Israel Public Research Articles

The Role of the Jewish Lobby Toward US Foreign Policy Making on the 2023 Israel-Palestine War (Case of AIPAC)

This paper examines the complex dynamics of the Israel-Palestine conflict, focusing on the role of interest groups, particularly the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in shaping US foreign policy. The conflict, rooted in historical and territorial disputes, has seen recurrent escalations, most recently triggered by Hamas attacks on Israel. The United States, a longstanding ally of Israel, provides substantial financial and military aid, with AIPAC exerting influence on policymakers to maintain and strengthen this relationship. Through qualitative research methods and literature studies, the paper analyzes the impact of AIPAC's lobbying efforts on US policy responses to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The article finds that the AIPAC lobby is deeply rooted in US policymaking structures, ranging from vice-president, and higher-echelon staff, to parliament members. This article also finds that since 2021, AIPAC has developed its policy to participate in political campaign contributions. Understanding AIPAC influences, the authors note that ethical considerations are crucial to maintaining a strong and representative democracy in the United States. This paper recommends the US to refocus its national interest because such overly foreign influence on national policymaking has the potential to harm America's long-term relationships and interests in the Middle East if the US can’t make the barrier for foreign interference toward its national interests.

AIPAC’s founding and the evolution of aid to Israel

ABSTRACT This exploration delves into the intricate history of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), navigating its genesis and the concurrent establishment of U.S. aid to Israel. The narrative unfolds against the post-World War II backdrop, exploring pivotal moments involving key figures like Isaiah L. Kenen, Abba Eban, and Louis Lipsky. As the Israeli embassy grappled with challenges in securing financial aid, Kenen’s vision crystallized into the creation of a domestic lobby group. AIPAC, initially known as the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs (AZCPA), emerged, meticulously navigating the American legislative landscape to advocate for Israel. The lobby’s focus on bipartisan support, strategic alliances, and grassroots efforts paved the way for the landmark Morse–Taft Act, representing the first-ever U.S. financial aid to Israel. The narrative unfolds with a spotlight on Kenen’s strategic maneuvering, demonstrating how he deftly linked Israel’s aid to a broader regional approach, garnering support and mitigating opposition. The bill’s journey through Congress, from committee discussions to public endorsements, reflects Kenen’s orchestration of a multifaceted campaign.

Rising Israel Diplomacy: Success Hosting Miss Universe 2021 in the Middle of Boycott

As the biggest beauty pageant in the world that has existed since 1953, Miss Universe celebrated the 70th edition of the competition in Port of Eilat, Eilat Israel. Known as an international highlight country, Israel received a lot of rejection and boycott in hosting this agenda. This article argues that Israel used Miss Universe as a platform to reflect Israel Public Diplomacy in order to maximize Israel promotion. Despite pandemic and boycott, Israel successed in holding Miss Universe back in December 2021. This paper aims to analyse the dynamic of politics in supposedly non-political events such as Miss Universe. This paper uses qualitative methods to collect the data source and Public diplomacy as the modern concept in order to approach this paper.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Anti-Muslim Rhetoric in Donald Trump’s Historic 2016 AIPAC Policy Speech

The primary focus of this study is to explore Donald Trump’s emerging anti-Muslim ideology in his speech delivered at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Elections. The discourse of this speech is loaded with anti-Muslim and anti-Islam linguistic instances. To analyze Trump’s Islamophobic discourse, the study engaged with the ideological square model under the umbrella of critical discourse studies. For data collection, validation and linguistic inquiry, NVivo 12 Plus has also been used. The findings reveal that self-others schema has strongly been evidenced in Trump’s AIPAC policy speech where he tried to depict Muslims in negative terms and successfully presented himself as a “hero” of the nation who wishes to save America from suffering and destruction. In addition, this research exhibited Trump’s obvious attempt to accentuate his virtuous self by using an array of rhetorical strategies in order to imprint negative attributes in terms of high level of Islamophobia.

Jonathan Cummings, Israel's Public Diplomacy: The Problems of Hasbara, 1966–1975; Natan Aridan, Advocating for Israel: Diplomats and Lobbyists from Truman to Nixon

Jonathan Cummings, <i>Israel's Public Diplomacy: The Problems of Hasbara, 1966–1975</i>; Natan Aridan, <i>Advocating for Israel: Diplomats and Lobbyists from Truman to Nixon</i>

Palestine Unbound

Published each issue, this section strives to capture the tenor and content of popular conversations related to the Palestinians and the Arab-Israeli conflict, which are held on dynamic platforms unbound by traditional media. Therefore, items presented in this section are from a variety of sources and have been selected because they either have gone viral or represent a significant cultural moment or trend. A version of Palestine Unbound is also published on Palestine Square (http://palestinesquare.com), a blog of the Institute for Palestine Studies. Stories from this quarter (16 November 2018–15 February 2019) include the induction of the first Palestinian woman, Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), into U.S. congress; the steep public censure of a second Muslim congresswoman, Ilahn Omar (D-MN), for her criticism of the influence the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affiars Committee (AIPAC) has over U.S. politics; and the firing of professor/activist Marc Lamont Hill for his pro-Palestinian speech at UN headquarters. Trending hastags this quarter are #TweetYourThobe, #StandWithIlhan, and #IStandWithMLH.

Mordecai D. Treblow

Mordecai D. Treblow, 86, died on April 26, 2016, in Pittsburgh. “Mordecai was a retired chemist and university professor who was a lifelong member of the American Chemical Society, the U.S. Chess Federation, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Zionist Organization of America, and the Republican Party. Mordecai loved spending time with his nine grandchildren, Helena, Caryn, Kevin, Nathan, Ethan, Shalom Zev, Etan Zvi, Miriam, and Rina.”—family of Mordecai Treblow Most recent title: chemical consultant and candidate for Pittsburgh City Council Education: B.A., chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 1955; Ph.D., chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, 1972 Survivors: wife, Sibyl; daughter, Annette Ziegler; sons, Marshall and Michael; nine grandchildren To recognize your late loved one or colleague, submit obituary information at cenm.ag/obits.

Unrequited Hope: Obama and Palestine

The early hope that the two-state solution would be implemented during the Obama presidency faded as both the Mitchell and Kerry negotiations failed. Only during his final weeks in office did Obama agree to the US abstaining on a UN vote condemning the ongoing Israeli settlements in territory earmarked as part of a future Palestinian state. After he leaves the presidency, there is a slim chance that Obama might join Jimmy Cater in working to mobilize American voters and taxpayers around efforts by Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) and other movements to oppose pro-Zionist lobbies, especially American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and to force Congress and the President to pressure Israel to withdraw from the Occupied Territories and enable the creation of a de-militarized Palestinian state.

Seeing and Unseeing Like a State: House Demolitions, Healthcare, and the Politics of Invisibility in Southern Israel

A 2005 amendment to Israel's Public Land Law and the 1994 National Health Insurance Law (NHIL) are two policies that highlight the complex relationship between the Israeli state and the Negev/Naqab Bedouins. While the Land Law sanctioned house demolitions and the erasure of Bedouin villages, the NHIL granted Bedouins access to healthcare and increased their visibility within the medical system. In this article, I draw on these contradictory policies of inclusion and exclusion to argue that the treatment of Negev/Naqab Bedouins as equal citizens within Israel is contingent on state officials' seeing only particular aspects of this community. Crucially, this means that state officials actively make invisible the unequal and exclusionary politics that marginalize Bedouin citizens. While the case of the Bedouins in Israel is a specific one, I suggest that attending to how state officials make particular individuals, communities, and histories invisible clarifies how states, both in Israel and beyond, maintain the state's ideology of equality despite a hierarchy of privilege. It is through the production of invisibility that neglect and exclusion come to be justified and obscured, and that themes of inclusion and democracy can be highlighted. Therefore, an analysis of the making of invisibility allows for an examination of the active production of the state and of citizenship, and provides a more complex understanding of the role of visibility in state practices.

The Nature of Israel's Public Policy Aimed at Curbing the Rise in Property Prices from 2008-2015, as a Derivative of the Country's Governance Structure

IntroductionThe considerable rise in Israel's property prices from 2008 to the present1 has put concerns of a developing real estate bubble on Israel's public agenda (Dovman et al., 2012). Volatile property prices are not unusual and occur in all countries with a free market, similar to the price of shares and commodities. Nonetheless, a historical perspective points to the notable contribution of real estate bubbles to the development of domestic economic and social crises. Two particularly noticeable cases of extreme volatility in domestic property prices are known to have led to acute long-term local and foreign economic crises. The first is the case of Japan in the early 1990s (the property bubble crisis), which generated much research (Weinstein, 1990; Ito & Iwaisako, 1995; Stone & Ziemba, 1993; Noguchi, 1994; Cargill, Hutchison & Ito, 1996; Noguchi, 1994; Schaede, 1996; Ohmi, 2010: Saxonhouse & Stem, 2002). The second is the US property crisis (the subprime crisis) in the first decade of the twenty first century, which has also been extensively studied (Kregel, 2008; Demyanyk & Van Hemert, 2011; Gjerstad & Smith, 2009; Blundell-Wignall & Atkinson, 2008; Gwinner & Sanders, 2009; Hellwig, 2009; Whalen, 2008; Arner, 2009; Brown & Davis, 2008; Serkan, 2009; Sagemann & Reese, 2011). The disastrous economic consequences of these crises served as a warning sign for Israel and its developing property bubble, resulting in policy plans for curbing and even reducing property prices. For many years Israel's real estate industry has been known as a free market industry, protected from government intervention in determining prices. Based on their concern that the end of the local property price bubble might come to resemble the US crisis in 2008, Israeli leaders have formed policy and regulatory steps aimed at intervening in free market forces.The purpose of this paper is to follow these policy steps, analyze them, and examine them in light of the economic worldview customary in Israel as well as its governance structure. The research hypothesis claims an association between the governance structure in a given country and the nature of its public policy. Thus, a country with a stable governance structure will witness the formation of a normative public policy that seeks to promote and achieve national interests for the public good. In contrast, a country with an unstable governance structure will witness the formation of a positivist public policy aimed at promoting the interests of specific groups in society that have individual characteristics and specific interests, including those of the policy makers themselves. This hypothesis shall be explored through a case study analyzing the characteristics of the Israeli public policy endeavoring to reduce domestic housing prices during 2008-2015. The State of Israel is characterized by an unstable governance structure, and thus identifying the nature of public policy formed on this issue (as normative or positivist) may attest to the existence or nonexistence of the hypothesized association between a country's governance structure and the nature of its public policy. Before examining the existence of such an association, however, the characteristics of public policy and the justifications for its formation and implementation shall now be presented.1. The nature of public policyThe nature of public policy and its contents derive from a country's type of government, with a totalitarian country more inclined to implement a strict policy that intervenes in the life of its citizens and does not always act in their favor, while a democratic country will implement public policy that aims to serve the public, with elected officials serving as an instrument for promoting the public good. Nevertheless, in some cases democratic rule as well will use public policy as an opportunity to promote the political interests of officials and thus miss its original goal (Bertelli, 2012). …

Israel's Public Procurement Regime International and Comparative Aspects

English Abstract: This article aims to describe and analyze Israel’s public procurement regime, including its system for judicial review, with a special emphasis on its international and comparative aspects. It discusses the history and origins of Israel’s public procurement law, while showing the central role played by the Israeli Supreme Court in creating and developing this law. It also shows that when regulation moved from general (judge-made) principles to detailed (legislated) rules, the system became too rigid and too legalistically bureaucratic and agencies felt that they were unable to accomplish their objectives. This led to the an attempt to reform the system in 2009, by expanding the arsenal of tendering procedures available to procuring agencies, so that they would be more flexible, and to modernize the procurement system by introducing new technologies including electronic procurement. The article shows how these changes were influenced by foreign legal systems (mainly the EU and the US) and by international instruments, such as the UNCITRAL Model Law and the GPA. The reform also decentralized the exemption authority, granting it to each and every procuring entity. By an original analysis of official statistics, the article shows that the new tendering procedures are seldom used, that the pace of introducing electronic procurement is painfully slow, and that there has been a dangerous surge in the number of exemptions from public tendering, which probably is a result of the decentralization.The chapter also discusses Israel’s international commitments in this field, mainly under the plurilateral GPA, but also under other bilateral international agreements. These commitments are discussed on the background of Israel’s existing domestic preference polices. Finally, the chapter discusses Israel’s bid challenge system, which is performed exclusively by the judiciary, and how it serves to satisfy the obligation under the GPA to provide for an effective and independent bid challenge system. It also presents figures on the actual use of this system and on the average success rate of petitioners. The article concludes with the discussion of a recent case, which implemented GPA rules and dismissed the demand of the local producer to receive preferential treatment.תקציר בעברית: מאמר זה מטרתו לתאר ולנתח את משטר דיני המכרזים הציבוריים של ישראל, לרבות מערך הביקורת השיפוטית שלהם, עם דגש מיוחד על היבטיו הבינלאומיים וההשוואתיים. הוא דן במקורותיו ובתולדותיו של דיני הרכש הציבורי בישראל, ומראה את התפקיד המרכזי ששיחק בית המשפט העליון ביצירתו ובפיתוחו של תחום משפטי זה. המאמר מראה גם שכאשר הרגולציה עברה מעקרונות כלליים, פרי יציר הפסיקה, לכללים פרטניים סטטוטוריים, המערכת הפכה לנוקשה מדי ולבירוקרטית-לגליסטית מדי, באופן שגרם לרשויות לחוש שהן לא מסוגלות להשיג את מטרותיהן באמצעותה. תחושה זו הובילה לניסיון לבצע רפורמה בתחום זה בשנת 2009, באמצעות הרחבת ארסנל שיטות הרכש העומדות לשימוש היחידות הרוכשות. שיטות אלה נועדו לאפשר יתר גמישות ומודרניזציה של משטר הרכש באמצעות הכנסת טכנולוגיות חדשות, לרבות רכש אלקטרוני (מכרז ממוכן). המאמר מראה איך שינויים אלה היו מושפעים משיטות משפט זרות (בעיקר של האיחוד האירופי ושל ארהב) ומקודים בינלאומיים, כגון החוק לדוגמה של האום על רכש ציבורי והסכם הרכישות הממשלתיות של ארגון הסחר העולמי. הרפורמה גם ביזרה את סמכות הפטורים והעבירה חלק גדול ממנה לכל אחד מהגופים הרוכשים. על-ידי ניתוח מקורי של הסטטיסטיקה הרשמית שהתקבלה מהחשב הכללי, המאמר מראה שהשימוש בשיטות הרכש החדשות הוא נדיר ושחלה עליה מדאיגה במספר הפטורים מחובת מכרז (עד כדי 85% מכלל הרכישות!) ככל הנראה כתוצאה מהעברת סמכות הפטור מוועדת הפטורים המרכזית של החשכל אל היחידות הרוכשות.המאמר דן גם בהתחייבויות הבינלאומיות של ישראל בתחום זה, בעיקר תחת הסכם ה-GPA הפלורילטראלי, אך גם תחת הסכמים בילטראליים שונים. התחייבויות אלה נדונות על רקע מדיניות העדפת תוצרת הארץ הנוהגת ברכש הציבורי בישראל. לבסוף, המאמר דן בשיטת התקיפה של החלטות בתחום הרכש הציבורי הנוהגת בישראל אשר מתבצעת כולה במסגרת הרשות השופטת, והאופן שבו היא ממלאת אחר ההתחייבות תחת הסכם ה-GPA להעמיד שיטת ביקורת אפקטיבית ובלתי תלויה. המאמר גם מציג נתונים ביחס למידת השימוש בפועל בשיטה זו ומידת ההצלחה הממוצעת של עותרים. המאמר מסיים בדיון בפסק דין מהתקופה האחרונה אשר יישם את הסכם ה-GPA ודחה דרישה של יצרן מקומי לקבלת יחס מועדף.

U.S.-Israel Special Aid Relationship Dynamics and Implications for Pakistan

The United States (U.S.) has allocated a total of more than U.S. $ 63 billion economic and over U.S. $ 141 billion military assistance to Israel, more than U.S. $ 200 billion in aggregate over the last six decades. While there are several fluctuations in the amount of aid, there is also a continuum. This paper examines how and why the U.S.-Israel aid relationship is so special and unique. Focusing on historical as well as contemporary U.S. economic and military aid to Israel, the paper explores that, despite some ups and downs, aid to Israel has always remained a constant feature of the ties between the two countries. Israel has not only received the largest amount of aggregate U.S. economic and military aid, but there are also certain other special concessions available to Israel that no other U.S. aid recipient is privileged to avail. The paper identifies key dynamics that play an integral role in keeping the unparalleled U.S.-Israel aid relationship intact. Existing evidence indicates that besides factors such as shared values, including so-called democratic norms, Judo-Christian values and common geo-strategic goals; the Jewish lobby within the U.S., particularly the extremely powerful and well-organized American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is one of the most influential players tilting U.S. foreign policy in favour of Israel. The paper illustrates that Israel is a unique aid recipient which has been receiving billions of dollars in U.S. civilian and security assistance on account of these factors, rather than purely because of Israel's poverty or developmental needs. The study concludes by highlighting the current state of U.S.-Israel aid ties and the implications of overall U.S.-Israel aid relations for Pakistan.

Repenting for What Israel Did to Gaza—Without Condoning the Wrongs Committed by Hamas

Repenting for What Israel Did to Gaza—Without Condoning the Wrongs Committed by Hamas

Greening the Curriculum: Current Trends in Environmental Education in Israel's Public Schools

The importance of environmental education as part of national strategies for sustainability is recognized throughout the world. In recent years, substantial efforts and many millions of shekels have been invested in developing environmental education programs in Israel’s schools. Unfortunately, outcomes in terms of pupils’ environmental literacy are far from satisfying. This article reviews the origins of environmental education in Israel, considers its evolution, describes the present situation within Israel’s educational system, as well as the major educational programs that are active in Israel today. Israel’s educational goals remain centered on security, economics, and industrial needs, without internalizing the significance of environment quality as a critical factor for healthy global and national futures as well as a prerequisite for a sustainable prosperity. The article reviews ideas for improving existing levels of environmental education and increasing the commitment of teachers and schools to inculcating related knowledge and values.

The Iranian Nuclear Debate: More Myths Than Facts

ABSTRACT: Much of public debate surrounding US policies regarding Iran has been distorted by myths that obscure actual status of Iranian nuclear programs. Similarly, discussions about implications of a nuclear-armed Iran are often built on questionable assumptions requiring more thorough examination. This article dispels these myths, questions these assumptions, and draws important implications for US policymakers in this critical strategic debate. ********** International negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program are once again in limbo. At conclusion of February talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Iran's Foreign Minister All Akbar Salehi characterized them as a significant milestone that had reached a turning point, and left him very optimistic and hopeful. (1) Meanwhile, reactions from representatives of so-called P5+1 (United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany) were notably more measured, but hinted at an optimistic assessment as newly confirmed US Secretary of State Kerry characterized February sessions as useful. (2) As so frequently happened in past, however, subsequent talks in April crashed against reality of significant gaps in substantive negotiating positions of P5+1 and Iranian teams. The European Union representative talks, Catherine Ashton, cast a decidedly downbeat assessment of April sessions observing that the positions of [P5+1] and Iran remain far apart on substance.... We have therefore agreed that all sides will go back capitals evaluate where we stand in process. (3) This pause in negotiations offers American policymakers opportunity reassess strategic options regarding Iran's nuclear program. The recent election of Hasan Rouhani as President of Iran gives Obama administration another reason reconsider America's current approach. A coherent strategy requires establishment of clear objectives and a design for employing nation's instruments of power achieve those objectives. In case of Iran, overriding strategic objective of current US policy has been made exactingly clear by President Obama and Vice President Biden. In his speech American Israel Public Affairs Committee one year ago, President Obama said objective of US policy is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear (4) Vice President Biden reiterated this position nearly verbatim same audience on 4 March 2013 saying goal of US policy is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear (5) While others outside White House have suggested alternative US policy objectives ranging from preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability ousting current regime in Tehran, these statements by President and Vice President have effectively ended this portion of strategic debate. US policies under President Obama will be guided by paramount objective of preventing Iran's acquisition of a nuclear weapon. Nevertheless, public and internal debates over how United States can best marshal its diplomatic, economic, informational, and military instruments of power accomplish this expressed policy objective will continue for some time. The default option would be maintain current US dual-track approach of offering negotiations while imposing ever-tightening economic and financial sanctions in hope of compelling Iranian concessions on its nuclear program. Others have made case for preemptive military attacks designed destroy Iran's existing nuclear facilities or facilitate a regime change in Tehran. (6) Still others have advocated a strategy emphasizing a diplomatic approach exchanging United States and international recognition of Iran's right enrich uranium in return for commitments from Tehran limit enrichment activities and subject them an intrusive international inspection regimen ensuring nuclear materials are not diverted military purposes. …

Reimagining Judaism

Reimagining Judaism

Why has the United States not bombed Iran? The domestic politics of America's response to Iran's nuclear programme

Why has the United States (US), under both the Bush and Obama administrations, refrained from attacking Iran even though US officials have depicted the Iranian threat in all but apocalyptic terms and even though a loud chorus in Washington has been persistently calling for a preventive strike against Iran? I present an analysis—informed by Graham Allison's famous bureaucratic politics model—of the main political and bureaucratic forces in Washington acting to promote or impede a preventive attack on Iran's nuclear sites. I argue that America's abstention from attacking Iran should be understood not as a coherent national response to Iran's nuclear programme but rather as (in Allison's terms) an ‘intra-national political outcome’ resulting from the ‘pulling’ of ‘Iran Threat’ interests—primarily Vice President Cheney's camp in the Bush White House, members of Congress, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)—and the countervailing ‘hauling’ of the Pentagon, the military's top brass, the intelligence community and the Department of State. The main reason why neither the Bush nor the Obama administration has opted for a military strike is that the ‘haulers’, who were led by a formidable bureaucratic-political player, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, have had the upper hand over the hawkish ‘pullers’.

Understanding Israel's Public Diplomacy Strengths and Weaknesses

Understanding Israel's Public Diplomacy Strengths and Weaknesses

C1. Pm Benjamin Netanyahu, Address at the Annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) Policy Conference, Washington, 22 March 2010 (Excerpts)

C1. Pm Benjamin Netanyahu, Address at the Annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) Policy Conference, Washington, 22 March 2010 (Excerpts)

Introduction

Pro-Israel advocacy in the United States has come under a great deal of critical scrutiny in recent years. Denunciations of the excessive influence of the “Israel Lobby” on US foreign policymaking toward the Middle East, allegations of espionage leveled against high-ranking employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and arguments over whether pro-Israel organizations adequately represent American Jewish opinion have all served to put the pro-Israel lobby in the public spotlight.