Israel finds itself today in a very volatile region and beset by mounting international pressures. Yet some analysts say the nation is in better shape than one might think. It is an island of stability and strength in the midst of a chaotic Middle East. Its most rabid enemy Syria is paralyzed by civil war, and the new military rulers in Egypt appear to be a lot friendlier than the deposed Muslim Brotherhood. And yet the threat of a nuclear armed Iran overrides all other concerns and that threat is growing worse by the day. Now it is not hard to see just how concerned Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has become about Tehran’s ominous drive for nuclear arms. When US Secretary of State John Kerry stopped in Jerusalem on his way to Geneva last week for talks with Iran, Netanyahu publicly berated the proposed deal being offered by the Western powers to the Islamic Republic. It is hard to remember a time when Netanyahu so openly and adamantly opposed a US administration than when he described it as a “very, very bad deal” which Israel “utterly rejects”. So just how worried should Israel be about the deal being cooked up with Iran? Does Israel truly face an existential threat in Iran’s renegade nuclear program? Will Jerusalem wind up confronting this threat all by itself? And are things really looking up for Israel when it comes to other regional challenges? Will Israel Face Iran Alone? – That’s our focus this week here on Front Page Jerusalem. We’ll have an update and analysis on how Israelis view the Geneva talks with Iran and whether the nation is prepared to meet this threat on its own. Our report will feature a recent briefing by Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli Air Force general and head of IDF Military Intelligence. |
Airing the weekend of November 16, 2013 Available on WWW.FRONTPAGEJERUSALEM.COM on Monday, November 18, 2013 |