Israel Policy Pod

Israel Policy Forum Director of Strategic Initiatives and IPF Atid Director Shanie Reichman interviews Yotam Cohen, whose brother, Nimrod, remains in captivity in Gaza. A 20-year-old IDF soldier from Rehovot, Nimrod was serving as a tank gunner on the Gaza border on October 7 when Hamas attacked and dragged him into Gaza. Yotam reflects on the fight to free his brother, his perspective on the Gaza war, and Israel’s responsibility to prioritize bringing the hostages home. 

Follow @bring.nimrod.home and @allhostages on Instagram and support the hostage families' fight to bring their loved ones home.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Tal Shalev, political correspondent at Walla News. They discuss Benjamin Netanyahu's rather unsuccessful meeting with Donald Trump in Washington this week, the Israeli government's war against the so-called “deep state,” the Qatargate scandal, the Netanyahu government’s priorities after Passover, the political fortunes of Yair Golan and Naftali Bennett, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Barbara Leaf, the former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. They discuss the Biden administration on October 7 and during the Gaza war, the evolving U.S.-Israel relationship during the conflict, reflections of the prior ceasefire-hostage deal talks, the prospects for a new hostage deal and a realistic post-war plan for Gaza, Barbara’s impressions after meeting new Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa, Washington under the Trump administration, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber and Israel Policy Forum Director of Strategic Initiatives and IPF Atid Shanie Reichman discuss the Netanyahu government going after the judiciary, the dual firings of the Shin Bet chief and the attorney general, Israel's looming constitutional crisis, the status of the renewed military offensive in Gaza, the protests against Hamas in Gaza, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts former Israeli minister Dan Meridor, who held a handful of high-ranking cabinet positions over multiple decades. They discuss the collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza and renewed Israeli airstrikes against Hamas, the precarious fate of the hostages, the upcoming dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and the legal hurdles Benjamin Netanyahu will have to overcome to push it through, the future of Israeli democracy under this government, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Haaretz Military Correspondent Amos Harel to discuss the new IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. They cover his first week in the post and future plans for the army, the state of the IDF now 17 months into this war, the threat of a renewed Israeli military offensive into Gaza, the prospects of the ceasefire-hostage talks succeeding, the IDF inquiries into the failures surrounding Hamas' October 7 attack, and more. 

No Time to Lose: A Blueprint for Reforming the Palestinian Authority

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber and Israel Policy Forum Director of Strategic Initiatives and IPF Atid Shanie Reichman discuss the national trauma and mood in Israel after last week’s return of four deceased hostages, the joyful return of six living hostages on Saturday, the potential for the hostage-and-ceasefire deal in Gaza to be extended, the U.S.’ role in the ongoing talks, growing tensions and violence in the northern West Bank, and more. 

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On this week's episode, Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber hosts Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Sagui Dekel-Chen, who was just freed from Hamas captivity after 498 days. They discuss the joyful reunion between Sagui and his wife and three young daughters, Sagui's road to recovery, the months of campaigning to get this hostage deal done, the role of the Trump administration and Netanyahu government, the prospects for the ceasefire to be extended and for all the hostages to be returned home, and more. 

Israelis' hearts are heavy with grief today as four deceased hostages are returned from Gaza—likely Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, although we are still awaiting final forensic confirmation. We have all come to know their faces well over the past 503 days as symbolic of the human cost of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7. It is unimaginable that their families will never again get to embrace them.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow and The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Senior Fellow Shira Efron. The trio discusses Prime Minister Netanyahu's trip to Washington last week, President Trump's plan to turn Gaza into the riviera of the Middle East, the status of the Gaza ceasefire deal, dimming prospects for Israel-Saudi normalization, possible reform in the Palestinian Authority, and more. 

Read Shira Efron's op-ed in The New York Times here.

Read Alex Lederman's op-ed in The Forward here. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Aziz Alghashian, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. They discuss how the past 16 months have looked from Riyadh and the Gulf, the prospects of Israel-Saudi normalization, the demand for a viable pathway towards Palestinian statehood, how Benjamin Netanyahu has misled the Israeli public, the Trump effect on Middle East diplomacy, and more. 

Policy Recommendations for the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress

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