As China’s influence extends far and wide across the globe, it presents a growing challenge to the United States and the West. What are the specifics of its presence, especially in Egypt? How does China’s activities contribute to conflicts in the Middle East? From an Egyptian perspective, what steps should Washington take?

Mohamed Farid has been a member of the Egyptian Senate since 2020 with a special interest in human rights. He is the co-founder of the Liberal Club of Cairo, a think tank focused on advancing individual liberties and economic freedom, and the former head of the Free Egyptians Party Youth Wing. Mr. Farid formerly served as a board member of the Arabic Alliance for Freedom and Democracy. He holds a BA in industrial engineering from October 6 University and an MA in economic development from the Egyptian National Planning Institute.

Leaders of both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas pursue genocidal ambitions to destroy Israel. Israel and Western governments should give up on them and instead shift focus to their subjects. What are the priorities of West Bank and Gaza residents? Is statehood really their goal? What policies would be most effective toward them?

Edward N. Luttwak is a much-published strategist with extensive U.S. government service: presidential transition teams, consultant to the departments of Defense and State, the Army, the Navy, and the White House. He has testified before Senate and House committees. Mr Luttwak holds a BSc from the London School of Economics and three honorary degrees from Johns Hopkins University.

In university and other settings, “Land Acknowledgements” affirming the “traditional stewardship” of North America by earlier inhabitants have become obligatory rituals intended to delegitimize the U.S. and Canadian political orders. Anti-Zionists have copied this procedure as a new tactic to delegitimize Israel. How widely has the latter effort been adopted? How successful is it? How can it be countered?

Dexter Van Zile is managing editor of MEF’s Focus on Western Islamism. He previously worked at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), where he focused on efforts to delegitimize Israel. His writings have appeared in many publications, including the Boston Globe and Jerusalem Post. Mr. Van Zile has a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound and an M.A. from Western Washington University.

The streets of cities across France are currently aflame following the police shooting and killing of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old Muslim with a long criminal history. Islamist groups have emerged to lead the insurrection; for example, they reportedly burned down the main library in Marseilles while chanting “Allahu Akbar.” How have Islamists exploited the violence? Where are the anti-Islamist Muslims? What are the long-term implications of this episode?

Florence Bergeaud-Blackler specializes in the study of Islamic norms in a secular context. She is the author of Le Frérisme et ses réseaux: L'Enquête (Brotherhoodism and its Networks: An Investigation) (Odile Jacob, 2023) which scholars received favorably but which prompted death threats from Islamists. She is a researcher at the Sociétés Religions Lucite Group at Paris Sciences et Lettres University. She holds a PhD from Bordeaux University and a habilitation to direct research from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris.

When large-scale demonstrations erupted in Iran last September, calls demanded the end of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Protests continued for months but have now largely subsided. The U.S. government responded by expanding internet access and adding new sanctions on the regime. Was this enough or did the Biden administration miss the moment to bring down the mullahs? What lessons should be learned for future Iranian uprisings?

Jason M. Brodsky is policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute. He holds a B.A. from Brandeis University, a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, and an LL.M. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emerged as victor in Turkey’s presidential elections last month, though many Turks had expected him to lose due to the poor state of the economy, a massive refugee problem, and twenty years of growing dictatorship. Some analysts believe this outcome was inevitable because the president controls every lever of power, including the parliament, military, police, intelligence agencies, judiciary, media – and also the election commission that counts the votes. Why is this a minority viewpoint? What does it imply for Turkey’s future? For U.S. foreign policy?

Pinar Tremblay is a lecturer at the Cal Poly Pomona department of political science. She writes regularly for Al-Monitor and other publications about Turkey, with a focus on the impact of Islam in politics. She holds a BA in international relations and a MA in peace studies.

Islamists are skilled at obtaining positions of influence in local communities in many parts of the United States. Taking South Florida as a test case, Joe Kaufman explains the problems there and recounts his efforts to expose and combat them. How serious is the situation? What can local activists do to counter Islamist influence in their communities? How can the general public help?

Joe Kaufman is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and heads the Joe Kaufman Security Initiative, which is dedicated to public education on security and discrimination issues. He recently wrote about his exposé of an Islamist in Broward County, Florida, in Focus on Western Islamism resulting in her ouster from a position of influence. He holds a BA from the University of Maryland.

Moscow’s growing alliance with Tehran – which pursues a policy of annihilation versus the Jewish state – is prompting Israelis to re-evaluate their very cautious stance toward helping Ukraine. Given the large Jewish population in Russia and Israeli need to coordinate with Russian forces in Syria, how far can Jerusalem move toward Kyiv? What options does Vladimir Putin have to slow down this rapprochement? What potential role can Washington play?

Natan Sharansky, a former Prisoner of Zion and leader for the right of Soviet Jews to immigrate to Israel, is chairman of the Shlihut Institute. He co-founded the Yisrael B'Aliyah party in 1996 to accelerate the integration of Russian Jews and served in four Israeli governments, including as minister and as deputy prime minister. He holds both a BA and an MA from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Partly fueled by the conflict in Sudan and chaos in Libya, illegal migrants are again reaching in Europe in record numbers. And again, Europeans deeply disagree on how to confront the crisis: Willkommenskultur or Fortress Europe? What drives this argument? How will the new wave impact Islamism in Europe? Will civilizationist parties win new support?

Soeren Kern, an MEF Writing Fellow, is a Spain-based security analyst with expertise in Muslim migration to Europe and its impact. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force and formerly a writer at the Gatestone Institute, Mr. Kern holds a BS from Georgetown and studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The U.S. Congress firmly opposes normalizing relations with the Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which has murdered about half a million of its subjects. In contrast, Joe Biden seems ready to join with the Arab League, which recently reinstated Syria after a 12-year suspension. What’s his motivation? What would this mean for the United States and Israel? How can this step effectively be opposed?

David Adesnik is director of research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, focusing on Syria and Iran. He previously worked at the American Enterprise Institute and the Department of Defense. He has a BA from Yale University, and an MA and PhD from Oxford.