Latest Articles

The Experts Were Wrong About the Middle East

October 19, 2018  •  The Atlantic

"I know what I'm going to do: I'm going to sanction the hell out of Saudi Arabia."

That's what Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said last week, to the delight of Saudi Arabia's detractors on social media. The man who only one-week prior had been jeered by millions of Democrats for supporting Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation was seemingly redeemed among President Donald Trump's critics.

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Here's how to hit the Saudis — and still serve US interests

October 19, 2018  •  New York Post

Saudi-US ties are at their lowest since the 9/11 attacks. The Desert Kingdom is under fire from US lawmakers for the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul this month — but never walked out.

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) is threatening to "sanction the hell out of Saudi Arabia." Other lawmakers have called for an investigation to determine whether human-rights sanctions, pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Act, should be slapped on certain Saudi actors.

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Unlikely Allies, Israel and Egypt Face Joint Challenge in Gaza

September 7, 2018  •  Real Clear Defense

The winds of war are blowing in Gaza. The last several months have been replete with rocket barrages, drones, incendiary balloons and kites (flaming or containing explosives) flying into Israeli airspace, and border breaches. Israel is working on solutions, but it is also looking to find help from an unlikely ally: Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly earlier this month with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. A few days later, Egypt's intelligence chief, Abbas Kamal visited Israel as a guest of the Israeli National Security Advisor and probably also met Netanyahu. The conversations continue to focus on ways to tackle the crisis in Gaza – a territory that borders both countries.

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In Saudi-Canada standoff, Riyadh should stand down

August 10, 2018  •  New York Post

The last time Canada undertook an act of aggression was in 1999, when it declared war on the United States — in the comedic universe of "South Park," that is. But few were laughing Monday when Saudi Arabia shockingly cut ties with Canada and enacted severe punitive measures against Ottawa.

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Expose the Palestinian 'Refugee' Scam

July 6, 2018  •  Wall Street Journal

If President Trump wants to promote peace in the Middle East, his first step should be to declassify a key State Department report that would end the myth of Palestinian "refugees."

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency is singularly devoted to the Palestinian refugee issue. Unrwa labels more than five million Palestinians "refugees"—an impossible figure. The first Arab-Israeli war, in 1948, yielded roughly 800,000 Palestinian Arab refugees. Perhaps 30,000 remain alive today, but Unrwa has kept the refugee issue alive by labeling their descendants—in some cases great-great-grandchildren—as "refugees," who insist on the "right of return" to their ancestors' homes. Israel categorically rejects this demand.

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Books by Jonathan Schanzer