Global Warming Threatens Israel

Jewish groups have briefed Congress on a new threat to stability in the Middle East: Global warming. The idea that changes wrought by global warming -- flooded coastlines, intense droughts and increased competition for water, strong storms -- could destabilize volatile parts of the world is not new. Retired American generals, task forces within the Defense Department and even the CIA have warned of global warming's geopolitical stakes. A team of Israeli experts brought the message to Congress, with a warning that moderate Arab regimes -- already under fire in many cases from Islamic extremist factions in their own countries -- could be among the most stressed by climate changes. And that, in turn, could threaten America's longtime ally in the region, according to a story in the June 15 Forward.