Analysis
Counterpoint: Why is Iran the Only One Talking Tough?
As officials from the P5+1 and Iran renewed negotiations, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was taking a hard line on the talks saying Tehran would not back down "one iota". Joshua Goodman asks Jan Techau (Director, Carnegie Europe) and Roland Freudenstein (Deputy Director, Centre for European Studies) if Khamenei's statement is an indication of the limited chance for a deal and whether it should, in fact, be the West taking such a hard line.
Launch of Transatlantic Declaration Video: The EU Must Ban Hezbollah
AJC’s Transatlantic Institute and the Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI), an inter-parliamentary group in the European Parliament with the goal of strengthening the trilateral partnership between the U.S., Israel...
Major News Outlets Cover Call for EU Ban of Hezbollah
On the anniversary eve of Hezbollah's bomb attacks in Argentina in 1994 and Bulgaria in 2012, the leadership of the Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) presented to EU leaders a historic call for an EU ban of Hezbollah signed by over 240 lawmakers from 27 European countries, the U.S., Canada, and Israel. The declaration launch received wide coverage in the international media, including in POLITICO Europe, as well as in newspapers in the US, Germany, Poland, Italy, Bulgaria, the Baltics and of course Israel:
Webinar: Over 240 Lawmakers Call for EU Hezbollah Ban
On the twin anniversary eve of Hezbollah's bomb attacks in Argentina (1994) and Bulgaria (2012), the Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) called on the EU to finally ban the terror group. The declaration was covered by global media outlets including POLITICO Europe, The Hill, Die Welt, Gazeta Wyborcza and The Jerusalem Post. At the virtual launch event, TFI Chair MEP Lukas Mandl, TFI Vice Chair MEP Dietmar Köster, AJC Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal, and the Washington Institute’s Hezbollah expert Matthew Levitt discussed the initiative’s impact. AJC CEO David Harris delivered concluding remarks.
It's Time for the EU to List Hezbollah as a Terror Organization
On 17 July, the eve of the anniversaries of Hezbollah's deadly bomb attacks in Argentina (1994) and in Bulgaria (2012), TFI Secretary General Daniel Schwammenthal and TFI Chair MEP Lukas Mandl co-authored an op-ed in Newsweek entitled "It's Time for the E.U. to List Hezbollah as a Terror Organization."
The Central European Case for an EU Hezbollah Ban
There is new momentum in Europe on tackling Hezbollah. After Germany banned the terror group in April, the Austrian parliament unanimously urged the EU to end the artificial distinction between the organization’s ‘military’ and ‘political’ wing. Writing in Poland’s major news outlet ONET, the Acting Director of AJC’s Warsaw-based office, Sebastian Rejak, argues that Central European countries could collectively tip the balance in the EU Council in favor of a total Hezbollah ban.
Germany’s Hezbollah Ban a Model for Europe?
After Germany’s decision last week to ban Hezbollah, the Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) caucus held its first webinar entitled “Europe and Hezbollah: A New EU Approach to Iran's Proxy.“ Moderator Daniel Schwammenthal discussed with TFI Chair and Austrian MEP Lukas Mandl, EU Parliament Vice President from Germany Nicola Beer, and Michael Doran from the Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute the significance of Berlin’s momentous decision, the prospects for the EU to follow suit, and a common transatlantic approach to Iran and its terror proxies.
Coronavirus and Conspiracy Theories in Iran
Iran was one of the early countries hit hard by the coronavirus. In this month’s episode of Counterpoint, host Daniel Schwammenthal is joined by Kasra Aarabi, Analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, to discuss the Shi’ite Islamist ideology driving the regime's inadequate response to the pandemic, Tehran’s dissemination of antisemitic and anti-American blood libels, as well as the terrorist threat stemming from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
How Can Europe Help the Iranian People?
During last December’s crackdown of protests in Iran, the regime killed up to 1,500 people and imprisoned over 7,000. To discuss Europe’s reaction to the dramatic events and the Iranian people’s quest for change, Counterpoint host Daniel Schwammenthal is joined by Polish Member of the European Parliament Anna Fotyga and Middle East Analyst Mohsen Behzad Karimi.
Daniel Schwammenthal Calls for EU “Diplomatic Strike” Against Iran
Speaking at a conference in the European Parliament, AJC Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal called for a “European preemptive strike, not a preemptive military strike, but a preemptive diplomatic strike.” Hosted by Austrian MEP Lukas Mandl und organized by the Brussels International Center, the event also included remarks by Ambassador Marc Otte, BIC President and Belgium Special Envoy for Syria, and Paula Yacoubian, Member of the Lebanese Parliament.
AJC Applauds European Parliament for Condemning Iran’s Deadly Crackdown on Protestors
Strasbourg, 19 December 2019 – The AJC Transatlantic Institute praised the European Parliament for condemning Iran’s brutal repression of peaceful demonstrators. Spearheaded by Polish MEP Anna Fotyga on behalf of the conservative ECR Group and backed by six of the seven political groups, the...