The Fathom Podcast

Jack Omer-Jackaman and Calev Ben-Dor interviewed Einat Wilf. They discussed Wilf’s essay ‘Zionism as Therapy’ , which seeks to correct anti-Zionism’s success in divorcing Zionism from its intellectual and historical origins. Wilf is a leading thinker on Israel, Zionism, foreign policy and education. She was a member of the Israeli Parliament from 2010 to 2013, where she served as Chair of the Educ...

Calev Ben-Dor and Jack Omer-Jackaman interviewed Michael Milshtein, a leading expert on the Palestinian arena. They discussed the failures which led to 7 October – which Milshtein characterises as a failure of understanding as much as intelligence – and the current state of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Jack Omer-Jackaman speaks to Mohammad Darawshe and Michal Sela of Givat Haviva, an Israeli civil society organisation working for social change.

Jack Omer-Jackaman speaks with Tareq Abu Hamed and Eliza Mayo of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, an academic research centre dedicated to providing the Middle East with a new generation of sophisticated professionals to address the region’s environmental challenges with richer and more innovative peace-building solutions.

Alan Johnson and Jack Omer-Jackaman speak to renowned writer and peace activist Gershon Baskin. They discuss his recent Times of Israel article, co-authored with Samer Sinijlawi, a Palestinian political activist, entitled ‘The Necessary Peace – The Peace of No Choice’, in which Baskin lays out his vision for a two state solution after Hamas is defeated.

Calev Ben-Dor speaks to Professor Jonathan Rynhold, head of the department of Political Studies at Bar Ilan University, about President Biden’s policy on Israel’s war with Hamas. Rynhold is the author of The Arab-Israeli Conflict in American Political Culture, and speaks here about Biden’s personal, ‘visceral’ commitment to Israel, his vision of a foreign policy in defence of the liberal democrati...

Jack Omer-Jackaman and Calev Ben-Dor talk to Lebanon expert Hanin Ghaddar, Friedman Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute and author of Hezbollahland: Mapping Dahiya and Lebanon’s Shia Community. Ghaddar explains why Hezbollah has been persuaded not to escalate the conflict on Israel’s northern border, how this has impacted the reputation of its leader Nasrallah, and the chances of a future Is...

Alan Johnson and Jack Omer-Jackaman speak with John Lyndon, Executive Director of ALLMEP (The Alliance for Middle East Peace). John speaks powerfully on how 7 October and the war in Gaza have transformed the peacebuilding field and what is needed from both sides to advance the peace process.

Alan Johnson and Calev Ben Dor talk to Dr Shany Mor, lecturer in political thought at Reichman University in Herzliya, about his recent essay in Mosaic Magazine, “Ecstasy and Amnesia in the Gaza Strip”. Mor places the Hamas pogrom of October 7 in the context of three other attempted eliminationist struggles against Israel – the 1948 War of Independence, the 1967 Six Day War, and the 2000 Palestini...

Fathom Deputy Editors Jack Omer-Jackaman and Calev Ben-Dor talk to Dr Rob Geist Pinfold, Lecturer in Peace and Security at Durham University and the author of Understanding Territorial Withdrawal: Israeli Occupations and Exits (2023, Oxford University Press). Rob assesses the impact of Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on the Hamas pogrom of October 7th. Rob also analyses Israel’s previ...

Fathom editors Alan Johnson and Jack Omer-Jackaman talk to Dr Ahron Bregman, Senior Teaching Fellow at King’s College London, about the impact of the Hamas pogrom on Israeli society, the intelligence oversights which failed to anticipate it, and Israel’s range of possible responses in Gaza.

This new Fathom podcast series is called Those Who Tried: Conversations with the Peace Processors. We will seek the views of people who have been intimately involved in the Middle East peace process. We're delighted to start the series with a discussion with Elliott Abrams. During the George W. Bush presidency, Elliott was Deputy National Security Adviser and an NSC staff member in the White House...