• The Hamas Networks in America: A Short History

    Individuals and networks providing various forms of support for Hamas have been active in America for decades. Internal Hamas documents and FBI wiretaps show the existence of a nationwide Hamas network engaged in fundraising, lobbying, education, and propaganda dissemination dating back to the 1980s.

  • “Backlash Effect”: Why the Middle East Conflict Triggers Hate Crimes in the U.S.

    In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, a wave of antisemitism and Islamophobia has swept across the United States, putting American Jewish and Muslim communities on edge. There has been a staggering 312 cases of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault during the first two weeks of the war, a nearly five-fold increase from the same period last year.

  • Al-Aqsa Storm Heralds the Rise of Non-state Special Operations

    The surprise, brutal 7 October attack by Hamas has sent shockwaves around the world. Israel’s surprise was deeper than a combined intelligence and operational surprise. Leo Blanken, Ian Rice, and Craig Whiteside write that “It was failure of imagination.” What Israel missed “is the growing democratization of technology, which is rapidly providing new and dangerous capabilities to non-state actors.”

  • What the Israel Defense Forces Can Expect When It Enters the ‘Gaza Metro’ Tunnel System

    Israel’s military commanders will know that this is unlikely to be a simple operation. Among the factors complicating their mission of eliminating Hamas is the “Gaza Metro”, a vast network of interconnected tunnels within the region. Having invested heavily in subterranean infrastructure over the years, Hamas is counting on this network to aid its survival in the coming weeks. These tunnels are defended, booby-trapped and likely to be populated with human shields and hostages as well as fighters, they will be challenging for even a well-equipped and capable attacking force.

  • Israel: Beyond Deterrence

    The logic of nuclear deterrence does not apply to deterring organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. It is this different type of deterrence that failed on 7 October 2023 and which may now never be restored. Israel now has been forced to look beyond deterrence. It has now concluded that it is dealing with an entity that has never truly been deterred and can’t be deterred in the future. This is where the other flaw in Israel’s past deterrence strategy becomes painfully evident. It has not been accompanied by a more positive political strategy.

  • How to Deal with Visual Misinformation Circulating in the Israel-Hamas War and Other Conflicts

    In the three weeks since war began between Israel and Hamas, social media has been taken over with images and stories of attacks, many of which proved false. I have, of late, been studying the ethics of viewing photos and videos of war and atrocities in situations where falsification of imagery is widespread. A principal lesson of this research is that users of social media have significant power to influence the content they receive and thus bear some responsibility when they consume and share false information.

  • Antisemitism Has Moved from the Right to the Left in the U.S. − and Falls Back on Long-Standing Stereotypes

    Traditionally, antisemitism in the United States was promoted by far-right organizations and movements which focused on propagating traditional antisemitic narratives alleging Jews’ racial inferiority, their control of the financial sector, and their role in global cabals aiming to undermine America and Western civilization. In the last thirty years, however, the ideology underlying antisemitism in the U.S. has come to encompass both sides of the political spectrum. Progressive and left-leaning movements that are critical of Israel’s policies, especially with regard to the Palestinian population, have become linked to antisemitic practices, too.

  • Threats to U.S. Jewish, Arab, Muslim Communities on the Rise: DHS, FBI

    Hostilities in the Middle East are reverberating in the United States, where homeland security and law enforcement officials are tracking a steady increase in threats to Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities. CBP warned that operatives with links to three U.S.-designated terrorist organizations — Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah — might try to enter the U.S. along its southern border.

  • Most Americans View War in Afghanistan as Not Worth Fighting, Unsuccessful

    Two-thirds of adults say the American war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting, and more adults view Afghanistan as an adversary than an ally. Less than a quarter of adults say the U.S. was successful in developing a functioning government or improving opportunities for women in Afghanistan.

  • Working with Banks Around the World to Prevent Weapons Proliferation

    Most banks have no interest in facilitating a risky weapons sale or contributing to instability in the global landscape. But most are either unaware of the issue or do not know how to address it. Through live and virtual events, the financial sector is learning how to avoid inadvertently facilitating illicit weapons trade.

  • Israel’s Ground War Against Hamas: What to Know

    A major ground campaign in the Gaza Strip will display Israel’s overwhelming military force, but the country faces a steep challenge in its goal of eradicating Hamas, as well as in finding a workable post-combat plan for the territory.

  • Who Are the Primary Groups Behind the U.S. Anti-Israel Rallies?

    Since the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, activists at anti-Israel rallies have continued to justify and celebrate Hamas’s slaughter of Israelis. Activists have stated that all Israelis are legitimate military targets; that Palestinians have the right to resist by “any means necessary”; that Hamas terrorists are “freedom fighters”; and that Hamas’s terror attacks were part of a laudable process of “decolonization.”

  • How Video Games Are Being Used by Foreign Actors and Extremists

    Video games are easy to exploit, and are being used by actors ranging from IS and Hizbollah for recruitment, to Russia, who use it to spread propaganda during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

  • Iran's “Axis of Resistance”: Network Designed to Create Chaos, Fight Tehran's Enemies

    Iran has been increasingly vocal about the prospect of additional firepower entering the fray to score a victory for what Tehran calls the “axis of resistance” against Israel. The axis, refined by the Islamic republic over the last four decades, is a loose-knit network of proxies, Tehran-backed militant groups, and allied state actors who play an important role in Iran’s strategy to oppose the West, Arab foes, and, primarily, Israel.

  • Gaza Tunnels Give Hamas an Advantage in Fight Against Israel

    Following its intensive aerial bombardment of northern Gaza over the last two weeks, Israel, in the coming days, is planning to introduce a large number of ground troops to secure northern Gaza, which will allow specialist units to start searching and destroying the sprawling Hamas tunnel system. This phase could be costly in terms of Israeli lives because Hamas fighters underground will have access to the surface to inflict casualties on Israeli troops.