Prof. Louis Rene Beres

Israel and nuclear war:

The need for disciplined theory

Reduced to its essentials, a worst case scenario for Israel would commence with progressively explicit warnings from Moscow or China about new Israeli preemptions against Iran. Opinion.

A legal appraisal:

Jihad enemies and Israeli self-protection

Unlike Israel, which expressly laments the collateral damage of its self-defense operations in Gaza and elsewhere, jihadi rocket fire and terror attacks are the relentless product of “criminal intent.” Opinion.

If you like Donald Trump’s planned peace for Ukraine, you’ll love his peace for Israel.

By his recent agreements with Qatar and Turkey and his expanding financial relations with Saudi Arabia, Trump makes it clear that maintaining Israel’s “qualitative edge” will no longer be Washington’s top regional priority. Opinion.

After Trump's "peace", Israel's intellectual imperative

More than anything else, Israel’s survival will require intellectual supremacy. Opinion.

Trump plan:

Trump's plan: Deja vu all over again

The pipe dreaming Gaza peace plan hits reality. And things go back to where they were. Opinion.

Terrorism as religious sacrifice: What the Trump deal ignored

In essence, for Hamas, terror is a form of sacred violence oriented toward the “sacrifice” of enemies and martyrs. Opinion.

Legal limits of UN recognition:

"Palestine" and international law

Cascading declarations of recognition by a majority of existing states have no legal bearing on the creation of a state. These declarations directly undermine the authority of law-based international relations.

A legal clarification:

A legal clarification: Targeting Hamas terrorist leaders in Qatar

The fact that Hamas terrorist leaders sought safe harbor in a friendly sovereign state did not mean they were no longer subject to law-mandated punishment or that the principle of sovereignty immunized the terror-protecting state (Qatar) from Israeli law-enforcement. Opinion.

Learning from Greek myth:

Learning from Greek myth: Israel and Sisyphus ISRAEL AND SISYPHUS

“A man should never put himself in a place of danger, and say that a miracle will save him, lest there be no miracle…" - Yannai.

Hamas criminality under international law

Under international law, terrorists are hostes humani generis or "common enemies of humankind." This category of criminals invites punishment wherever the wrongdoers can be found. Opinion.

A law-based assessment:

Jihadi criminality and Israeli self-defense

International law is not a suicide pact. Even amid long-enduring world-system anarchy, such law offers a binding body of rules and procedures that permits a beleaguered state to express an "inherent right of self-defense." Opinion.

Latent risks in Gaza:

"Palestine" - a force multiplying hazard to Israel

A “Two-State Solution” would enlarge not “only” the jihadi terror threat to Israel (both conventional and unconventional), but also prospects for a catastrophic regional war. Opinion.

Obligations of "wise counsel':

Obligations of "wise counsel': Changing scenarios in the Israel-Iran War

Because it is still credible that Iran would manage to “go nuclear” itself, as one of several possibilities, Israeli strategic planners need to examine multiple narratives of nuclear war. Opinion.

Recognizing "Palestine":

Recognizing "Palestine": A core violation of international law

International law is not a suicide pact. Ipso facto, Israel has no legal obligation to carve an enemy state aggressor from its own still-living body especially when recent recognition of “Palestine” by four major states misses larger justice issues altogether. Opinion.

Perceptions of credibility

The limits of Israel's nuclear ambiguity.

War with Iran:

Time for less ambiguous Israeli nuclear deterrence

For Israel, the time for “deliberate nuclear ambiguity” has come to an end. Opinion.

International law is not a suicide pact

Yet again, Israel is waging mandatory war against an exterminatory foe, this time a jihadist terrorist organization that seeks annihilation for Israel, eternality for its “martyrs” and luxury-laden safety for its leaders. Opinion.

Israel, Syria and Jihadi terror

Israel has been conducting secret direct talks with Syria to lower tensions between the two countries. Anything more is wishful thinking.

Israel, "Palestine" and regional war

“The worst is not yet, so long as we still say, `This is the worst.’” Shakespeare, King Lear.

"Egocentric' ideals and world politics - a lethal mix?

Isolationism is not a solution. It is the problem. Opinion.

Endurance and Paradox: Ironic insights for Israel

Deliberate Israeli imaginations of approaching disappearance could help the People of Israel in suitably identifying what needs to be done for survival. Op-ed.

Avoiding intellectual conquest

Israel's overlooked survival obligation. Opinion.

Jihadist criminality and Israeli law-enforcement

Navigating Hamas barbarism needs knowledge of what the law allows. And Israel's war is unequivocally within its rights. Opinion.

Targetting Jihadist terrorists: Authoritative legal guidelines

For jihadist terrorists, there can never be distinctions between civilians and non-civilians, between innocents and non-innocents, so although judicial procedures against them would be ideal, international law must not become a suicide pact. Opinion.

Post ceasefire: There is no such thing as a demilitarized Palestinian state

A 'Two-State Solution' would be urging nothing less than the creation of a criminal aggressor state, one for whom the barbarism of October 7 represents a template for future actions against Israel. It would not be bound by pre-state compacts. And there is more. Op-ed.

Jihadi terror as religious sacrifice - pathway to a nuclear war with Iran

Whatever differences emerge between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its predecessors, whether suddenly or incrementally, all jihadi groups will continue to embrace terrorism as a redemptive expression of religious sacrifice. Opinion.

'America first', Jewish philosophy and the Law of Nations

A gathering of dust: Everything on this planet must depend upon the dignity, courage and "emancipation" of the individual human being. Absolutely everything. Opinion.

After Assad: Recalibrating risks of an Israel-Iran nuclear war

Israel must be prepared for an Iranian nuclear conflict that is deliberate, unintentional or even accidental. Opinion.

A 'bewitching' threesome for Israel: Iran, Russia and North Korea

Israel’s growing nuclear war hazards include variously tangible scenarios of Russian or North Korean interventions on behalf of Iran. Opinion.

Diverse narratives of an Israel-Iran War" avoiding intellectual conquest

Israel needs less faith in “common sense.” It needs more faith in disciplined and refined strategic reasoning. Such reasoning will have to be logic-based and dialectical. Opinion.

Survival limits of military nuclear power

Israel and the "sting of the bee." Recall that one type of honey bee dies after it has stung. Op-ed.

Israel's plans to prevent Iranian nuclear power: Is there a Russian 'fly in the ointment'?

Israel must take into account Russia’s escalating threats to deter Israeli preemptive strikes against Iran. Opinion.

Israel eliminates Sinwar: Targeted killing as law enforcment

International law is not a suicide pact. In fact, Israel’s targeted killing of jihadist murderers like Sinwar is indispensable to justice. Opinion.

Death, time and immortality in the Middle East

For Israel, the underlying existential threat is an adversary who identifies deliberate violence against Jews and the Jewish State as “sacred.”

An ironic opportunity for Israel: War with a not-yet nuclear Iran

Israel’s current war with a not-yet-nuclear Iran could represent the Jewish State’s last best chance to prevent nuclear war in the Middle East.

At the margins of regional conflict in the Middle East

Assessing the imminent risks of an Iran-Israel nuclear war. Opinion.

True foundations of anti-Israel terrorism

Our mortal enemies are desperately seeking immortality. We have to find a way to show them that murdering Jews is not the way to achieve it. Opinion.

The futility of Israeli concessions

Why an Israeli agreement on ceasefire would never be honored by its Jihadist foes. Opinion.

Undermining justice:

Israel-Hamas ceasefire would breach international law

International law has precise form and content. It cannot be invented and reinvented by terror groups. Such law does not support the hope-based adoption of cease-fire agreements between sovereign states and criminal gangs.

Still overlooked connections: Israel, "Palestine" and regional nuclear war

A “Two-State Solution” would enlarge not “only” the jihadist terror threat to Israel (conventional and unconventional), but also prospects for major regional war. In these existential security matters, Israel doesn’t need more common sense. It needs disciplined and dialectical thought. Opinion.