On the heels of the historic peace accords Israel signed last week with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, another regional deal is now possible. Sudan, once a terror safe harbor, is openly mulling ties with the Jewish state. Another major diplomatic achievement beckons, provided Washington gives the right nudges.

Team Trump is keen for a domino effect. Sudan is just one possibility. Oman, Morocco and Saudi Arabia are also among states reportedly mulling ties with the erstwhile archenemy. The key is momentum. If Sudan steps forward, Arab states will see a new regional order quickly taking shape, one in which Jerusalem is on the same side as regimes that seek to counter Iran and Sunni Islamists.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Welcome to the latest in our series, "The Biden Agenda." We've invited some of the smartest thinkers and subject-matter experts we know to contribute to what will become an occasional series on what a Biden presidency might look like. Today Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies weighs how Joe Biden might handle Middle East relations and whether he can take advantage of the willingness of some moderate Arab nations to normalize relations with Israel.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Carmon, founder and president of the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), which has called for democratic reforms in Israel since 1991, points out that Israel lacks a constitution delineating the core principles of its government. Instead, it has cobbled together a series of "Basic Laws" that create the legal architecture for governance.

Carmon finds this insufficient, arguing in particular that the Jewish state lacks both a clear vision for the role of religion and a true separation of religion and state. His central argument is that the "orthodox monopoly over the definitions and characteristics of the state's Jewishness" is unhealthy. This is the ultimate "Zionist deficit."

Continue to the full review  |  More reviews and articles

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced on July 29 that 11,900 U.S. military personnel will be leaving Germany, reducing the United States' footprint there from 36,000 to 24,000 soldiers. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is weighing a similar drawdown from the 28,500 U.S. troops currently stationed in South Korea. And that may be just the beginning. According to Richard Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany who briefly served as acting director of national intelligence this spring, the goal is to "bring [home] troops from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, from South Korea, Japan, and from Germany."

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Tensions are once again escalating on the border between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Israel. What started with explosive-laden balloons has given way to the firing of rockets and even riots at the Israel-Gaza border fence. Once again, such activity is disrupting the lives of Israeli communities near the border. And once again, Israeli officials appear to lack sufficient and decisive answers. This round, however, exhibits some unique characteristics that require a deeper analysis.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles