2022 Israeli Legislative Election
Dr. Elie Friedman
Head of Communication Division
Department of Multidisciplinary Studies
Ashkelon Academic College
10 November 2022

On 1 November 2022, Israel held a parliamentary election for the fifth time since 2019. Dr. Elie Friedman offers his perspective on the election's result and what it may mean for Israel domestically and in its foreign policy.

#Israel #IsraeliElections #Netanyahu

Elie Friedman (PhD) serves as Head of the International Relations Office as well as Head of the Communications Division at the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies, Ashkelon Academic College. His academic rank is Senior Lecturer. He also serves as an adjunct lecturer at School of Communication, Bar-Ilan University, and a visiting lecturer at University of Maryland. His interests include political discourse in national and international contexts with an emphasis on conflict resolution, media, and public diplomacy.

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The Biden Administration's Policy in the Eastern Mediterranean
Alan Makovsky
Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

#EasternMediterranean #Biden #Turkey

Alan Makovsky is a senior fellow for National Security and International Policy at American Progress. From 2001 to 2013, he served as a senior professional staff member on the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he covered the Middle East, Turkey, and other related issues. At the Washington Institute for Near East Policy—a private think tank where he worked from 1994 to 2001—Makovsky wrote widely on various Middle Eastern and Turkish topics. He also founded and directed the Washington Institute’s Turkey Research Program. At the State Department where he worked from 1983 to 1994—Makovsky variously covered southern European affairs and Middle Eastern affairs for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He also served as the political advisor to Operation Provide Comfort in 1992 and as the special advisor to the special Middle East coordinator from 1993 to 1994.

The Impact of Corruption on Democracy
Myron Nicolatos and Christodoulos G. Pelaghias
17 May 2022

What is the definition of corruption? What are its sources and how can it be tackled? Judge Nicolatos and Dr. Pelaghias discuss the effects of corruption on a democratic regime in a country prone to clientelism such as Cyprus.

#Cyprus #Corruption #Democracy

Myron Nicolatos is the retired president of the Republic of Cyprus Supreme Court. He studied law at the London School of Economics (University of London) and he was awarded the degrees of LL.B. (Honors) and LL.M.. He is also a Barrister of the Middle Temple. He practiced Law between 1979 and 1986. He was appointed District Judge in 1986 and was promoted to President District Court in 1996. He became a Justice of the Supreme Court of Cyprus in 2004, and from July 2014 until June 2020 he served as the Supreme Court's president.

Christodoulos G. Pelaghias is the senior partner of Cyprus-based international law practice, with bar admissions in New York and Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias serves on the Executive Committee of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is president of the Cyprus Council of the European Movement International (EMI), and former member of the Board of Directors of EMI. He is chairman of the European Rim Policy and Investment Council (ERPIC), and has advised the President of the Republic of Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias holds an M.A. in International Affairs, a Ph.D in Political Science, and a J.D. in Law, from Columbia University.

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Conflict Resolution and the War in Ukraine
Sundeep Waslekar, Yair Chirschfeld and Christodoulos G. Pelaghias
13 May 2022

The war in eastern Ukraine has been ongoing since 2014, but the full-scale invasion by Russia that took place in February 2022 caught many by surprise. However, after the failed attempt to take Kyiv and topple the Zelensky government, the fights are now concentrated again in the Donbas region as well as in the south of the country. Three months on, the war has no end in sight. The end may come closer when Russia and Ukraine reach what in conflict resolution is called a mutually hurting stalemate – a situation, in which neither party can win while prolonging the conflict would be harmful to both. This shouldn’t be expected anytime soon as none of the warring sides is currently interested in ending the conflict. However, further escalation may eventually push Russia to use its nuclear weapons – an unlikely scenario that nevertheless cannot be entirely ruled out. Therefore, stopping the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and preventing a nuclear disaster in Europe is the most urgent need.

#UkraineWar #Ukraine #Russia

Sundeep Waslekar is President of Strategic Foresight Group, a think-tank based in India that advises governments and institutions around the world on managing future challenges. Under his leadership, SFG has worked with or on 50 countries from four continents creating new policy concepts in conflict resolution, water diplomacy and foresight for countries and societies. Mr. Waslekar has been involved in parallel diplomatic exercises to find common ground in times of crisis, negotiating with Heads of Government, cabinet ministers, diplomats, hydraulic engineers and terrorists. He has facilitated dialogue between Indian and Pakistani decision-makers, heads of Nepalese political parties and water authorities in Africa and the Middle East. In the 1990s, he authored three books on governance The New World Order, South Asian Drama, and Dharma-Rajya: Path-breaking Reforms for India's Governance. Since 2002, he has authored several research reports on global future under the auspices of the Strategic Foresight Group. He was been a faculty at World Economic Forum annual meetings at Davos and a senior executive at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm. He has been quoted, reviewed and interviewed in more than 2000 newspapers, websites and television channels in some 70-80 countries including BBC World Television, CNN, The Economist, New York Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, Newsweek, among others.

Yair Hirschfeld is an Israeli historian and a former lecturer at the University of Haifa. Since 1979, he has been involved in promoting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. During the 1980ies he organized the confidential dialogue between Shimon Peres with the Palestinian leadership on the West Bank and Gaza. He prepared a study that became the conceptual model for the Oslo negotiations. He led the non-official Israeli team in Norway and became then a member of the official Israeli negotiating team leading to the conclusion of the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles of September 1993. During the 1990ies, Mr. Hirschfeld developed concepts and structures for People-to-People activities, as well as working concepts for an Israel-Palestine code of conduct aimed to move from the logic of war, to the logic of peace; a blueprint for Security Permanent Status, and Economic Permanent Status understandings. After the Second Intifada, Mr. Hirschfeld was instrumental in preparing the way for Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation. He was involved in an Israel-Palestine backchannel preparing parameters for negotiations between PM Olmert and President Abbas, an effort that failed. Mr. Hirschfeld is presently involved in pursuing a track two dialogue with Palestinian counterparts on one hand, and with Israeli governmental authorities on the other hand, how best to pursue shared interests in the preparation of a hoped-for renewal of an envisaged political peace-building process. He is heading an Israeli team in a joint Israeli-Palestinian project aimed at promoting Palestinian economic growth.

Christodoulos G. Pelaghias is the senior partner of Cyprus-based international law practice, with bar admissions in New York and Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias serves on the Executive Committee of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is president of the Cyprus Council of the European Movement International (EMI), and former member of the Board of Directors of EMI. He is chairman of the European Rim Policy and Investment Council (ERPIC), and has advised the President of the Republic of Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias holds an M.A. in International Affairs, a Ph.D in Political Science, and a J.D. in Law, from Columbia University.

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Current Political Developments in Israel
Dr. Elie Friedman
Ashkelon Academic College
11 May 2022

The current political situation in Israel is somehow contradictory. Israel remains strong economically and geopolitically, yet it finds itself in a precarious and difficult situation in terms of internal security and internal politics. Economically, the recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic has been robust. Israel’s regional standing has significantly improved, mainly through the Abraham Accords which have proven to be solid and beneficial for all parties involved. Internally, however, the security situation is fragile and there has been a spike in terrorist attacks in Israel, some of them perpetrated by its own citizens. On top of that, the current government built on a broad coalition of very diverse parties could be on its last legs. Its collapse would spark yet another wave of political instability in the country.

#Israel #IsraeliPolitics #AbrahamAccords

Elie Friedman (PhD) serves as Head of the International Relations Office as well as Head of the Communications Division at the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies, Ashkelon Academic College. His academic rank is Senior Lecturer. He also serves as an adjunct lecturer at School of Communication, Bar-Ilan University, and a visiting lecturer at University of Maryland. His interests include political discourse in national and international contexts with an emphasis on conflict resolution, media, and public diplomacy.

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Alan Makovsky
Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
24 January 2022

Turkey continues to be a concern in the region, in particular with regard to its positions in Libya, Syria, Greece and Cyprus. But the Biden Administration has tried to “normalize” the way of handling relations with Turkey. Like previous administrations, it considers Turkey an important geostrategic asset and is concerned about the possibility that Turkey could drift into the Russian orbit. At the same time, Biden has been more willing than his predecessors to keep Erdogan off balance.

#EasternMediterranean #Turkey #Biden

Alan Makovsky is a senior fellow for National Security and International Policy at American Progress. From 2001 to 2013, he served as a senior professional staff member on the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he covered the Middle East, Turkey, and other related issues. At the Washington Institute for Near East Policy—a private think tank where he worked from 1994 to 2001—Makovsky wrote widely on various Middle Eastern and Turkish topics. He also founded and directed the Washington Institute’s Turkey Research Program. At the State Department where he worked from 1983 to 1994—Makovsky variously covered southern European affairs and Middle Eastern affairs for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He also served as the political advisor to Operation Provide Comfort in 1992 and as the special advisor to the special Middle East coordinator from 1993 to 1994.

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Henrique Cymerman, Prof. Yair Hirschfeld and Marta Murzanska
1 December 2021

In the fourth part of our discussions on the common culture in the Eastern Mediterranean, Henrique Cymerman, Prof. Yair Hirschfeld and Marta Murzanska continue the discussion on the fate of Christian and other religious minorities, the roots of radicalization and intolerance, and the prospects for religious dialogue in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider Middle East.

#EasternMediterranean #ReligiousMinorities #ReligiousDialogue

Henrique Cymerman is an Israeli journalist of Portuguese and Spanish origin who works as a correspondent in the Middle East for SIC, La Vanguardia and Mediaset España, among others. He has been covering current affairs in the Middle East for 30 years and has established relationships of trust with chief regional political leaders in Israel, Palestine, the Middle East and the Arab world. He was nominated by Pope Francis as his "Angel of Peace" for the "Prayer for Peace" that he organized in the Vatican. Henrique is the author of the book "Voices from the center of the World" which includes interviews with key characters in the region with key personages: such as Yasser Arafat; Shimon Peres; Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin; Omar bin Laden, son of Osama bin Laden; Mahmoud Abbas; and Yitzhak Rabin's last interview. He also directed the TV documentary series "Jihad Now", in which he explores the roots of radical Islam, al-Qaeda and Islamic State. He works in five languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Hebrew.

Yair Hirschfeld is an Israeli historian and a former lecturer at the University of Haifa. Since 1979, he has been involved in promoting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. During the 1980ies he organized the confidential dialogue between Shimon Peres with the Palestinian leadership on the West Bank and Gaza. In 1990 he founded together with Yossi Beilin the Economic Cooperation Foundation. He prepared a study that became the conceptual model for the Oslo negotiations. He led the non-official Israeli team in Norway and became then a member of the official Israeli negotiating team leading to the conclusion of the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles of September 1993. During the 1990ies Hirschfeld developed concepts and structures for People-to-People activities, as well as working concepts for an Israel-Palestine code of conduct aimed to move from the logic of war, to the logic of peace; a blueprint for Security Permanent Status, and Economic Permanent Status understandings. After the Second Intifada Hirschfeld was instrumental in preparing the way for Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation. He was involved in an Israel-Palestine backchannel preparing parameters for negotiations between PM Olmert and President Abbas, an effort that failed. Prof. Hirschfeld is presently involved in pursuing a track two dialogue with Palestinian counterparts on one hand, and with Israeli governmental authorities on the other hand, how best to pursue shared interests in the preparation of a hoped-for renewal of an envisaged political peace-building process. He is heading an Israeli team in a joint Israeli-Palestinian project aimed at promoting Palestinian economic growth. And he is working with a team of experts in order to propose policies aimed at upgrading Israel’s soft power capacities in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea area. His recent publications include: Track Two Diplomacy toward an Israeli-Palestinian Solution, 1978-2014; (Woodrow Wilson Center Press, and John Hopkins University Press 2014), Developing an Israeli Grand Strategy toward a Peaceful Two-State Solution (A compilation of seven essays) Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue, Netanya Academic College, October 2016).

Marta Murzanska is a researcher, a project coordinator and the co-editor of the East Mediterranean Chronicles published by the European Rim Policy and Investment Council (ERPIC).

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