Posted in Alan Dowty, Israel on Mar 30th, 2009 Comments Off on A government in Israel, for now
From Alan Dowty Having induced the Labor party to enter his coalition, Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to present his new government on Tuesday. The unwieldy result of his labors is a coalition of five parties with 69 seats, or 74 if he succeeds in adding the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Jewry between now and […]
Posted in Alan Dowty, Barry Rubin, Democracy, Israel, Robert O. Freedman on Feb 17th, 2009 4 Comments »
From Alan Dowty In the week since Israelis went to the polls, the operative word in the media seems to be “inconclusive,” based on the near-tie between the two largest parties and the prospect of bone-wearying bargaining before a government emerges. Both observations are true, but nevertheless the election did register a sharp and significant […]
Posted in Alan Dowty, Chuck Freilich, Egypt, Hamas, Iran, Israel, Joshua Muravchik, Palestinians on Jan 24th, 2009 2 Comments »
From Alan Dowty There seems to be a general sense that the Gaza war is over. The shooting has stopped, at least for the most part, at least for now. The pundits, not excluding this one, are lining up to declaim. But in some respects all this is a bit premature; the outcome is not […]
Posted in Alan Dowty, Hamas, Israel, Palestinians on Dec 28th, 2008 Comments Off on Tacit bargaining, Gaza-style
From Alan Dowty Operation Oferet Yetsukah (“Cast Lead,” on the model of “Cast Iron”) has reportedly been planned for months, in anticipation of the breakdown or non-renewal of the tahdi’a (“lull,” not “truce”) between Hamas and Israel. Drawing upon the lessons of the Lebanese fiasco of 2006 and the conclusions of the Winograd Commission, it […]
Posted in Adam Garfinkle, Alan Dowty, Diplomacy, Israel, Josef Joffe, Mark N. Katz, Palestinians, Raymond Tanter, Robert O. Freedman, Robert Satloff, Syria, Tamara Cofman Wittes, Walter Reich on Nov 20th, 2008 Comments Off on A Middle East envoy?
From MESH Admin Over the past week, MESHNet, the closed-forum companion to MESH, conducted a poll of MESHNet members, asking them who would make the best Middle East envoy of the Obama administration (if it is decided to appoint one). The structure of the poll emulated an earlier poll administered to a panel of Israeli […]
Posted in Alan Dowty, Hillel Fradkin, Robert O. Freedman on Oct 23rd, 2008 Comments Off on The Bush legacy (3)
As the presidency of George W. Bush draws to a close, MESH members have been asked to assess his legacy. What did the Bush administration do right and do wrong in the Middle East? What is the proper yardstick: Administration rhetoric or the range of the possible? Finally, as the pollsters put it, are we […]
Posted in Alan Dowty, Israel on Sep 22nd, 2008 Comments Off on Will Israel’s center survive?
From Alan Dowty The Olmert era in Israeli politics is drawing to a close. Faced by no fewer than five ongoing investigations for various improprieties, the prime minister was forced to call new elections for leadership of his own Kadima party. By a surprisingly slim margin of less than one percent, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni […]
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