Syria
Syria: The Israeli Interest by Jonathan Spyer, Israel Hayom, September 14, 2023
Israeli air power alone may not be sufficient to tackle the full dimensions of Iranian ambitions in Syria.
The Iranian corridor to Syria and Lebanon by Tal Beeri, Alma Research and Education Center, October 30, 2022
When Israel Struck Syria’s Reactor: What Really Happened by Ehud Barak, Middle East Quarterly, Fall 2022 (see also When Israel Destroyed Syria’s Nuclear Reactor: The Inside Story, by Ori Wertman, Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2022
Palestinians Cuddle up with Arabs Who Kill Palestinians by Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, September 20, 2022
Who is escalating the situation in Syria? by Shoshana Bryen, Jewish News Syndicate, June 21, 2022
Make no mistake: Iran has plans for the region that include the continued subjugation of Damascus and Lebanon, as well as of Iraq.
U.S., Israel, and Russia Focus on Syria by Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post, June 20, 2022
Syria became like Germany was to Europe during the Thirty Years’ War – a place where countries intervene and where the locals pay the price.
Russia’s Withdrawal From Syria Is an Opportunity for Israel by Jacob Nagel and Jonathan Schanzer, Newsweek, May 20, 2022
Syria’s dictator Bashar Assad faces renewed challenges at all levels by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Post, June 11, 2020
Bashar Assad is not about to fall, But economic deterioration, regime infighting, sanctions and unrest are combining to place his regime under renewed, severe pressure.
Why Syria Isn’t Firing Its S-300 Missiles at Israeli Jets Yossi Melman, Haaretz, May 12, 2020
The incredible behind-the-scenes story of how Iran’s Soleimani eliminated Hezbollah’s top commander – who dared to say no
Israel’s Strategy in Syria Is Less Coherent Than It Seems by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Post, May 8, 2020
What the US and Israel can expect from next week’s meeting with Russia by Jacob Nagel and Jonathan Schanzer, The Hill, June 20, 2019
How the US can work with Israel in Syria without putting more boots on the ground by Michael Makovsky, Washington Examiner, March 17, 2019
The U.S. Withdrawal from Syria: Implications for Israel by Amb. Dore Gold, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, January 1, 2019 (includes video, 7’47”)
Can Israel Force Iran out of Syria? by David M. Weinberg, The Jerusalem Post, September 21, 2018
When Palestinian Blood Isn’t Equal by Dr. Edy Cohen, The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 930, August 24, 2018
Palestinian blood in the West Bank and Gaza appears to be worth far more than the blood of Palestinians elsewhere in the world. This is because Palestinians who are killed by IDF fire serve as a bulwark against Israel, whether by the Arab states or by the Western world.
Israeli Aid to Syrians Offers Hope for Future Peace by Steve Postal, American Thinker, August 9, 2018
Is Southern Syria Heading For ‘Lebanonization’? by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Post, July 12, 2018
Syria’s Law Number 10 land grab could see millions lose homes as Government looks to redevelop amid conflict by Matt Brown, ABC News (Australia), May 2, 2018
The Russian View on Israel and Syria by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, April 26, 2018
Israel in Uncharted Syrian Waters by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, April 12, 2018
The Case for Bombing Assad by Michael Totten, World Affairs Journal, April 12, 2018
How Putin’s Folly Could Lead to a Middle East War by Jonathan Schanzer, Politico, April 9, 2018
No Breaks for Israel by Shoshana Bryen, American Thinker, January 31, 2018
Israel Prepares for War in Syria against Iran by Jonathan Spyer, Foreign Policy, September 28, 2017
Assad’s Hollow Crown: A Journey through Regime-Held Syria by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Report, May 9, 2017
No, Assad’s Survival Isn’t a Good Thing by Efraim Inbar, Israel Hayom, June 7, 2017
Russia Risks a Showdown With Israel over Hezbollah in Syria by Jonathan Schanzer, Newsweek, April 29, 2017
Israel’s Approach to Syria After the Airstrikes by Ilan Goldenberg, Israel Policy Forum, Matzav Blog, April 21, 2017
Russia and Iran in Syria – Israel’s Dilemmas by Col. (Ret.) Dr. Eran Lerman, AJC, April 8, 2017
[Hebrew] ללכת על הירח: לנוכח שלוש המדינות הסוריות שעל גבולנו by Guy Bechor, Gplanet, March 22, 2017
Syria’s Interlocking Conflicts by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Post, November 11, 2016
Syria’s New Map and New Actors: Challenges and Opportunities for Israel by Udi Dekel, Nir Boms, and Ofir Winter, Institute for National Security Studies, INSS Memorandum No. 156, August 2016
Following four decades of relative stability, Syria has become an arena marked by internal, regional, and international conflict. The weakening of the central government in Damascus, along with the transformation of Syria into a battlefield featuring many actors with different and often conflicting interests, poses new challenges for Israel. In the uncertain reality marked by the multiplicity of hostile actors, there are also opportunities for Israel to strengthen and possibly forge ties with pragmatic Sunni opposition and minority groups with whom it shares specific interests.
Israel’s Virtual Security Zone in Syria by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Post, August 12, 2016
How Israel-Hatred Helped Ruin Syria by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, July 15, 2016
Reversing Israel on the Golan Heights by Shoshana Bryen, American Thinker, May 5, 2016
The Syrian Civil War: An Interim Balance Sheet by Efraim Inbar, The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, BESA Center Perspectives, April 6, 2016
The Civil War in Syria: A View from Israel by Asher Susser, Lawfare Blog, March 17, 2016
Russia Leaves Syria: Not Every War is a Quagmire by Shoshana Bryen, American Thinker, March 17, 2016
Will the Syrian Ceasefire Last? by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Post, March 13, 2016
How Israel Navigated through the Hurricane of the Syrian Civil War by Jonathan Spyer, The Tower, March 8, 2016
Why the Arabs Don’t Want Us in Syria by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Politico, February 22, 2016
They don’t hate ‘our freedoms.’ They hate that we’ve betrayed our ideals in their own countries—for oil.
Syrian Refugee’s Website Thanks Israel for Aid, The Tower, February 21, 2016
The Syrian Cauldron Boils Over by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Post, February 19, 2016
Iran Is Part of the Problem in Syria, Not Part of the Solution by Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Issue Brief Vol. 15, No. 36, November 24, 2015
The Disintegration of Syria and Its Impact on Israel by Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Issue Brief Vol. 15, No. 28, September 1, 2015
The Druze Fight for Israel: Should They Now Fight Alone? by Ofir Haivry and Yoram Hazony, Tablet, July 7, 2015
The creation of a well-armed, autonomous, and perhaps ultimately independent Druze region in southern Syria may be the West’s best chance at stemming the spread of radical Islamism
Israeli Security Policy in Syria by Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Issue Brief Vol. 15, No. 13, April 28, 2015
Syria: The Gutting of a Nation (The Washington Post)
Four Rival Factions Pick Over Syria’s Bones by Jonathan Spyer, PJ Media, March 5, 2015
Islamic State Defeat in Kobani Will Be Hard to Replicate by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Post, January 29, 2015
How Syria policy stalled under the ‘analyst in chief’ by David Rohde and Warren Strobel, Reuters, October 9, 2014
Video: Jon Stewart interviews Hadi al-Bahra (15’46”) President of the Syrian National Coalition, The Daily Show, October 1, 2014
Israeli security chiefs modify assessment on Syrian war by Ben Caspit, Al-Monitor Israel Pulse, February 11, 2014
UNRWA campaign suppresses Yarmouk victims’ Palestinian identity, UN Watch, January 27, 2014
The Syrian peace process: An exercise in futility by Jonathan Spyer, The Jerusalem Post, January 24, 2014
Syria & Egypt Supporters
The Syrian Constellation before the Geneva 2 Peace Talks by Pinhas Inbari, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Issue Brief Vol. 14, No. 2, January 22, 2014
US plays Monopoly, Russia plays chess by David P. Goldman, Asia Times, September 16, 2013
9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask by Max Fisher, Washington Post, August 29, 2013
Syria’s Metastasizing Conflicts, International Crisis Group, Middle East Report No. 143, June 27, 2013
The Price of Loyalty in Syria by Robert F. Worth, New York Times, June 19, 2013
Syria and Egypt can’t be fixed by David P. Goldman, Asia Times, June 17, 2013
Syria: The New Problem from Hell by Aaron David Miller, Foreign Policy, June 11, 2013
Lessons from Syria for Iran by Dr. Michael Makovsky and Blaise Misztal, The Weekly Standard, June 6, 2013
Syria’s madness and ours by David P. Goldman, Asia Times, May 20, 2013
“The Devil We Know” Revisited: Israeli Thinking on the Future of the Assad Regime by Itamar Rabinovich, The Institute for National Security Studies, INSS Insight No. 427, May 19, 2013
The Lesser of Syria’s Evils by Jonathan Spyer, Tablet Magazine, May 14, 2013
Top Israeli military and intelligence analysts are divided over which side to back in Syria’s civil war
Mistaking Cause and Effect in Syria by Shoshana Bryen, American Thinker, May 10, 2013
Iran’s Plans to Take Over Syria by Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Issue Brief Vol. 13, No. 10, May 5, 2013
Stalemate in the Syrian Civil War by Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Issue Brief Vol. 13, No. 8, April 14, 2013 (See also The Case for Assad by Daniel Pipes, Washington Times, April 10, 2013, and What do We Want Done in Syria? by Shoshana Bryen, American Thinker, April 8, 2013)
Anti-Islamism in an Islamic Civil War by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, American Spectator, January 24, 2013
Syria: should the West be more proactive? by Julie Lenarz, The Institute for Middle Eastern Democracy, January 11, 2013
The “Day After” Scenario in Syria by Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, December 18, 2012
The Axis of Evil in Action: Iranian Support for Syria by Ephraim Kam, The Institute for National Security Studies, INSS Insight No. 372, October 10, 2012 [pdf]
Intervention Won’t Save Syria by Gary C. Gambill, The National Interest, September 27, 2012
Syria Reveals Arab Leaders’ Hypocrisy by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, August 17, 2012
Ending the ‘unacceptable’ and ‘unspeakable’ in Syria by Irwin Cotler, Times of Israel, June 19, 2012
How Washington Lost Syria by Gary C. Gambill, Foreign Policy Research Institute, May 23, 2012
[Hebrew] לשבור את הזכוכית: הגולן, הפרק השני, הוא אינו שייך כלל לסוריה by Guy Bechor, Gplanet, February 19, 2012
Laying the Groundwork: Syria After Assad, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, JINSA Report #1129, February 3, 2012
Syria’s outcome has high stakes for the entire Mideast by Jackson Diehl, Washington Post, February 2, 2012
Wrong Assumptions on Syria by Matthew RJ Brodsky, American Spectator, February 1, 2012
Time to sanction Syria: Assad needs to feel the heat from the United States and its allies by Matthew Brodsky, New York Daily News, November 11, 2011
The Syrian Uprising: Implications for Israel by Eyal Zisser, Jerusalem Issue Briefs Vol. 11, No. 15, September 15, 2011
Syria – World Almanac of Islamism by Matthew RJ Brodsky, The American Foreign Policy Council’s World Almanac of Islamism, Jewish Policy Center, June 21, 2011
Naksa – Palestinians Killed by the Syrian Government, JINSA Report #1096, The Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs, June 6, 2011
Can Anyone Explain Our Syria Policy? by Elliott Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations, May 11, 2011
The Syria Lobby: Why Washington keeps giving a pass to the Assad regime, Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2011
Code Red: Syria Could Soon Join UN Human Rights Council by David Harris, Huffington Post, April 24, 2011
More Hypocrisy From the U.N., This Time About Terror and Syria by Anne Bayefsky, FoxNews.com, April 18, 2011
Say no to Syria talksby Yoaz Hendel, Ynet News, March 1, 2011
Syria among worst for rights abuses: HRW report, Reuters, January 24, 2011
Plotting the Next Mideast War, Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2010
Hope Over Experience with Syria by Matthew RJ Brodsky, inFOCUS, Vol. IV, No. 1, Spring 2010
Is Israel Facing War with Hizbullah and Syria? by David Schenker, Jerusalem Issue Brief Vol. 9, No. 22., Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, April 6, 2010
Syria’s Financial Support for Jihad by Matthew Levitt, Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2010
The Enduring Iran-Syria-Hezbollah Axis by Michael Rubin, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, AEI Middle East Outlook, December 2009
Syria’s Path to Islamist Terror by Michael Rubin, Middle East Quarterly, Vol. XVII, No. 1, Winter 2010
The Story of ‘Operation Orchard’: How Israel Destroyed Syria’s Al Kibar Nuclear Reactor by Erich Follath and Holger Stark, Spiegel, November 2, 2009
Syrian-Israeli Cold War is the Best Bet by Howard Gumnitzky, The American Thinker, August 18, 2009
Has Damascus Stopped Supporting Terrorists? by Ryan Mauro, Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2009
Can Syria’s Assad Regime Make Peace with Israel? by J. Scott Carpenter, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, PolicyWatch #1508, April 21, 2009
[P]eace with Syria remains highly unlikely for a fundamental reason: without Israel as an enemy, Syria’s minority regime loses its sole rationale for retaining power.
The Obama Administration Reaches Out to Syria: Implications for Israel by David Schenker, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, JCPA Issue Brief, Vol. 8, No. 23, March 2009
Can Syria Change? from the Jewish Policy Center, inFOCUS, Volume III, Number 1, Spring 2009
Decoupling Syria from Iran: Constraints on U.S.-Syrian Rapprochement by David Schenker, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, JCPA Issue Brief, Vol. 8, No. 15, December 2008
Who gets the Golan? Israel has no reason to trust Syria in talks over that strategic area by Yossi Klein Halevi, Los Angeles Times, May 28, 2008
The Golan Heights and the Syrian-Israeli Negotiations by Dore Gold, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Issue Briefs, Vol. 8, No.1, May 22, 2008
The facts of the Syrian-Israeli flirtation by Michael Young, Daily Star [Lebanon], April 10, 2008 [Full text available here]