Author Archives: jonathanspyer

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About jonathanspyer

Jonathan Spyer is a Middle East analyst, author and journalist specializing in the areas of Israel, Syria and broader issues of regional strategy. He is the director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and analysis (MECRA), a research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for strategy and Security (JISS) and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Lebanon – a Return to Civil War?

Posted on March 29, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post- 02/02/2008 The recent killing of Captain Wissam Eid of the Lebanese Internal Security Force, and the shooting deaths of eight Shi’ite rioters – including four Hizbullah supporters – at the Mar Mikhael intersection in southern Beirut last week … Continue reading →

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Why might Syria wish to sow Chaos in Lebanon Now?

Posted on March 29, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post- 20/05/2007 Thirty eight people lost their lives on Sunday in fierce fighting between the Lebanese military and Sunni jihadist operatives near the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, close to the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. This outbreak of … Continue reading →

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Nasrallah’s Existential Dilemmas

Posted on March 29, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post- 25/02/2008 In a speech last week broadcast at the Sayed al-Shohada Mosque in south Beirut, Hizbullah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah promised his supporters that Israel’s ‘disappearance’ was an ‘established fact.’ The Hizbullah leader railed from his unknown hiding … Continue reading →

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A Question of Power

Posted on March 29, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post- 10/05/2008 The recent events in Beirut pose a simple, fundamental question: Who rules in Lebanon? The answer proposed by Hizbullah last week is that the government of Fuad Saniora and Saad Hariri is to be permitted to hold … Continue reading →

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How UNRWA became a Barrier to Peace

Posted on March 29, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post- 27/05/2008 The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) was created under the jurisdiction of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the unique responsibility of solely aiding the Palestinians. Due to this special status, the UNRWA perpetuates, … Continue reading →

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Review: Jonathan Spyer’s The Transforming Fire: The Best Book on Israel in Thirty Years

Posted on March 28, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Barry Rubin- 05/01/2011 In my opinion, this is probably the best book on Israel to be published in 30 years. But it is even more than that, since it is also the story of the rise of revolutionary Islamism–and the … Continue reading →

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Interview: The Transforming Fire

Posted on March 28, 2011 by jonathanspyer

FrontPageMac.com- 29/12/2010 Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Jonathan Spyer, a researcher at the Gobal Research in International Affairs Center in Herzliya, and a columnist at the Jerusalem Post. He is the author of the new book, The Transforming Fire – … Continue reading →

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Interview: It’s Fight or Flight

Posted on March 28, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post- 29/12/2010 In the final days of the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Jonathan Spyer and his Armored Corps reserve unit were sent to capture ground north of el-Khiam, a village just a few kilometers away from the border. As … Continue reading →

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The Perfect Iranian Storm on the Horizon

Posted on March 28, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Pajamas Media-25/08/2010 Jonathan Spyer is not your typical Israeli journalist and political analyst. He has a PhD in International Relations, he fought in Lebanon during the summer war of 2006, then went back to Lebanon as a civilian on a … Continue reading →

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CiF Watch interview with Jonathan Spyer, author of “The Transforming Fire: The Rise of the Israel-Islamist Conflict”

Posted on March 28, 2011 by jonathanspyer

07/03/2011 CiF Watch interview with Jonathan Spyer, author of “The Transforming Fire: The Rise of the Israel-Islamist Conflict” AL: I was struck by your passage about how the “mythical Israel” has gained traction beyond Islamist circles. You describe this mythical … Continue reading →

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