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.

Along with the Boycott, Some Good News

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Haaretz- 09/06/2006 The decision by NATFHE, the British college lecturers union, to initiate a blacklist with respect to their Israeli colleagues has been met with shock in Israel. It has rapidly become clear that the instigators of the boycott belong … Continue reading →

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Iranian Quickstep: 1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jonathanspyer

15/02/2010 Latest Ahmadinejad statement suggests that Teheran still believes it can find a few partners for the dance it has been performing since 2003. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this week told Iranian state television that “we have no problem sending … Continue reading →

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Fire from the Mountain

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jonathanspyer

23/10/2010 In the badlands between the borders of Iraq, Turkey and Iran, a small band of Kurdish separatists continue to wage their war. Our PKK contact and driver arrived at the appointed time outside the hotel in Erbil. We had … Continue reading →

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The Weatherman and the Wind

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jonathanspyer

05/04/2010 Bob Dylan wrote that “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” With great respect to Dylan, however, if you are truly looking to ascertain the direction of the winds in a particular place and … Continue reading →

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The Culture of Tyranny

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jonathanspyer

13/02/2008 The ancient city of Damascus received another mark of recognition last week. Following in the wake of Liverpool – which was recognized as the European Capital of Culture, and Stavanger in Norway, which was named the non-EU European Capital … Continue reading →

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The 17th Knesset Elections, 2006

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jonathanspyer

MERIA News Special Issue, Volume 10, Issue 3-10/04/2006 The 17th Knesset elections took place following a series of political events dramatic even by Israeli standards. The Gaza Disengagement Plan brought a new strategic concept of unilateralism to the forefront of … Continue reading →

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Gulf Regimes: The real game – Saudi Arabia

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post- 11/03/2011 From a strategic point of view, the Iran-led regional axis has until now emerged as a net earner from the “Arab Spring” of 2011. In Egypt and Tunisia, two stable, pro-Western Arab regimes have fallen, giving way … Continue reading →

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Lebanon 2006: Unfinished War

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jonathanspyer

22/02/2008 The Lebanon war of 2006 failed to resolve any of the issues over which it was fought. Ultimately, the war may be understood as a single campaign within a broader Middle Eastern conflict–between pro-Western and democratic states on the … Continue reading →

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The Question of Power in Lebanon

Posted on March 10, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Global Politician- 12/05/2008 When 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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Homecoming for a Child-killer

Posted on March 10, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Global Politician -17/07/2008 The deal for the return of convicted terrorist Samir Kuntar, four Hizbullah men captured in the 2006 Second Lebanon War and a number of corpses in return for the remains of kidnapped IDF soldiers Eldad Regev and … Continue reading →

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