Israeli diplomacy Archives - David M. Weinberg

Strike while the iron is hot

January 6, 2023

Israel should implement policy change in concentrated fashion and plow through the chorus of international criticism. What doesn’t get done in the next 6-12 months will get bogged down in internecine squabbling or be impeded by accumulative foreign pressures.

The nasty sport of second-guessing Israel

December 22, 2022

In Washington and other capitals, an ungenerous spirit has set in. Israel’s new government, which finally may be formed in the coming week, will have to pushback hard against this increasingly brazen, vulgar, and hypocritical trend.

My first Temple Mount ascent

December 9, 2022

My first "aliyah" to "Har HaBayit" was scary, emotional, fascinating, and infuriating. And necessary.

The Kohelet Forum’s feat

December 2, 2022

Kohelet is Israel's most dynamic think tank; not just a successful policy institute but a revolutionary advocacy agency that has had an outsize influence in the intellectual debates of our times.

A dicey diplomatic situation with Israel’s Gulf allies

November 25, 2022

I told interlocuters in the Arabian Gulf last weekend that Israel firmly will assert its sovereignty and governance in the face of Israeli Arab and Palestinian lawlessness. That is what most Israelis expect of their new government! At the same time, I assured Israel's Emirati and Bahraini allies that Israel will do so without racist incitement and delegitimizing rhetoric, and without crude demonstrations of its power, but rather with finely calibrated tools and from an approach of maximum willingness to dialogue. (I hope that I am right....)

Radicals with “Ben-Gvir-Phobia” purposefully seek to crash Israel’s diplomatic relations

November 11, 2022

I am less concerned about the direction of the emerging new government than I am about the hysterical reactions to the possible government by foreign and hard-left observers. People like Tom Friedman and Asa Kasher swiftly grab the opportunity to declare Israel a lost cause, and seem only-too-happy to jettison their associations with Israel and Judaism.

Ten Tips for Netanyahu

November 4, 2022

Rule emphatically but be as inclusive as possible. Keep the foxes (Deri, Ben-Gvir) out of the henhouses. Prepare for war the right way. Build in Jerusalem. Engage the Jewish world. And more.

Multiple political choices for 5783: A Quiz

October 14, 2022

Which of the following political, security, and domestic events can be expected in Israel, the Mideast, and around the world this coming year? Take this quiz and calculate the 5783 political future you need to be prepared for.

Choose optimism!

October 7, 2022

On the eve of Succot, the festival of rejoicing, there is an obligation, I think, to eschew negativity and instead to bask in Israel’s national blessings. I offer here a buoyant evaluation.

A people that dwells alone: Remembering Yaacov Herzog

September 30, 2022

A tribute to Rabbi Dr. Ambassador Yaacov Herzog on his 50th yahrzeit: "There is something unique about the Jews in the history of mankind, ‘a people that dwells alone,’ and so long as the world agrees, it cannot deny the right of Jews to this land.”

Category: Israeli diplomacy