as relevant today as it was in the immediate aftermath of the Israel-Lebanon war of 2006. Mearsheimer and Walt describe in clear and bold terms the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel and argues that this support cannot be fully explained on either strategic or moral grounds. This exceptional relationship is due largely to the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. They provocatively contend that the lobby has a far-reaching impact on America's posture throughout the Middle East―in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict―and the policies it has encouraged are in neither America's national interest nor Israel's long-term interest. The lobby's influence also affects America's relationship with important allies and increases dangers that all states face from global jihadist terror. The publication of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy led to a sea change in how the U.S-Israel relationship was discussed, and continues to be one of the most talked-about books in foreign policy.




The Two-State Delusion


Book Description

Author Padraig O'Malley is the subject of the new acclaimed documentary The Peacemaker. “Impressive . . . [O’Malley] has done a tremendous amount of research about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” —The New York Times Book Review Disputes over settlements, the right of return, the rise of Hamas, recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, and other intractable issues have repeatedly derailed peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine. Now, in a book that is sure to spark controversy, renowned peacemaker Padraig O’Malley argues that the moment for a two-state solution has passed. After examining each issue and speaking with Palestinians and Israelis as well as negotiators directly involved in past summits, O’Malley concludes that even if such an agreement could be reached, it would be nearly impossible to implement given a variety of obstacles including the staggering costs involved, Palestine’s political disunity and economic fragility, rapidly changing demographics in the region, Israel’s continuing political shift to the right, global warming’s effect on the water supply, and more. In this revelatory, hard-hitting book, O’Malley approaches the key issues pragmatically, without ideological bias, to show that we must find new frameworks for reconciliation if there is to be lasting peace between Palestine and Israel.




Routledge Handbook on Israel's Foreign Relations


Book Description

This Handbook provides a comprehensive account of contemporary Israeli diplomacy and analyses the changing dynamics of Israel’s bilateral relations with other states and the international community over the past seventy-five years. Research into Israeli foreign policy has been largely sidelined by debates over security, domestic politics and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. This Handbook addresses the gap in the literature. Comprising 31 essays written by leading scholars of Israel, the Handbook explicates how domestic, societal and economic interests, together with changing Israeli narratives of identity and location, shape and impact Israeli foreign policy. It illustrates how those factors have influenced foreign policy choices and the instruments – economic cooperation, arms sales, military training, and intelligence sharing – that Israel has utilized in order to promote its interests and build relationships with countries and actors throughout the world. Ultimately, the Handbook refutes Kissinger’s famous dictum that Israel has no foreign policy, and instead follows the whims of its domestic politics. By contrast, this Handbook highlights the rich, diverse and changing tapestry of Israel’s foreign relations. Written in an accessible style, the book is designed for students taking courses in Israel studies and Middle Eastern studies, as well as a general readership interested in Israeli affairs.




Scandinavian Diplomacy and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict


Book Description

This book scrutinises how three small Scandinavian countries – Norway, Sweden and Denmark – developed a unique foreign policy that brought Israel and the Palestinians to the negotiating table. Bringing together the field of soft power diplomacy with the field of conflict mediation, the text analyses the specific type of peace diplomacy offered by Scandinavia. It identifies the different methods and policies of the three Scandinavian countries, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of their mediation strategies. Close examination of the historical record through primary and secondary sources in five languages reveals how Scandinavian involvement worked over almost three decades and to what extent it shaped the content of the Oslo peace talks. The author documents how the Scandinavian countries employed soft power diplomacy to enlist the aid of more powerful countries and international institutions to compensate for their limited authority and legitimacy, and how they used the Middle East peace process to strengthen their own national interests, financial standing and international status. The book will appeal to scholars, diplomats, politicians, educators and students interested in Scandinavian foreign policy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.




A Threshold Crossed


Book Description

"The widely held assumption that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is a temporary situation and that the 'peace process' will soon bring an end to Israeli abuses has obscured the reality on the ground today of Israel's entrenched discriminatory rule over Palestinians. A single authority, the Israeli government, rules primarily over the area between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, populated by two groups of roughly equal size, methodologically privileging Jewish Israelis while repressing Palestinians, most severely in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), made-up of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Drawing on years of human rights documentation, case studies and a review of government planning documents, statements by officials and other sources, [this report] examines Israel's treatment of Palestinians and evaluates whether particular Israeli policies and practices in certain areas amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution."--Page 4 of cover.




Israel Since the Six-Day War


Book Description

Completing his acclaimed trilogy on the history of Israel, Leslie Stein brings readers right up to contemporary events in Israel Since the Six-Day War. Stein vividly chronicles Israel's wars and military engagements, but he also incorporates fascinating assessments of many other issues, including Israel’s economic development, the nature of the PLO and Palestinian Authority, and Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Furthermore, Stein explores broader social issues, such as extremist Jewish movements and the varying fortunes of migrants from Russia and Ethiopia, to convey clearly a sense of the diversity and complexity of modern Israel. Wide-ranging and judicious, Stein's cogent and compellingly readable account of Israel’s recent past will engage students and general readers alike.