Since overthrowing Saddam Hussain, the U.S. government has mishandled its relations in Iraq, leaving Iraqis with little reason to trust it. Three examples: backing Nouri al-Maliki as premier, supporting a pro-Iranian militia in the war on ISIS, then permitting it to infiltrate the Iraqi government, where it operates with impunity, posing a threat to Iraqis, Israelis, and all Middle Easterners. Will Washington listen to the cries of the people and push Iran out? Can Iraq ever be free?

After much discussion, Israel’s government agreed not to oppose the United Arab Emirates’ purchase of advanced F-35 war planes in return for unspecified upgrades to Israel’s arsenal. This controversy brings new attention to the issue of Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME) guaranteed by American law. Will further peace treaties bring about an arms race, with countries recognizing Israel accessing advanced weapons, which in turn gets Israel even more? Does Israel’s expanding normalization with Arab states have hidden implications?

Three normalization agreements with predominantly Muslim, Arab governments in six weeks creates a new paradigm for Israel in the region. How will that paradigm and Israel more broadly be affected by the forthcoming U.S. elections?

Fatou Bensouda, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) lead prosecutor, initiated a formal investigation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in late 2019. Despite Israel’s objections, she moved forward on the basis of Palestinian consent. This investigation raises concerns that the ICC is ignoring clear international law to pursue a politically expedient investigation. Has the OTP gone rogue? What implications does this case have for the Court? Does it matter for Israel?

What should we make of Saudi hints about recognizing Israel? And what about the many ultra-Orthodox leaders vowing to defy the government and reopen their institutions, leading to a possible confrontation between PM Netanyahu and his most loyal coalition partners; what might this mean for his political survival?

Armenia and Azerbaijan went recently to war over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-governed territory within Azerbaijan’s borders. The two sides’ wide alliances imbue this conflict with regional implications. What are its roots, what explains Israel and Turkey both supporting Shia Azerbaijan, and what is the suitable U.S. role?

Since the expulsion of nearly all Jews from of Muslim-majority countries over the past 75 years, most Jewish sites (schools, cemeteries, synagogues, shrines, and other structures) were abandoned, left without caretakers, and decayed. In “a race against time,” the Diarna Geo-Museum of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Life has documented cataloged, often covertly, some 2,800 remains through digital mapping technology, traditional scholarship, and field research. Warming ties between Israel and several Muslim countries ease the work of Diarna (Arabic, our homes), even Saudi Arabia. But severe challenges remain. How has warm peace helped Diarna’s work and what more can be done in countries such as Iraq and Yemen unlikely soon to experience a shift in attitude?

Domestically, the government coalition is again on the verge of collapse; what are its prospects to survive? Can Netanyahu revive his popularity vis-à-vis Bennett? What effect will events in the region and beyond, like the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, have on Israel and its international standing?

After a high-profile ministerial resignation and Alternate PM Gantz issuing another ultimatum, the unity government again hangs by a thread. Is it an empty threat or is Israel this time on its way to a fourth round of elections?

Have sanctions hit Iran so hard that low-intensity conflict (aka “terrorism”) remains its only offensive option? What does Tehran hope ultimately to achieve with its current method of armed conflict from the civil wars in Syria and Yemen to the sectarian strife in Iraq and Lebanon to the proxies deployed against Israel and the United States?