Middle East Brief with Avi Kaner

A few weeks ago, I introduced what I called "The Bazaar Strategy" - the idea that President Donald Trump's negotiating style mirrors the bargaining culture of a Middle Eastern marketplace: maximum pressure, strategic unpredictability, and always leaving room for a deal. Has that strategy now reached its limit? In this episode of Middle East Brief with Avi Kaner , I examine President...

Nearly three years after the October 7 massacre, Israel still has not established a truly independent national commission of inquiry. Instead, the Knesset has advanced legislation to create a politically appointed commission. Should a government investigate itself? In this episode of Middle East Brief with Avi Kaner , Avi argues that the victims, the hostages, the families of fallen Israeli soldie...

On July 6, 1938, representatives from 32 nations gathered in Evian-les-Bains, France, to address the growing refugee crisis as Jews desperately sought to flee Nazi Germany and Austria. The world expressed sympathy. But when it came time to act, almost every nation refused to open its doors. In this episode of Middle East Brief with Avi Kaner , we examine one of history's greatest diplomatic fa...

For decades, hundreds of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians interacted every day - not across battle lines, but in workplaces. Before the First Intifada, nearly 40% of the Palestinian workforce in the West Bank and Gaza was employed inside Israel. By the late 1990s, 140,000 Palestinians worked in Israel, contributing to both the Israeli and Palestinian economies. So what changed? In this episo...

Israel and Lebanon have signed a historic framework agreement that could eventually end nearly eight decades of conflict. But what does the agreement actually say? In this episode of Middle East Brief with Avi Kaner , we walk through all 14 clauses of the agreement, explaining what each provision means, why it matters, and what it could mean for the future of Israel, Lebanon, and the broader Middl...

For nearly eighty years, Israel stopped short of officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide, despite broad historical consensus that approximately 1.5 million Armenians were systematically murdered by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. In this episode of Middle East Brief with Avi Kaner , Avi explores the history of the Armenian Genocide, why Israel delayed recognition for decades, and what...

A new United Nations report accuses Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian children and committing some of the gravest violations of international law. Within hours, the allegations spread across global media outlets, political circles, universities, NGOs, and social media platforms. But how was the report compiled? Who supplied the information? What role did Hamas-controlled institutions pl...

One of Israel's most remarkable success stories is unfolding inside its hospitals, medical schools, clinics, and pharmacies. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores the extraordinary role Arab citizens play in Israel's healthcare system. Topics include: • Why approximately one in four Israeli doctors is Arab • The growing role of Arab nurses, dentists, and pharmacists • Half of Israel's ph...

Why is the legitimacy of Israel still debated when the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is rarely questioned? In this episode, Avi Kaner explores one of the most fascinating comparisons in modern history. Both the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Israel emerged from the collapse of the British Empire. Both were created in the late 1940s. Both were founded on the principle that a vuln...

Today we remember and honor one of Israel's greatest cultural figures. Yaacov Agam, the pioneering Israeli artist who transformed the world of kinetic and optical art, has passed away at the age of 98. In this episode, Avi Kaner reflects on Agam's extraordinary life, his deep Jewish roots, and the revolutionary artistic vision that challenged people to see the world differently. Topics inc...

A new U.S.-Iran framework agreement has been announced. In this episode, Avi Kaner examines the central question: Should the Iranian regime receive blockade and sanctions relief, access to frozen assets, and an end to economic restrictions before it demonstrates compliance? Topics include: • Why verification must come before rewards • The proposed 60-day nuclear negotiation period • Whether "...

Should every Israeli contribute to the country through military service or national service? It is one of the most important and emotionally charged debates in Israel today. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores the history behind military exemptions for both ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab citizens, why those exemptions were originally created, and whether they still make sense nearly eighty years lat...

For years, much of the world's attention has focused on Israel's actions in Gaza. But a new United Nations report documents a different story: The systematic abuse of Palestinians by Hamas itself. The report describes public executions, torture, kneecappings, beatings with metal pipes, sexual violence, forced confessions, and the public humiliation of Palestinians including children. In th...

Anyone who has visited the Middle East knows that negotiation is often less about contracts and more about theater. The bargaining. The pressure. The walkaways. The dramatic gestures. The public posturing. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores what he calls "Trump's Bazaar Strategy" and why many people across the Middle East instinctively understand it. Topics include: • How negotiatio...

The Six-Day War transformed the Middle East in just six days. But for many Jewish families, its most meaningful legacy was not military victory. It was the opportunity to return home. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores the often-forgotten story of Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter, its fall in 1948, the expulsion of its Jewish residents, and the dramatic return of Jewish families following Israel&#3...

Nearly every country in the world has a constitution. Israel does not. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores one of the most important questions facing the Jewish state as it approaches its 80th year of independence: Why has Israel never adopted a constitution, and is it finally time? Topics include: • Why Israel's Declaration of Independence envisioned a constitution that never materialized • D...

Today, Israeli forces captured one of the most iconic military positions in southern Lebanon: Beaufort Castle. For nearly 900 years, this fortress has dominated the high ground overlooking the Galilee in Israel and southern Lebanon. Crusaders held it. Mamluks fought for it. The PLO used the surrounding area as a base for attacks on Israel. Later, Hezbollah transformed the region into a key part of...

A new 104-page report by UN Watch alleges systemic corruption, politicization, and ideological bias inside the United Nations Human Rights Council system. In this episode, Avi Kaner breaks down the report’s most explosive allegations, including: UN rapporteurs funded by authoritarian regimes Selective enforcement against Israel and Western democracies Qatar’s role in funding and influence The disp...

In 2002, Saudi Arabia shocked the Middle East by proposing full peace and normalization between Israel and the entire Arab world. The proposal became known as the Arab Peace Initiative. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores: The history behind the initiative Why it was revolutionary coming from Saudi Arabia The unanimous support from all 22 Arab League states and the broader Muslim world The violent...

Today, Donald Trump proposed one of the most ambitious Middle East visions in years: an expanded Abraham Accords framework potentially including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, and even Iran itself. In this episode, Avi Kaner breaks down Trump’s dramatic proposal, the strategic logic behind it, and the fierce social media reaction it triggered. From intelligence cooperation and trade to media warfa...

Tonight begins Shavuot, the holiday commemorating the moment the Israelites stood at Mount Sinai and received the Torah. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores how Sinai transformed a former slave people into a civilization bound by law, ethics, memory, and covenant, and why that moment still shapes Jewish identity and modern Israel thousands of years later. The episode connects the ancient story of...

The European Union does not fully designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Instead, Europe officially bans only Hezbollah’s so-called “military wing,” despite Hezbollah’s own leaders insisting the organization operates as a single unified structure. In this episode, Avi Kaner examines the political logic behind Europe’s partial designation policy, the financial and legal loopholes it creat...

Today marks the anniversary of the execution of one of Israel’s greatest intelligence operatives: Eli Cohen. Operating under deep cover inside Syria during the early 1960s, Cohen infiltrated the highest levels of the Syrian political and military establishment, gathering intelligence that many historians believe helped shape Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. In this episode, Avi Kaner expl...

Spain faces rising economic pressure, political instability, housing unrest, corruption scandals, and growing public frustration. Yet Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has emerged as one of Europe’s most aggressive critics of Israel. In this episode, Avi Kaner examines Sánchez’s socialist political ideology, the corruption controversies surrounding his political orbit, and the widening disconnect betwe...

When the world discusses Middle Eastern refugees after 1948, one story dominates the conversation. But there was another mass displacement that reshaped the region forever. In this episode, Avi Kaner examines the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of more than 850,000 Jews from countries across the Middle East and North Africa following the creation of the State of Israel. From Baghdad, wher...