BICOM's Podcast

Sam Nurding speaks to Col (res) Dr Eran Lerman, the Vice President of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and former deputy director for foreign policy and international affairs at the National Security Council in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. Dr Lerman shares his analysis of the competing regional powers and their alliances through ideological camps. Sam and Dr Lerman discuss...

In this episode, Research Associate Samuel Nurding speaks with Anders Persson, senior lecturer at Linnaeus University and author of the new book, 'EU Diplomacy and the Israeli-Arab Conflict, 1967-2019'. The two discuss the EU's role in the conflict over the last 50 years, the impact of the Israel-UAE and Israeli-Bahrain peace deals on EU policy and how the EU has contributed to the development of...

Following the formal ceremony marking the normalisation of relations between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain at the White House, Richard Pater speaks to Ilan Goldenberg, the Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security and former Chief of Staff to the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations at the US Department of State. Richard and Ilan discuss the...

Richard Pater speaks to Dr Yossi Draznin, Director General of Israel’s Ministry for Regional Cooperation, about normalisation between Israel and the UAE. Dr Draznin was a member of the Israeli delegation on the direct flight from Israel to Abu Dhabi in early September and shares his experience from the visit. Richard and Dr Draznin also discuss government projects and private sector collaboration...

Richard Pater speaks to Fleur Hassan-Nahoum who serves as the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and is one of the founders of the Israel-UAE business council. They discuss the recent visit of the Israeli delegation to Abu Dhabi, the aim of the Israel-UAE business council, the relationship Jerusalem can have with the Gulf through East Jerusalem’s Arab community, various development, high-tech and education...

Following the historic announcement between Israel and the UAE, Richard Pater speaks to Koby Huberman, the co-founder of the Israeli Peace Initiative.  The initiative is aimed at connecting Israel with the key Arab states to create a new regional paradigm.  They discuss the development of Israeli-Emeriti relations in recent years, the importance of the agreement for both countries, how the full no...

Ronie Gazit speaks to Dr David Pollock of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy about the historic agreement between Israel and the UAE. Ronie and David discuss what factors led the two countries to agree to the full normalization of relations, whether other moderate Arab states will follow suit, what it means for the Palestinians and more.

In this episode, Richard Pater speaks to veteran political commentator Nahum Barnea, at Yedioth Ahronoth, on the budget crisis in Israel and why Netanyahu is demanding a one-year budget despite historically preferring two-year budgets. Barnea also shares his time as a journalist during the Sharon, Barak and Olmert era and why Bibi has a different approach to the media than his predecessors. 

Richard Pater speaks to Lt. Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, CEO and founder of Alma, about the explosion that devastated Beirut, why Hezbollah has responsibility to bear, the fallout going forward, Iran’s ongoing entrenchment in Syria and more.

Richard Pater speaks to Brig Gen (res.) Nitzan Nuriel, an associate at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Interdisciplinary Center, Herzilya and a former director of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau in the Prime Minister’s Office. They discuss the latest escalation on Israel’s northern border, why Hezbollah attempted to infiltrate Israel, Iran’s regional agenda and more.  

In this new episode, Richard Pater and Dr Toby Greene, who is the Marie Skłodowska-Curie research fellow at Queen Mary University of London's School of Politics and International Relations and about to take up a new teaching position at Bar Ilan University in September 2020, speak about the debate surrounding the Peter Beinart essay, whether the EU has any future in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking...

In this podcast, Richard Pater and Prof. Avi Weiss, President of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, discuss how the Israeli economy is coping with the coronavirus. They also compare the 2011 social protests and the new protests emerging now in Israel, and look ahead to the key issues in the upcoming budget vote in August. 

In this episode Richard Pater speaks with Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) expert Sima Shine about Iran. Sima gives her view on the significance of the recent explosion at the Natanz enrichment plant and on whether the US will be able to convince allies to extend the UN arms embargo on Iran. Sima Shine is currently the head of Iran programme at the INSS and previously served as Head...

In this episode, BICOM’s Ronie Gazit speaks to Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow in The Washington Institute and former advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team during the 1999–2001 permanent-status talks, on the possible Palestinian reactions to proposed Israelis move of applying its law in areas of the West Bank. Ghaith also talks about his latest research paper on Palestinian accession after...

In this podcast, BICOM’s research associate Samuel Nurding sits down with military and strategic affairs analyst Yaakov Lappin to discuss the latest alleged Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria, the importance of continuing the UN arms embargo on Iran, Israel’s security policy under new Defence Minister Benny Gantz and the role of the IDF in combating the coronavirus in Israel.

Richard Pater speaks to Tal Shalev, the political correspondent for Walla News, about the Israeli government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, tensions within the new unity coalition, whether annexation will actually happen, and much more.

In this episode Richard Pater speaks to Ben Avrahami, a senior advisor to the former Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat on East Jerusalem affairs and a Senior Associate at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research. Ben discusses his research civil society in East Jerusalem, the Israeli government’s plan to further integrate the population of East Jerusalem into the State of Israel, and what we can le...

Richard Pater speaks to Pnina Sharvit Baruch, a senior research associate at INSS and retired IDF colonel, about legal questions regarding Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. Richard and Pnina discuss the legal status of the West Bank and international and domestic implications of annexing the West Bank

Richard Pater speaks to Middle East analyst and journalist, Neri Zilber. Richard and Neri discuss the Palestinian Authority’s decision to suspend security cooperation with Israel, how the strategic outlook has shifted with the prospect of annexation and what will be the ramification on the ground.

In this episode, BICOM Director Richard Pater talks to Middle East expert Professor Eyal Zisser about a wide range of regional issues including the instability inside Lebanon and Iran’s influence in Syria. They also discuss annexation, the latest comments from PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the prospects of maintaining the vision of a two state solution.    

In this week’s episode, BICOM’s Ronie Gazit speaks with David Makovsky, director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations at The Washigton Institute for Near East Policy, about US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s brief visit to Israel. Ronie and David discuss why Pompeo traveled to Israel in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, whether Netanyahu will proceed with West Bank annexation, and US conc...

In this BICOM podcast Director Richard Pater speaks with Dr. Amir Fuchs, Head of the Defending Democratic Values Programme at the Israel Democracy Institute, about the two-day Supreme Court hearing and the verdict, and they look ahead to the Netanyahu corruption trial that is due to start on 24 May.   

To mark our 100th episode, Richard Pater interviews Yesh Atid MK, Idan Roll, and Likud Foreign Affairs Spokesman, Eli Hazan. Richard, Idan and Eli discuss the formation of the new coalition government, the Supreme Court decision concerning its legality, how the Israeli government has responded to the coronavirus outbreak, and the prospect of Israeli annexation after July 1st.   

In this wide-ranging podcast, Richard Pater and The Jerusalem Post’s Editor-in-Chief Yaakov Katz assess the government’s grade on how it is handling the coronavirus so far, unpack the coalition agreement signed earlier this week between Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu, and discuss the latest security concerns for the IDF, including Iran’s military satellite launch and the escalating tension on...

Richard Pater talks to International Spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus about the IDF's growing role in combating COVID-19 in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the likelihood of renewed violence on the Gaza border and whether COVID-19 is changing Iran's entrenchment strategy in Syria.