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.

Support the show

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

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
  
  

Support the show

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

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
  
  

Support the show

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

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
  
  

Support the show

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.

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 Director of Policy Research Shira Efron to analyze recent events across the Middle East. They discuss this past weekend's terror attack on the Israel-Egypt border, the Israeli government's intentions for the West Bank, the chances of a peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the U.S. role in any such deal, and the re-election of President Erdoğan in Turkey.

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.

Walla News Chief Political Correspondent Tal Shalev joins Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber to assess the current state of play in Israeli politics after the passage of the state budget last week. They discuss what upcoming pitfalls await the Netanyahu government this summer, the fate of the judicial overhaul, the pressures on Bibi from both the protest movement in the streets and the hardliners in his own coalition, and the political fortunes of opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid.

Explore more of our work: 

• Judicial Legislation Tracker 
• 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.

Col. (res.) Dr. Michael Milshtein, the former head of the Palestinian arena in Israeli Military Intelligence, joins Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber for an in-depth conversation on the recent Israel-Palestinian Islamic Jihad conflict, Operation Shield and Arrow. They assess what this latest round of fighting means for Israel's overall Gaza strategy, the relationship between PIJ and Hamas, and Iran's role, and if (but most likely when) violence will erupt again.

Watch our educational series on why the judicial overhaul threatens Israel's security here.

Support the show

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

On this week's episode, Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber hosts Israeli journalist and Fauda co-creator Avi Issacharoff to discuss his new upcoming show, "Ghosts of Beirut," about Hezbollah arch-terrorist Imad Mugniyeh and the decades-long hunt by the CIA and Mossad to kill him. They also discuss current events, including this week's one-day escalation between Israel and Gaza and the ongoing protest movement in Israel against the Netanyahu government. 

Learn about our Charles Bronfman IPF Atid Conveners Program and apply here. 

Support the show

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