To be made available shortly.

Today’s discussion about Israel is too often supercharged with emotion and underpowered in expertise and nuance. It is time to confront this challenge. We stand at a crossroads and in need of tough-minded and expert intellectual analysis.

First, there is a desperate need for a deeper understanding of Israeli society itself – complex and fast-changing, commanding global attention, yet often reduced to a mere caricature by parts of the mass media, civil society and intellectual culture. Fathom will present Israel in HD.

Second, the revolutionary changes in the Arab world have transformed Israel’s neighbourhood into a radically different and bitterly contested political terrain. Social movements with eyes fixed on democratic vistas have been overshadowed on the one hand by the possibility of chaos and on the other by new forms of authoritarianism, religious and secular. Fathom will map this historic contest and explore the profound implications it bears for both Israeli security and the Middle East peace process.

Th­ird, the Israel-Palestinian peace process requires fresh thinking. Two states for two peoples remains the only way to balance Jewish and Palestinian demands for sovereign independence and national self-determination, but there has been a waning of support for this project, among intellectuals especially. Fathom will be a partisan and artisan of the two-state solution, helping to put some intellectual substance back into the project of mutual recognition and peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Th­ough the significance of the obstacles to resolving the conflict cannot be ignored, we refuse to give in to the current vogue for pessimism. ‘­the peace process is dead’ is one of Middle East journalism’s favourite clichés. But giving up is not an option for millions of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians who yearn for a better future. And there is no cause to give up: majorities on both sides want peace and a conflict-ending agreement has been glimpsed more than once in recent negotiations. Fathom will offer hard-headed realism about where we are in the peace process, but we will also open our pages to ambitious thinking about where we want to be and how to get there.

Fourth, Fathom will explore the current state and future prospects of the strategic relationship between Britain and Israel. ­The two countries share a history as well as many progressive values and a wide range of interests – not just strategic and political but in business and trade, culture and civil society, and science and technology.

Fathom will fuse the rigour and intellectual credibility of the old-school journal to the tremendous potential of new publishing technologies and social networks. Th­e journal is published by the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre, an independent British organisation founded in 2001 to foster a more complete understanding of Israel.

BICOM believes in the right of the State of Israel to live in peace and security and in the rights of the Palestinians to statehood. We support a close relationship between Britain and Israel, based on shared values and interests. Unusually, Fathom’s contributors and advisory editors will be drawn from across the political spectrum. Our goal is not to push a narrow party line but to build a global intellectual space for serious bi-partisan debate about Israel and the region. We intend to create a more interesting conversation about Israel – more knowledgeable, more nuanced and more challenging (for all parties) than the tired slogans that are shouted in the boring megaphone war.

So beware: there will be at least one piece in every issue that you disagree with, perhaps vehemently! Our wager is that you will keep coming back because you value expert analysis, acute commentary and grown-up debate. In that spirit we invite your submissions and your feedback.

THE EDITORS

Indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to understand Middle Eastern politics; well researched, balanced, deeply committed to Israel but equally reading to ask tough questions about its policies; a unique combination of values and realpolitik. Shlomo Avineri, Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

The importance of the Israel/Palestine conflict for world peace is sometimes exaggerated, but for those of us focused on the conflict, for those of us who hope for peace here, even amidst the surrounding chaos, “two states for two peoples” remains the necessary guiding idea. Fathom magazine is one of the key places where that idea is explained and defended; it deserves our strongest support. Michael Walzer, Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and editorial board member of Dissent magazine.

Fathom has become a highly respected, leading publication of both in-depth analysis of fundamental developments and trends in the Middle East alongside serious studies of key events and trends that characterise the fast changing domestic Israeli scene. Fathom’s highest quality editorship and insistence on careful fact-checking is fast propelling the journal into becoming essential reading for every person involved in policy and politics in the region and on the international scene. It entertains orthodox views and approaches alongside highly conflicting and provocative analyses that are thought provoking and often allow extreme protagonists to state their cases.

The opportunities Fathom affords critics and adversaries of Israel to state their case lends a unique quality to this product of BICOM – they enjoy a fair chance to state their views and air their concerns and also benefit from the very best available products of Jewish and Israel Advocacy. That is why Fathom has become the platform where several hundreds of thousands of readers learn, debate and disagree, but never fail to read every word printed. Efraim Halevy was director of Mossad and head of the Israeli National Security Council.

For objective insights into Israeli politics, society and its relations with the wider world, few can match the scope and quality of BICOM’s work. Professor Clive Jones, Chair in Regional Security School of Government and International Affairs, University of Durham.

BICOM and Fathom facilitate meetings between the two sides, scrutinise what went right and what went wrong in the process of negotiations over the past two decades. Only by understanding the other and accepting the others existence can the Arab-Israeli conflict be solved. BICOM and Fathom are leading both of us closer along that route. BICOM and Fathom have leverage that many lack and serve as one of the major catalysts that can remove obstacles on the road to peace. Elias Zananiri is Vice-Chairman of the PLO Committee for Interaction with the Israeli Society. He is a former journalist and spokesperson for the PA’s Ministry of Interior and Internal Security.

BICOM and Fathom have played vital roles at a time when political and intellectual dishonesty seems to prevail in so much discussion about Israel and the Mideast. They have countered it with energy, integrity and balanced understanding. Mitchell Cohen, Professor of Political Science at Bernard Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Editor Emeritus of Dissent.

Fathom is one of the liveliest and most interesting forums for the discussion of Israeli matters – far better, in fact, than many of the Hebrew language sources that purport to cover the same topics.  Gadi Taub,Israeli historian, author, screenwriter, and political commentator.

As an Israeli concerned for Israel’s future as the nation state of the Jewish people and for a peaceful resolution of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians people,  I sincerely believe that Fathom’s Peace and Coexistence Research Project is a critical component of the ongoing struggle to maintain the political relevance of the Two-State solution. The sense in some circles that this solution might no longer be relevant is potentially extremely dangerous for both Israelis and Palestinians. Fathom is, therefore, worthy of every support. Asher Susser, Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern History, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Fathom is a beacon of light in difficult times.  ‘Two states for two peoples’ remains a vital interest for the State of Israel and Fathom promotes a creative, yet practical discourse that contributes towards that goal.’ Prof. Jonathan Rynhold, Director, Argov Center for the Study of Israel and the Jewish People, Deputy Head, Dept. of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University.

In an atmosphere where many supporters of the Palestinian right to self-determination would deny Israel’s right to exist, and no few supporters of Zionism would deny the Palestinian right to self-determination, voices like Fathom’s are indispensable. Unflinching in its honesty, rigorous in its criticisms, Fathom has been a clear and persistent voice to uphold the two state solution as both morally consistent on universal democratic grounds, and politically pragmatic. Fathom was and is one of the best sources on the controversies surrounding the conflict and its many ramification within and outside the region. Gadi Taub, Israeli historian, author, screenwriter, and political commentator. He is a Senior Lecturer in the School Public Policy and the Department of Communications at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and columnist at Haaretz.

Many people have deeply held beliefs and passionate opinions about Israel and the Middle East. Very few people actually know about Israel and the Middle East. Fathom is an excellent source for those who wish to join the camp of those who actually know something about Israel, rather than just have an opinion about it. Einat Wilf, a member of the Knesset for the Labour Party and Independence from 2010-2013.

Fathom is an insightful, measured and thought provoking publication. Professor Clive Jones, Chair in Regional Security School of Government and International Affairs, University of Durham.

Fathom is a very impressive publication. I congratulate the editors for filling an extraordinarily important gap on the UK intellectual/political scene. Steven J. Zipperstein, Professor of Jewish Culture and History, Stanford University.

Fathom is fascinating! A genuinely interesting, well-designed and thought-provoking quarterly journal. We are delighted to include it in the INSS library collections.’ Moshe Grundman, Director of Publications at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv, Israel.

For anyone interested in Israel and its neighbourhood, Fathom is certainly one of the very best sources – thoughtful, excellently informed and fully reliable. Alexander Yacobson, Associate Professor of Ancient History at the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.