Jewish Policy Center (Webinar Recordings – Audio Only)

Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and, of course, Iran are interlocking parts of Israel’s security picture. Iraq and Syria have to be accounted for as well. Alongside those are Egypt, Jordan, and the Abraham Accords countries – and the United States. How to manage the disparate elements while fighting a hot war for the shape of its future is an enormous challenge, and the one Israel faces.

Join us for a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Approaching the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the unimaginable horrors of October 7, Israelis are dealing with tragic losses, the continuing plight of hostages in Gaza, a horrific barrage of rockets launched by Iran, and the ensuing wars to protect and defend Israel from Iran and its proxies. Israeli society has been stressed almost beyond measure. Yet, in the 2024 world ranking of happiest countries, Israel ranked 5th – among young people, it is 2nd.

How is that possible?

Avi Mayer, Co-Chair of the Advisory Board of Global Jewry, and immediate past Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post, will discuss the astonishing resilience of the people of Israel.

Since October 7, Hezbollah has fired more than 8,000 rockets into Israel, and IDF intelligence has uncovered plans for a ground operation by Hezbollah into the Galilee with the intention of repeating the horrors of October 7.

Israel pre-empted.

The battle is moving fast – but there is an almost unmentioned element of this war: Lebanon is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country. Not all of its people are comfortable with Hezbollah’s occupation of the southern part, and not happy with the provocations that lead to Israeli preemption or retaliation. And all know that they are being used as human shields and human sacrifice by Iran.

Hussain Abdul Hussain, is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Born in Beirut, he’s been listening to the people.

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine after a series of demands and counter demands among Moscow, Kiev, Washington, and several European countries. The US provided Ukraine with weapons, more than $100 billion in aid, and political support including an invitation for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to appear before Congress.

The military and political battles were front page news… until they weren’t.

As the war has stagnated, Ukraine has been relegated to the back pages of the New York Times and Washington Post – if you find them at all.

Join us as Ukraine and Russia analyst Stephen Bryen, a former Undersecretary of Defense, explains what is happening on the ground and in the capitals of the countries most involved.

Parts of our media and political leadership have been working hard to distract the public on the issue of the Supreme Court, asking, “Do we need a Supreme Court? Maybe the world is different now and the old job of the Court is no longer relevant.”  “If we have to have it, can it be disconnected from politics? Should it be disconnected?” “Maybe we should just ‘pack it’ or term-limit it.”

Don’t be distracted.

The Supreme Court is there to ensure that the laws passed are consistent with the Constitution. Each term provides rulings about the role – and limitations – of government, and protections for We the People.

The real questions are, “What were the key rulings of the 2024 Court” and “How well did it respond to the crucial issues lawmakers and citizens put before them?”

Join Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, and JPC Fellow, for a review of key cases of 2024 and the implications for our American future.

“No case represents a bigger perversion” of the law than the violence committed by  Iranian-allied groups like Hamas, a retired U.S. general said Wednesday.

While the war in Gaza is clearly difficult for civilians, assertions like those made by the  International Criminal Court that Israel is starving Gazans  did not match what he witnessed during a recent visit to both sides of the border, retired three-star Gen. David Deptula said at a Jewish Policy Center webinar.

Deptula, whose extensive military leadership experience ranges from tsunami relief in South Asia to senior roles in U.S. combat operations  in Iraq and Afghanistan, visited Gaza in late July. He described an area of Gaza near the Keren Shalom border crossing that was lined with dozens of trucks, most of them carrying food.  The road had been built by the IDF to make it easier to resupply Gaza’s civilian population with fuel, food, water and other essential supplies.

The amount of food supplies entering Gaza is over 3,000 calories a day – more than sufficient for the average man or woman to maintain a stable diet. But food often fails to reach the civilian population because it is frequently stolen by Hamas fighters and criminal gangs, said Deptula, who emphasized that Hamas fighters deliberately conceal themselves among the civilian population. 

He called the killing of Palestinians “a cruel and illegal” part of Hamas’ strategy to drive the IDF out of Gaza before it destroys the group  as a military force.

Deptula faulted the Western media for failing to tell the public about the IDF’s fact-finding efforts to hold its military accountable –– which include a judicial arm that is separate from the military chain of command.

The IDF “probably does more than any military in the world to safeguard civilians,” said Deptula. He added that it was essential that Israel retain control of the Philadelphi Corridor – which runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza and is used as a weapon-smuggling route by Hamas. .

Deptula slammed Vice President Kamala Harris  and other politicians for failing to understand that there can be no “moral equivalence” between Israel and Hamas, adding  that blame for civilian casualties lies squarely with the terror group.

For good reason, when thinking about nukes, we give most of our attention to weaponization and Iran – the consequences of rogue powers having nuclear weapons are terrifying. But there is another side of the nuclear equation: Nuclear power is low-carbon, renewable, clean, and domestic. Like all energy sources, it has drawbacks, including a poor public profile and the potential for proliferation. Join us for a discussion with Mark Mills to discuss nuclear energy’s potentials and pitfalls.

Mark Mills of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Director of the National Center for Energy Analytics will bring us the latest innovations in nuclear technology and plans for the future.

The French government’s decision to ban Israeli companies and nationals from participating in the Eurosatory 2024 defense conference went mostly unnoticed in U.S. media. French courts reversed the ban – too late to be useful – but the controversial decision sent ripples through the global defense community. Israel’s defense tech is respected and admired around the world. Simone Ledeen will discuss how and why Israel is a vital partner in Western military preparedness and alliances and what Israel is learning even now in Gaza operations.

Simone Ledeen is former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East (DASD) and a Venture Partner at Texas Venture Partners.

The war in the Red Sea appears to have receded. Don’t be fooled. The Houthis are active pawns of China, which has a base in Djibouti, as well as of Iran. They attack shipping they claim is going to Israel as well as US naval vessels. In the first two months of 2024, traffic into the Suez Canal dropped 50% from a year earlier; forcing international trade to take the long way around Africa drives up costs. More importantly, says our guest Dr. David Wurmser, it “undermines one of the primary functions of the United States Navy, which is to be the guarantor of freedom of the seas.”

Dr. Wurmser is Senior Analyst, Center for Security Policy and Director of its Middle East program. He is a retired naval intelligence officer.

Cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank—in which the PA governs the territory but Israel exercises overriding security control—is the best solution for Gaza after the IDF withdraws, veteran Israeli security expert Efraim Inbar said Thursday. Israel wants a “modest thing: freedom of military action after we leave Gaza,” Inbar told a Jewish Policy Center webinar.

The Biden Administration “is obsessed with a two-state solution” involving Israel and a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority. Although the PA is “weak” and “ineffective,” it cooperates with Israel in the West Bank and does not want to be an Iranian proxy, Inbar said. He stated that having the PA rule Gaza is probably the best possible outcome in terms of running Gaza after Israel leaves. However, given the Palestinian Authority’s corruption and failures to administer the West Bank, it is likely to fail in Gaza as well, Inbar said. At the same time, Washington “doesn’t want a chaotic situation in Gaza,” Inbar added. Therefore, Israel should try to assuage U.S. concerns in exchange for supporting broad security freedom of operation for Israel in the Strip.

Inbar, currently president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, emphasized that all other options for administering Gaza after Israeli forces leave are fraught with problems. For example, the UNIFIL force in Lebanon has been a complete failure, and there is little appetite from European or Arab countries for running Gaza. Regarding Egypt, Inbar said that the latest revelations about Hamas’ massive network of Gaza smuggling tunnels illustrate something beyond corruption: Cairo sees strengthening Hamas as a way to cut Israel, a regional rival, down to size. On the positive side, Israel’s security policies in the West Bank were successful in preventing a large-scale outbreak of terror post-October 7, Inbar said. In contrast, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s strategy of having a “weakened” Hamas in Gaza was a good idea that was “poorly implemented.” By allowing Hamas to improve its weapons and strengthen itself militarily, it helped pave the way for October 7, he said.