Netanyahu’s Convenient Lies About ISIS and Hamas

{
  "authors": [
    "Nathan J. Brown"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "Israel",
    "Iraq",
    "Palestine",
    "Syria",
    "Levant",
    "Gulf"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Security"
  ]
}

In The Media

Netanyahu’s Convenient Lies About ISIS and Hamas

Israel argues that all forms of terrorism are different sides of the same coin and have civilization as their target. But lumping Hamas and the Islamic State together may be counterproductive for Israel in the long run.

By Nathan J. Brown

Published on Sep 30, 2014

Source: Forward

Speaking at the General Assembly this week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu repeated a refrain he has sounded for three decades (since his days as Israeli ambassador to the U.N.) — that all forms of terrorism are different sides of the same coin and have civilization as their target:

So when it comes to their ultimate goals, Hamas is ISIS and ISIS is Hamas. And what they share in common all militant Islamists share in common. Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al-Shabab in Somalia, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Al-Nusra in Syria, the Mahdi army in Iraq, and the Al-Qaida branches in Yemen, Libya, the Philippines, India and elsewhere.

Read the full text of this article on Forward.

About the Author

Nathan J. Brown

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Nathan J. Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, is a distinguished scholar and author of nine books on Arab politics and governance, as well as editor of five books.

Recent Work

Commentary
Israel’s Election Had No Clear Winner. What Comes Next for the Region?
- +9
  Nathan J. Brown, Alper Coşkun, Amr Hamzawy, …
Commentary
Old Wine in New Battles
- Nathan J. Brown

Political Reform Security Middle East Israel Iraq Palestine Syria Levant Gulf

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

Research
Planetary Power: Geoengineering and the New Geopolitics of Climate Intervention
Geoengineering is becoming a geopolitical question as much as a climate one. The way states and the private sector pursue these technologies, assess risks, and drive research increasingly appears focused on gaining a strategic edge. In a field where governance in lagging behind, Europe should keep track of the geopolitical implications if it is to develop effective regulatory frameworks.
Olivia Lazard, ed.
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Containing Escalation in the Black Sea
Russia is testing the waters of NATO’s mutual defense clause. What do strikes in Romanian territorial waters mean for the alliance’s posture toward Moscow?
Dimitar Bechev
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Taking the Pulse: Does the EU Have a France Problem?
With its public finances in shambles, the far right polling at 35 percent ahead of the 2027 presidential election, and a growing protest movement, is France’s crisis a threat to the EU’s geopolitical awakening?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
Book
The Scramble for Europe. Russia, China, and Turkey Challenging Regional Order
Europe is facing rising populism internally as well as external pressures from Russia, China, Turkey, and the United States.
Dimitar Bechev
Article
Europe’s Tide of Citizen Assemblies: Unsung Success or Anticlimax?
A notable degree of participative democracy has firmly arrived in Europe. But to have more far-reaching impact, democratic deliberation needs to move into a radically new phase.
Richard Youngs

More Work from Carnegie Europe

Research

Planetary Power: Geoengineering and the New Geopolitics of Climate Intervention

Geoengineering is becoming a geopolitical question as much as a climate one. The way states and the private sector pursue these technologies, assess risks, and drive research increasingly appears focused on gaining a strategic edge. In a field where governance in lagging behind, Europe should keep track of the geopolitical implications if it is to develop effective regulatory frameworks.

Olivia Lazard, ed.

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Containing Escalation in the Black Sea

Russia is testing the waters of NATO’s mutual defense clause. What do strikes in Romanian territorial waters mean for the alliance’s posture toward Moscow?

Dimitar Bechev

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Taking the Pulse: Does the EU Have a France Problem?

With its public finances in shambles, the far right polling at 35 percent ahead of the 2027 presidential election, and a growing protest movement, is France’s crisis a threat to the EU’s geopolitical awakening?

Rym Momtaz, ed.

Book

The Scramble for Europe. Russia, China, and Turkey Challenging Regional Order

Europe is facing rising populism internally as well as external pressures from Russia, China, Turkey, and the United States.

Dimitar Bechev

European Union EU democracy Parliament citizens assembly

Article

Europe’s Tide of Citizen Assemblies: Unsung Success or Anticlimax?

A notable degree of participative democracy has firmly arrived in Europe. But to have more far-reaching impact, democratic deliberation needs to move into a radically new phase.

Richard Youngs