On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Tal Shalev, political correspondent at Walla News. They discuss the third meeting this year between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, the prospects for a new Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal, what Netanyahu may want to accomplish now that the Iran war is over, the ultra-Orthodox military conscription crisis roiling the governing coalition, the fractured state of the Israeli opposition, and more. 

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On this episode of Israel Policy Pod, Alana Zeitchik—Israeli-American advocate, writer, and executive director of The Narrow Bridge Project based in Brooklyn, NY—joins Israel Policy Forum Director Strategic of Initiatives and IPF Atid Shanie Reichman to share the harrowing story of her family members, who were kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Most were released in the November 2023 hostage deal, though her cousin’s husband David Cunio and his brother, Ariel Cunio, remain held hostage in Gaza. Alana reflects on the personal toll of the past 21 months, the complex advocacy efforts she’s undertaken across two U.S. administrations, the disconnect between hostage families and much of the American Jewish community, the urgent need to center the hostages’ plight in policy debates, and more.

Follow: @alanalindsay @bring.david.cunio.home @bring.ariel.home
Support the efforts of The Hostages and Missing Families Forum here.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow and The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Senior Fellow and Research Director Shira Efron. The trio discuss the success of the Israel-Iran war, whether diplomacy with Iran can work in this new postwar era, the potential of further Israeli and U.S. military action against Iran, the prospect of Netanyahu agreeing to end the Gaza war in return for a Trump-led "grand bargain" in the Middle East, the current state of play in Israeli politics, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Haaretz Military Correspondent Amos Harel to discuss the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, the role of President Trump, Israel's success in the 12-day campaign, the murky state of Iran's nuclear program, Iran's lackluster performance during the war, the role of diplomacy and military action moving forward, what impact the conflict with Iran may have on Israel's war in Gaza, and more.

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This is a recording of an Israel Policy Forum webinar held on Wednesday, June 18, at 1pm ET.

Days into its military campaign against Iran, Israel has racked up an impressive series of achievements: decimating Iran’s top military echelon, setting back its nuclear program, taking out drones and rocket-launchers, and achieving freedom of operation in the skies above Tehran. Yet the war’s impact on the Israeli homefront has been costly, with at least two dozen casualties and unprecedented levels of destruction in central Israel. Israel’s endgame and Washington’s appetite to assist in eliminating Iran’s nuclear program remain unclear.

Israel Policy Forum Washington Managing Director and Senior Fellow Rachel Brandenburg hosts Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran program at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, and Kenneth Pollack, vice president for policy at the Middle East Institute, to unpack the state of the war.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Dan Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel. They discuss the prospects for a new nuclear deal with Iran, the utility of the U.S. and Israel threatening military action, how close a Saudi-Israel normalization deal was before October 7, the truth behind the Biden administration's weapons shipments to Israel, the current state of the U.S.-Israel relationship, and more.

Watch Obama's full eulogy for Shimon Peres here. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber and Israel Policy Forum Director of Strategic Initiatives and IPF Atid Shanie Reichman discuss the recent terror attacks against Jews in America, the safety of the American Jewish community, the controversial new humanitarian aid plan for Gaza and competing narratives over chaos and violence at the aid distribution hubs, growing international pressure on Israel, the latest Israeli domestic political intrigues, and more.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow and The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Senior Fellow and Research Director Shira Efron. The trio discuss the launch of Israel’s new offensive in Gaza, growing international pressure on Israel to end the war, concerns over the grim humanitarian situation inside the strip, what President Trump actually wants, and more.  

This podcast was recorded before the terrorist attack at the Capital Jewish Museum. Read Israel Policy Forum's statement below: 

Israel Policy Forum mourns the senseless killing of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in the terrorist attack at the American Jewish Committee Young Diplomats reception in Washington, D.C. Our hearts go out to their families and to their Israeli Embassy colleagues, and their killer must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

This was an antisemitic terrorist attack targeting a Jewish event ostensibly carried out in the name of Palestinian solidarity, and there can be no space for this in the United States. Support for Palestinians confers no legitimacy to attack Jews, Israeli or otherwise, and the terrorist who gunned down two innocents last night has only damaged whatever cause he was allegedly trying to advance. Neither the October 7 attacks nor the war in Gaza provide any justification for political violence, and language used in anti-Israel protests that often glorifies such violence must stop. Jews in this country should not have to live in fear because of fighting taking place six thousand miles away, and we reject any attempted connection between these two arenas.

We also reject the immediate rush to map terrorism on American shores to domestic Israeli partisan politics. The political point scoring already taking place, as if the terrorist was motivated by statements from politicians on either side of the spectrum rather than by events on the ground and his own twisted antisemitic hatred, is unseemly and must stop.

Our thoughts and condolences are with the victims’ families.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Ambassador Dennis Ross, lead Middle East peace process negotiator in the H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations and current counselor and William Davidson distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, to unpack President Trump's trip to the Middle East. They provide a high-level overview of U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration and discuss the U.S.-Israel and Trump-Netanyahu relationships, the present and future of the Gaza war, prospects for a two-state outcome to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Dennis' new book, Statecraft 2.0: What America Needs to Lead in a Multipolar World.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Col. (res.) Dr. Michael Milshtein, former head of the Palestinian arena in Israeli Military Intelligence. They discuss the looming new Israeli military offensive in Gaza, the huge danger it entails not just for the Palestinians but also for Israelis, what will happen to the hostages, the need for a full ceasefire-hostage deal, the prospect that President Trump is able to broker a new truce before the Israeli operation gets underway, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber and Israel Policy Forum Director of Strategic Initiatives and IPF Atid Shanie Reichman discuss the resignation of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, the legal and political battle over Bar’s firing by Prime Minister Netanyahu, the prospects for a new hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza, the growing concern over the humanitarian situation inside the strip, reflecting on Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut in the second year after October 7, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Naysan Rafati, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group. They discuss the current alarming state of Iran's nuclear program, the new diplomatic push by President Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to make a deal with Iran, how this time could be different due to Iran's weakness after 18 months of regional war, the major challenges to actually getting a deal done, the possible implications if diplomacy fails and the U.S. and Israel choose to deploy the military option, and more. 

Read Dr. Shira Efron's op-ed on Israel's Syria policy in Foreign Affairs, here.

Read this week's Koplow Column, here.

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Israel Policy Forum Director of Strategic Initiatives and IPF Atid Director Shanie Reichman interviews Yotam Cohen, whose brother, Nimrod, remains in captivity in Gaza. A 20-year-old IDF soldier from Rehovot, Nimrod was serving as a tank gunner on the Gaza border on October 7 when Hamas attacked and dragged him into Gaza. Yotam reflects on the fight to free his brother, his perspective on the Gaza war, and Israel’s responsibility to prioritize bringing the hostages home. 

Follow @bring.nimrod.home and @allhostages on Instagram and support the hostage families' fight to bring their loved ones home.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Tal Shalev, political correspondent at Walla News. They discuss Benjamin Netanyahu's rather unsuccessful meeting with Donald Trump in Washington this week, the Israeli government's war against the so-called “deep state,” the Qatargate scandal, the Netanyahu government’s priorities after Passover, the political fortunes of Yair Golan and Naftali Bennett, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Barbara Leaf, the former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. They discuss the Biden administration on October 7 and during the Gaza war, the evolving U.S.-Israel relationship during the conflict, reflections of the prior ceasefire-hostage deal talks, the prospects for a new hostage deal and a realistic post-war plan for Gaza, Barbara’s impressions after meeting new Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa, Washington under the Trump administration, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber and Israel Policy Forum Director of Strategic Initiatives and IPF Atid Shanie Reichman discuss the Netanyahu government going after the judiciary, the dual firings of the Shin Bet chief and the attorney general, Israel's looming constitutional crisis, the status of the renewed military offensive in Gaza, the protests against Hamas in Gaza, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts former Israeli minister Dan Meridor, who held a handful of high-ranking cabinet positions over multiple decades. They discuss the collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza and renewed Israeli airstrikes against Hamas, the precarious fate of the hostages, the upcoming dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and the legal hurdles Benjamin Netanyahu will have to overcome to push it through, the future of Israeli democracy under this government, and more. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Haaretz Military Correspondent Amos Harel to discuss the new IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. They cover his first week in the post and future plans for the army, the state of the IDF now 17 months into this war, the threat of a renewed Israeli military offensive into Gaza, the prospects of the ceasefire-hostage talks succeeding, the IDF inquiries into the failures surrounding Hamas' October 7 attack, and more. 

No Time to Lose: A Blueprint for Reforming the Palestinian Authority

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber and Israel Policy Forum Director of Strategic Initiatives and IPF Atid Shanie Reichman discuss the national trauma and mood in Israel after last week’s return of four deceased hostages, the joyful return of six living hostages on Saturday, the potential for the hostage-and-ceasefire deal in Gaza to be extended, the U.S.’ role in the ongoing talks, growing tensions and violence in the northern West Bank, and more. 

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On this week's episode, Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber hosts Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Sagui Dekel-Chen, who was just freed from Hamas captivity after 498 days. They discuss the joyful reunion between Sagui and his wife and three young daughters, Sagui's road to recovery, the months of campaigning to get this hostage deal done, the role of the Trump administration and Netanyahu government, the prospects for the ceasefire to be extended and for all the hostages to be returned home, and more. 

Israelis' hearts are heavy with grief today as four deceased hostages are returned from Gaza—likely Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, although we are still awaiting final forensic confirmation. We have all come to know their faces well over the past 503 days as symbolic of the human cost of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7. It is unimaginable that their families will never again get to embrace them.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow and The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Senior Fellow Shira Efron. The trio discusses Prime Minister Netanyahu's trip to Washington last week, President Trump's plan to turn Gaza into the riviera of the Middle East, the status of the Gaza ceasefire deal, dimming prospects for Israel-Saudi normalization, possible reform in the Palestinian Authority, and more. 

Read Shira Efron's op-ed in The New York Times here.

Read Alex Lederman's op-ed in The Forward here. 

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Aziz Alghashian, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. They discuss how the past 16 months have looked from Riyadh and the Gulf, the prospects of Israel-Saudi normalization, the demand for a viable pathway towards Palestinian statehood, how Benjamin Netanyahu has misled the Israeli public, the Trump effect on Middle East diplomacy, and more. 

Policy Recommendations for the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow and Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Senior Director of Policy Research Shira Efron. The trio discuss the release of the first three female hostages from Hamas captivity, the surprising (for some) Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal, the re-emergence of Hamas fighters and the lack of a day after plan for the strip, the prospects of the ceasefire being continued into a second stage, what Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have planned for the Middle East and each other, and more.

Policy Recommendations for the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber and Israel Policy Forum Director of Strategic Initiatives and IPF Atid Shanie Reichman discuss the terms of the ceasefire-hostage deal and how it will be implemented, how many hostages are set to come home and if the deal will actually end the war, why the long-awaited deal was finalized now, criticisms of the deal from both the right and left, the political implications for the Netanyahu government, and more.

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On this week’s episode, Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor and Tel Aviv-based journalist Neri Zilber hosts Tal Shalev, political correspondent at Walla News. They discuss Prime Minister Netanyahu's political strength at the dawn of a new year, the state of play inside his coalition government, Itamar Ben Gvir's waning influence, the fraught issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, the return of the judicial overhaul, Trump's potential impact, and more. 

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