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Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

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Not to be confused with Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Founded1976[1]
FounderDaniel J. Elazar[1]
TypePublic Policy Think Tank
Location
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]
Websitewww.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, Israel.[4] 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 adviser to Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, has headed the Jerusalem Center since 2000.[5]

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.[6] The building, Beit Milken, served as the Embassy of Uruguay from 1957 to 1980, when Uruguay decided to move their embassy to Tel Aviv.[7] In 1989, the 1,200 ton building was moved 16 meters on rails to reach the site it is currently located at.[8]

Points of view

JCPA is a pro-Israel organisation, promoting a positive image of Israel, advocating Israel's right to exist and fighting antisemitism. It advocates the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem and its lasting control of the West Bank and Golan Heights.[9][10] It opposes a unilateral Palestinian drive toward statehood.[11]

Institutes and Publications

The Jerusalem Center founded the "Institute for Contemporary Affairs" jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation.[12] The current director of the ICA is Ambassador Alan Baker.[13] 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."[14] 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."[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17] It is estimated that this email briefing reaches over 100,000 people,[18] 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.[19]

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 home website[20] or on the JCPA’s YouTube page. [21]

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.[22] 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.”[23] On October 19th, 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.[24] 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.[25] 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 Weisel, among others.[26] 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.”[27] The JCPA continues to monitor security threats posed by Iran in the post-Ahmadinejad era with this program.

References

  1. ^ a b "Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs: About Daniel J. Elazar". Jcpa.org. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  2. ^ "Contact Us". JCPA. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b "About the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs". JCPA. 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  4. ^ a b "ETH Zürich". Isn.ethz.ch. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  5. ^ "About the Jerusalem Center". jcpa.org. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  6. ^ "The Intellectual World of Daniel Elazar". Jcpa.org. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  7. ^ "Uruguay Embassy Leaves Jerusalem". The Age. 1980-08-18. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  8. ^ "Our Building: A Protected Jerusalem Landmark". Jcpa.org. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  9. ^ Defensible Borders for a Lasting Peace. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 2008
  10. ^ JCPA on YouTube: Dividing Jerusalem Puts Holy Sites in Danger; Israel's Right to Build in Jerusalem; Israel's Critical Security Needs for a Viable Peace
  11. ^ Jerusalem Center Brochure 2010-2011.
  12. ^ "Israelization of Washington Policy: the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs". CambridgeForecast.org. 2004-08-01. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  13. ^ "About Alan Baker". AmbassadorAlanBaker.com. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  14. ^ a b "Institute of Contemporary Affairs". JCPA.org. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  15. ^ "JCPA Strategic Perspectives". Isn.ethz.ch. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  16. ^ "Introduction". Jewish Political Studies Review. 23: 2. 2011. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  17. ^ "E-Publications". ConferenceofPresidents.org. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  18. ^ "Soros and Hillary:Partners on Israel?". AmericanThinker.com. 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  19. ^ "Liberal Mideast Newsletter to Launch". The Jewish Daily Forward, Forward.com. 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  20. ^ http://jcpa.org/media/videos/
  21. ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJerusalemCenter
  22. ^ http://onej.org/read/92-90defensible-borders
  23. ^ http://reut-institute.org/Data/Uploads/PDFVer/20061114%20-%20Security%20Borders.pdf
  24. ^ http://www.defensibleborders.org/dbi.htm
  25. ^ http://jcpa.org/about/
  26. ^ http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Publications/Detail/?ots777=0c54e3b3-1e9c-be1e-2c24-a6a8c7060233&lng=en&id=43807
  27. ^ http://www.brandeiscenter.com/images/uploads/articleuploads/iran_infocus1.pdf


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