Israel Policy Pod

On this week’s episode, Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber hosts Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow and Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Senior Director of Policy Research Shira Efron for a wide-ranging conversation about the Oslo Accords’ 30th anniversary last week, the historic Supreme Court hearing over the law that ended the reasonableness standard, the long-delayed upcoming meeting between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the prospects for a U.S.-brokered Israel-Saudi normalization deal.

• We spearheaded a letter to President Biden, signed by key American Jewish leaders, in support of an Israel-Saudi normalization deal that tangibly advances prospects for a two-state outcome to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Read our letter here.
• Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow penned an op-ed in The Forward unpacking what Netanyahu hopes to achieve during his U.S. trip given his domestic and international political challenges. Read here.
• Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow wrote an article in The Messenger explaining why President Biden should insist that Netanyahu heed his wishes on Saudi normalization and other issues before granting him an Oval Office meeting. Read here.
  
  

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As we mark the 30th anniversary of the Oslo Accords next week on September 13, Ambassador Martin S. Indyk (Israel Policy Forum board member and former U.S. ambassador to Israel) joins host Neri Zilber (journalist and Israel Policy Forum policy advisor) to reflect on the signing of that historic agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. They discuss the mood in Washington leading up to the White House ceremony, the birth of the Middle East peace process, where Oslo went wrong, subsequent peacemaking efforts, the current Israeli government's policy vis-à-vis a two-state outcome, and the prospects for an Israel-Saudi-U.S. deal that takes the Palestinians into account.

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Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber hosts journalist Adam Rasgon for a deep dive into Palestinian politics. They discuss the article he recently co-authored with Aaron Boxerman in Foreign Policy Magazine, titled "The Palestinian Leader Who Survived the Death of Palestine," the life and role of senior official Hussein al-Sheikh, the current state of the Palestinian Authority, and the looming battle to succeed President Mahmoud Abbas. 

Join us for The Oslo Legacy: Thirty Years On—A free, live event in D.C. marking 30 years since the signing of the first Oslo agreement and the start of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.  September 19, 2023 | 6:30-8:45pm ET. Register here.

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Saudi foreign policy analyst Aziz Alghashian joins journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber to analyze the prospects for a U.S.-brokered normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. They discuss the complexities involved in the three-way agreement, the reported security demands of the United States by Saudi, the need for real tangible concessions by Israel towards the Palestinians, and the shadow cast by the Abraham Accords over any new normalization push. Finally, they conclude with a perspective from Riyadh regarding how the domestic unrest in Israel is viewed regionally and how life has changed dramatically in recent years inside the kingdom. 

For more on this subject, explore our recent policy report: Leveraging the Prospect of Israel-Saudi Normalization to Advance Israel-Palestinian Progress.

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Israel Policy Forum has released its latest policy report, An Unsettled Question: Recalibrating U.S. Policy on Israeli Settlements, which outlines detailed policy prescriptions for how Washington can more effectively combat Israeli settlement construction. On this episode, co-authors Dan Rothem, Jess Manville, and Michael Koplow join Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber for a discussion on the new study. They provide an overview of the current state of play in the West Bank under Israel’s far-right government, explain why settlements and creeping annexation should be countered, and delve into the study’s policy recommendations, which include developing a differentiated approach to settlement construction that focuses on areas where construction would pose the most harm to a two-state outcome.

Read and download the report and one-pager here.

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Haaretz Military Correspondent Amos Harel joins Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber to analyze how the passage of the Netanyahu government’s first judicial overhaul bill is impacting—and likely damaging—Israeli national security. They discuss the growing wave of Israeli military reservists threatening to stop reporting for duty, the scale of the unrest inside the Israel Defense Forces, the recent conduct of key security officials like Defense Minister Galant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and the prospects for a military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah amid the domestic political crisis.

• Register for our video briefing today (July 26) at 2pm ET with Neri Zilber and Masua Sagiv
• Listen to Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow speak about Israel’s political crisis on the War on the Rocks podcast
• Register for IPF Atid’s virtual community check-in for young professionals this Friday (July 28) at 2pm ET
• Watch this week’s Israel Policy Pause with Alex Lederman on the wider implications of ending the reasonableness standard
• Register for Central Synagogue’s video briefing with Michael Koplow at 8:30pm ET on Thursday, July 27
• Register for Park Avenue Synagogue’s video briefing with David Halperin at 12:30pm ET on Thursday, July 27
• Explore Israel Policy Forum’s Judicial Legislation Tracker
  
  

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Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber hosts Prof. Suzie Navot, the vice president for research at the Israel Democracy Institute, to analyze the renewed push by the Netanyahu government to overhaul Israel's judicial system. They discuss how the reasonableness test is used and why it’s important, the impact on government decisions and appointments if it's eliminated, what the government's future plans likely are, and her experience participating in the judicial compromise talks at the President's Residence.

Explore more of our work: 

• How the Judicial Overhaul Threatens Israel’s Status as a Secure, Jewish, and Democratic State (Video Series)
• West Bank Settlements Explained
• Understanding Critical Issues (short explainers)
• More Resources on the Israeli Government's Judicial Reform
• 50 Steps Before the Deal
  
  

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In the wake of this week's Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp, Nimrod Novik (Israel Fellow, Israel Policy Forum) and Ibrahim Dalalsha (Director, Horizon Center for Political Studies and Media Outreach) join host Neri Zilber (Policy Advisor, Israel Policy Forum and Tel Aviv-based journalist) to analyze what just happened and why it happened. They spoke about the objectives of the Israeli government and military, the history and politics of the Jenin refugee camp, the current state of the Palestinian Authority, what the operation achieved (and what it didn't achieve), the performance of the local militant groups, and the growing prospects for further violence and instability. 

Explore more of our work: 

• How the Judicial Overhaul Threatens Israel’s Status as a Secure, Jewish, and Democratic State (Video Series)
• West Bank Settlements Explained
• Understanding Critical Issues (short explainers)
• More Resources on the Israeli Government's Judicial Reform
• 50 Steps Before the Deal
  
  

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Follow us on Instagram, Twitter/X, and Bluesky, and subscribe to our email list here.

Kicking off our summer book club series, Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber hosts journalist and analyst Oren Kessler to discuss his new book, "Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict." They discuss the reasons why this historical period is so critical to understanding our current moment, the similarities of the Great Arab Revolt to later mass popular uprisings, British attempts to launch the first Middle East peace process, and the legacies and lessons for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Explore more of our work: 

• How the Judicial Overhaul Threatens Israel’s Status as a Secure, Jewish, and Democratic State (Video Series)
• West Bank Settlements Explained
• Understanding Critical Issues (short explainers)
• More Resources on the Israeli Government's Judicial Reform
• 50 Steps Before the Deal
  
  

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter/X, and Bluesky, and subscribe to our email list here.

Mohammad Darawshe, an expert on Arab-Jewish relations in Israel, joins host Neri Zilber for a deep dive into the escalating violent crime and murder wave in Arab Israeli communities. They discuss the root causes of what is already a tragically record-breaking year, the absence of the Israeli state in Arab towns and villages, the proliferation of organized crime families, the impact of the violence on regular Arab citizens, the complete failure of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and the Netanyahu government to address the issue, and the current state of play in Arab-Israeli politics.

Register for our video briefing tomorrow (6/15): Leveraging the Prospect of Israel-Saudi Normalization to Advance Israeli-Palestinian Progress

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter/X, and Bluesky, and subscribe to our email list here.