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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

03/11/10
First Reactions  —
03/09/10
Understanding Ankara  —Morton Abramowitz, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey (1989-91); senior fellow, Century Foundation. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
03/04/10
A Preview of the Elections  —

Setting the Record Straight

Turkey-Israel Ties Stronger than Public Denunciations

“The contours of the new Turkish foreign policy indicate a propensity to distance itself from the West and a quest for enhanced relations with Muslim countries, particularly those located along Turkey’s borders. One clear manifestation of this new policy is the current tensions between Turkey and Israel.”
—Efraim Inbar, director, Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies, article, “Israeli-Turkish Tensions and Beyond,” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, February 2010versus
  • “Turkey cannot afford to alienate Israel totally either. The ambitions of its foreign policy necessitate that it maintain good and credible relations with all the parties in the region. Neither should it lose its way in intra-Arab squabbles or render its foreign policy hostage to the, at times, delirious reactions of an excitable public. Just as Israel should not allow its current foreign minister’s world view and personality get in the way of safeguarding a critical strategic relation.”
    —Soli Özel, professor of international relations and political science, Istanbul Bilgi University, analysis, “Turkey-Israel Relations: Where to Next?” The German Marshal Fund of the United States, Turkey Series, March 3, 2010

    • Middle East Analysis

    Upcoming Events

    The Road Forward on Middle East Peace

    Event: October 1, 2009 - 12:00pm-1:00pm

    Introduction:
    Winnie Stachelberg, Senior Vice President for External Affairs, Center for American Progress

    Featured speaker:
    Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)

    Moderated by:
    Moran Banai, U.S. Editor of Middle East Bulletin

    WATCH HERE

    The Status of Jerusalem

    June 3, 2009, 1:30-2:30 PM

    As Israelis and Palestinians consider reopening negotiations, the final status issues—such as Jerusalem, refugees, security, and borders—loom on the horizon. For over a decade, Palestinians, Israelis, and others have been working on creative solutions to these seemingly intractable challenges.

    Middle East Progress at the Center for American Progress presents three experts who have been looking at the issue of Jerusalem, the city at the heart of the conflict. The discussion focuses on the multiple challenges Jerusalem poses to any resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian and broader Arab-Israeli conflict and how they might be resolved.

    Introduction:

    Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President, National Security and International Policy

    Featured Discussants:

    Ambassador Michael Bell, co-director of the Jerusalem Old City Initiative at the University of Windsor, and former Canadian ambassador to Jordan, Egypt and Israel
    Marshall Breger, professor of law at the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America, co-author of Jerusalem’s Holy Places and the Peace Process and consultant to the Jerusalem Old City Initiative

    Discussion Moderated by:

    Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer, S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt

    More on the status of Jerusalem and the future of the Old City:
    Solving the Problem of the Old City: An Interview with Michael Bell
    Middle East Bulletin
    June 23, 2009

    The Missing Peaces: How to Govern Jerusalem and Strike an Israeli-Syrian Deal
    Michael D. Bell and Daniel C. Kurtzer; Prem G. Kumar
    Foreign Affairs, March/Apr 2009