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American Foreign Policy in the Middle East Hinges on Saudi Arabia

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives US President Joe Biden at Al Salman Palace upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. Photo: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS

It is time for America to get off its back heel and start proactively securing the Middle East. Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas is a significant hurdle, but it also presents an opportunity for transformative peace once the conflict ends. The key to unlocking this potential lies with Saudi Arabia.

Israel has said that the conflict with Hamas could last several more months. When it ends, Arab countries will be hard-pressed to work together with Israel. 

The 2020 Abraham Accords established diplomatic ties between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan. In the months before the October 7 attack, there were also serious negotiations to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

The Israel-Hamas conflict halted those talks. Hamas, with support from Saudi Arabia’s mutual enemy, Iran, perfectly timed its attack to undermine a normalization pact between Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

We cannot afford to let Iran and Hamas derail what would be a critically beneficial relationship for all sides. America needs to proactively seek out an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is in a unique position. The country’s oil wealth has given it a tremendous amount of influence and independence. America and China are both heavily invested in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis purchase more than $100 billion worth of weapons and defense equipment from the US each year. 

To capitalize on this unique standing, Saudi Arabia could lead the way in revitalizing Gaza post-conflict. By focusing on reconstruction, infrastructure development, and humanitarian assistance, Saudi Arabia can ensure that support for the Palestinian people is used constructively, avoiding the pitfalls of previous aid efforts that inadvertently empowered Hamas.

These factors give Saudi Arabia a weight that other regional actors lack. If the US and Israel want to expand the Abraham Accords in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, they must start with Saudi Arabia. 

Saudi Arabia has captured headlines recently with the acquisition of major sports franchises, tournaments, and players in an attempt to make itself an international cultural force. A major obstacle has been a reputation for oppression and human rights violations.

By utilizing its wealth and influence to help revitalize the Palestinian people, Saudi Arabia would become a true global ambassador. 

Neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority is qualified to lead the Palestinian people. Saudi Arabia, perhaps working alongside more moderate and technocratic Palestinians, could offer both financial stability and leadership support. It would gain a stake and say in the future of the Palestinian people. The money that the Saudis would invest would not be used to fund Hamas, like previous aid from Arab countries, but for reconstruction, infrastructure, and humanitarian assistance.

Stabilizing the Middle East also makes sense from an economic perspective. Saudi Arabia needs foreign investors to diversify its oil-dependent economy. A peaceful and stable Middle East, forged mainly by the Saudis, would go a long way towards increasing investments. 

The final factor to consider in a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia is Iran. Iran is a mortal enemy of both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been involved in a war against the Houthis, an Iranian proxy, in Yemen. Although there is currently a ceasefire in place, Saudi Arabia and Iran remain deeply hostile towards each other.  

Recently, the Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and disrupting international commerce, as well as firing missiles and drones at Israel. An Israeli-Saudi peace agreement would further those two countries’ ability to counter Iran and confront the Houthi threat. 

Another significant benefit to an Israeli-Saudi accord would be the possibility of realizing the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

IMEC would consist of a ship-rail-transit network from India across the Middle East to Europe, and would include both Israel and Saudi Arabia. The railway would boost economic growth in the region and beyond, provide an alternative to shipping goods through the Red Sea or around the Cape of Good Hope, and stand as a bulwark against China’s Belt and Road initiative. 

IMEC has been put on hold due to the Israel-Hamas war. However, it is another long-term benefit that can be accrued through an Israeli-Saudi deal. 

The United States must seize this moment to broker a deal that leverages Saudi Arabia’s potential as a stabilizing force and a beacon of progress in the Middle East. Such an agreement would not only be in America’s interest, but would also herald a new chapter of peace and prosperity for the entire region. 

Gregg Roman is director of the Middle East Forum and a former official at the Israeli Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.

The post American Foreign Policy in the Middle East Hinges on Saudi Arabia first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’

Zohran Mamdani Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

In a warning sign for the campaign of Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani, a majority of city voters in a new poll say the candidate’s hardline anti-Israel stance makes them less likely to vote for him.

In the survey of likely city voters conducted by American Pulse, 52.5 percent said Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada” coupled with his backing of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement made them less likely to vote for him in November. Just 31% of city voters polled were more likely to support him because of these positions.

At the same time, a significant share of young New York City voters support Mamdani’s anti-Israel positioning, a striking sign of shifting generational views on Israel and the Palestinian cause.

Nearly half  of voters aged 18 to 44 (46 percent) said the State Assembly member’s backing for BDS and “refusal to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’” made them more likely to support him.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens, has been under fire for defending “globalize the intifada,” a slogan many Jewish groups associate with incitement to violence against Israel and Jews. While critics argue it glorifies terrorism, supporters claim it’s a call for international solidarity with oppressed peoples, especially Palestinians. Mamdani has also voiced support for BDS, a movement widely condemned by mainstream Jewish organizations as antisemitic for singling out Israel.

The generational divide exposed by the poll comes amid a broader political realignment. Younger progressives across the country are increasingly critical of Israeli policies, especially in the wake of the Gaza war, and more receptive to Palestinian activism. But to many Jewish leaders, Mamdani’s rising support is alarming.

Rabbi David Wolpe, visiting scholar at Harvard University, condemned the phrase with a sarcastic analogy.

“‘Globalize the intifada’ is just a political slogan,” he said. “Like ‘The cockroaches must be exterminated’ was just a housing authority slogan in Rwanda.”

Jewish organizations have reported a surge in antisemitic incidents in New York and across the U.S. since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last fall. The blending of anti-Zionist slogans with calls for “intifada,” historically linked to violent uprisings, has deepened fears among Jewish communities that traditional red lines are being crossed.

Whether this emerging coalition reshapes New York politics remains to be seen. However, the poll indicates that among younger voters, views that were once considered fringe are quickly moving into the mainstream.

The post New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Jews Targeted at June’s Pride Month Events

A Jewish gay pride flag. Photo: Twitter.

The research division of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) released a report on Wednesday detailing incidents of hate against Jews which took place last month during demonstrations in celebration of LGBTQ rights and identity.

Incidents reported by the group include:

  • At a Pride march in Wales, the activists Cymru Queers for Palestine chose to block the path and show a sign that said “Profiting from genocide,” an attempt to link the event’s sponsors — such as Amazon — to the war in Gaza.
  • A Dublin Pride march saw the participation of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which labeled Israel a “genocidal entity.”
  • In Toronto at a late June Pride march, demonstrators again attacked organizers with a sign declaring, “Pride partners with genocide.”

CAM also identified a recurring narrative deployed against Israel by some far-left activists: so-called “pinkwashing,” a term which the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement calls “an Israeli government propaganda strategy that cynically exploits LGBTQIA+ rights to project a progressive image while concealing Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies oppressing Palestinians.”

The report notes that at a Washington DC Pride event in early June Medea Benjamin, cofounder of activist group Code Pink and a regular of anti-war protests, wore a pair of goofy, oversized sunglasses and a shirt in her signature pink with the phrase “you can’t pinkwash genocide.”

Other incidents CAM recorded showed the injection of anti-Israel sentiment into Pride events.

A musical group canceled a performance at an interfaith service in Brooklyn, claiming the hosting synagogue had a “public alignment with pro-Israel political positions.” In San Francisco before the yearly Trans March, a Palestine group said in its announcement of its participation, “Stop the war on Iran and the genocide of Palestine, stop the war on immigrants and attacks on trans people.”

CAM notes that this “queers for Palestine” sentiment is not new, pointing to a 2017 event wherein “organizers of the Chicago Dyke March infamously removed participants who were waving a Pride flag adorned with a Star of David on the grounds that the symbol ‘made people feel unsafe.’”

In February, the Israel Defense Forces shared with the New York Post documents it had recovered demonstrating that Hamas had tortured and executed members it suspected of homosexuality and other moral offenses in conflict with Islamist ideology.

Amit Benjamin, who is gay and a first sergeant major in the IDF, said during a visit to New York City for Pride month that “All the ‘queers for Gaza’ need to open their eyes. Hamas kills gays … kills lesbians … queers cannot exist in Gaza.”

The post Report: Jews Targeted at June’s Pride Month Events first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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IAEA pulls inspectors from Iran as standoff over access drags on

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo

The UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff over their return to the country’s nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel deepens.

Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran’s facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.

Iran’s parliament has now passed a law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency’s inspectors will be able to return to Iran.

“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the IAEA said on X.

Diplomats said the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran was reduced to a handful after the June 13 start of the war. Some have also expressed concern about the inspectors’ safety since the end of the conflict, given fierce criticism of the agency by Iranian officials and Iranian media.

Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said he stands by the report. He has denied it provided diplomatic cover for military action.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday Iran remained committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“[Grossi] reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible,” the IAEA said.

The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran’s three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran’s nine tonnes of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.

That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful, but Western powers say there is no civil justification for enriching to such a high level, and the IAEA says no country has done so without developing the atom bomb.

As a party to the NPT, Iran must account for its enriched uranium, which normally is closely monitored by the IAEA, the body that enforces the NPT and verifies countries’ declarations. But the bombing of Iran’s facilities has now muddied the waters.

“We cannot afford that … the inspection regime is interrupted,” Grossi told a press conference in Vienna last week.

The post IAEA pulls inspectors from Iran as standoff over access drags on first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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