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.

Why Israel Needs a Fence

Posted on March 8, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Montreal Gazette- 24/02/2004 Israel’s security fence has become the latest focus for criticism of the country by a wide range of international bodies and personalities. Israelis have been warned against losing faith in reconciliation. They have been advised to build … Continue reading →

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The biggest Shoes to Fill

Posted on March 8, 2011 by jonathanspyer

The Guardian- 06/01/2006 If the massive cerebral hemorrhage suffered by Ariel Sharon marks the end of this remarkable man’s political career then Israeli public life is about to lose the figure who above all others reshaped Israeli politics and diplomacy … Continue reading →

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A Disengagement of Disenchantment

Posted on March 8, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Haaretz-07/01/2005 The political direction of which Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan forms a part is the most significant development in Israeli policy making since 1967. It is an attempt to finally free the Israeli political discussion from the squabble between rival … Continue reading →

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Missed Opportunities

Posted on March 8, 2011 by jonathanspyer

The Forward- 07/05/2004 There is a growing corpus of Israeli responses to the collapse of the peace process of the 1990s, and the eclipse of the expectations of imminent historic compromise between Israelis and Palestinians that it brought in its … Continue reading →

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Strange Bedfellows

Posted on March 8, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Haaretz-04/11/2005 Four months have passed since the terror attacks in London. It is now possible to begin to discern the contours of the British response, and the new forces which are assembling against one another in the political debate. Notable … Continue reading →

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Feeding the Crocodiles

Posted on March 8, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Haaretz-12/03/2005 The internal peace of the democracies of western Europe is no longer assured. It is threatened by the growing presence, and growing confidence, of the organizations, activists and spokesmen of radical Islam. This is a phenomenon rarely remarked upon … Continue reading →

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A Scourge in ‘Londonistan’

Posted on March 8, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Haaretz-15/07/2005 The responses of senior British officials following the London bombings last week are highly revealing. They contain within them clues to a decades-long failure of political judgment. This failure allowed the forces which produced the bombing to grow and … Continue reading →

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Re-engaging with Reality

Posted on March 7, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Haaretz-20/09/2005 Two key processes currently taking place in the Middle East Israel’s disengagement and the sharp scaling-down of Western hopes for a remade, democratic Iraq ­ reflect the durability of existing patterns of regional political behavior. Middle East politics remains … Continue reading →

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Radical Islam – with Sovereignty

Posted on March 7, 2011 by jonathanspyer

Haaretz-27/01/2006 British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw last week hurried to dispel any sense of imminent crisis in the nuclear stand-off with Iran. “I don’t think we should rush our fences here,” Straw told an audience in London, before going on … Continue reading →

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Create your own Hamas

Posted on March 7, 2011 by jonathanspyer

The Guardian-08/04/2006 The phenomenon of a small ideological political movement adapting itself to the demands of the international system out of a sense of necessity is one well known to students of international politics. Typically, a sense of concern for … Continue reading →

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