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Israel Kasnett

Israel Kasnett

Israel Kasnett, editor at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, offers expert analysis on Israeli politics, society and regional developments at JNS.org. With a deep understanding of the region, he delivers insightful commentary that challenges media bias and provides a clear perspective on Israel.

Vilna’s largest synagogue, which was damaged during the Holocaust in a Nazi bombing raid and destroyed completely by the Soviets after the war, has been replaced by a nondescript, two-story building and nothing but a plaque and sculpture of the Vilna Gaon remain in the area. Photo by Israel Kasnett.
Feature
‘Jerusalem of Lithuania’ remains witness to the horrors of the Nazi genocide and their willing collaborators
Lithuania’s Prime Minister Ingride Simonyte told JNS there is always more to do in terms of Holocaust education. “The main point is to be constant,” she said. “Not to just do a lot now and then nothing. It is not the intensity that matters, but the consistency.”
Oct. 6, 2022
Israel Kasnett
A Lithuanian policeman with Jewish prisoners, July 1941. Credit: Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia Commons.
Antisemitism
Lithuania marks 81 years since Nazis liquidated Vilnius Ghetto
“We can only dream of ... what Lithuania would have been like if it had not been for the brutal hatred that blinded people,” says Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte at the memorial.
Oct. 2, 2022
Israel Kasnett
Then-Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid meets with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Negev Summit in Sde Boker, March 27, 2022. Credit: Flash90.
Israel News
What has the game-changing Abraham Accords accomplished after two years?
For one thing, the dialogue has shifted from security to collaboration.
Sep. 16, 2022
Israel Kasnett
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on June 2, 2022. Credit: Virender Singh.
Feature
Israel’s pivot away from China towards India signals understanding of US concerns
Washington’s influence, coupled with the Abraham Accords, have lent a tailwind to Israel-India relations, say experts.
Aug. 30, 2022
Israel Kasnett
U.S. President Joe Biden boards Air Force One for Saudi Arabia at Ben-Gurion Airport, July 15, 2022. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
Israel News
Biden’s trip produced mixed bag of results for Israel, say experts
The U.S. president’s “unprecedented visit to east[ern] Jerusalem ... was seen by many as a direct challenge to Israel’s sovereignty in its capital,” according to the Jewish state’s former ambassador to the United Nations.
Jul. 18, 2022
Israel Kasnett
Pastor Dumisani Washington discusses Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s pro-Israel legacy at CUFI’s 2020 Leadership Summit. Source: Facebook/Christians United for Israel (CUFI).
Israel News
New effort to confront apartheid, anti-Semitism, crisis in Israel-American black relations
“The vast majority of black Americans are not anti-Semitic, not anti-Israel. But this doesn’t get talked about. The louder mouthpieces often are like Louis Farrakhan, who is talking about white people, Jews and Israel, and somehow, they are portrayed as the mouthpiece for the entire black community,” explains Pastor Dumisani Washington.
Jul. 13, 2022
Israel Kasnett
U.S. President Joe Biden. Credit: POTUS/Twitter.
Feature
The many messages of Biden’s Mideast trip
U.S. President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East is good for America and Saudi Arabia, but possibly dangerous for Israel, experts tell JNS.
Jul. 12, 2022
Israel Kasnett
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking on March 2, 2022. Source: Screenshot.
Israel News
Zelenskyy challenges Israel over assistance to Ukraine in Hebrew University address
“Tell me how can you not help the victims of such aggression?”
Jun. 28, 2022
Israel Kasnett
A rally in support of Ukraine at Habima Square in Tel Aviv with a broadcast of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he appeals to Israel a month after the start of Russia's war on Ukraine, March 20, 2022. Credit: Israfoto/Shutterstock.
Israel News
Israel continues to walk a diplomatic tightrope between Russia and Ukraine
Addressing concerns over the balancing act, Jonathan Spyer at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security emphasized Jerusalem’s need “to keep the Russia deconfliction process between the Kirya [Israel’s Pentagon] and the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria’s Latakia province on track.”
Jun. 24, 2022
Israel Kasnett
The flags of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Credit: OnePixelStudio/Shutterstock.
U.S. News
Rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia expected to deepen, regardless of Biden visit
“This is not a breakthrough, but another stage in the tightening relationship between the two countries,” said Michal Yaari, an expert on the Arab Gulf states.
Jun. 20, 2022
Israel Kasnett
Samaria
Feature
Labeling of Judea and Samaria goods is about discrimination, not law, say experts
Norway defends its decision to label Judea and Samaria products as being in line with the E.U. Court of Justice, but international law experts remain unconvinced.
Jun. 13, 2022
Israel Kasnett
From left: Rabbi Shmuley Boteach; human-rights activist and former chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky; and former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer take part in a panel discussion on global anti-Semitism at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem, June 6, 2022. Credit: Courtesy.
Antisemitism
Begin Center panel on anti-Semitism delivers central message: Speak up, fight back
“Start with Jews,” insists Natan Sharansky. “Try to convince them it is very important to their own survival. Then it is easy to move to non-Jews the moment you have Jews on your side.”
Jun. 9, 2022
Israel Kasnett
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