Robert K. Lifton

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Mar 27, 2017, 5:49 PM

How Trump’s reaction to the failure of the health care bill may affect Israeli settlement building

The failure of the Republicans even to bring their health care bill to a vote in the House of Representatives was a monumental embarrassment. After their repeated commitment to their constituents to repeal and replace Obamacare and their many...

Feb 28, 2017, 12:12 AM

Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu: Is this the end of the peace process?

Watching the televised portions of the meeting of President Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu brought to mind the story of the businessman who having done a service for the head of the French Rothschild family was asked what...

Feb 12, 2017, 8:20 PM

President Trump And The Battle For Israel’s Security And Soul

President Trump has declared that negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian agreement would be the “ultimate deal.” Recently, he suggested adding the moderate Arab nations, saying: “Maybe there is even a chance for a bigger peace than just Israel and the Palestinians.” I...

Dec 31, 2016, 11:32 PM

Israeli settlement policy as a strategic arm of the religious nationalists’ annexation plan can harm US interests and have negative implications for the American Jewish community

In recent days, Israeli settlement activity has been the focus of considerable attention, condemned in a United Nations Resolution which the Obama Administration did not veto but abstained from supporting and in an impassioned speech by Secretary of State...

Nov 8, 2015, 6:19 AM

A New Approach for Israel: An Israel Peace Initiative

Whether viewed as a failed stalemate, or a strategy by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of “anti solutionism” as Natan Sachs argues in his article “Why Israel Waits” (Foreign Affairs Nov./Dec. 2015 p. 74), the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...

Nov 2, 2015, 12:10 AM

Missing Yitzhak Rabin: Twenty Years After His Assassination

As I tearfully hugged Leah Rabin at the funeral of her husband Yitzhak murdered by an assassin’s bullet, she whispered in my ear “To us, he was a God.” Rabin would not have recognized himself in that description. Unlike...

Aug 4, 2015, 12:01 AM

Will the Other P5+1 Nations Join Increased Sanctions if Congress Votes the Iranian Deal Down? Why Not Just Ask Them?

The underpinning of Prime Minster Netanyahu’s speech before the joint session of the United States Congress on March 3, 2015 and his recent denunciation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated by the P5+1 nations with Iran is...

Jul 18, 2015, 12:45 AM

Understanding The Israeli And Our Other Regional Allies’ Misplaced Reactions To The JCPA

Since the announcement on July 14th of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) between Iran and the P5+1, relating to Iran’s nuclear activities, I have heard from thoughtful Israelis on both sides of that country’s political spectrum and...

Feb 24, 2015, 8:35 PM

American Jews Worry That Netanyahu’s Speech Here Can Hurt Israel

While few American Jewish leaders will speak openly on the subject, many thoughtful Jews are worried that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s planned speech in the House of Representatives on March 3rd will actually harm Israel’s security interests rather than help...

Sep 9, 2013, 10:19 PM

Why Rabin’s Vision Is More Relevant Than Ever Today

September 13th marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accord in the White House. But my connection to the Accord goes back a month earlier to August 20, 1993. On that day, it was announced publicly that after months...

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About Me

Robert K. Lifton, a board member of the Israel Policy Forum, was president of the American Jewish Congress, a founder and president of Israel Policy Forum, and co-chair of the Middle East Project of the Council on Foreign Relations. His memoirs, titled “An Entrepreneur’s Journey: Stories From A Life In Business And Personal Diplomacy,” have been published by AuthorHouse.