On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast

Ben Caspit speaks with former Labor Party leader Isaac “Bougie” Herzog, who is now serving as the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, the largest Jewish nonprofit organization focused on the diaspora and the ‘Aliyah’, meaning the immigration of Jewish people to Israel. Herzog talks to Ben about how coronavirus has changed the landscape for Aliyah, as well as the way Jewish festivities operate in a pandemic.

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Ben talks with Professor Uzi Arad, Netanyahu's former National Security Adviser and a lifelong friend (now a foe) says that "Netanyahu can be the loser of the annexation dream from both sides. His legacy argument and tendency to take credit and inflate his accomplishments is dangerous. Fake accomplishments and the attempt to imprint it into history can tarnish Bibi's legacy".

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Ben talks with Major General ( retired ) Amos Gilead who has had a long and distinguished career in the military and government in Israel. General Amos and Ben discuss Netanyahu’s plan to annex the West Bank. Gilead calls it a fiasco that can sabotage the stability of the Hashemite kingdom, risk the peace treaty with Israel and cause huge damage to the real effort on the Iranian front. Gen. Gilead, who is not a leftie, leaves no doubts: the annexation is a disaster for Israel and calls upon POTUS to cancel or at least delay it. 

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Joining Ben on this week’s podcast is MK Ofer Shelah, a leader in the Yesh Atid party and former journalist. Shelah gives his thoughts on the recent unity government between Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and Benny Gantz’s Blue & White Coalition, and whether he thinks Gantz has any real political leverage in this arrangement. Will Netanyahu actually transfer power over to Gantz? And does Shelah think Yesh Atid has any say in the decision to annex Israeli settlements? Listen in to Ben and Ofer’s conversation on Netanyahu’s rise in the polls, the impact of a Trump reelection, and maddening possibility of another election in Israel.

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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Bibi’s trial, the prospects for annexation, and whether the new Israeli emergency government can keep it together.

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Ben Caspit, an Israel correspondent for Al-Monitor, brings you weekly interviews with newsmakers and officials to discuss the latest news in Israel. Ben is no stranger to broadcast, hosting a daily radio show from Tel Aviv and frequently appearing on television and radio programs. Caspit is one of Israel’s most in-demand journalists and his columns – deeply sourced and vividly written -- are must reads for his take on the latest political developments. His most recent book is The Netanyahu Years, chronicling his reporting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) ever since he came to power in 1997.

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