Israel’s Foreign Policy
Brandeis University
Professor Uri Bialer
Fall Semester 2011
Course Description.
Among the nations of the world Israel is widely considered as unique. Founded in 1948 it is small in size and population, located in a critical geographic area, and has been, especially prior to the June 1967 War, strategically vulnerable. It is surrounded by hostile neighbors and has lived in a state of continouos siege since the achievement of its independence. Its immediate origins were highlighted by the explicit support of two world bodies, the League of Nations and the United Nations. It enjoys the support of a world – wide constituency haunted by the memories of the Second World War which exterminated almost the entire European Jewish community. It was created as a homeland for the Jewish people as a whole, and as a consequence a larger number of persons identifying with the state live outside its borders than within. Finally it has found itself in no less than seven wars during its short history. It is these wars and the basic factor underlying themr – the conflict with the Arab states and the Palestinians – which has drawn most of the wide range of political and academic attention to the foreign policy of Israel.
Still, Israel has been far from unique in its normal needs in this sphere. The official establishment of the state of Israel in May 1948 constituted the realization of the Zionist vision. But the military victory that followed the War of Independence left in its wake many internal and external survival issues that would threaten this historic achievement for decades to come. In the area of foreign affairs there were two main, interrelated issues; the first being the refusal by the international community to recognize the political, geographical and demographic results of the war—a denial that presented Israel with a permanent security threat in the Middle East context, while isolating and alienating it in the international arena. The second was Israel's near-total dependence on foreign resources for survival. The effort required by Israel for guaranteeing its national security in face of incessant military threats was undoubtedly the main concern of the state's strategic planning. At the same time, diplomatic attempts at breaking out of the ring of hostility, on the one hand, and securing survival resources, on the other, were complimentary directions of Israeli policy for years following the 1949 signing of the armistice agreements. It may be said that the paramount importance of both issues in Israeli foreign policy has not changed to this day, and will probably remain so in the future. Thus, the course presents the historical contexts of the basic features of the policy that has served Israel for more than half century of its existence. It will focus on the parameters of the national security strategy that have determined Israel's multi-faceted activity since the end of the 1948 War of Independence for gaining regional and international recognition, increasing immigration, and acquiring arms, financial aid, oil, and water. In doing so it will chart the diplomatic map of the State: its relations with the super powers (The USA and the Soviet Union), the European Community, and Arab and Afro-Asian States
As a conclusion, an attempt will be made to assess the uniqueness of Israel’s foreign policy.
Course Obligations. Each student will be expected to write a midterm paper (40 percent of the overall evaluation of the student’s performance) and a research paper at the end of the course on a topic of mutual interest to the instructor and the student (60 percent). A List of optional topics will be distributed at the first meetings of the course.
The course suggests a thematic rather than a narrative-historical analysis of Israel’s foreign policy. To gain the necessary background information thus fully benefiting from such an approach the students are required to read the following during the first three weeks of the course:
Martin Gilbert, Israel: a History (New York 1998) pp. 3-169
Collin Shindler, A History of Modern Israel (Cambridge 2008) pp.98-320
The required readings for each week are marked with *
Week One
Organizational Meeting
Reading:
*Raymond Cohen, "Israel Starry-Eyed Foreign Policy", Middle East Quarterly, June 1994
The Historical Legacy: Zionism , Jewish Diplomacy ,the British Mandate, The Yishuv , The Arabs, The Holocaust
Reading:
*Aharon Klieman, "Zionist diplomacy and Israeli foreign policy" Jerusalem Quarterly, 11, 1979, pp. 93 – 111
*Sasson Sofer, The Foundation of Israeli Diplomacy, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press ) Ch 1, Conclusion
*Jehuda Reinharz. “Zionism, and the Great Powers: A Century of Foreign Policy”, (Leo Baeck Institute, New York 1994)
*Jehuda Reinharz and Evyatar Friesel, “The Zionist Leadership between the Holocaust and the Creation of the State of Israel”, in A. Rosenfleld (ed.) Thinking about the Holocaust: After Half a Century (Bloomington 1997) 83-116
Week 2
The Regional and International Contexts
Reading:
*Elie podeh, “Israel in the Middle East or Israel and the Middle East- a Reappraisal,” Elie Podeh and Asher Kaufman (ed.), Arab – Jewish Relations- From Conflict to Resolution? (Brighton: Sussex University Press, 2006), 93- 113.
*Michael Brecher, The Foreign Policy System of Israel (Oxford University Press 1972) pp.23 - 64
*Avraham Sela, The Decline of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Middle East Politics and the Quest for Regional Order (Albany: SUNY Press, 1998), Ch. 1-2
*Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations: Power, Politics and Ideology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005),. 97-164 ,
Week 3
Foreign Policy Aims
1. General
Reading:
*Uri Bialer, “Top Hat, Tuxedo and Cannons: Israeli Foreign Policy from 1948 to 1956 as a Field of Study”, Israel Studies 7,1, 2002, pp. 1-80
*Aharon Klieman, Israel & the World after 40 Years (Pergamon Brassey's 1990) pp.5 - 84
2. Aliya-Immigration and relations with the Jewish World
Reading:
*Efraim Inbar, "Jews, jewishness and Israel's foreign policy", Jewish Political Studies Review, 2, 1990, pp.165 – 183
*Gabi Sheffer, "The elusive question: Jews and Jewry in Israeli foreign policy", Jerusalem Quarterly 46, 1988, pp. 104 – 114
*Benjamin Pinkus, "Israel's Activity on behalf of Soviet Jews," in Selwyn Ilan Troen and Benjamin Pinkus (eds.) Organizing Rescue: Jewish National Solidarity in the Modern Period (London, 1992), 373-402
Week 4
Foreign Policy Aims
3. Recognition
Reading:
*Joseph Dan, “Jewish Sovereignty as a Theological Problem,” Azure (Winter 2004), pp. 123-139.
*Elie Podeh, "The Desire to Belong Syndrome: Israel and Middle Eastern Defense 1948-1954", Israel Studies, 4, 2, 1999, 121-144
*Shabtai Rosenne , “Israel and the U.N : Changed Perspectives 1945-1976” , American Jewish Year Book 1978, 3-59
4. Water
Reading:
*Nadav Morag, "Water, geopolitics and state building: The case of Israel"
Middle Eastern Studies; Jul 2001; 37 3 179-198
*Moshe Gat , "The great powers and the water dispute in the Middle East: A prelude to the six day war", Middle Eastern Studies , 6, 2005 , 911 - 935
Week 5
Foreign Policy Aims
5. Oil
Reading:
*Uri Bialer, “Fuel Bridge across the Middle East: Israel, Iran and the Eilat - Ashkelon Oil Pipeline”, Israel Studies, 12, III, 2007, 29-67
6. Arms
Reading:
*Zach Levey, "Israeli Foreign Policy and the Arms Race in the Middle East, 1950-1960," The Journal of Strategic Studies 24, 1, (2001), 29-48.
*David Tal , “Symbol not substance? Israel's campaign to acquire Hawk missiles, 1960-1962”, International History Review 22: (2) 304-317 June 2000
Week 6
Foreign Policy Aims
7. Security
Reading:
*Dan Horowitz, "The Israeli concept of national security", in A.Yaniv (ed.) National Security and Democracy in Israel (Lynne Rienner Publishers 1993) pp.11 – 54
*Uri Bar-Joseph, "Towards a Paradigm Shift in Israel’s National Security Conception", Israel Affairs, Vol. 6, No. 3-4, 1999, pp. 99-114O
*Zeev Maoz, , "The Mixed Blessing of Israel's Nuclear Policy", International Security, V 28, #2, 2003, pp. 44-77LICY
8. Economics
Reading:
*Yoram Ben Porat (ed.), The Israeli Economy: Maturing through Crises (Harvard University Press 1986) pp. 1 - 23, 173 - 191
*Ben Zion Ziolberfarb , ”From Socialism to Free Market – The Israeli Economy, 1948–2003”, Israel Affairs, 11, 1, 2005, 12–22
Week 7
Foreign Policy Aims
9. In Pursuit of Peace
Reading:
*Zeev Maoz, Defending the Holy Land (Ann Arbor: The University of Chicago Press, 2006), chap. 10.
*Itamar Rabinovich, Waging Peace, (Princeton University Press, 2004),1-37
Policy Making
Reading:
*Aharon Klieman, Israel & the World after 40 Years , pp. 131 - 180
*Yehuda Ben Meir, National Security Decision Making: The Israeli Case (Westview Press 1986) pp. 65 - 136
Week 8
Internal Impact on Foreign Policy: Politics, Ideology ,Law
Reading:
*A. Klieman, Israel & the World after 40 Years, pp.107 - 130
*Shmuel Sandler, The State of Israel, The Land of Israel (Greenwod London 1993) pp.3-21, 105-235
*Arye Naor, “Hawks’ Beaks, Doves’ Feathers: Likud Prime Ministers Between Ideaology and Reality”, Israel Studies, 10,3,2005, 154-191
Week 9
Israel’s Diplomatic Map:
1. Relations with the USA
Reading:
*Yaacov Bar Siman Tov . “The United-States and Israel since 1948 - A 'special-relationship'?, Diplomatic History, 22,2,1998, 231-262
*Abraham Ben-Zvi, “The Dynamics of the US-Israel Special Relationship,” in Abraham Ben-Zvi and Aharon Klieman (eds.), Global Politics (London: Frank Cass, 2001), 219-235.
2. Relations with the Soviet Union and with Russia
Reading:
*Ro’i, Yaacov, “The Deterioration of Relations: From Support to Severance,” Journal of Israeli History, Vol. 22, no. 1 (Spring 2003), pp. 21-36
*Ilya Bourtman, “Putin and Russia’s Middle East Policy”, MERIA, 10,2, 2006
Week 10
Israel’s Diplomatic Map:
3. Relations with Europe
Reading:
*Ilan Greilsammer, and Joseph Weiler, (eds.), Europe and Israel: Troubled Neighbours (Walter de Gruyter 1988) 11-42
*Dimitris Keridis, Europe and Israel: What Went Wrong? (Ramat Gan: BESA Center, 2004)
4. Relations with Africa
Reading:
*Joel Peters , Africa and Israel (British Academic Press 1992) pp.1 - 62, 85 – 177
*Zach Levy, “Israel’s Strategy in Africa 1961-67,” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 36, no. 1 (February 2004), 71-87
Weeks 11 -12
Israel’s Diplomatic Map:
5. Relations with Asia
Reading:
*Efraim Inbar "Indian-Israeli Entente" Orbis, 48, 1, 2004, pp. 89-104
* Zev Sufott, “Israel’s China Policy 1950-91,” Israel Affairs, . 7 . 1 Autumn 2000, pp. 94-118
6. Relations with the Arab World
Reading
*Shlaim, Avi, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2000), pp. 186-217
*Shlomo Gazit , "Israel and the Palestinians: Fifty Years of Wars and Turning Points", Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 555, 1998,. 82-96
Week 13
Discussion on Papers
Week 14
Concluding Analysis
On the Uniqueness of Israel’s Foreign Policy
Reading:
*“Israel’s Foreign Policy: A Realist-Ideal Type or a Breed of its Own? “, in Michael Barnett (ed.) Israel in Comparative Perspective: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom (New York) 1996, pp. 29-53