Research & Commentary Results

Originally posted June 2011

Originally posted June 2011

If there is a Horizontal Line that runs from the MAP off your body straight through the Land shooting up right through my heart Will this Horizontal Line when asked know how to find Where you end where I begin

— Tori Amos^[1]

In the wake of the recent Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, Turkish-Iranian relations once again came under scrutiny. As the US and the EU have intensified their efforts to impose sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council, Turkey’s role in this issue has come into question. Notwithstanding Turkish temporary membership in the Security Council, the Turkish position will be critical for any effective implementation of sanctions.

*This article originally appeared in the Project Syndicate online on May 23, 2011.

As the Arab Spring enters its fourth month, it faces challenges but also presents opportunities. Despite setbacks in Libya, Yemen, and Syria, the democratic wave has already begun to change the Middle East’s political landscape.

The Middle East Institute's Center for Turkish Studies is proud to host Mr.Taha Ozhan, Director General of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA Ankara), for a discussion on Turkey's upcoming elections on June 12.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Greg Myre and Jennifer Griffin for a discussion about the ongoing challenges in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on their knowledge and experiences recounted in their new book, This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Myre and Griffin, journalists who are husband and wife, traveled to Jerusalem in 1999 in hopes of finally seeing Middle East peace. Instead, the pair watched as violence in the area escalated and the peace process disintegrated.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Greg Myre and Jennifer Griffin for a discussion about the ongoing challenges in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on their knowledge and experiences recounted in their new book, This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Myre and Griffin, journalists who are husband and wife, traveled to Jerusalem in 1999 in hopes of finally seeing Middle East peace. Instead, the pair watched as violence in the area escalated and the peace process disintegrated.

The Obama administration's efforts to win a settlement freeze as a confidence-building measure have failed, and the U.S.has not presented a new vision for resuming the moribund peace process. Nevertheless, many analysts now recommend shifting the diplomatic focus to negotiations to define the border between Israel and the future state of Palestine. Resolving the border would address the issues of settlements and Jerusalem as well as potential land swaps between the two states.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host the Honorable Robert Wexler and Dr. Yoram Peri for a discussion about the challenges facing Israel and the Middle East peace process in the wake of the resignation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Some in Israel, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, argue that current events in the region make it imperative that Israel move quickly to secure a peace treaty with the Palestinians. Others insist Israel proceed with caution, given the increased instability in the region.

The popular uprisings against authoritarian regimes in Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan and Egypt herald the beginning of a new political era in the Middle East. At the center of this new political order is a generation of young Arabs, educated, highly marginalized, and numerous. The members of the so-called Arab “youth bulge” are demanding neither the unification of the Arab world as espoused by the pan-Arabists of the 1960s, nor an Islamic state of the 1980s, but rather a dignified life, social justice, and freedom.

Israeli politics is notable for its wide array of parties and unstable coalition governments. The main institutional cause of this chronic instability is the system of nationwide proportional representation, which gives disproportionate influence to minor parties. This instability limits the ability of Israeli governments to pursue coherent long-term strategies and leads to policies that address the concerns of minority groups at the expense of the national interest.

This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed in Foreign Policy's Middle East Channel on December 21, 2010

Educational reform in Israel has repeatedly shifted from expecting individual excellence to expecting access for all. Excellence and access reflects the early history of the country when Jewish funders from France, England, and Germany established educational systems for Jewish children. The Zionist organizations that structured much of the curriculum and the external funding streams insured the Jewish schools were far better funded than the British-supported schools during the Mandate.

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