This volume surveys the interplay between state and non-state actors in Latin American foreign policies and attitudes towards the Middle East in the twenty-first century. How will domestic instability and international tensions affect the choices and behavior of Latin American countries towards the Arab world? The chapters here offer insight into this and similar questions, as well as a comparative value in analyzing countries beyond those specifically discussed. Common topics in policy making are considered–namely, Israel and Palestine, Iran, the Gulf countries, and the Arab "Spring”–as authors from distinct disciplines examine the crucial relation between ends and means on the one hand, and foreign policy actions and context on the other.

Edy Kaufman, Department of International Relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Yoram Shapiro, Latin American Studies Department, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Joe] Barromi, Director, UN Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Israel Interaction with Latin America has held varying degrees of importance in Israel's foreign relations. This study aims to present a comprehensive analysis of the patterns of continuity and change in Israel's relations with Latin America over a twenty-five year period, from the creation of the state to the 1973 October War, The authors provide a factual survey of major developments in Israeli-Latin American relations since 1948 -- and evaluate the attitudes of Latin American decision makers toward Israel. This latter evaluation is accomplished by studying patterns of behavior, grouping nations according to levels of support for Israel, and analyzing the influence of different variables on the policymaking process both for each of the states involved and their interaction. The work is divided into two basic units: background inputs and analysis of international and state relations. This division is utilized as the basis for the outputs of data and analysis on a multilateral as well as bilateral level, culminating in a detailed analysis of Latin American voting in the United Nations General Assembly. Quite distinctive in subject and perspective. It is timely in its relevance to the Middle East conflict and the recent bid by Latin American Jead-ers for greater influence in Third World politics. I consider it a valuable addition to the literature. John J. Bailey, Associate Professor of Government, Georgetown University This book fills a majorgap in the study of Israel's foreign relations. It has thefurther merit of exploring a very large topic, both in time and space, within a structured systematic framework of analysis. The book is highly informative and stimulating. Michael Brecher, Professor of Political Science, McGill University Contents: Introduction / External Setting / Internal Setting / Israel's Instruments / The Latin American Decision-Makers and Their Psychological Environment / Multilateral Level: Latin American Voting at the U.N. General Assembly / Bilateral Level / Concluding Remarks

A critical examination of the history of US-Palestinian relations The United States has invested billions of dollars and countless diplomatic hours in the pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace and a two-state solution. Yet American attempts to broker an end to the conflict have repeatedly come up short. At the center of these failures lay two critical factors: Israeli power and Palestinian politics. While both Israelis and Palestinians undoubtedly share much of the blame, one also cannot escape the role of the United States, as the sole mediator in the process, in these repeated failures. American peacemaking efforts ultimately ran aground as a result of Washington’s unwillingness to confront Israel’s ever-deepening occupation or to come to grips with the realities of internal Palestinian politics. In particular, the book looks at the interplay between the U.S.-led peace process and internal Palestinian politics—namely, how a badly flawed peace process helped to weaken Palestinian leaders and institutions and how an increasingly dysfunctional Palestinian leadership, in turn, hindered prospects for a diplomatic resolution. Thus, while the peace process was not necessarily doomed to fail, Washington’s management of the process, with its built-in blind spot to Israeli power and Palestinian politics, made failure far more likely than a negotiated breakthrough. Shaped by the pressures of American domestic politics and the special relationship with Israel, Washington’s distinctive “blind spot” to Israeli power and Palestinian politics has deep historical roots, dating back to the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate. The size of the blind spot has varied over the years and from one administration to another, but it is always present.

Edy Kaufman, Department of International Relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Yoram Shapiro, Latin American Studies Department, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Joe] Barromi, Director, UN Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, IsraelInteraction with Latin America has held varying degrees of importance in Israel's foreign relations. This study aims to present a comprehensive analysis of the patterns of continuity and change in Israel's relations with Latin America over a twenty-five year period, from the creation of the state to the 1973 October War,The authors provide a factual survey of major developments in Israeli-Latin American relations since 1948 - and evaluate the attitudes of Latin American decision makers toward Israel. This latter evaluation is accomplished by studying patterns of behavior, grouping nations according to levels of support for Israel, and analyzing the influence of different variables on the policymaking process both for each of the states involved and their interaction.The work is divided into two basic units: background inputs and analysis of international and state relations. This division is utilized as the basis for the outputs of data and analysis on a multilateral as well as bilateral level, culminating in a detailed analysis of Latin American voting in the United Nations General Assembly.Quite distinctive in subject and perspective. It is timely in its relevance to the Middle East conflict and the recent bid by Latin American Jead-ers for greater influence in Third World politics.

Turkey and Israel are two of the most important countries in the Middle East, but also are outsiders to the region for political and cultural reasons. Here Bengio examines the historic, geo-strategic and political-cultural roots of the Turkish-Israeli relationship, from the 1950s until today. Linking the relationship's evolution to the complexities of Turkey's historical ties with the Arab world, and changing domestic, regional and global conditions, the book traces the ebb and flow of the curious ties between the two countries. Bengio calls for a significant revision in the received wisdom about inter-Arab and Arab-Israeli conflicts and rivalries, placing Turkey in a more central role. The book approaches Middle Eastern affairs from inside the region, based on Turkish, Israeli and Arab sources, providing a much needed corrective to American - and British - centered accounts.