What I'll Write About From Israel

Dallas - July 12, 2016 

Notice the dateline at the top of this update? A ‘dateline” tells the reader when and where the article was written.

As most of you already know, I’m moving back to Israel in a few weeks. Therefore, this will be my last update datelined “Dallas”. Future articles and updates will be datelined as appropriate.

And I’ll certainly have a lot to report. While in the past few months here in the US we’ve been preoccupied with politics, ongoing violence (including the tragic attack on Dallas and DART police officers), the economy, BREXIT, more politics, criminal investigations, terrorism threats, immigration, and even more politics...the rest of the world, and especially the Middle East, have generated events and news stories that will have major impacts on the US and Israel. Here is a taste:

• Israel - Netanyahu’s busy week:
  • Affirming the ongoing relations with Cairo, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Israel this week for a series of meetings. This is the first official visit by a high ranking Egyptian official in nine years. It’s hoped that this visit may lead to a possibility of restarting the Peace Process based on a new initiative of President Sisi, together with an more open thawing of Israeli relations with other Sunni Arab countries.
  • Last week Netanyahu, as Prime Minister and acting Foreign Minister visited several African countries including: Uganda, to mark the 40^th anniversary of the Israeli raid on Entebbe (where his brother, Yoni, was killed), Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
  • Israel also signed a new friendship treaty with Turkey that restored relations to the way they were before the Mavi Marmara incident.
  • Oh...and Israeli media reported that the Attorney General was investigating Netanyahu on suspicion of some serious money laundering.
• Iran - Complete failure of the “Deal”
  • One year after the much heralded, and still unsigned (!), so-called “Iran Nuke Deal” (JCPOA - Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action), the UN watchdog IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and the intelligence agencies of the P5+1 countries still admit that they have no clue as to what nuclear weapons development Iran did in the past, nor what it still has and what it’s working on today.
  • Despite getting almost full sanctions relief, Iran has violated the JCPOA (and UN Security Council resolutions) several times. Its leaders still demonize the West, vow to destroy Israel within the year and are building and testing long range nuke bomb delivery systems with impunity.
  • Meanwhile the US, the “guarantor” of Iranian compliance to the JCPOA, is seen by the Sunni gulf states and many Israelis as being either afraid to confront the Iran (which would expose the bluff of the “Deal”), or worse, being in bed with the Iranians from the outset.
• Syria - Fighting continues. After five years and over 400,000 dead.
  • Assad’s Alawite (Shiite) regime is still strongly supported by Russia and Iran.
  • Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, seeking to counter the influence of its rival Iran, has been a major provider of military and financial assistance to the rebels, including those with extreme Islamist ideologies.
  • Turkey, another staunch supporter of the rebels, wants to end US support for Kurdish forces fighting ISIS in northern Syria, accusing them of being part of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
  • The US, which says President Assad is responsible for widespread atrocities and must step down, has provided only limited military assistance to "moderate" rebels, in addition to limited airstrikes.
• Iraq - The Shiite led, Iranian affiliated government forces have, with considerable US military assistance (what’s wrong with this picture?), succeeded in retaking the city of Fallujah from ISIS, and are now preparing to try to retake Mosul...but probably not anytime soon.
• ISIS - Not “degraded”, not “destroyed”.
  • Lost territory in Syria and Iraq but remains a formidable and well equipped fighting force with demonstrated world-wide terrorism capabilities, and a growing esteem among young, alienated Sunnis around the globe.

And I haven’t even touched on the continued growth of Al-Qaeda, with this week’s threat of revenge against the U.S. by Osama Bin Laden’s son, Hamza, who declared: "We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression".

With all that, plus other Middle East developments and, of course, the US elections, there will be plenty to write about, talk about, Skype about and Podcast about from Dateline ISRAEL.