US
Elliott Abrams writes about the problems already arising about the monitoring of Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal:
The treatment of the famous PMDs, the “possible military dimensions” of Iran’s nuclear work, has now been abandoned–and the IAEA apparently was not even allowed to speak with the head of the program, the Iranian official Mohsen Fakrizadeh. The lesson this teaches Iran is that the United States, at least under this administration, has too much invested in the agreement to demand full Iranian compliance with it.
Daniel DePetris discusses the legacy of Sandy Berger, who passed aways this Wednesday:
It’s impossible to know how much of a role Sandy Berger played in shifting public opinion in favor of an Iranian nuclear agreement. Indeed, Berger wasn’t the only former statesman making the argument: Colin Powell, Nicholas Burns, Gen. James Cartwright, Ryan Crocker, Madeleine Albright and Lee Hamilton were all part of the debate, offering their names in support of an accord. But by lending a strong voice on the side of tough negotiating, Berger went above and beyond many of the officials on this list.
Israel
Nahum Barnea bids farewell to Israel’s former Minister of Education and dominant left wing leader Yossi Sarid:
His aspiration for peace wasn't altruistic. Sarid wasn't a pacifist. His starting point was the State of Israel, its existential threats, the concern for its future. The vision was pragmatic, close to reality, non-messianic, free of romance. From this aspect, at least, he was and remained throughout his career within the central stream of the Labor Movement.
A new JPPI report features some interesting analysis and stats on how Israel’s population has changed in the past couple of decades:
In 1992, roughly 45 percent of all adult Jews identified as right wing; this rose to 54 percent by 2003 , and, in recent years, has returned to slightly less than half the Jewish population… Support of the left block gained strength in the 1990’s, peaking at 39 percent, but has since dropped to as low as 15 percent.
Middle East
BICOM Senior Visiting Fellow Brig. Gen. (res.) Michael Herzog analyzes the Syrian cauldron from an Israeli perspective:
At this point ISIS is not focused on Israel, and is therefore not considered by Israelis to be a direct and immediate strategic threat to them. From an Israeli perspective, the gravest strategic threat still comes from the Iranian-led axis.
Aaron Y Zelin, Rena and Sami David Fellow Have some interesting data on the decline of ISIS’ media machine:
Put together, there are signs that IS’s much vaunted media machine has declined over the past half year. It remains very active, of course, but there seems to have been a peak between mid-spring and mid-summer this year. This, I believe, could be indicative of other structural issues IS could be having on the ground. It also suggests that military victories rather than counter messaging has a stronger effect on the media capabilities of jihadi groups.
Jewish World
Joanna Markind points out that Jews are still the biggest target of hate crimes in America:
Last year, as in previous years, Jews were the most frequent victims of reported crimes targeting members of a religious group. Of the 1,140 reported victims of anti-religious hate crimes, 648, or almost 57%, were Jewish. Looked at another way, of the 1,014 reported anti-religious hate crime incidents (some of which had multiple victims), 609, or slightly more than 60%, targeted Jews.
Jennifer Bleyer takes on several myths about Hanukkah and its significance:
But as any rabbi would be quick to explain, Hanukkah is one of the least important occasions on the Hebrew calendar. Unlike major holidays such as Passover, Sukkot and the weekly Sabbath — all of which include extensive ritual requirements as well as prohibitions against work — Hanukkah is categorized as a minor festival whose only real decree is to light candles for eight nights. Everything else is custom or adaptation.
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