Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Founded	1976[1]
Founder	Daniel J. Elazar[1]
Type	Public Policy Think Tank
Location	Beit Milken, 13 Tel Hai St. Jerusalem[2]
Method	"A multidisciplinary, independent non-profit think tank for Israel policy research and education, bringing together the best minds in the political, strategic, diplomatic and legal arenas, in Israel and abroad."[3]
Key people	Dore Gold (President)[3]
Website	www.jcpa.org

Beit Milken

JCPA building in Katamon

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an Israeli research institute and public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem.^[4] Its research focuses on public diplomacy, foreign policy, international law, paradigms for regional diplomacy, and the connections between local and global terrorism.^[4] Dr. Dore Gold, Israel’s former ambassador to the UN and former foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, headed the Jerusalem Center from 2000^[5] to 2015, when he took a leave of absence to become director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[6]

History

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs was established in 1978 by Daniel Elazar as an umbrella organization encompassing the Center for Jewish Community Studies and the Jerusalem Institute for Federal Studies. Elazar personally raised most of the funds for the operation of the organization and the restoration of an historic building on Tel Hai Street in Jerusalem, named in honor of the Milken family.^[7] The building, Beit Milken, served as the Embassy of Uruguay from 1957 to 1980, when Uruguay decided to move their embassy to Tel Aviv.^[8] In 1989, the 1,200 ton building was moved 16 meters on rails to reach the site it currently occupies.^[9]

Points of view

JCPA is a pro-Israel organisation, promoting a positive image of Israel, advocating Israel's right to exist and fighting anti-Semitism. It advocates the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem and its lasting control of the West Bank and Golan Heights.^[10][11] It opposes a unilateral Palestinian drive toward statehood.^[12]

Institutes and Publications

The Jerusalem Center founded the Institute for Contemporary Affairs (ICA) jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation.^[13] The current director of the ICA is Ambassador Alan Baker.^[14] According to the JCPA, the ICA "provides a forum for discussion of Israel’s strategic, diplomatic, legal and national security challenges ... The Institute provides briefings, publications and up-to-date analyses and information for the foreign diplomatic corps and media representatives based in Israel as well as policy makers and public opinion shapers worldwide."^[15] Through this outlet, the JCPA publishes their "Jerusalem Issue Briefs," described as "Presentations by top-level political and military experts for the diplomatic corps and the foreign press", and the "Jerusalem Viewpoints," described as "bimonthly, in-depth reports and analysis on changing events in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world."^[15] They also publish the twice-yearly "Strategic Perspectives," special reports presenting studies on Israeli security and diplomacy topics by the Contributing Editors board of the ICA.^[16] The JCPA is also the publisher of the "Jewish Political Studies Review," an academic journal which publishes articles on Jewish public affairs, Jewish institutions and behavior, and Jewish political thought. It is published twice yearly.^[17]

In 2008, JCPA founded the Institute for Global Jewish Affairs in response to growing international anti-Semitism. Directed by Manfred Gerstenfeld, the institute addresses a variety of topics related to Jewish communities around the world.^[18] The institute helps direct the "Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism Project" and its associated monthly publication "Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism," both of which attend to global anti-Semitism.^[19] More can be learned about these below in the Programs and Initiatives section. The JCPA also produces a related publication entitled "Changing Jewish Communities," which is less focused on global anti-Semitism and, therefore, addresses a wide variety of issues related to global Jewish communities.^[20] Additionally, the JCPA has organized a publication called "Jewish Environmental Studies," which looks deeply at Jewish environmental studies as a separate and important field and analyzes Jewish environmental thought through references from the Bible and classic Jewish texts.^[21]

JCPA also produces the "Daily Alert" for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, a daily news summary and analysis concerning Israel's security and diplomacy that is distributed through email.^[22] It is estimated that this email briefing reaches over 100,000 people,^[23] and has inspired a counter-publication, the Middle East Bulletin, produced by the Center for American Progress (CAP), to counter right-wing pro-Israel bias in the Daily Alert.^[24]

In addition to their written publications, the JCPA produces numerous videos that analyze a variety of issues pertaining to Israel and the Middle East. These include videos created by the center as well as videos of JCPA contributors appearing in various news outlets or conference venues. The videos can be found on the JCPA website^[25] or on the JCPA’s YouTube page.^[26]

Recent Publications

The JCPA has released multiple publications recently that discuss relevant topics relating to Israeli security and diplomacy. One, written by Nadav Shragai, is entitled "The 'Al-Aksa is in Danger' Libel: The History of a Lie" and describes the lie continuously promoted by Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim groups and individuals that Israel intends to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque.^[27] Another, called "Changing Forms of Incitement to Terror and Violence: The Need for a New International Response," was written by Alan Baker.^[28] In response to the increasing attention given to Iran, the JCPA compiled "Iran: From Regional Challenge to Global Threat," a collection of essays by various experts that address many aspects of the current discourse surrounding Iran.^[29] The JCPA also released a book entitled Israel's Critical Security Requirements for Defensible Borders, which summarizes the history of conflict along Israel's borders and emphasizes the importance of Israel's maintaining defensible borders.^[30] In 2014, the JCPA released a publication organized by Alan Baker called "Palestinian Manipulation of the International Community".^[31]

Conferences

On March 24, 2014, the Jerusalem Center held a conference entitled "Europe and Israel: A New Paradigm." The conference focused on the complicated relationship between Israel and Europe, including topics such as economics and the BDS movement, security and anti-Semitism. The conference was well attended and received a significant amount of press, including articles in The Times of Israel,^[32] The Jerusalem Post,^[33] J-Wire,^[34] Ynetnews,^[35] and CBN News.^[36]

Programs and Initiatives

Defensible Borders Initiative

The JCPA is committed to the cause of securing defensible borders for the state of Israel, and due to that commitment the center includes a Defensible Borders Initiative.^[37] The initiative supports Israel's right to hold “territory beyond Israel’s internationally recognized border for strategic depth between a hostile force and Israeli population centers.”^[38] On October 19, 2004 the JCPA and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee jointly organized a conference on the defensible borders issue that provided a kick-start for JCPA's Defensible Borders Initiative.^[39] The initiative has since provided seminars, briefings, and publications on the issue of defensible borders.

Iran and the New Threats to the West

This program focuses on security threats posed by Iran to Israel and the West.^[40] The program began with a publication entitled “Referral of Iranian President Ahmadinejad on the Charge of Incitement to Commit Genocide,” authored by Dore Gold and Elie Wiesel, among others.^[41] The publication was created in response to multiple threats directed toward Israel by the Iranian leader, including a 2006 declaration that “Israel should be wiped off the map.”^[42] The JCPA continues to monitor security threats posed by Iran in the post-Ahmadinejad era with this program.

Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism Project

This program addresses contemporary anti-Semitism on a global scale. It also addresses post-Holocaust subjects, particularly the manipulation of Holocaust history. The idea for the project was conceived of following a 2001 UN Anti-Racism conference that revealed a global resurgence of anti-Semitism. It includes a publication entitled Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism. Manfred Gerstenfeld heads the project.^[19]

Global Law Forum

This program covers issues pertaining to Israel and international law. The goal of the program is to “protect Israel’s legal rights in its conflict with the Palestinians, the Arab world, and radical Islam.”^[43] Topics include the legality of settlements, human rights, and Israeli border issues, among others. Avi Bell directs the program. Additional contributors include Robert Sabel, Ruth Lapidoth, Irit Kohn, Alan Baker, Meir Rosenne, and Justus Weiner.

International Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Anti-Semitism

In May 2015 the center sponsored an event promoting an initiative to make anti-Semitism an international crime through a convention to be signed by participating states. Of the 160 foreign diplomats invited, none chose to attend. The organizers seemed surprised. The Times of Israel reported: "So far, not a single state has indicated that it is considering signing the convention, including Israel."^[44]

Contributors

Alan Baker formerly served as the Israeli ambassador to Canada. He is an expert in international law and serves as the director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at JCPA.^[45]

Freddy Eytan served in multiple posts for the Israeli government, perhaps most notably as Israel’s first ambassador to Mauritania. He is particularly valued at the center for his expertise in France-Israel relations.^[46]

Manfred Gerstenfeld is an Austrian-born author who serves in multiple posts for JCPA. He edits the Jewish Political Studies Review, co-publishes Jerusalem Letter/Viewpoints, Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism, and Changing Jewish Communities, and directs the Institute for Global Jewish Affairs.^[18] In 2012, Gerstenfeld received the Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) from the Journal for the Study of Anti-Semitism.^[47]

Jonathan Halevi is a former advisor to the Policy Planning Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is a senior researcher on the Middle East and radical Islam at JCPA. He is also the co-founder of the Orient Research Group Ltd.^[48]

Jacques Neriah formerly served as a foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and as the deputy head for assessment at Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate. He serves as a special analyst for the Middle East at JCPA.^[49]

Michael Segall is a writer who serves as a senior analyst at JCPA. His focus is on Iran, terrorism, and the Middle East. He is also a senior political analyst at Terrogence.^[50]

Shimon Shapira formerly served as the military secretary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.^[51] He edited and authored the forward of JCPA’s publication Iran: From Regional Power to Global Threat.^[52]

Justus Reid Weiner is a University of California, Berkeley law school graduate and scholar-in-residence at JCPA. He specializes in human rights and international law.^[53] He has received much acclaim for his work concerning the challenges facing Palestinian Christians. Weiner also teaches courses on human rights and international law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.^[54]

References

External links

• Middle East Strategic Information
• Global Law Forum
• ISN: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs