The Future of Gaza
Palestinian activist Samer Sinijlawi details the reforms needed for a better future for Palestinians in Gaza.
Is the Legacy of Norman Podhoretz in Doubt?
The JST’s Jacob Heilbrunn ponders the legacy and continued relevance of neo-conservative founding father Normal Podhoretz.
A Strange Lull In Israel
After two years of brutal war, almost daily announcements of the names of the fallen, regular missile attacks from Yemen or Iran driving people to take shelter, and constant concern for the fate of the hostages in Gaza, Israelis could have been expected to celebrate a bit. All the hostages, with the exception of one […]
Israel’s New Strategic Opportunity
Israel’s 2022 integration into the US regional military command for the Middle East, CENTCOM, is a game changer. It is not a formal alliance, yet provides many of the advantages of a defense treaty: stronger deterrence, coordinated defense with other US allies in the region, deeper strategic depth, and the capacity for joint action, while […]
The New Radical Convergence of Leftists and Islamists
What is the basis for elements of the radical Left and Islamists uniting in activism in Western Europe, the US and elsewhere? Raghu Kondori explains.
The 2025 National Security Strategy - Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
JST Advisory Board chair Dov Zakheim explains what’s new - and what isn’t - in President Trump’s National Security Strategy.
No Stabilization in Gaza Without Dismantling Hamas
It is time to confront one of the most dangerous illusions of our time: the belief that the International Stabilization Force for Gaza can bring order, reconstruction, or peace without dismantling Hamas.
Defining an Acceptable Outcome to the Russo-Ukraine War
Nikolas Gvosdev discusses alternative ways that modern wars end in the context of the Russo-Ukraine war.
US Involvement in the Post-October 7 Middle East
In the years preceding the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, two alternative strategic trajectories seemed to shape the discourse on US involvement in the Middle East: gradual disengagement or intensified great-power competition. By late 2025, following two years of war, a third strategic option has reemerged: American dominance. The US Options Before the October […]
Trump’s Designation of the Muslim Brotherhood: Next Steps
On November 24, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that begins the process of designating three Muslim Brotherhood chapters (in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon) as “foreign terrorist organizations” and “specially designated global terrorists” under US law. This decision marks a turning point in how the United States approaches the ideological landscape of the Middle […]
The Kurdish-Israeli Bond
The Kurds and Israelis are natural geopolitical allies. Many Kurdish Jews in Israel feel deeply connected to their ethnic heritage and maintain cultural links; the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq also has made tentative efforts to maintain cultural ties. But translating these perceptions of mutual interests and shared cultural traditions into a political alliance […]
Why did Iran Seize a Ship in the Strait of Hormuz?
On November 14, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz and confiscated the ship’s cargo of high sulphur gasoil, releasing the ship and crew five days later. Twenty percent of all oil traded globally passes the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claims to “fully control” the strait, has […]
