Iran’s Attack Requires a Broad Response
The Ukraine War After Two Years
From Our Columnists
How Israel Wins the Postwar
Israel must finish the job of crushing Hamas in Gaza both as a military force and as a government. That’s the legitimate response to the surprise attack of October 7. This war aim also includes return of the hostages and minimizing Gazan civilian casualties to the extent possible. The Israel Defense Forces are in the […]
The Moscow Attack Should Alarm the Whole World
The March 22 terrorist attack in Moscow left 133 dead, more than 130 injured, and many urgent questions about the return of ISIS, a Syria-based terror group long thought to be vanquished. Days before the bloodshed, the US secretly warned the Kremlin about a potential ISIS attack, giving actionable intelligence under its longstanding “duty to warn” […]
America-Israel Disagreement over Gaza at a Critical Junction
Rarely in the American special relationship with Israel has there been such a dramatic display of discord between leaders. What began as a remarkable show of American support and solidarity with Israel, in the wake of Hamas’s assault in October, came by February and March to be increasingly marred by acrimony. The White House statement […]
The Danger of Failed States Surrounding Israel
Four months into the war in Gaza and the cafés in Tel Aviv are full. It’s nearly impossible to find a spot in trendy restaurants on weekends. Yet no one should be mistaken. Israel is not back to normal. A radio or television plays in the background of nearly every café and shop, and when […]
The World in 2024 - Elections and the Demand for American Leadership
Some two billion people, or around one half of the world’s population, will have the opportunity to vote in 2024. No matter the outcome of these elections, 2024 will be a turning point – a time of choosing between democracy and darker outcomes. These elections are taking place against a backdrop of weakening independent institutions in a […]
Self-Deterrence Will Not Stop the Houthis or Their Iranian Suppliers
Self-deterrence is a defense concept that a state may be restrained from using its military power not by the fear of a counter strike but rather owing to reputational concerns arising from moral, legal or other considerations. This concept may partly explain US reluctance to escalate the current level of military conflict with Iran, though […]
Even Before the Guns Fall Silent: Israel's Political Debates Reawaken
As 2024 began, the Israeli war effort in the Gaza Strip changed in nature (see Israel Shifts Tactics in Gaza), with the focus shifting to the battles in the central and southern areas and to special forces operations against Hamas’ immense tunnel system. But the hostage situation remained unresolved, with 136 still held according to […]
At Dawn They Slept
The best defense is a good offense. Or is it, really? October 7, 2023, the costliest day in Israel’s history, provides a stark lesson. Sometimes going on the offensive is better, and a surer way to victory, than waiting for the enemy to land the first blow. But not always, and as a state of […]
Latin American Views on the Gaza War Are in Flux
In the days and weeks after the October 7 terrorist attack and Israeli military response, some Latin American nations have distanced themselves politically from Israel. While views of the conflict are evolving, the Latin American public’s reliance on social media for news reports, amid relentlessly negative images of suffering in Gaza, has contributed to widespread […]
Global Politics
What Might Deter Xi Jinping?
The past two years have witnessed several failures of deterrence – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023. The invasion of Ukraine heightened global awareness that military force by a state actor is not a relic of the past and could occur in other flashpoints around the […]
Southeast Asia’s Growing Importance to Global Trade
The world is in the initial stages of an evolution in the structure of global trade. While popular narratives about the era of globalization described a wide dispersion of trade flows and supply chains to all corners of the world, the reality was different. Global trade remained very concentrated. For example, close to 40 percent […]
A Duly Elected Dictator - The Case of El Salvador’s Bukele
Nayib Bukele has been reelected president of El Salvador. The Salvadoran constitution prohibits consecutive terms as president but Salvadorans looked past the legal prohibitions to elect their young, charismatic, and popular president to a second five-year term. Bukele’s new term in power has implications for El Salvador’s postwar democracy and other populist leaders in the […]
Video
Video Interview with Elyakim Rubinstein
Interview with Elyakim Rubinstein – Former Israeli Peace Negotiator and Supreme Court Justice. Interviewer: Ksenia Svetlova. Read the full transcript below. Ksenia Svetlova: Do you believe that Israel can achieve security in the West Bank and also in the south near Gaza, without the fundamental question of solving the Palestinian issue. You negotiated Camp David […]
Video Interview with Writer Tunku Varadarajan: Challenges to the American-led World Order; India and Its Relations with America and Israel
Read the full transcript below. Ksenia Svetlova: Some people see a decline in American power. Are we going through a more chaotic period where there are no rules anymore? Challenges to the American-led World Order Tunku Varadarajan: I think that it’s not fair to say you don’t have rules anymore. What is fair to say is that you […]
Video Interview with Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
JST columnist Ksenia Svetlova interviews Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about the war with Hamas during his time in office, about the current conflicts in Gaza and the northern border, and Israeli domestic politics. Read the full transcript below. Note: This transcript is lightly edited for accuracy. Ksenia Svetlova: Were you surprised when October 7 […]