May 18, 2012
Richard Stengel of Time takes a look at what makes Benjamin Netanyahu tick, his personal history and whether he is the prime minister who will bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians. (Note: This article is for Time subscribers only, but you can read a summary here)
[Netanyahu has] a governing coalition that will not leak or collapse if he opens negotiations. He will no longer have to look over his shoulder. He will not have to call elections at the drop of a hat. He has not had that before, and it gives him room to maneuver and room to compromise. “Now he is the emperor … he can do anything,” [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] said last week. “If I were him, I would do it now, now, now.”
Making the Positive Case for Israel
Supporters of Israel must always seize the opportunity to showcase its achievements and contributions to the world, writes Alan Dershowitz in Algemeiner.
Once people’s eyes are opened to Israel’s promise and her contributions to modern society, they realize how close-minded you have to be to ignore the tremendous potential that exists within this tiny nation. In almost every modern discipline, Israeli innovators have changed the world for the better. In medicine, researchers have designed methods to better diagnose and treat some of humanity’s most debilitating conditions. In computer science, Israeli inventions are integral to the vast majority of personal computers in use around the world and to business, industry and even popular devices in high demand for our entertainment.
Total Sanctions Might Stop Iran
In a piece for the Wall Street Journal, Meir Dagan, August Hanning, R. James Woolsey, Charles Guthrie, Kristen Silverberg and Mark D. Wallace outline ways in which sanctions could make Iran rethink its nuclear program.
It is still in Iran’s interest to change course and address international concerns regarding possible military aspects of its nuclear program. Our rationale is based on strong empirical evidence from the last few months that sanctions are having a tangible impact. For example, the value of Iran’s currency, the rial, is currently in free fall.
Iran’s triple mistakes in Syria, Iraq and Bahrain
The Islamic Republic has made three serious miscalculations that will have an adverse effect on its own interests, writes Amir Taheri in Asharq Alawsat.
In Syria, the mullahs’ strategy is to portray the uprising as a Western conspiracy to punish a regime supposed to be part of “the resistance”. The claim is that the United States and its allies wish to exclude actual or potentially unfriendly powers such as Iran, Russia and China from the region. The mullahs hope to delay the fall of the Assad regime so that they have more time to confirm their foothold in southern Iraq, their second hope.