Hadiyun: Bicom's Podcast

In this episode, Richard Pater speaks to Ksenia Svetlova about developments in Russia and a variety of regional security issues. They discuss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s recent aborted coup attempt against President Putin and US calls for Israel to share its missile defence technology with Ukraine. On the Middle East they address prospects of an Israeli-Saudi normalisation deal and the current state of Israel’s diplomatic-security relations with Jordan and Egypt. Svetlova is Chief Executive of ROPES (The Regional Organisation for Peace, Economics & Security), senior research fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University, and a senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. She previously served as an MK for the Zionist Union.

In this episode, Richard Pater speaks to Yiftach Golov, one of the leaders of the protest movement against the Israeli government's proposed judicial reforms. They discuss the basis of the movement's objection to the reforms and its tactics and future direction. Golov served in an IDF Special Forces unit and is currently completing his PhD in Biophysics at Tel-Aviv University.

In this episode, Jack Omer-Jackaman speaks to Oren Kessler, author, journalist, and political analyst. They discuss Kessler's new book, Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict, and the ways in which the Revolt continues to inform both the Israeli-Palestinian dynamic and the direction of Palestinian politics and terrorism today. Kessler previously served as deputy director for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society in London, Arab affairs correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, and as an editor and translator at Haaretz English edition. 

In this episode, Richard Pater speaks to Tal Shalev, political correspondent at Walla News, about the latest political developments in Israel. They discuss the internal dynamics within the coalition and their achievements in securing concessions in the recently passed budget. They also explore the government’s chances of passing a new Draft Bill reaffirming ultra-Orthodox exclusion from the military draft; and the prospects of the ongoing negotiations over judicial reform achieving a successful compromise.

In this podcast, Richard Pater, Director of BICOM speaks to Brigadier general (Res.) Assaf Orion, Senior Researcher at the INSS and Director of The Diane & Guilford Glazer Israel-China Policy Center. They discuss the recent conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), assess Operation Shield and Arrow’s success in degrading PIJ’s terror capabilities, explore Hamas’s role, and look at the performance of Iron Dome in intercepting PIJ rockets. After two decades in command positions in military intelligence, in his final posting as a Brigadier General, Orion served as the head of the Strategic Division of the IDF General Staff’s Planning Directorate, responsible for strategy and policy planning.

In this episode, Richard Pater speaks to Professor Efraim Inbar, President of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. They discuss what the Ramadan period showed us about Israel’s current security challenges, the state of its deterrence, and the level of Iranian influence in the region. They also consider Israeli relations with Saudi Arabia, the US, and, in the light of Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s recent visits, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Professor Inbar is an expert on Israeli strategic doctrine, US Middle East policy, and Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy. He was the founding director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University.

In this live podcast, Richard Pater, Director of BICOM speaks to Ehud Yaari, the Middle East commentator for Israel's Channel 12 television and former associate editor of the Jerusalem Report. He has been a Middle East commentator for Israeli television since 1975. Among his numerous awards for journalism are the Israeli Press Editors-in-Chief prize for coverage of the peace process with Egypt, the Sokolov Prize for coverage of the Lebanon War, and the Israel Broadcasting Award for coverage of the Gulf War. They discussed the current state of the West Bank, Israeli perspectives on regional developments, and domestic politics. 

In this episode, Jack Omer-Jackaman speak to Sir John Jenkins. Sir John was British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from June 2012 to January 2015. He previously served as the ambassador to Libya, Iraq, and Syria, and as the British Consul General in Jerusalem. They discuss the recent China-brokered normalisation deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, its implications for Israel and for Chinese and US regional influence respectively, as well as what we might expect to see next from Iran’s nuclear programme and its support for its regional proxies.

In this episode, Richard Pater speaks to Sarit Zehavi, a major in the IDF reserves who specialises in intelligence and holds an MA in Middle East Studies from Ben-Gurion University. She is the founder and CEO of ALMA, an organisation specialising in research and analysis of Israel’s security challenges on the northern border. In this episode, they discuss the state of Hezbollah and the recent attack it may be linked to inside Israel, politics in Lebanon and the current threat the organisation poses.

In this episode, BICOM Director Richard Pater talks to Dr Michael Milshtein, an expert on the Palestinian Arena and the Head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel-Aviv University.  In this 200th episode of the BICOM podcast, they discuss the growing terror attacks on Israel, what the run-up to Ramadan may look like, the future of the West Bank and how to prevent future friction between Settlers and Palestinians, as seen in Hawara this week.

In this episode, Richard Pater speaks to Benham Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) where he focuses on Iranian security and political issues. They discuss the current state of Iran's nuclear programme, Iran's links with Russia, and where the US and the EU stand on Iran. Leveraging his subject-matter expertise and native Farsi skills, Behnam has closely tracked a wide range of Iran-related topics including nuclear non-proliferation, ballistic missiles, sanctions, the IRGC and internal Iranian politics. Benham recently produced a monograph on Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

In this episode, Jack Omer-Jackman, Research Associate at BICOM speaks to Professor Amichai Cohen. Professor Cohen is a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and a faculty member of the Faculty of Law, Ono Academic College. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds a master's degree and a doctorate from the Yale Law School. His research deals with constitutional and international law, and he's the author of the book The Wars of the High Court. Professor Cohen joins Jack for a discussion of the dominant domestic Israeli political issue of the day: judicial reform - what does it look like, how does it compare internationally and what is next for Israel's judicial system?

In this episode, Jack Omer-Jackaman, BICOM Research Associate is speaks to Professor Jonathan Rynhold, head of the department of Political Studies at Bar Ilan University. Rynhold's research focuses on US-Israeli relations, Israeli foreign policy and the role of political culture in foreign policy. They discuss the internal dynamics of the coalition government, the state of proposed judicial reforms, and look at the current strength of the relationship between Israel and the US.

In this live episode, Richard Pater speaks to Tal Shalev, political correspondent at Walla News about the new coalition government and what may be the future challenges facing Israel. At Walla News, Tal covers Israel’s prime minister, the government, and parliament as well as the country’s foreign and diplomatic affairs. She studied Political Science and Philosophy at Tel Aviv University. This briefing was recorded live with questions by the audience, facilitated by Kira Lewis.

In this episode BICOM Director Richard Pater speaks to Jonathan Paris about the current state of US and Israeli policy concerning Iran and Russia. In a wide-ranging conversation they discuss the geopolitical implications of both Tehran’s nuclear programme and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Jonathan is a London-based analyst, a former Middle East Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a senior adviser to the Chertoff Group.

In this episode, BICOM Research Associate Jack Omer-Jackaman speaks to Calev Ben Dor about his recent Fathom essay ‘Politically homeless’: Yamina voters tell their story. Calev assesses the impact on November’s election results of former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s stepping back from politics, the inter-communal violence of May 2021, the presence of Mansour Abbas in the previous government, and the rise of Religious Zionism. Calev Ben Dor is Senior Research Associate at BICOM and Deputy Editor of Fathom.

In this episode, Richard Pater discusses judicial reform with Professor Suzie Navot.  Prof. Navot explains the background of Israel’s legal system, its uniqueness among other parliamentary democracies and the significance of potentially implementing an override clause.  Suzie Navot is Vice President at the Israeli Democracy Institute.  She is a Professor of Constitutional Law, her areas of expertise include constitutional law, law of institutions, parliamentary law and comparative constitutional law.

In this episode, BICOM Director Richard Pater speaks with Carrie Keller-Lynn, a political and legal correspondent at the Times of Israel. They discuss the election results, breaking down what happened by party, and what could be next for the new government. Originally from the US, Carrie attended Stanford Law School and also holds a degree from Yale. She was called to the bar in New York and DC in 2017. Carrie also hosts her own podcast, and is based in Tel Aviv.

In this episode, Richard Pater speak to Jacky Hugi, the Arab affairs analyst of Israeli Army Radio and a columnist for the Maariv newspaper.  Jacky gives his assessment of the Israel – Lebanon maritime agreement and the role Hezbollah plays in domestic Lebanese politics.  They also discuss the ongoing violence in the West Bank.  Jacky describes the current level of popularity of the Palestinian Authority and the new phenomenon of the Lion's Den group. 

In this episode, Richard Pater speaks with Israel’s former Ambassador to the UK Mark Regev about his experience meeting the Queen.  Ambassador Regev also shares his views on King Charles’s relationship with Israel and the strength of the bilateral relationship under Prime Minister Truss.  He also offers his latest assessment on Iran, the Abraham Accords and the maritime talks with Lebanon.  As well as having served as Ambassador in London, in the past he was the international spokesperson and media adviser to Prime Ministers Olmert and Netanyahu.  Today he is the head of the Abba Eban Institute for International Diplomacy, which is part of Reichman University’s Lauder School of Government.