I am writing this editor’s note a few days after the US and Israel began their strikes on Iran, and in between sirens and stays in the bomb shelter as the Islamic Republic retaliates. It’s been a rollercoaster, from the opening warning that war had begun to my children returning home, and the total disruption of my daily routine, akin to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The biggest change, however, has been to this edition of The Jerusalem Report. The wonderful array of articles that I had planned has now been put on hold. In their place, I have turned my attention – like much of the world – to the war unfolding around us.
While it is difficult to know where this is all going, could this be the war to end all wars? Will it bring about regime change in Iran? Spark a third world war? Or end, as it began, in a place that will allow for future conflicts? I have tried to assemble a collection of articles here that look at these issues.
These range from purely personal perspectives to some deeper analyses of what has happened and what might happen next. The voices come from Israel and across the region, including Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The Jerusalem Post’s studio manager, Shifra Jacobs, writes about feeling a mixture of fear and safety as she, like the rest of Israel, ran in and out of bomb shelters and safe rooms. British journalist Lianne Kolirin, who found herself stranded in Israel as the war started, writes about coming to terms with her fears and approaching the stressful situation with resilience like an Israeli.
European-based Iranian scholar Sara Bazoobandi, a member of MENA 2025 and a non-resident researcher at the Institute for Security Politics and Kiel University in Germany, looks at how ordinary Iranians are feeling.
Aviram Bellaishe, vice president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, analyzes mistakes made by the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which led to his ultimate demise. Abdulaziz Alkhamis, a veteran Middle East researcher, columnist, and media analyst – who is also chairman of the Board of Directors of MENA2050 – looks at the undoing of the Iranian-Saudi relationship.
Feature writer Dana Ben-Shimon talks to Palestinians about how war with Iran has sharply highlighted the divide in their leadership and hears how ordinary Palestinians are coping with the situation – without the alert warnings and shelters that their Israeli neighbors have.
Retired colonel Eran Lerman, now vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, writes about how the US-Israeli military cooperation for this war came about and how it is unprecedented. Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, argues that the Trump-Netanyahu partnership on Iran marks a historic strategic shift. And Executive Director of the Misgav Institute for National Security Asher Fredman describes how this new dynamic between the two allies will shape and change the region forever.
Presidential historian Gil Troy examines global reactions to the war, focusing on those who have criticized Trump’s actions and found a way to make excuses for the Ayatollah’s regime.
There are also a few non-Iran-related articles, with veteran journalist Ben Lynfield looking at tensions elsewhere, in Africa. Neville Teller explores the Israel-UK relationship, and Report staff writer Chani Kaplan takes us on a journey through the life of famed Israeli spy Eli Cohen.
Rounding out the issue, we have Akiva Tor and Ofir Dayan from the Institute for National Security Studies outlining how Israel is losing the global narrative and what can be done to fix that.
I am aware this is a heavy load, but I hope that it gives you a greater understanding of the events shaping our world.
– Ruth