Middle East Forum Podcast

The Israeli government must pass the budget by Nov. 4. The opposition hopes to prevent it from passing it on time, thereby leading to the government's collapse and new elections. Which side is most likely to succeed? What comes next?

Turkey’s political influence efforts have been growing quickly in the United States in recent years. Examples include hosting politicians at the luxurious Diyanet Center in Maryland and donating Turkish government funds to U.S. congressional races. How does President Erdoğan manage to oversee nonprofits, business associations, and news outlets in the United States? What can Americans do to halt th...

Can Netanyahu convince Defense Minister Benny Gantz to pull the plug on the current government and become the prime minister in alliance with him? Or will the adage "Fool me once …" keep the ship of state steady?

Former Vice President Mike Pence will discuss the differences in Middle East policy between the Trump and Biden administrations. Topics will include the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Afghanistan. He will be in discussion with Daniel Pipes.

There is much talk of the Taliban’s spectacular victory encouraging Islamists in the Middle East and beyond; one month later, what does the record show? And to what extent has this event repulsed Muslims away from Islamism, as in Morocco, where the Islamist party lost 90 percent of its support?

Published six weeks after 9/11, Martin Kramer’s Ivory Towers on Sand rebuked professors of Middle East studies who championed one failed intellectual orthodoxy after another – even as they missed the real story, such as the rise of Islamism. Have Middle East studies improved or further degenerated since 2001? What can outsiders do to help?

The First Reading of the Budget has passed. Does this mean it's plain sailing ahead for the government?

Xi Jinping's China is quietly but dramatically becoming a power in the Middle East. From oil deals with Saudi Arabia to high-tech investments in Israel, the Chinese Communist Party is involved. How is this changing regional dynamics? What are Beijing’s objectives? And what does this mean in the context of the Sino-American competition?

What follows on the Biden-Bennett meeting? Is there an actual reset to relations between the Democrats and Israel?

The Gaza border is again getting tense, with Hamas launching incendiary balloons into Israel that cause massive fires and the IDF responding with aerial bombings. Palestinian protests and clashes with Israeli forces are a near-everyday occurrence. How best should Israel respond? Will the Israeli government finally work towards victory?

The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan encourages Islamists such as Hamas and Hezbollah while discouraging U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf. What does this surprise development mean for the Jewish state?

As Afghans flee the Taliban, many migrants are heading via Iran and Turkey to Europe. With 3.6 million migrants already registered in Turkey, how will Ankara deal with this new flood? Will Erdoğan again threaten to release migrants to Greece and Bulgaria? How might Europe protect its borders?

After a century as a mid-sized power, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seeks to restore Turkey to something akin to the influence of its Ottoman past. But a rocky road finds Ankara with precious few friends among alienated NATO allies, angry Middle Eastern neighbors, and tensions with Russia and China. Has Erdoğan a chance to succeed or is he heading for a fall?

Perversely, Hezbollah gains from the collapse of Lebanon’s economy and from the rocket attacks against Israel, even though they threaten full-scale war. Can the West take steps to reduce Hezbollah’s power in Lebanon? What can Israel do to protect its interests?

Iran’s recent attacks on U.S. allies, a more hostile new president, the tough JCPOA stance, the apparent race to The Bomb: all these steps suggest the Islamic Republic’s increasingly belligerent foreign policy. Why explains this doubling down and how can Washington best respond?

How well is Israel's government reacting to near-simultaneous attacks from Lebanon and Iran? What are its options?

With the BDS movement again taking center stage with Ben & Jerry’s, how can Israel fight back? A legal counterattack offers the best prospects against those who boycott, divest and sanction Israel and ultimately seek the elimination of the Jewish state.

What does the escalating Iran-Israel proxy war signify? Does the Biden administration's seeming failure to return to the JCPOA imply Iran will soon become a nuclear-threshold state?

Israelis invented the drone but the United States and China have become world leaders, Turkey and Iran regional ones. How have drones transformed the battlefield? How does preeminence in drones affect the region? Can the US and Israeli governments control these weapons?

The Middle East and South Asia and are very distinct regions. But new connections, such as between Israel and India, Turkey and Pakistan, and among Islamist groups, are increasingly affecting them both. What is the current situation, what are the trends, and what are the implications?

The Opposition sees preventing a budget from passing as the best way to bring down Israel's government. What are its chances of success?

Birth rates below replacement level. Immigration inflows. The human landscape in the West is transforming as native peoples shrink, society ages, and the Muslim and other non-Western population grows. Mr. Macarrón explores the consequences and challenges of these changes

In the initial post-Cold War period, the world experienced the warmest peace in human history. What caused this and why did it end? Michael Mandelbaum argues the aggressive nationalist policies of Russia, China, and Iran unraveled the peace and that only genuine democracy can restore it. How is the Biden administration dealing with these threats in general and specifically regarding the Middle Eas...

Richard L. Benkin has spent his career protecting persecuted Hindus and Jews from their common enemy: Islamists and their enablers. What historical parallels and shared value systems serve as a source of solidarity between these ancient religious communities? Already, Jewish Americans rallied for Hindus in Chicago and Hindu Americans held vigils for Israel. Mr. Benkin will discuss the potential of...

Israel’s government is trying to reset key diplomatic relationships, including the American and the EU. How effective is the new leaders' policy of outreach and what are its ramifications?