Shoshana Bryen

Shoshana Bryen

Shoshana Bryen is senior director of the Jewish Policy Center in Washington D.C.

Her books, available on Amazon, include:

EU misrepresents Israeli ‘annexation’ issue

European Union foreign-policy chief Josip Borrell put forward a surprise resolution on Israel’s new government that included the following: “The E.U. does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank. The E.U. reiterates that any annexation would constitute a serious violation of international law.” But E.U. statements have to be unanimous, and Borrell was thwarted by members of his own club. The details aren’t clear yet, but Hungary and Austria were definitely opposed, and an Israeli diplomat noted that the largest number of E.U. delegates to date opposed a resolution aimed at Israel. [Shoshana Bryen]

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Pandemic shines light on federalism’s true role

States, jealous of their power and prerogatives when it suits, have been furious over what some governors call federal inaction on COVID-19, deliberate or not. But equally, each state has a department of public health, a director of that department and staff. Each state is presumed to have a plan for emergencies: floods, forest fires, airliner crashes (the last fatal crash in the U.S. occurred in 2009, but it used to be on the “prepare for” list) or pandemics. Closing schools and parks is not handled in Washington. Calling out the state National Guard is, as its name suggests, a state prerogative. [Shoshana Bryen]

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Shoshana Bryen, USA

Sanctions in a time of pandemic

The Islamic Republic of Iran is fighting the coronavirus (a.k.a. Wuhan virus) with its usual obfuscation, lies, denials, and accusations. Calling the virus a concerted effort by the U.S. and Israel to infect Iran, the government has demanded an end to Western sanctions – and money, lots of money — because, it says, American sanctions are preventing medical supplies from entering the country.
The first claim is nonsense and the second claim is nonsense. [Shoshana Bryen]

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Russian-Saudi oil competition damaging domestic producers

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans have had fairly stable energy prices for the past few years, and fairly low ones, in part due to the tremendous increase in energy production in the United States – both natural gas and oil. In 2018, the U.S. produced 95% of its domestic energy requirements, the largest

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

As Hamas negotiates, PIJ fires rocket at kindergarten

Some of us have snow days; Israeli children have “rocket days” – if you need an explanation, you haven’t been paying attention. Children in southern Israel had a rocket day Monday, which was fortuitous because a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rocket slammed into a kindergarten playground. It was only one of dozens launched from Gaza this week. The fact that the rockets are PIJ, not Hamas, is, in fact, an important point. [Shoshana Bryen]

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Middle East, Shoshana Bryen

What Mideast parties want ahead of a peace proposal

We have to wait until President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan is unveiled to discuss it; those already discussing are likely to be wrong. But it is worth reviewing where Israelis, Palestinians, Arab states, and Americans have been — and why this time may be different. The central flaw in the “Palestinian-Israeli peace process” has never been addressed. There has not been — and there is not now — a shared goal toward which Israelis and Palestinians can be induced to work. Instead, each side has three specific and irreconcilable objectives. [Shoshana Bryen]

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Defining U.S. defense policies in the Middle East

There are, roughly speaking, two ways to use a large, modern military force. The first is to enforce international “rules of the road,” guaranteeing freedom of the seas or punishing gross violations of international law and treaties, or keeping the peace by backing up treaties with capabilities. This includes rescuing Kuwait from invasion and occupation by Saddam’s Iraq. It includes retaliating for Syria’s use of chemical weapons. The second way a large and capable country can use its forces is to try to settle other people’s problems. This could include the Vietnam War, 18 years of war in Afghanistan, or centuries-long animosities engendered by 400 years of Turkish anti-Arab colonialism called the Ottoman Empire. [Shoshana Bryen]

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Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

As Iranians riot, Iran stirs trouble elsewhere

There are protests and riots across Iran, brutally put down by Iranian security forces and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC); the government is charging families for the bullets used to kill their loved ones before releasing bodies to them. Inflation is rampant and economic growth is negative. Sanctions on Iranian oil shipments have led Iran to steal Iraqi oil, one cause of the anti-Iranian riots across Iraq. Yet, Iran continues to arm its proxies and allies with missiles that can strike Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Jordan and Israel. Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, controlled by Iran’s Quds Force, are being spread across the region. [Shoshana Bryen and Stephen D. Bryen]

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, Stephen D. Bryen, USA

Imperial Iran faces troubles at home and abroad

Since December 2017, a sort of “rolling rebellion” has been occurring across Iran. It is bigger, deeper and stronger than the Green Revolution of 2009 and taking place in great measure outside Tehran, where the population is more diverse. There have been strikes of truckers, bazaar shopkeepers, teachers, farmers, and students. See #WhiteWednesday on Twitter to watch brave Iranian women go into the streets and take off their head coverings. Sometimes they dance. Sometimes their husbands, fathers, and brothers go with them. Sometimes they are arrested and sometimes they go to jail. Unfortunately, it took the suicide of a young woman facing seven years in prison for attending a soccer match to get the attention of the Western press. [Shoshana Bryen]

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Middle East, Shoshana Bryen

How U.S. benefits from alliance with Israel

The origins of U.S.-Israel security cooperation are in the Cold War understanding that the United States could not engage all the adversaries of all its allies and friends around the world. It was embraced warily at first — the Americans were unconvinced they would receive anything of value and the Israelis were concerned about continued freedom of action. But it worked. Israel went from being considered a net security consumer to a net security producer, meaning the United States did not have to expend resources to defend Israel. And Israel participated in making the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean regions more secure due to its presence. [Shoshana Bryen]

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA