Alon Pinkas

Ambassador Alon Pinkas was Israel's consul general in New York, adviser to Shimon Peres and chief of staff to Ehud Barak and Shlomo Ben Ami. He is currently a fellow at the Israel Policy Forum.

Palestine | Apr 23, 2014

Kerry may be ready for his Jim Baker moment

The Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement now allows both parties to say “I told you so” and move into the post-peace process era, with all its consequences.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry boards his plane to leave Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca for a return to the United States April 4, 2014. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (MOROCCO - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3K0J3

Palestine | Mar 27, 2014

Kerry shouldn’t take the blame if peace talks fail

Both Israelis and Palestinians need to break the cycle of “blame America.”

Right-wing Israelis hold a banner depicting U.S Secretary of State John Kerry as they march during a rally in E1, an area in the West Bank near Jerusalem February 13, 2014. Thousands of right-wing Israelis took part in the rally on Thursday in E1, a geographically sensitive area which connects the two parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank outside Arab suburbs of East Jerusalem, calling for Israeli building in the area which Palestinians seek for a contiguous future state. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - T

Palestine | Apr 15, 2013

Kerry’s Shuttle Diplomacy Without a Map

John Kerry has launched his shuttle diplomacy, with previous benchmarks such as the Clinton Parameters of 2000 and the Olmert-Abbas understanding of 2008 all but forgotten or ignored, writes Alon Pinkas.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks during his meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem April 9, 2013. REUTERS/Paul J. Richards/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYEIP

Palestine | Mar 18, 2013

Obama’s March Madness in the Middle East

President Barack Obama will realize on his trip this week that Israeli and Palestinian leaders do not have an interest in a peace process, writes Alon Pinkas.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations in New York September 21, 2011. Netanyahu said Wednesday that direct negotiation was the only way to achieve a stable Middle East peace and the Palestinian effort to secure U.N. recognition of statehood ''will not succeed.'' REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) FOR BEST QUALITY IMAGE ALSO SEE: GM1E8BQ1LQZ01 - RTR2RMH8

Israel | Mar 8, 2013

Obama’s Visit to Israel Is All About Iran

US President Barack Obama will have a broad regional agenda when he visits Israel, including the peace process, but the trip is really all about Iran, writes Alon Pinkas.

U.S. President Barack Obama talks to the audience before he signs the Violence Against Women Act while at the Department of Interior in Washington, March 7, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EPDP

Israel | Dec 23, 2012

Hagel and Israel

Former Israeli official Alon Pinkas writes that the attacks on Chuck Hagel as "anti-Israel" are unfounded and do not serve the US-Israel relationship.

U.S. President Barack Obama (C) meets with co-chairmen of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board former Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE)(R) and former Senator David Boren (D-OK) and senior leadership of the intelligence community in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington October 28, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES POLITICS)

Palestine | Dec 3, 2012

Trouble Ahead For Two-State Solution

Alon Pinkas examines the implications of the Israeli response to the Palestinian UN bid and what Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu might do next to revive hopes for a two-state solution.

A camel grazes on a hill in what is called the E1 area overlooking the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem December 1, 2012. An Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative government had authorised the construction of 3,000 housing units and ordered preliminary zoning and planning work for thousands of units in Jerusalem and settlement blocs including Maale Adumim and E1. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION ANIMALS)

Israel | Nov 23, 2012

Netanyahu and Clausewitz

Alon Pinkas invokes Clausewitz to ask whether Israel had a strategy or clear objective in attacking Gaza, as the outcome — strengthening and legitimizing Hamas and weakening the Palestinian Authority — seems detrimental to Israel’s interests.

Israeli soldiers, atop a tank, prepare to leave their Gaza border position at sun rise November 22, 2012. A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers took hold on Thursday after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both sides cast doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal can last. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (ISRAEL - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS)

Israel | Oct 31, 2012

Netanyahu's Move to Right Leaves Opening for Olmert at Center

Netanyahu may lead the largest party following Likud's merger with Yisrael Beitenu, but not necessarily the most popular. Alon Pinkas writes that Ehud Olmert could lead a centrist bloc that poses a real challenge to the new alliance.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman hold a joint news conference in Jerusalem October 25, 2012. Netanyahu said on Thursday he was merging his Likud party with that of his ultra-nationalist coalition ally Lieberman in a hard-right tack ahead of Israel's Jan. 22 election.
REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS)

Palestine | Oct 23, 2012

Candidates Swap Platitudes, Not Policies

On the merits of this debate, and focusing exclusively on the portions devoted to the Middle East, it is safe to conclude that Mitt Romney would make a good vice president in a Barack Obama administration, writes Alon Pinkas. In fact, when they did differ it was the dovish, Wilsonian Romney who criticized the realist, Kissingeresque Obama.