Yosef Gotlieb

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Feb 5, 2025, 11:04 PM

Questions About the ‘Deal of the Century’

President Trump's proposal to reconstruct Gaza after displacing its population, though undoubtedly innovative, is deeply worrisome. While cloaked in humanitarian garb, it coheres with the White House's muscular Pax Americana approach to foreign policy, including the threatened takeover of...

Jul 31, 2023, 7:42 PM

The Democracy Movement: Restoring Israel’s Standing

The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Dr. Volker Türk, has made a significant statement (July 27) concerning recent events in Israel. Türk states that “his broad-based social movement has grown over the months to stand up for human rights...

May 9, 2023, 10:19 PM

This Pivotal Moment Must Not Be Wasted

After eighteen weeks of protests, it appears that the “judicial reform” will not pass as its proponents had hoped. Ironically, the initiative has mobilized multitudes of citizens, rousing them from a long-standing resignation to the status quo. This upwelling...

Oct 2, 2022, 1:13 PM

To avert a severe decree, Israel must get serious about sustainability

Appropriate stewardship of sparse resources is key to Israel's survival. (courtesy)

I concluded an analysis of Israel’s development progress just as the Jewish New Year was about to begin. Based on data assembled from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022, the findings that I uncovered are sobering. They resonate...

Mar 21, 2022, 9:39 PM

Putin’s cannons obscure urgent summons on climate

(NASA, public domain)

Among the silent casualties of Vladmir Putin’s Ukraine adventure is the eclipse of a critical report prepared by the Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Working Group (WGII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Released during the first days...

Sep 14, 2020, 4:18 PM

Beating COVID-19: It’s up to us

The COVID-19 crisis has become a disease of divisiveness in Israel, germinated by the government's short-sighted and meandering policies and its failure to effectively communicate what is known about the disease and what we can do until a vaccine...

Mar 14, 2018, 11:35 AM

Rehabilitation and capacity-building at Holot

Detained African migrants inside the Holot detention center, located in Israel's southern Negev desert near the Egyptian border, February 4, 2018. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP)

Turn it into a training center and improve the lot of migrants, their countries of origin, and Israel's role in this crisis

Nov 30, 2016, 1:47 PM

Beyond the fires: Climate change

Shorter, drier winters are coming (long, intense summers too); policy-makers must wake up and prioritize accordingly

Sep 26, 2016, 8:53 AM

Tunisia’s drought is Israel’s concern

Bloodshed triggered by water scarcity throughout the Mideast highlights the need for regional cooperation

Apr 18, 2012, 7:52 PM

Restoring Israel’s relations with Africa

To regain access to the continent of the future, Israel must first make peace

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About Me

Dr. Yosef Gotlieb is a specialist in sustainable development and global change adaptation in the Middle East and Latin America. He is currently completing, They Want It Darker: The Gaza War and Its Backstory, a narrative essay and sourcebook to be published in spring 2025. His other works include Self-Determination in the Middle East, Development, Environment and Global Dysfunction and Rise, A Novel of Contemporary Israel.