The Anglican Church in Palestine and Israel: Colonialism,Arabization and Land Ownership

This study investigates the history and development of the Anglican Church under the Turkish, British, Jordanian and Israeli regimes. The paper recounts the development of various societies within the Anglican church and their politization, especially in the context of decolonization and the Arab-Israeli conflict over time. Our analysis is strengthened by an examination of the struggle over Church property between the local Arab clergy, the British Church leaders and the Israeli government. We conclude with a discussion of the scope and nature of the political and spatial/legal development of the Anglican Church in Palestine/Israel in the modern era. We stress the unique influence of spatial, political, economic, and political implications, at the local and international levels and situate the history within the general context of the Middle East, colonialism, Church history and local empowerment.     

Overcoming Phobias and Asymmetries in Israel and Palestine

This article argues that in order to reach future breakthroughs, vis-à-vis the Israeli political and discursive limitations, two main principles would need to be approached. Firstly, any future formula will need to correspond with the changing reality (the physical impossibility of the old-fashioned two-state solution) by pushing forward a political solution that highlights a safe Jewish existence in the region of Israel/ Palestine, irrespective of whether this safety will be highlighted in relation to a one-state, confederative or a parallel two-state solution. Secondly, it will need to acknowledge the attachment – be it historical, religious or legal – of Jewish-Israelis to the land. These principles are related to the Israeli phobias mentioned and analyzed in the article, and are crucial for any future solution that will see Jewish-Israelis and Palestinians living either side by side or on the same side, but with equal citizenship, a paradigm that can happen in two parallel states, in a state of all of its citizens, or in two states with open borders and joint institutions.     

The Catholic Church in Palestine/Israel: Real Estate in Terra Sancta

This paper traces the history and development of Catholic real estate ownership in Palestine/Israel, uses of the properties, and the impact on the physical and cultural landscapes and on identity formation of the local population. It takes a long-term perspective, beginning with the return, after a short absence, of the Franciscans to the Holy Land in the fourteenth century and ending with the present position of the Catholic Church and the properties of its various sects and orders. It examines the history of the Catholic Church in Palestine/Israel under the Ottoman, British, Jordanian, Egyptian and Israeli regimes. In contrast to the large body of existing scholarship on the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, this examination of the local history of the Catholic Church views it through the prism of land ownership and properties. The landholdings of the Catholics are compared and contrasted with findings of previous studies by authors on those of the Greek-Orthodox and Anglican churches. Special attention is paid to the differences in frameworks, functions and geographic dispersal of the church organs, such as monasteries and educational institutions as well as the property of the local Arab Greek-Catholics. The article also examines the effect of Arabization of the Catholic clergy in relation to the lands owned by the Catholic Church and finds that, unlike other churches in the Holy Land, the Catholic Church has not generally experienced ethnic-related dissent over property.     

Reunification deadlocked: The United States,China and Taiwan

Abstract

Since the New China News Agency's release on March 15, 1949, of an editorial entitled “The Chinese People Are Determined to Liberate Taiwan,” that theme has been a cardinal principle of Peking's national policy. To appreciate fully the Chinese position, one must recognize not only Peking's claim that Taiwan is legally, ethnically, and historically an integral part of China, but also modern China's yeaming for national reunification and territorial integrity. On the ethnic question, China points to the fact that except for an extremely small number of aborigines, the inhabitants on the island today, including the so-called “native Taiwanese,” are of Chinese ancestry. They speak southeastern Chinese dialects and share with their compatriots on the mainland all the other basic Chinese cultural traits. Historically, as a Chinese spokesman once put it, “long before Christopher Columbus discovered America, the Chinese people were already in Taiwan. Long before the United States achieved its own independence, Taiwan had already become an inseparable part of the territory of China.” Although imperialist Japan occupied the island from 1895 to 1945, the island was returned to China in 1945 after Japan's surrender at the end of the Pacific War.     

美国与上海合作组织:认知、关系和未来

本文在阅读美国智库研究报告、学者论著及美国政府官方文件的基础上,考察了美国政府对上海合作组织的认知、政策及前景。文章认为,美国对上合组织的认知经历了一个从漠视到怀疑、重视的过程,其转折点是2005年上合组织阿斯塔纳峰会。美国对上合组织的政策也随之进行了一定的调整。美国国内主流观点认为,美国必须与上合组织积极接触、对话,防止它成为俄罗斯和中国主导中亚的工具。本文认为,客观上讲,由于美国与上合组织的关系直接影响双方在中亚的利益,因此双方有进行良性互动的必要;而双方在中亚的利益交汇也为良性互动提供了可能性。     

The United States, Germany and France: Balancing Transatlantic Relations

Relations between the United States, France and Germany significantly determine the content and structure of the broader transatlantic relationship. Relations improved after the changes of government in Germany in 2005 and France in 2007, and they can be expected to improve further after the change of administration in the United States in 2009. Washington is likely to pay more attention to its European allies while these may become more involved in issues beyond Europe's borders. Sharing leadership will be the challenge for the United States, while bringing more intellectual and material input will be the challenge for the Europeans. At the same time, France and Germany will develop and maintain independent views. But if partnership is the aim on both sides of the Atlantic, a more promising relationship can be expected even where differences exist.     

NATO: The United States, Transformation and the War in Afghanistan

During the Bush years, NATO exhibited in stark form two trends which have long characterised its development: periodic exposure to crisis and division, and a subordination to American leadership. Despite signs of American indifference towards the alliance, talk of the Bush administration levering a break with NATO was always overstated, particularly so during its second term of office. Views of NATO after 2004 were shaped by Afghanistan giving rise, in fact, to a return to the alliance on America's part. NATO remains important to Bush's successor but on terms which are as demanding as those of his predecessors. NATO, in other words, is valued in so far as it accords with current US foreign policy priorities. The safest assumption in this regard is that Obama will continue to favour the trend towards a global NATO pursued by the Bush administration. However, retreat (or defeat) in Afghanistan could hasten a contrary trend towards a consolidating NATO with a renewed concentration on the wider Europe.