Walter Russell Mead outlines the difficulties in interpreting the politics of American support for Israel.

Israeli Ministry of Defense adviser Uri Lubrani's opinion that supporting Iranian opposition is a better policy than considering a nuclear strike has gained momentum in Israeli policy cirlces, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Walter Russell Mead discusses the history of American Christian missionaries in the Arab world and their role in shaping American public opinion.

Walter Russell Mead comments on the disproportionate international treatment of Israel and the differences between critiques of Israel, anti-Zionism, and anti-Semitism.

Micah Zenko describes five issues to consider in the likelihood of an Israeli strike on Iran.

In this The Guardian op-ed, Aluf Benn talks about the discrepancy between how Israelis view their country and how it is viewed from the outside, offering an explanation for why American efforts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian talks fail to interest Israelis.

Congress is interested in issues related to Middle East peace because of its oversight role in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy, its support for Israel, and keen constituent interest. It is especially concerned about U.S. financial and other commitments to the parties, and the 111th Congress is engaged in these matters. Congress also has endorsed Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, although U.S. Administrations have consistently maintained that the fate of the city is the subject of final status negotiations.

In an interview with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, Elliott Abrams discusses the current Middle East situation and chances for peace negotiations.

New strains in the Israeli-Turkish relationship stem from Turkey's concerns over conditions in Gaza and sloppy diplomacy on both sides, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

"The Obama administration has an opportunity to break the current logjam in the Middle East by pushing for renewed Syrian-Israeli negotiations," writes Mohamad Bazzi.

Mohamad Bazzi writes that negotiating peace between Israel and Syria is both, urgent and feasible and the Obama administration should actively attempt brokering a deal between the two sides.

Listen to Daniel Senor, adjunct senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies, discuss his new book, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle.

Unlike the Israel-Palestine conflict, improving relations between Israel and Syria is a much more feasible task, writes Mohamad Bazzi.

Although Lebanon has a new U.S.-backed Prime Minister, Hezbollah remains the dominant military and political force and it holds the key to both domestic and external stability, writes Mohamad Bazzi.

Explanations for the lack of progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians fail to acknowledge one fact: the Palestinians’ repeated rejection of increasingly attractive Israeli offers, write Elliott Abrams and Michael Singh. The reason behind this lies in demographics, evolving regional dynamics, political realities and increasingly asymmetric means of warfare--all of which are tilting the Palestinian people away from a two-state solution with Israel.

Steven Cook asks if Palestinian leadership is going to use violence against Israel as a means to strengthen domestic support and gain a political advantage.

Listen to CFR's Steven A. Cook discuss the Israel-Palestinian conflict in light of the release of the Goldstone Report, which was recently completed by the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Learn more about CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Initiative.

Elliot Abrams argues that the Obama administration is pursuing a confusing and unclear policy towards Israel.

Prompted by the "complete failure" of the President's Israel strategy, Elliot Abrams asks, "can anything else possibly go wrong for the Obama administration's Middle East policy?"