After the Uprising: Whither Iran?

The massive uprisings in Iran which began on December 28the after Iran's currency collapsed have now been suppressed by the Tehran's regime forces, the Basij militia and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Estimates indicate that as many as 30,000 protestors may have been killed during the demonstrations, many shot at point blank by government forces.  Even though the protests have been quelled for the moment, what does the current unrest suggest about the future of the so-called Islamic Republic? What Happened at the Protests in Iran?

The end of the Islamic Republic The argument presented here is that the Islamic regime must be toppled. Not only it is guilty of crimes against humanity in the killing, torture and imprisonment of countless thousands of Iranians, but it has spread violence and terror thought the Eastern Middle East.  Tehran's clerics have supported HAMAS which has brutally repressed the Gaza Palestinians and which attacked Israel in October 2023 leading to the killing of 1,200 Israelis and the onset of a war in Israel has killed over 70,000 Gazans largely destroyed the Gaza Strip. The Cost of Inaction Over Iran: ‘We Are Left With Graveyards’ 

Iran also armed Hizballah which allowed the militia to take control of Lebanon's government , repress democratic forces and become a major player in international drug trade. Not only did it undermine the stability of the Lebanese political system, Hizballah, working with Russian forces, played a critical role in keeping Bashar al-Asad's genocidal regime in Syria in power.

Iran has provided Russia with its inexpensive but lethal drone, the Shahed-136. Russian forces have used the drone to kill large numbers of Ukrainian troops, to attack apartment buildings in Kyiv and other cities killing many innocent civilians, and to degrade Ukrainian infrastructure, especially its energy grid. Indeed, it has even helped the Putin regime build a factory to produce the Shahed drone inside Russia.

Based on its highly repessive rule and spread of violence and instability in the Eastern MENA region, the regime must be overthrown.  Either this regime change can occur though the Tehran elite being coerced into making meaningful democratic reforms, or it can be accomplished through econominc sanctions and military means.

The Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 To begin with some history, it should be remembered that the uprising which toppled the highly repressive regime of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1978-79 was not motivated by an Islamic ideology. Rising inflation during the 1970s, which led the Shah to reduce regime funding for urban construction, on which many workers who had migrated from rural to urban areas depended, created an economic crisis.  

When demonstrations began in Iran's cities, the Shah sent the military to suppress them. When soldiers refused to fire on the demonstrators, and even in some instances joined them, the regime's future was sealed. With the loyalty of the military in doubt, the Shah fled Iran in late 1978. Already suffering from advanced cancer, he died in Cairo, Egypt, in July 1980.

The revolution which overthrew the Pahlavi regime was comprised of many forces. It included secular liberals, Marxists, oil workers, moderate clerics, e.g., Ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari, Islamic socialist followers of Ali Shariati, and the hard line clerics who supported Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.  Clearly, those who supported the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 didn't seek to replace a secular dictatorship with an repressive Islamic one

Consolidating a tyrannical dictatorship During the early 1980s, Ayatollah Khomeini's ability to consolidate his rule, which involved the execution and imprisonment of thousands if Iranian suspected of being disloyal to the regime, was enhanced by Iraq's invasion of Iran in September, 1980. Nationalist "rally around the flag" sentiment strengthened Khomeini's rule during the 8 year war which led to a truce in 1988. 

Iraq's use of chemical weapons, which had a devastating impact on Iranian forces, and the many youth "Islamic martyrs" who died running though mine fields in the advance of Iranian troops, kept Iranians' focus on the war, not on domestic politcis.

Khomeini's death in 1989 lay bare that the regime had failed to practice what it preached. It was not Islamic norms which informed its behavior but the concentration of power in the hands of hardline clerics and the IRGC, and the ruling elite's ability to benefit from the massive spread of corruption.  Thus, the Tehran regime's legitimacy was compromised. A new generation pf Iranian youth knew little of the Shah's rule but could clearly see that they weren't the beneficiaries of clerical rule.  Patron-client relationships, not professional expertise, determined employment opportunities for the educated middle class.

The regime loses legitimacy In 2005, corruption reached new heights. Khomeini's successor, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and then president Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, announced a policy to liberalize the economy. Supposedly, this move would invigorate investment, strengthen markets and lead to higher economic growth.  

In reality, it was a shrewd effort to enrich the regime's elite, particularly among clerics, the IRGC high command and bazaar merchants, the traditional mainstay of Iran's economy. This decision encouraged regime members and their clients to develop private industry and commerce which benefitted from government subsidies and a variety of corrupt practices.

Because new financial ventures were considered to be part of the private sector, there was no oversight of  their formation or functioning.  As favored enterprises benefitted from large infusions of government funds, those who controlled them to become very wealthy. The political-economic elite went on to purchase homes abroad, send their children to elite foreign schools, spend vacations in Europe, and to drive around in expensive automobiles.

Meanwhile, little was done to improve the lives of the working classes and rural poor. Even though the regime used oil revenues to create foundations (bonyads) which were intended to be charitable trusts, these organizations became giant monopolies with no government oversight.  They favor members of society who supported the Islamic Republic. The bonyads have been used by regime clerics as an open-ended source of funds to use as they see fit.  

While failing the improve the living standards of the Iranian people, despite having access to considerable oil revenues, the Tehran regime has spent large amounts of money building proxy forces which it has argued will "liberate Jerusalem."  It has also used state revenues to develop its nuclear weapons program, including the latest effort to situate it under a large mountain in the Zagros range.

What should be done to protect Iranian protestors? Given the thousands of Iranian civilians killed in uprisings in 2009, 2014 and 2026, there must international action to prevent the Tehran regime from continuing to commit these crimes against humanity. Despite being led by despicable leaders who lack any respect for democratic governance, the only 2 countries which have the capability to stop the Tehran regime's repression are the United States and Israel.

What could each of these countries do?  First, the United States could set a deadline for Iran to disassemble its long-range ballistic missiles which it has partially reconstituted after the June 2025 strike by the US and Israel. The United States attacked Iran's nuclear facilities at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant under a mountain near the holy city of Qum while Israel destroyed military assets and infrastructure and killed the top leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Trump has already specified one condition for Iran to avoid an American attack and that is eliminating its long range ballistic missiles. He has threatened that, if this step isn't taken, then the US and Israel could strike and destroy the missile bases. Eliminating Iran's ballistic missiles would severely curtail any attack by Iran on Israel or on US bases in the region.  Thus, Saudi Arabia and Arab Gulf nations' fears of an Iranian retaliatory attack were US forces to strike Iran would be reduced. 

However, the most powerful weapon at the international community's disposal in forcing the Iranian regime's to end its repressive behavior is to undermine its ability to sell its oil in the world market. The United Nations, the United States and the European Union have all placed sanctions on Iran which is one reason, together with corruption and mismanagement, that its economy is currently in free fall. 

A much more effective effort to cripple the Iranian economy would be to end its use of the so-called "Shadow Fleet."  The Shadow Fleet consists of several thousand older oil tankers which have been used by Russia, Iran and, until recently, Venezuela, to export their oil as a way to circumvent international sanctions.  These tankers are owned by shady companies, often lack insurance, and change name and country registry frequently to make it difficult to detect them.

Iran apparently has shipped oil beyond the Persian Gulf and then transferred the oil cargo on the high seas to a shadow fleet tanker.  With help from Nato allies, the US should track Iranian oil tankers and seize them, or the shadow fleet ships, which are transporting sanctioned oil in contravention of international law.  Although this would be a difficult exercise, all Iranian tankers must go through the narrow Straits of Hormuz at the southern end of the Persian Gulf which makes them easy to detect as they begin their journey to India, China and other ports of call.

Iran earns considerable revenues from Russia for providing it with ammunition, shells and military hardware, especially the Shahed-136 drone. Bloomberg reported on January 12, 2026, that Iran has sold $2.7 billion of arms to Russia. As noted above, Iran has helped Putin build a drone factory in Russia. Iran Sent Russia $2.7 Billion Worth of Missiles Alone 

To cut off these sales, the United States should use Israel's network of intelligence agents in Iran to destroy the energy supplies to the factories producing these munitions, further disrupting the Iranian economy. During the June 20205 attack, Israel destroyed several key natural gas pipelines which shut down plants producing electricity for Iran's manufacturing sector.  If the factories producing the Shahed drone and other munitions are shuttered, that results in a loos of regime revenue.

The United States and Israel should use cyber-warfare to disrupt the command and control capabilities of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Private messages should be sent to top IRGC commanders that they face assassination if they don't leave their positions. Given the ease with which almost the entire top command structure of the IRGC was eliminated during the joint US-Israel attack in June, 2025, such messages would spread fear among the newly appointed IRGC commanders.

Israel and Saudi Arabia and Arab Gulf states fear Iranian retaliation. But Iran's military is very weak and must pay attention to urban and rural unrest.  During the recent uprisings, the regime was very disturbed that it lost control of several areas of major cities.  Regime forces only reestablished control by a violent crackdown on demonstrators. 

The fears of Iran striking out beyond its borders are exaggerated.  The shutdown of the Internet during the protests has cost the Iranian economy dearly. The regime has promised to reimburse businesses which were adversely affected by the protests but lacks the funds to do so. The idea that Iran is ready to fend off military attacks and retaliate against US forces in the Gulf and Iraq belie its inability to even keep the economy operational. Iran Update, January 27

Now is the time for the International community to come together and rid the Middle East of the despotic and hated regime in Tehran.  Arab states, who don't want to see regime change in Tehran because it may bring democracy a d threaten their own rule, argue that the end of the Islamic Republic will bring chaos.  Nonsense, widespread chaos already exists, in Iran and throughout the Eastern MENA region where its spread of violence has produced massive instability. The ultimatum must be: democracy or a harsh economic and military attack. The Days of the Iranian Regime Are Numbered

The structure of corruption in Iran

“Governability” or Displacement? – Israel’s Negev Bedouins

Dr. Yoav Peled is an attorney and Professor of Political Science emeritus at Tel Aviv University.  He has published extensively on Israeli politics.  His latest study, co-authored with Horit Herman Peled, is The Religionization of Israeli Society (Routledge). This post was originally published by the Los Angeles Times.

In the summer of 1980 I accompanied my wife, Horit Herman Peled, on a research trip to Israel’s Nakab (in Hebrew Negev) region for her study of traditional Bedouin women’s weaving. In October of that year the Los Angeles Times published my op-ed article, “Bedouins: Defiance, Vows of Resistance,” based on our conversations with the region’s Bedouins. 

The concluding paragraph of that article began with: “So far the Bedouins have been remarkably calm, and have not engaged in acts of hostility against the Israeli government. But … I often heard vows of resistance and defiant statements to the effect that ‘we are not going to submit peacefully any longer’.” Now, many of the children of the Bedouins we had spoken with 45 years ago have indeed turned to violence.

That violence, however, does not take the form of armed resistance against the state but rather that of criminal activity. Reports abound about Bedouins engaged in protection rackets, possession of illegal firearms, illegal growing and smuggling of cannabis, terrorizing motorists on the highways that cross their region, and sexual harassment of women on the streets of Beersheba, the area’s major city. 

Other social ills as well plague the Bedouin communities: polygamy, practiced by about 20% of the men, which often results in large dysfunctional families; marrying off of minor girls to older, married men; violence against women; murder of women for allegedly violating “family honor.” The public discourse in Israel treats this issue as a problem of “governability,” ignoring the underlying conditions that give rise to this kind of behavior.

Using this criminal activity as pretext, the police, led by the extreme right-wing Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, recently placed the Bedouin community of Tirabin al-Sanaa under siege for two weeks, terrorizing the population and killing one resident who did not pose any danger to them. 

They also confiscated all of four rifles, two handguns and several hand grenades. According to police, two more Bedouin communities are up for similar treatment in the near future.

At the heart of the matter is a dispute over land between the Bedouins and the State of Israel. At the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, only about 12,000 Bedouins were left in the Negev, out of 70,000 who had lived there before. The rest left, or were expelled, to the Gaza Strip (then under Egyptian rule) or to Jordan. 

Those who remained were concentrated in the eastern Nakab where they lived under military rule until 1966. When the military rule ended, the Bedouins demanded to be returned to their original lands, but because of the erratic nature of land registration in that area most of them did not possess title deeds. 

In 1984 Israel’s High Court of Justice, relying on a spurious interpretation of the Ottoman land law of 1858, determined that the entire Nakab was state land and the Bedouins, therefore, were trespassers there. Still, in recognition of the fact that many of them had lived in that area for generations, the state did not proceed to evacuate them by force, but tried to reach agreements with them.

The essence of these agreements was that the state would recognize the Bedouins’ ownership of their land, provided they agreed to move to townships established for that purpose and receive there, as compensation, much smaller parcels of land than the ones they originally claimed. Since 1966,

seven such townships have been established, which are among the poorest communities in Israel.

Of the 250,000 Bedouins in the Negev, about 70% live in the townships and in villages recognized by the state as legitimate communities, and the rest, unwilling to accept the terms offered by the state, live in forty-five “unrecognized villages,” shanty towns lacking the most essential infrastructure – water, electricity, sewage, paved roads, etc. 

All dwellings in those villages are considered to be illegal structures and are constantly under threat of demolition. Over the years the High Court of Justice mandated the establishment of a few schools and medical clinics in some of those villages, but these are far from providing adequate services to the population.

In 2018, before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic and the Gaza war, the unemployment rate among the Bedouins in the officially recognized communities was more than double the national average, and the average income of a Bedouin wage-earner in the recognized communities was about two-thirds of the national average. 

During the school year 2018-2019, the rate of Bedouin twelfth grade students who gained a matriculation certificate, required for admission to higher education, was about 50%, compared with a national average of 70%. No comparable figures are available for the unrecognized villages, but the situation there is undoubtedly worse.

The Bedouins who live in the unrecognized villages are willing to settle with the state, but they demand adequate compensation, in the form of sufficient land and water allocation to establish agricultural communities, like the many Jewish agricultural communities in the area. 

So far the state has refused these demands and insists on relocating the Bedouins to the townships, while planning to establish additional Jewish settlements on land the Bedouins claim as their own. This approach, supposedly meant to enhance the state’s “governability” in the Negev, is not going to solve the problem of violence there, only to aggravate it.

The Fish Rots From the Head Down: Fighting Hate Based Violence in 2026

 If 2025 will be remembered for anything, it will be the surge of hate based violence which has surged throughout the world.  Massive atrocities have occurred in Sudan where Sudan's army and the breakaway militia, the the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been responsible for hundreds of thousands of Sudanese civilians being killed. In Gaza, more than  70,000 civilians, half of which are women and children, have been killed by Israeli forces. While these are the worst examples, violence has spread well beyond the Middle East.  What can be done in 2026 to stop the violence epidemic?

The argument here is that the world's political and religious leaders have failed to address the spread of violence, especially that promoted by sectarianism and politicized religion. In 2015, Professor Jean-Marc Coicaud and I organized a conference at Rutgers University, "Youth and the Allure of Terrorism: Identity, Recruitment and Public Diplomacy." We invited Muslim (Sunni and Shi'a), Christian and Jewish clerics and scholars.  The idea which informed the conference was to use an inter-faith dialogue to address the question of why youth are attracted to sectarian violence.

Why can't members of the international community follow this example and organize conferences throughout the world to draw attention to the causes for the spread of hate-based violence.  United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and Pope Leo, seem to be the only prominent world leaders speaking out about such violence.  Each could serve the goals of both understanding its causes and developing policies to quell it by organizing conferences of the type just mentioned in New York and Rome.

The killings of Australian Jews who were celebrating Hanukkah on Sydney's Bondi Beach earlier this month belies the argument that restricting immigration can prevent sectarian violence.  Both the father and son who attacked Bondi Beach were Australian citizens. After the shooting, it became clear that they had been radicalized by the Islamic State.  Fortunately, one of the gunman was tackled and disarmed by a Muslim citizen who originally immigrated to Australia from Syria, preventing many more deaths, while subjecting him to being shot himself.

Hate-based violence has also been fostered by culture wars.  The right-wing in many liberal democratic countries has chosen to attack the transgender and LGBTQ+ communities.  A motive behind the killing of Charlie Kirk the right-wing head of Turning Point Action Charlie Kirk in September was his attack on transgender Americans.  The shooter was romantically involved with his transgender roommate which led him to plan and carry out Kirk's assassination.

 

MBS Goes to Washington - The Rehabilitation of a Repressive Autocrat

On October 2, 2018, Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi visited the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul. His visit was meant to obtain a divorce decree from his Saudi wife so he could marry a Turkish graduate student, Hatice Cengi. Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the Saudi regime was a thorn in the side of the Saudi ruling family.  The Saudi dissident was unaware that a 15 man Saudi hit team was waiting for him in the Consulate.

Soon after entering, Khashoggi was strangled to death.  His body was dismembered by a bone saw and has never been found. The facts of the case were clear from a sound system Turkish intelligence had secretly installed in the building. Transcripts of the recordings were later released to the public. A New York Times article published in June 2019 asserted that the Saudi regime was behind Khashoggi's murder.  This argument was confirmed by a 2021 CIA Report which stated that Saudi Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman, has ordered the assassination.

During the Biden administration Muhammad Bin Salman - known colloquially as MBS - was largely shunned by the United States.  Biden was highly critical of the Saudi prince, calling him a "pariah." However, under pressure to bring down inflation after the Covid -19 pandemic by lowering oil prices, Biden visited Saudi Arabia in 2023 and met with MBS which led to significant criticism in the global media.

Under the Trump administration, MBS is no longer considered a pariah.  Indeed, Trump welcomed MBS to the White House on November 17th, with great fanfare, including cannons, a red carpet, a military flyover, and a black tie dinner. All the stops were pulled out to try and impress the Saudi ruler and bend him to Trump's desire to have the Kingdom join the Abraham Accords. 

The sticking point was MBS' insistence that the only way the Saudi public would accept joining the Accords was if Israel committed to a clear timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Because the far-right Netanyahu regime is adamantly opposed to agreeing to an independent Palestinian state, Trump's entreaties to MBS went nowhere.

However, on a number of other fronts, the United States-Saudi relationship grew must closer. Saudi Arabia will be allowed to purchase F-35 fighter jets, the most advanced in the United States' arsenal. It will also purchase 300 US made tanks and received nuclear technology from the United States. For his part, MBS stated that Saudi Arabia will increase its investments in the United States from $600 million to $1 trillion.

At their meeting, Donald Trump designated Saudi Arabia as a "major non-NATO ally." While largely symbolic, Trump's declaration underscores his desire for closer relations with Saudi Arabia in  mutual investments, energy and military cooperation. Trump designates Saudi Arabia as major non-NATO ally during crown prince White House visit

The question many analysts have raised is why did Trump treat MBS to such a lavish reception at the White House?  There are at least 3 answers.  First, Trump seeks to have foreign countries invest in the US so he can boast of creating new jobs and strengthening the American economy.  Second, and this was evident in the pressure he put on MBS to join the Abraham Accords, is Trump's desire to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Saudi Arabia's becoming part of the Abraham Accords would be a major achievement for Trump by contributing to promoting peace in the Middle East.  

But a third reason for Trump's extravagant reception of MBS is clear as well. Trump thinks Saudi Arabia possesses vast financial resources. If there is peace between Israel and Saudi Arabis, he sees a more stable regional environment attracting more investment to the Saudi kingdom and the Arab Gulf states. Trump has been open about his desire to develop real estate ventures in Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states, particularly the UAE.  Already, the UAE has donated $2 billion to World Liberty Financial, the new cryptocurrency company Trump jointly runs with Steve Witkoff. The Real Reason Trump Is Fawning Over Saudi Arabia’s Ruler

There is a problem with Trump's calculations.  Saudi Arabia is finding it difficult to raise the necessary funds to implement its vaunted Vision 2030 which is designed to transition the kingdom away from its dependence on oil revenues. One of the core policies is to develop Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination and  venue for technological and scientific development. While Vision 2030's goals are admirable, it thus far has been a failure.

The largest failure has been MBS' plan to develop Neom (نيوم), a futuristic city in the Hijazi mountains of northwest Saudi Arabia.  The city, which combines the term "neo" for new, and m for the first initial of MBS' name and the Arabic word for "the future" (al-mutaqbal) was launched in 2017. Neom is intended to become a luxury tourist destination and tech hub and be 100% carbon free.  

Model of Trojena skil resort for 2029 Asian Winter Games 

The city would offer multiple amenities. Year round skiing ion the mountains nearby, a resort island, Sindala,  in the Red Sea for yachts, the Line, a 110 mile long building with glass exterior which would house up to 9 million residents. Robots would provide many of the mundane services in Neom. 

The problem is that Neom's cost, which was initially put at $1.6 trillion, has now reached an estimated $8.8 trillion, 25 times Saudi Arabia's GDP.  Efforts to attract foreign investors to shoulder much of the funding for the new city has come up short. Thus, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been required to provide the funding. With the downturn in oil prices, in part exacerbated by Donald Trump's global tariff wars, has hampered progress. 

Part of the cost overruns has been MBS' intrusion in the construction process.  His micromanagement has included unrealistic demands of the project.  His directives to make architectural changes to the Line have not only added cost but hampered progress.

Not only has the Neom city project been a financial disaster, it has harmed local populations, particularly the Howiatat tribe which was displaced from its traditional are of residence. When the tribal chief objected to the 20,000 member tribe's eviction, he was later shot to death by Saudi security forces.  Three other member of the tribe were sentenced to death for peacefully demonstrating and refusing to leave their tribal homeland.

Most of the labor to build Neom city has been drawn from Bangladesh, India and Nepal.  Since 2017, 21,000 workers have lost their lives.  Laborers have reported extremely harsh working conditions, such as 16 hour days in 120F plus weather.  Former Neom director Nadhmi al-Nasr is reported to have said,  drive everybody like a slave, when they drop down dead, I celebrate. That's how I do my projects."Expatriate Executives Flee Saudi Arabia’s Bad Bosses

What should the takeaways be from MBS' rule?  First, Saudi Arabia lacks the funds to complete Neom City and other Vision 2030 projects.  That the Neom project has largely stalled, and has failed to attract international investors should give pause to the United States in depending on Saudi Arabia to serve its interests in the Middle East or domestically.  In 2024, The kingdom posed its first ever  reduction in its budget in 2024 and will continue to reduce spending in 2026 Saudi Arabia to rein in spending next year

Muhammad bin Salman is a young inexperienced ruler who allows his personal whims and fancies influence his policy decisions. Locking up Saudi princes who he considered potential threats to his rule in the Ritz -Carlton Hotel in 2020 and refusing to let them leave until they transferred their wealth to him should have been a wake-up call for the West.  His extensive human rights abuses have caused many foreign investors to forego providing funds for Vision 2030.

Nor will MBS invest $1 trillion in the United States.  The declining global demand for oil and MBS' profligate spending do not auger well for the Saudi economy. Bringing World Wrestling Championship, LIV golf tournaments and Six Flag water parks to Saudi Arabia will not erase the kingdom's weakened economic outlook.  The Trump Organization may be able to construct a Trump Tower in Riyadh, but may also find that it invested in a mirage

Fighting Anti-Semitism Begins with the Israeli Peace Movement

Anti-Semitism is a scourge which has plagued the Christian religion for centuries. With Christians branding Jews as "the killers of Christ," anti-Semitism's roots were planted with the founding of Christianity Anti-Semitism gained more power after it became the Roman Empire's official religion under Emperor Constantine. Over time, it has spread to become one of the foundations of sectarianism interpretations of Christianity.

While anti-Semitism is difficult eradicated, it can and should be vigorously fought. One way to accomplish this is to promote Israel's extensive peace movement which has worked to bring Jewish and Palestinian Israelis together to promote tolerance, respect for religious and ethnic diversity. How could the peace movement help in the fight against anti-Semitism?

Before addressing this question, what is the status of anti-Semitism in the world today? With Israel's massive of bombing of the Palestinians in Gaza following HAMAS' brutal attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, anti-Israeli sentiment has spread throughout the world. Israel today finds itself the most isolated in the International community it has ever been since its creation in 1948. The hostility to the Netanyahu government's policies in Gaza which have led to the death of over 68,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, has opened the door for anti-Semites to join the criticism of Israel.

Meanwhile, emigration by Israelis has increased significantly since 2022. Over 125,000 Israelis emigrated between 2002 and 2024. Much of the outflow of citizens is caused by concern that the country under the Netanyahu regime is trying to transform Israel into an authoritarian state by eliminating the power of its Supreme Court, the only check on legislative power.  A reaction to the Gaza War was also a motivating factor, including its negative impact on the Israeli economy. 

The Historical Roots of Anti-Semitism During the Crusades, Jewish merchants were among those who provided funds for notables to develop their armies and means to travel to the Holy Lands. To assure repayment of loans, land was held as collateral. When many Crusaders died from fighting, illness, or their ships sank, land was seized by merchants, including by Jews. This development deeply disturbed the powerful Roman Catholic Church. 

In response, the Pope issued regulations regarding usury, i.e, forbidding the use of interest, intended to impede Jewish merchants from engaging in commercial transactions and prevent them from acquiring land.  The reputation that Jews were a "money hungry" community was born.  Meanwhile that religious fervor sparked by the Crusades resulted in Jewish communities in Europe being the target of numerous pogroms and even massacres.  Ironically, Jews in Jerusalem fought with Muslims to prevent Crusader armies from seizing the city.

Anti-Semitism wasn't confined to sectarian Christianity. The notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion was published in Imperial Russia in 1903, one year after the 1902 Russian Zionist Conference.  The Russian Empire having the world's largest Jewish population after the partition of Poland in the late 18th century, together with the Romanov's fear of the spread of European liberalism, may explain its Russian origins. 

The Protocols claimed that an international Jewish conspiracy sought to take over the world. The rise of the Rothschild banking empire and other Jewish owed banks during the 19th century helped fuel belief in the Protocols' conspiracy. Their role in funding war efforts of Great Britain and France in particular promoted the belief that these banks wielded an excessive amount of power within British and French government circles 

The spread of fascism in Europe during the 1930s and the coming to power of Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime led the Protocols to acquire greater legitimacy.  Despite having been shown to be false in the early 1920s, in Nazi Germany teachers were told to teach that the Protocols were true.  

In the United States during the Great Depression, anti-Semitism was spread by the German Bund, the American First movement and Father Charles Coughlin's National Union for Social Justice which accused American Jews of trying to force the United States to go to war against Nazi Germany.  

In current American politics among the MAGA movement, anti-Semitism still abounds, promoted by Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes and many right-wing podcasters. Rightwing populist parties in Europe continue to echo, with some exceptions like Marine LePen's National Assembly (Rassemblement National) in France.

Fighting Anti-Semitism As this cursory overview shows, given its deep historical roots, combating anti-Semitism is no easy task. However, one of the strongest weapons in fighting anti-Semitism is to employ Israel's multi-ethnic and multi-confessional peace movement.  Although it represents a small percentage of the larger Israeli population, it is powerful nevertheless.  It is well organized and its members are passionate about achieving their goal of bringing an end to the hostility between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and creating an Israeli state with equality for all its citizens. 

Nevertheless, few Jewish organizations outside of Israel have collaborated with the peace movement to help in the fight against anti-Semitism. Neither have Arab-American organizations reached out to peace groups in Israel which include many Palestinian Arab Israelis. 

The argument offered here is that an effort by progressive Jewish and Arab American organizations could draw upon foundation support, e.g., the Soros Foundation, to develop a network of groups who would work towards the gaol of am independent Palestinian state (as legislated by the United nations in Resolution 181 of November 1947), peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians and an Israeli state where all its citizens enjoy equal rights.

Having workshops and conferences throughout the United States, and having them simultaneously included on social media as well as inviting the press and television stations, would offer a very different perspective on Israel. It's hard to remember any effort by Jewish groups in the United States to invite peace organizations from Israel to come to the United States to explain the work they're doing in Israel and the possibilities for change.

J Street, a liberal Zionist organization formed in 2007 (https://jstreet.org/), could take the lead in organizing workshops and conferences in different parts of the United States where Israeli peace groups could make presentations.  As a strong opponent of efforts to annex the West Bank, it obviously doen not support the far-right ultra-nationalist. Netanyahu regime. Thus, there is every incentive for Arab American organizations to join J Street in hosting peace groups from Israel

Arab-American organizations , such as the American Arab Discrimination Committee (https:adc.org/, which was formed in 1980 by the late South Dakota senator, James Abourezq and is the largest Arab cil rights organization in the United States, would provide an ideal venue for a meeting with groups representing the Israeli peace movement. Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, home to a large Arab and Palestinian community, the ADC has national political clout and could work with progressive Jewish groups to strengthen the peace movement in Israel.

Why would hosting Israeli peace organizations in the United States help in the fight against anti-Semitism? First, they would demonstrate that anti-Semites, who try to paint the Jewish people as a sectarian monolith. While there are Jewish settlers in the West Bank who are attacking Palestinian farmers and Palestinian villages and towns, other Israelis are working to create a society in which all citizens are equal.

Givat Haviva is one of the oldest organizations in Israel which which is dedicated to promoting dialogue and reconciliation between Israel's Jewish and Palestinian Arab citizens. It seeks to develop a civil society in which Jewish and Arab citizens better understand one another and work to create a shared vision of society.  It was founded in 1949 by the Kibbutz Artzi Federation, and supported by the MAPAM party, the most left leaning party when Israel was founded.  

Givat Haviva is named in honor of Haviva Reik, a Zionist who left Israel in 1939 to join British forces fighting the Nazis but was captured and executed in 1942.  She was a member of Hashomer Hatzair, a socialist organization which supported the idea of a bi-national state in Palestine.

Givat Haviva received the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 2001. Since 2015, Givat Haviva - the Center for a Shared Society - has been administered by Mohammed Darawshe, a Palestinian Arab citizen of Israel. With its long history and success in bringing together Jews and Arabs in Israel, including many youth, it is a peace organizations which should be given widespread exposure in the United States.

Peace Now is one of Israel's oldest peace movements.  Founded in 1978 by many prominent Israelis, including the late author, Amos Oz, Peace Now acquired prominence in 1982 after Israel invaded Lebanon.  Although the invasion was to destroy Palestine Liberation Organization camps in souther Lebanon, General Ariel Sharon marched on to Beirut with the aim of the massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila camps near Beirut.  The Israeli army allowed a sectarian Christian militias, the Phalange, which opposed the PLO, to enter the camps and kill between 1300 and 3500 innocent civilians.

Peace Now was in the forefront in organizing a 400,000 strong demonstration in Tel Aviv (about 10% of Israel's population at the time) which demanded accountability for the massacre. A number of Israeli soldiers in Beirut refused to fight, a first in Israel's history. Sharon was lambasted in Israel's media because he had been authorized by then prime minister Menachem Begin to go no further than 25 miles into Lebanon.  An investigation ordered by Begin followed and the Kahan Report's findings forced Sharon to step down as defense minister.

Adalah - the Legal Center for Minority Rights in Israel was founded in 1996 as a non-sectarian organization dedicated to protecting the legal rights of Israel's Palestinian Arab citizens.  Headquartered in Haifa, which has a large Palestinian Arab community, Adalah is highly respected for its vigorous advocacy for human rights and the rule of law.  As its website states, "Respect for civil and political rights is a fundamental requirement of a legitimate democratic state."  

Adalah has provided lawyers for numerous legal cases in which Palestinian Arabs who have been accused of promoting terrorism and given administrative detention, have had their homes demolished, or attempts to punish Aran Members of Knesset (MKS) for expressing views criticizing the Israeli government's treatment of its Palestinian Arab citizens. Adalah has set up a  branch office in Beersheba in the Negev Desert where it works to protect the rights of local Bedouin communities.   

There are dozens of other Israeli peace organizations filled with dedicated Jewish and Palestinian Arab citizens. Given them greater exposure in the United States and the West could both hep the peace process by gaining support for it, but undermine the narrative of anti-Semites that "the Jews" are a sectarian and repressive people who care nothing for anyone but themselves.

Could AI, Cybercurrency and Corruption Create a Palestinian State?

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been ongoing for over 75 years. With little or no progress having been made to solve it, many analysts now consider the two state solution, which would create a Palestinian state, defunct.  However, with Israel increasingly isolated on the global stage, and the Trump administration developing ever closer ties with Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states, could a Palestinian state, even a rump entity, be in the offing?

What has changed in the Middle East as a result of the Trump administration coming to power?  One of the most important changes is the focus on strengthening the American economy through imposing tariffs on imported manufactured and other goods. However, this policy has harmed rather than improved the American economy such as the toll taken on small businesses which are unable to negotiate the tariffs. Less discussed are the many important economic decisions which have directly or indirectly enriched President Trump, members of his family and close allies such as New York real estate developer, Steve Witkoff. 

One issue which could strengthen the US economy is the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  However, to build the data centers required to develop AI requires large investments in the billions of dollars.  One area of the world where such large sums of money exist is in the Arab world, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. 

As the Trump administration has drawn closer to large AI firms, such as Sam Altman's OpenAI, Meta, Oracle, xAI, Softbank and Cerebras, it has used these connections to improve its ties to wealthy donors. On the Arab side of this relationship, the UAE and Saudi Arabia seek to become AI powerhouses. Saudi AI firm Humain is pouring billions into data centers. Will it pay off?

A key incentive behind this effort is the prediction that global demand for petroleum will reach its apex in 2030. Oil will no longer have the economic and political clout as the 21st century proceeds. While Saudi Arabia pours $billions into building its own AI data centers, Sam Altman has promised to build a network of the world's largest data centers in Abu Dhabi. OpenAI Says It Will Build Massive Data Centers in the U.A.E.

Dovetailing with these developments is the establishment of new Trump enterprises such as World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm.  Recently, Shaykh Tahnoun bin Zayed Nahyan, an expert in AI and the UAE's National Security Adviser, agreed to contribute $2 billion to World Liberty Financial, a company run by Trump and his close friend and Middle Easy envoy, Steve Witkoff. World Liberty Financial: Where DeFi meets TradFi

In exchange, the UAE will receive advanced computer chips from the United States.  American tech entrepreneurs such as Sam Altman, who received an honorary doctorate from the UAE this month, are viewed as key to helping the UAE become one of the world's most prominent AI states. Echoing Willie Sutton mantra, OpenAI is investing in the UAE because, with its huge sovereign wealth fund, "that's where the money is."

Altman's UAE data centers will require enough electricity - five gigawatts - which is enough to power 3.75 million American homes, almost the entire population of Connecticut. Abu Dhabi's OpenAI data centers cover 10 square miles and will contain 500,000 NVIDIA H200 GPUs, more than the entire computational power than most countries possess. Anatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches.

The problems with these transactions are two-fold.  First the United State Constitution is explicit about the president being prohibited from enriching him or herself once elected to the country's most powerful position of authority: Article I, Section 9, Clause 8, states: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Second, the advanced computer chips promised to the UAE could compromise the United States'  national security. The UAE maintains close trade, technological and military relations with China.  In July 2024, the UAE carried out joint military operations in China and purchased 22 attack aircraft from the People's Republic.  The UAE is China's second if not its largest trading partner in the Arab world and has received help in developing its AI industry from Beijing China, UAE hold air force drills in Xinjiang as defense relations grow

Could giving the UAE advanced computer chips help China in its competition with the United States as each seeks to become the world's dominant AI power? Unlike the Biden administration, which constantly warned the UAE about its close ties to Beijing, the Trump administration has made little effort to make sure that  critical technology doesn't fall into the hands of the Chinese state.

How does a Palestinian state fit into this picture?  Despite overt praise for the Israeli prime minister, Trump seems increasingly to view Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right ultra-nationalist regime as "losers" (to use one of his favorite terms). With Israel under Netanyahu now extremely isolated on the global stage and cut off from certain weapons supplies from European allies, specifically the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal, not to speak of accusations that Netanyahu is a war criminal who has committed genocide in Gaza, Trump's ties with Netanyahu are becoming a liability. Little for him to gain, much for him to lose.

From Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states' perspective, there is little enthusiasm for establishing an independent Palestinian state.  They remember the support Palestinians living and working in Kuwait gave Saddam Husayn when he invaded the country in August 1990, prior to the 1991 Gulf War. A new Palestinian state would not be supportive of monarchical rule.

Nevertheless, Saudi ruler Muhammad bin Salman and his fellow Arab Gulf states realize that they cannot develop close financial and diplomatic ties to Israel as long as it continues to kill thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza and destroy its infrastructure.  The daily list of horrors occurring in Gaza are spread by social media, creating anger not just in Arab countries, but throughout the world. Any overt ties with Israel would only further inflame the "Arab street" and the many Muslim and Global South countries with which Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states maintain close ties. 

Even though. Iran and its so-called "Axis of Resistance" have been dealt a serious military and political blow, the establishment of a Palestinian state would take most of the wind out of Iran and its proxies' sails. On the positive side, a new Palestinian state, even a rump entity, would decrease the threat Iran poses to the Saudi and Arab Gulf monarchies.

As long as the Gaza Crisis continues , Trump is obliged to maintain arms supplies to Israel. To cut them off would anger his evangelical Christian base which strongly supports Israel for "Messianic" reasons. But allowing Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet. ministers to continue to attack Gaza and to keep killing what is now more than 66,000 Gazans, mainly women and children, will serve to also isolate the United States in the global community.  

Democrats and independents are increasingly calling for ending arms supplies to Israel. Continuing arms supplies could help Democrats improve their electoral results in the 2026 mid-term elections.  The issue already helped Zohran Mamdani win the Democratic Party mayoral primary this past June in New York City, where even many younger Jews voted for him.

Israel has been slowly annexing the occupied West Bank by seizing Palestinian land and building illegal settlements on this land. Recently, Netanyahu's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the West Bank to be annexed and Netanyahu himself threatened to build a new settlement every time a Western country recognizes a Palestinian state. 

Nevertheless, it is significant that Trump has declared he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. His declaration is a sign of how much he wants to avoid alienating Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states who he sees playing such a central role in his future financial goals. No "Trump Towers" will arise in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Riyadh as long as the violent destruction of Gaza's residents and infrastructure continues. 

Of course, ending the Gaza War and curtailing the Netanyahu regime's goal of expelling the Palestinians and reoccupying Gaza, could help promote Trump's desire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.  If he did receive the prize, then he would replicate the achievement of Barack Obama, who remains a major nemesis.

There are two "wild cards" in these developments. One is whether Netanyahu's government will be able to remain in power if far-right ministers like Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir withdraw their support. The second is whether HAMAS will accept a US peace plan or decide to fight to the last man. If HAMAS remains adamant about fighting on, the horrors of the Gaza War will continue.

A final scenario could be the entry of an Arab military force into the Gaza Strip if HAMAS refuses to surrender its weapons.  According to Trump's peace plan, such a force would take the place of the Israeli army if HAMAS agrees to it.  However, if HAMAS decides to fight on, such a force could, with US support, enter the Gaza Strip to disarm it.  Certainly, Gazans would be more willing to help Arab troops disarm what is now a weak organization with very low popular support.

Egypt has a strong incentive to see HAMAS defeated and the Trump plan work. The al-Sisi regime is terrified at the prospect of large numbers of the 2 million Gazan Palestinians being forced into the Sinai Desert by Israel because the refugees would then become Egypt's responsibility. 

At the end of the day, Trump's foreign policy is transactional, namely viewed through eyes of a businessman, not an ideologue. Trump may be inclined to support Israel, yet focus more on ingratiating himself and his administration with nation-states like Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf monarchies which have huge sovereign wealth funds. 

For Trump, Netanyahu and his far-right coalition increasingly look like "losers," while Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf state look like "winners."  If creating a Palestinian state is the path forward for Trump, his family and allies to enrich themselves by riding the AI train, then sacrificing Benjamin Netanyahu and his ultra-nationalist clique may be a price the latter will have to pay.