On this week’s episode, IPF Atid Director Shanie Reichman hosts Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber for a wide-ranging conversation on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. They discuss various issues impacting the multiple fronts of this conflict, including the Israeli hostages in Gaza, humanitarian aid for Gaza, Hamas’ history as a spoiler for efforts to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace, violence in the West Bank, and Israelis’ resilience as the country responds to its greatest tragedy since the Holocaust.

For all of our resources on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, including a timeline of events from 1949 until now, explore our new Israel at War resource hub.

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On this week’s episode, IPF Atid Director Shanie Reichman returns to the podcast to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war with Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber. They reflect on Israelis’ trauma almost two weeks after the devastating October 7 attacks, discuss the explosion at al-Ahli hospital in Gaza and the role of misinformation, unpack President Biden’s visit to Israel and the state of U.S.-Israel ties, and provide an overview of how the conflict has impacted other states in the region. 

• In this week’s Koplow Column, Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow outlined three key issues that Israeli leaders should grapple with as they prepare to destroy Hamas in Gaza.
• Writing in The Messenger, Michael outlined the implications of self-identified progressives abandoning American Jews in the wake of October 7th. 
• In The Christian Science Monitor, Israel Policy Pod host Neri Zilber unpacked the uncertainty surrounding how Israel plans on achieving its aims in Gaza.
• On this week’s Israel Policy Pause, Senior Policy and Communications Associate Alex Lederman recapped President Biden’s emergency visit to Israel this week.
• Watch this week’s Israel Policy Briefing with Haaretz Military Correspondent Amos Harel on the latest development on the ground and Israel’s strategic challenges.
• For all of our resources on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, including a timeline of events from 1949 until now, explore our new Israel at War webpage.

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On October 7, 2023, Israelis faced the unthinkable when Hamas militants breached the Gaza border, carried out a violent rampage, took hundreds of Israelis hostage, and indiscriminately slaughtered at least 1,300 people—mostly civilians, many of them women, children, and elderly. These attacks resulted in the most Jews killed in a single day since the Holocaust. On this week’s episode, IPF Atid Director Shanie Reichman joins Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber to reflect on the darkest day in Israeli history. They reflect on the atrocities committed by Hamas, Israelis’ collective trauma and shattered sense of security, and how the country could have been so ill-prepared for Saturday’s onslaught. Shanie and Neri touch on the history of Hamas and its ideology, analyze how this moment has reshaped Israeli politics and social dynamics, discuss the ongoing military operation and mobilization, and strive to find hope for peace during these days of despair. 

• In this week’s Koplow Column, Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow explained how this tragedy shattered Israelis’ sense of security, their leaders’ legacies, and American Jewish politics.
• In The Forward, Michael Koplow wrote on why Palestinian society and leadership must speak out to condemn the Hamas attack. 
• In The Hill, Michael Koplow detailed how the U.S. should support Israel as the war unfolds. 
• In The Christian Science Monitor, Israel Policy Pod host Neri Zilber unpacked how the shared trauma of this conflict is reshaping Israeli society and driving Israelis to put aside recent differences. 
• In the Financial Times, Neri Zilber discussed the implications of Israel’s new wartime unity government.
• In Defense Opinion, IPF Atid Coordinator of Chapter Engagement and Strategy Rebecca Mandelbaum and Senior Policy and Communications Associate Alex Lederman co-authored an article on the strategic challenges Israel must consider as it prepares to invade Gaza.

Our recent statements: 

• October 7: Israel Policy Forum Outraged by Hamas Attacks, Stands in Support of Israel. Read here. 
• October 10: Israel Policy Forum Commends President Biden for Support of Israel. Read here.
• October 11: Israel Policy Forum Welcomes Formation of Emergency War Government in Israel. Read here.
• October 12: In solidarity with Israel, CEO David Halperin offers words of strength, support, and hope for the future. Watch here.

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In this emergency video briefing, we convened with our team of experts, Neri Zilber, Shira Efron, Nimrod Novik, and Michael Koplow to assess the unfolding situation in Israel.

Our Statement from October 7, 2023:

Israel Policy Forum is outraged by the despicable attacks by Hamas terrorists. We stand in firm support of Israel as it defends itself against this terrorist assault and provides security for its citizens, and we call on the international community to do the same.

There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for the horrendous acts of terrorism the world witnessed today. Our thoughts are with the people of Israel at this trying time.

We pray for the recovery of those injured, the return of those taken hostage, and the comfort of the families who have been upended, as we mourn the lives that have been lost.

The Great Shattering | Koplow Column | October 9, 2023

The tragedy that began Saturday represents a shattering—of Israelis’ sense of security, of their leaders’ legacies, and of American Jewish politics. An immediate course correction is needed. Read this week's Koplow Column here: https://israelpolicyforum.org/2023/10/09/the-great-shattering/

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On this week's episode, Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber hosts Israel Piekrash, the co-founder and director of the Anahnu Movement, to discuss Israel's crumbling social cohesion and whether a new national consensus and a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are possible. They dive into Israel Piekrash's unique upbringing in the religious Zionist community, his shift in thinking about the Palestinians, and the vision of the Anahnu Movement before moving to current events, including the present state of the settler movement, protests against the judicial overhaul, and the likely reaction by far-right politicians to an Israel-Saudi normalization deal. 

• Last Thursday, Senators Ossoff, Young, Booker, and Lankford introduced the Middle East Security Coordination Act, which seeks to strengthen the critical work of the United States Security Coordinator in Jerusalem to help stabilize the security situation in the West Bank in the service of a future two-state outcome. As a longtime champion of this issue, Israel Policy Forum has persistently maintained that the USSC is vital to security, stability, and a better future for Israelis and Palestinians, and we are pleased to partner with this bipartisan group of senators on this important bill. Listeners can expect to hear more about it soon. Read our statement here: https://israelpolicyforum.org/2023/09/28/statement-welcoming-the-introduction-of-the-middle-east-security-coordination-act/
• Last week, Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in its hearing on the implementation of the Taylor Force Act. Read or watch here: https://israelpolicyforum.org/2023/09/27/michael-koplows-testimony-before-house-committee-on-foreign-affairs/
• Michael also recently penned an op-ed in The Liberal Patriot explaining why U.S. policy must take into account Israel’s democracy, not just its security, as a core value of the relationship. Read here: https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/israeli-democracy-and-the-future
• This week, Israel Policy Forum released the latest installment of Critical Neighbors, featuring four perspectives—Israeli, Palestinian, Saudi, and American— on the potential for an Israel-Saudi deal to include a meaningful Palestinian component. Read here: https://israelpolicyforum.org/critical-neighbors/#navigating-normalization
  
  

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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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