Middle East Forum Podcast

The U.N. General Assembly’s unanimous passing of a resolution declaring each March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia highlights a growing trend to limit freedom of speech about Islam. What does “Islamophobia” mean? What purpose does this sort of symbolism serve for Islamists? How can open discussion of Islam be maintained?

May 11, 2022 Israel Insider with Ashley Perry by Middle East Forum

In 2015, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics stated that, by 2020, higher Palestinian birthrates and low Jewish immigration, would mean Palestinians outnumbering Jews living west of the Jordan River. Is this now the case? How many Palestinians actually live on the West Bank? What implications do these population numbers have?

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had no doubt about the need to destroy Syria’s nuclear reactor. The issue concerned tactics, and specifically the differences between him Defense Minister Ehud Barak, causing a deep rift. Hear about the dramatic background to the bombing raid in September 2007, including the part did the U.S. government played.

The Coalition running Israel's government believes it has achieved stability. Is this true or wishful thinking?

The Temple Mount is perhaps the most contested religious site in the world as well as a focal point of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. To maintain quiet, the Israeli government grants the waqf considerable leeway, but even that does not stop flare-ups. How did the recent crisis develop, what is the current status, and what steps will improve the situation?

Charged with “activities against national security” and “insulting the founder of Islamic Republic and the Supreme Leader,” Navid Mohebbi spent 100 days in an Iranian prison in 2010. The world’s youngest blogger ever jailed at 18, he eventually escaped Iran and settled in the United States. Mr. Mohebbi will reveal how Iranian expats remain targets of the Islamic Republic through U.S.-based proxy o...

The government appears to be teetering on the brink with seemingly opposite demands from all directions. How long can the coalition survive?

As the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei looms, many potential successors plot their ascent, leading to possible disruption. Might a nuclear deal and sanctions relief privilege the hardliners? What future has the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps? Can a protest movement influence the succession?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had massive ripple effects on the Middle East, affecting food supplies, the price of energy, geo-political relations and more. How are states of the region, and Iran in particular, dealing with the conflict? How should Washington respond to them?

Could differences in response to terrorism be the straw that breaks this coalition's back?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine deeply involves Muslims: think of Russia’s Chechen and Syrian brigades, Turkey’s intense involvement, the widespread Middle East reliance on grain from the two countries, and the difference in Europe’s reception of Ukrainian vs. Muslim migrants. How have Western Islamists responded to the Russian invasion and what does it indicate about their divisions?

Members of the Middle East Studies Association just voted 4 to 1 to make boycott, divestment, and sanction (BDS) its official policy, creating a small storm in North America over issues of hypocrisy, bias, and appropriateness. What about in Israel – are Israeli academics despondent, indifferent, or somewhere in between? Do they plan a response to MESA’s singular attack on their country and on them...

Tensions are high in Israel at the start of Ramadan. What is Israel’s government doing to prevent the situation from escalating? Will it succeed?

Although antisemitism in the United States is in significant part an Islamist phenomenon, the great institutions of American Jewry have widely failed to confront this problem, as shown by the example of the Islamic Society of Boston cultural center. What explains this failure? What can be done to fix it?

A combination of Islamist politics and corruption have caused economic collapse in Lebanon. President Aoun’s term ends in half a year, will lead to a likely power vacuum. Can anything be done to salvage the country? Has Lebanon any chance to return to its former glory?

The Negev region symbolizes the government’s paradox: strength in international affairs, symbolized by the Negev Summit with the US and four Arab foreign ministers; and weakness in domestic affairs, symbolized by the ISIS-inspired jihadi attacks. Where is it heading?

The Palestinian Authority (PA) skillfully and successfully plays the victim internationally while contrarily insisting to its own subject population that victory over Israel is underway and inevitable. How does it manage to sustain these two opposite messages and what can Israelis do to puncture this unwieldy but successful oxymoron?

The justice and morality of U.S. policy toward the Middle East stirs constant dispute. How does just war theory properly apply to the use of force in theaters like Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria? What does it say about the Arab-Israeli conflict? And about formulating a grand strategy toward the Middle East?

Coalition crises on Ukrainian refugee policies and agricultural reform again threaten to tear the government apart, but it remains united in disappointment at U.S. policy toward Iran.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) unabashedly promotes violence against Israel, as Palestinian Media Watch has extensively documented. Children are ingrained with hatred, its television channel calls for Israel’s destruction and promotes “martyrdom.” But Israel and its allies have not taken the logical step to designate the PA as terrorist; why not? What must happen for this to occur?

The FBI has repeatedly hidden the Islamist motivations of jihadis, sometimes with fatal consequences, including three in Texas alone (Garland, Fort Hood, Colleyville). What explains this persistent ineptitude? Is this just a public error or also a private one? Does the solution lie with state legislatures and law enforcement?

A solid grasp of Islamic history remains vital for understanding our world, but professors who present it in an apolitical, rigorous manner risk ostracization by their peers or being labeled “Islamophobic” by apologists. What are the implications of this dilemma? How can universities protect professors’ academic freedom on controversial topics?

Prime Minister Bennett has a unique role as mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Whence comes this high profile role? What are its implications? In particular, might it signal a lesser reliance on the United States?

Turkey's government increasingly supports a wide variety of Islamist groups in the West, and especially South Asian ones. Major Turkish media lionize South Asian Islamists in the United States and attack their critics. How did this relationship come about? Does it augur a new international Sunni Islamist axis?