Geopolitics

2014 – A Strategically Decisive Year

2014 is likely to be a decisive year for the issue of Iran’s nuclear program and for the fate of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. These two subjects pose challenges for the triangular relationship: Israel, the United States, and the American Jewish community. The interim agreement with Iran, and the Vienna talks on a permanent settlement that followed, provoked extremely harsh responses from Israel. At the same time, diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians are nearing their April 2014 deadline and Israel faces mounting pressure and weighty decisions as the presentation of the American framework approaches. !e coming months, therefore, have the potential to bring new tensions between Washington and Jerusalem that may trouble American Jewry and could strain the “triangle,” a cornerstone of Israel’s and the Jewish people’s power. The main issues – efforts to halt Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon, and to achieve a breakthrough in an Israeli-Palestinian agreement – arise within stormy global and regional contexts. Replete with uncertainties and dilemmas highly relevant to Israel’s standing, both issues test Jerusalem’s decision makers and the triangle’s strength.

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