Palestine, More Of A Threat To Israel Than The Uprising (Part II)

Posted on: February 17th, 2010

The following article appears exactly as it was written by Professor Beres 21 years ago. It is especially important to reconsider at this moment when U.S. President Barack Obama, still-embracing the so-called Road Map, pushes Israel to accept a Palestinian state via the five-part Mitchell Plan.

Bibi’s Slippery Slope

Posted on: February 17th, 2010

Senior American sources say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already surrendered almost everything: the Golan, almost all of Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, and even some areas inside Israel's 1967 border - in order to retain a few settlement blocs. And what has Netanyahu achieved for Israel in exchange for this far-reaching agreement-in-principle? Nothing. Not peace, and not even international recognition that Israel is a Jewish state.

Laughing At Obama In Damascus

Posted on: February 17th, 2010

If you listened carefully this past week, you could almost hear the sound of champagne glasses clinking together loudly in Damascus, as Syrian President Bashar Assad undoubtedly raised a toast to celebrate Washington's latest act of groveling before his autocratic government.

Palestine, More Of A Threat To Israel Than The Uprising (Part I)

Posted on: February 10th, 2010

The following article appears exactly as it was written by Professor Beres 21 years ago. It is especially important to reconsider at this moment, when U.S. President Barack Obama, still-embracing the so-called Road Map, pushes Israel to accept a Palestinian state via the five-part Mitchell Plan.

A Terrible Beauty: Israel, Iran and Nuclear War (Part II)

Posted on: February 3rd, 2010

After absorbing any enemy nuclear aggression, Israel would certainly respond with a nuclear retaliatory strike. Although nothing is publicly known about Israel's precise targeting doctrine, such a reprisal would likely be launched against the aggressor's capital city and/or against similarly high-value urban targets. There would be absolutely no assurances, in response to this sort of genocidal aggression, that Israel would limit itself to striking back against exclusively military targets. This point should not be lost on the principal decision makers in Tehran.

The Old New Jew

Posted on: February 3rd, 2010

It's an old Jewish joke:The gentile drew a circle on the ground, stood the Jew inside and triumphantly declared, "If you leave the circle, you're a dead man!" He then proceeded to rob the Jew's wife and went on his way.

A Terrible Beauty: Israel, Iran and Nuclear War (Part I)

Posted on: January 27th, 2010

There is a little recognized but noteworthy irony in the still-ongoing (when and how will it end?) matter of Iranian nuclearization.From the standpoint of President Ahmadinejad in Tehran, any prospect of hastening the Shiite apocalypse may naturally be welcomed. In the United States and Israel, on the other hand, any conscious encouragement of a Final Battle is strenuously rejected. Whatever Scriptural expectations of End Times may be found embedded in Judaism and Christianity and however seriously they may be accepted among particular American and Israeli populations, these expressly apocalyptic visions have always beenrejected as plausible policy options.

Israel’s Ballistic Missile Defense: Current Strategic Options For Dealing With Iran

Posted on: January 20th, 2010

The core of Israel's active defense plan remains the phased Arrow anti-ballistic missile program. Designed to intercept medium and short-range ballistic missiles, the various operationalized forms of Arrow (Hetz in Hebrew) are expected todeal especially with Iran's surface-to-surface missile threat. Basically a high stratospheric system, Arrow is also capable of low-altitude and multi-tactical ballistic missile interceptions.

Barack Obama’s Plan For Global Nuclear Disarmament: A Requiem For Israel

Posted on: January 13th, 2010

Some truths are counter-intuitive. At first, it would seem plain that a world without nuclear weapons must be preferable to one with such weapons. Upon reflection, however, it becomes evident that there are some countries for whom nuclear arms are indispensable to their physical survival. For these imperiled nations, surrendering nuclear status could effectively be an invitation to genocide. The most obvious case in point is Israel.

Obama Vs. Israel

Posted on: January 13th, 2010

Last year at this time, a majority of American Jews were waiting breathlessly for the day when Barack Obama, the man for whom they voted overwhelmingly, would take the oath of office and become president of the United States.

To Learn From Woodrow Wilson: Jewish Insights From A Princeton Presbyterian

Posted on: January 6th, 2010

It will seem strange to see a column of mine in The Jewish Press about Woodrow Wilson, but there was very considerable "Jewish wisdom" in this Presbyterian former American president. Wilson first came to my attention in 1967, when I entered Princeton as a graduate student. He had been, after all, a Princeton Professor of Politics, and also a Princeton President before entering the White House.

Punish Us All

Posted on: January 6th, 2010

Every time a Muslim terrorist commits an atrocity, the insane reaction of our liberal societies is to punish everyone collectively. Several years ago, a terrorist tried to detonate an explosive hidden in his shoe. As a result, every airline passenger is now required to remove his shoes and pass them through an x-ray device. It is common in airports to see long lines of passengers walking barefoot or in their stocking feet, queued up and waiting to have their shoes checked. Instead of forcing all Muslims to fly barefoot, every single passenger is inconvenienced to avoid racial profiling.

Mr. Netanyhu’s Peace Overtures To “Palestine”

Posted on: December 30th, 2009

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already indicated approval of a Palestinian state, subject, however, to some codified and verifiable forms of "demilitarization." Leaving aside the inherent infeasibility of this declared contingency -no Palestinian leader will ever accept a condition of fundamentally abridged sovereignty - there is also an overriding and antecedent policy question: Can any form of diplomacy with the Palestinians, Fatah and/or Hamas, prove reasonable and productive? Although, on the surface, such a stark and cynical question may appear distinctly odd or foolish or even needlessly bellicose, there may in fact be no clear benefits for Israel to proceed diplomatically.

After West Point Barack Obama, American Security And “A World Free Of Nuclear Weapons”

Posted on: December 23rd, 2009

With his December 1, 2009 speech at West Point, U.S. President Barack Obama repeated his lofty goal of "a world free of nuclear weapons." Although such an eloquent plea will surely resonate intuitively with all who would seek peace, it is, in fact, not only unattainable (something altogether obvious), but also undesirable. In the case of U.S. ally Israel, for example, worldwide denuclearization could open the doors to another Jewish genocide.

Who’s Pressuring Bibi?

Posted on: December 23rd, 2009

If Barack Obama didn't exist, Benjamin Netanyahu would have had to invent him.

A Political Comeback Attempt

Posted on: December 23rd, 2009

When Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak attempted to break the link between the Har Bracha Hesder Yeshiva and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), few of us were surprised. Ehud Barak is the head of the Labor Party who seems to be using this anti-religious "weapon" in order to make a political comeback for his failing leftist party. His anti-religious position is well known, and his attempt to discredit Rabbi Eliezer Melamed and the Hesder Yeshiva movement is not unexpected. In the past, other politicians have used their opposition to religion to improve their political status, and Barak knows that he and his party are falling apart.

Trading Israeli Gilad Shalit For Palestinian Terrorists,

Posted on: December 16th, 2009

Under long-standing international law, every state has a primary obligation to protect its citizens. Yet, it appears that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may soon be prepared to exchange Palestinian terrorists for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Any such exchange, however humane to Shalit and his family, would imperil thousands of other Israelis.

Israel’s Culture Wars

Posted on: December 16th, 2009

Anyone who thought Israel was immune to the kind of divisive "culture wars" that have beset America in recent years was in for a rude awakening this past week.

Israel’s Culture Wars

Posted on: December 16th, 2009

Anyone who thought Israel was immune to the kind of divisive "culture wars" that have beset America in recent years was in for a rude awakening this past week.

Another Capitulation

Posted on: December 9th, 2009

We have now lived in Israel for more years than we lived in the USA, and our joy in living in Israel knows no bounds. We are living in our homeland with our people. We loved America and are proud to be American citizens, but Israel is our home. We strive each day to keep our focus on the wonderful things that life in Israel offers. We are happy that Israel and the USA are allies and help each other. Unfortunately, we are often upset and concerned by the political situation and by the attitude of the world to the Jews.