Rubin Center

Trump’s Mideast Peace Plan is Crashing Against Political Reality

Neri Zilber — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 06:26:26 +0000

Both Israelis and Palestinians are chafing under the Trump administration’s plans to revive the long-moribund peace process. Jared Kushner’s shuttle diplomacy to the Holy Land late last month may have caused more issues than it resolved. No sooner was the presidential envoy back in the air after meetings in Jerusalem and Ramallah than an anonymous […]

After the Caliphate: Interview with Omar Fawaz

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 23:07:48 +0000

Readers of my blog may recall Omar Fawaz al-Shammary, a resident of Mosul who did some media work covering life under the Islamic State (IS). On multiple occasions in 2015 (e.g. here) I used his posts to illustrate certain aspects of IS administration ...

BALANCING INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY IN THE REGIONAL RIVALRY BETWEEN IRAN AND ISRAEL

Adarsh Aravind — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 10:58:40 +0000

The challenge of balancing relations with both Iran and Israel has been a growing concern for New Delhi. Due to India’s rapid economic growth and increasing energy and defense needs, its ties with both Iran and Israel are essential. This article provides an overview of India’s relations with each country followed by a brief history […]

ISRAEL’S RELATIONS WITH THE SYRIAN REBELS: AN ASSESSMENT

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 17:29:08 +0000

Editor’s Note: A number of articles have been published in recent weeks on the subject of Israel’s relations with the Syrian Arab rebels in the area east of Quneitra Crossing. Some of these articles have suffered from an absence of on the ground knowledge and sourcing. The Rubin Center is therefore proud to present this […]

Israel’s Relations with the Syrian Rebels: An Assessment

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 14:00:00 +0000

In light of media coverage regarding Israeli backing for certain Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime along the border with Israel in Quneitra governorate, this article provides a wider overview of the situation along Israel's borders with Syria. It...

The History of the Rapid Intervention Regiment: Interview with a Commander

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 00:16:00 +0000

The Rapid Intervention Regiment (Arabic: Fawj al-Tadaxul al-Sari') was one of the Iraqi Shi'i militias operating in Syria that emerged in the 2013 period. Originally, the Rapid Intervention Regiment operated under the moniker of Afwaj al-Kafil ("The...

Stormclouds over Syria

Jonathan Spyer — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 06:09:55 +0000

In the past five weeks, U.S. forces in Syria have struck directly at the Assad regime and its allies in Syria no less than four times. On May 18, U.S. warplanes struck regime and allied militia forces that breached a 34-mile exclusion zone around a U.S. outpost in southeastern Syria. Then on June 8 and […]

U.S. Strategy and Israel’s Stake in Eastern Syria

Jonathan Spyer — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 06:45:21 +0000

The downing on June 18th of a Syrian Air Force SU-22 by a UA Navy F-18 Super Hornet over the skies of northern Syria sharply raises the stakes in the emergent stand-off in the country. This stand-off is no longer between local militias, nor between regional powers. Rather, through interlocking lines of support, it places […]

THE ROLE OF AZERBAIJAN IN ISRAEL’S ALLIANCE OF PERIPHERY

Aynur Bashirova and Ahmet Sozen — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 16:17:19 +0000

Established in the 1950s, Israel’s alliance of periphery is a loose partnership between Israel and states in the region surrounding those countries that have negative relations with the Jewish state. Over the years, different countries have been part of this alliance. The following article examines Azerbaijan’s role as a peripheral ally of Israel since the […]

Fawj Ra’ad al-Mahdi: East Aleppo Militia Expansion

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 03:10:04 +0000

The Local Defence Forces network, set up and supported by Iran, has tens of thousands of people under its wing in Syria, going by the numbers given in internal documents. The statistics indicate that the network is most prominent in Aleppo province,...