With no grand solutions either violent or peaceful at hand, the IDF's preferred option remains conflict management. At its core lies the old, ugly but useful concept that has always been central to Israel's security doctrine: deterrence, writ large.
The announcement on Aug. 13, 2020 that the United Arab Emirates and Israel had agreed to move toward full diplomatic relations surprised much of the world. What culminated last summer had deep roots. My American Jewish Committee colleagues and I, traveling regularly to Gulf capitals since 1994, observed signs of fresh thinking in the region early on—and did our part to encourage it.
For the first time, American Jews and Israelis have a chance to develop a relationship between Jewish grown-ups. We need to recognize each other’s achievements, and understand, if not indulge, each other’s failures (which are often a consequence of geographic circumstance).
Watch Member of Knesset Merav Michaeli and veteran Israeli diplomat Dr. Dore Gold, President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, debate this hot-button issue in an AJC Virtual Global Forum session moderated by Avi Mayer, AJC Managing Director of Global Communications.