Middle East Forum Podcast

Iran and Turkey seek hegemony over the Middle East. In response, nearly every other functioning state of the region, from Morocco to Saudi Arabia, is working together to stop them. This rivalry has immense consequences, overshadowing the Arab-Israeli conflict and changing the role of the great powers. How is the battle going and what are the prospects for Turkey’s and Iran’s attempts at hegemony?

With their income down, expenses up, and many questions about the campus-based model of education due to COVID-19, universities have turned to the government for emergency funding. In response, MEF’s Campus Watch advocates making any such funding contingent on major reforms to the politicized departments, centers, and programs that indoctrinate rather than educate. Winfield Myers will outline a pl...

Israel just registered the largest single per capita percentage increase of COVID-19 cases of any country in the world, with the ultra-Orthodox Jews and the Arabs dominating the infections. Could Serbia and Kosovo moving their embassies to Jerusalem dampen anger against Israel's leaders who are facing growing criticism over a failure over this and also a foundering economy?

Israel's shaky coalition government has won another 120 days of life: Will it use this to prepare for another round of elections or to respond forcefully to threats from near, make peace from afar, always with an eye on the US elections?

While Islamists in America have long targeted Jews and Israel, they’ve recently expanded their scope to Hindus and India. Building on their experience in promoting anti-Semitism, Islamists are waging a sophisticated media and lobbying effort that espouses support for South Asian terrorist groups, whitewashes attacks on Hindus, and seeks to undermine U.S.-India relations. What factors motivate this...

South Asian Muslims comprise a one-quarter of all first-generation Muslim immigrants in the United States and one-sixth of America’s total Muslim population, with the largest number coming from Pakistan. Despite their minority numbers, South Asian Muslims have an outsized U.S. role, raising several questions: how did this come to pass, will it continue, and what are its implications? Where have th...

With immediate elections apparently averted, how will this affect the Israeli government's dealing with the economy, security, the neighbors, and Washington?

In 2014, David Brog wrote a pathbreaking article in the Middle East Quarterly arguing that “more and more [Evangelical] Christians are turning against the Jewish state” due to increased solidarity with the Palestinians. What are recent trends, where do matters stand six years later, and what steps can be taken?

How does a believing Muslim go from Islamism to an anti-Islamism? Zuhdi Jasser, who personally went through this evolution, provides insight into the key milestones of his transition, then explains how he made those insights integral to the work of the organization he founded in 2003, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. What are his essential steps to encourage fellow Muslims to reject Islam...

What impact will the opening of official ties with the UAE and 'suspension' of the planned annexation have on domestic Israeli politics?

Since 2011, when Palestinian Media Watch exposed the Palestinian Authority giving cash rewards to terrorists, the U.S. and Israeli governments have tried to end this practice. While efforts like the 2018 Taylor Force Act and similar Israeli legislation punished the PA with a substantial drop in income, it failed to end pay-for-slay. Efforts are now underway to sanction the funds’ distributor, the...

Islamic Relief, the largest Islamist charity in the world, has a major presence in the United States and Europe. But charity is not it’s only mission. The Muslim Brotherhood-founded organization is banned in Israel and the United Arab Emirates due its ties to terrorism; Bangladesh has blocked it from working with Rohingya refugees for similar reasons. When, last month, a British newspaper uncovere...

If no budget is passed within two weeks, Israel’s government is automatically dissolved and another round of elections takes place. Is this government doomed or can the coalition partners muddle through?

Revolutionaries have challenged nearly every Middle Eastern regime since 2010. What are the factors that galvanize demonstrators? What explains why some countries escape unrest (e.g., Saudi Arabia and Morocco), why some regimes succumb to protestors (e.g., Tunisia and Egypt) while others either repress them (e.g., Iran) or find themselves embroiled in civil wars (e.g., Libya and Syria)? Which Midd...

Islamism makes utopian promises which repeatedly have failed. Coming against the background of several centuries of Muslim humiliation, this results in increasing discontent. One symptom are the growing numbers of Muslims becoming agnostics, atheists, or converting to other faiths, especially Christianity. What does this mean for the future of Islam?

On September 30, 2011, a drone strike killed leading terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. For years prior, al-Awlaki preached hate in the United States with impunity, and the government failed to act. Others have followed in his footsteps. Ahnaf Kalam will discuss examples of Imams across the United States spreading a similar message of violence and hate. Can the government do anything to stop this...

Jihadis who presented themselves as refugees to infiltrate the European Union have engaged in many attacks, including the November 2015 attack in Paris, killing 130. Todd Bensman’s just-completed study of these migrant-terrorists sheds light on their numbers, characteristics, and tactics; it also finds that the United States is vulnerable. Based on the European experience, Mr. Bensman offers ideas...

The economy takes center stage in Israel as thousands take to the streets and the government cannot agree on a budget. Of all issues, could this - and not COVID-19, annexation, or Netanyahu's court cases - be the one that drags the country back to elections?

From providing Hezbollah with a platform to fueling the growth of al-Qaeda and ISIS, Middle Eastern news media has spread the message of jihadis since 9/11. The U.S. government pushed back in 2004 with the Alhurra network. Alberto Fernandez, the recent head of Alhurra’s holding company, witnessed first hand the great media battles. Have moderates begun winning the battle? What can Americans do to...

Israel is in the depths of a second wave of COVID-19, with prospects looking ever dimmer. With an already battered economy, how will this problem affect government decisions?

The French population was ten times that of Algeria’s when France conquered Algeria in 1830. Today, their size is near parity and Algerian immigrants have changed the fabric of French society. Michel Gurfinkiel discusses France’s future in light of these current demographic trends and offer thoughts on addressing the Africanization of France.

July 1st marks Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's date set to start annexing parts of the West Bank. But will this happen? Either way, what will be the domestic, regional and international reactions?

The half-ton of files cataloguing Iranian efforts to develop a nuclear weapon that Mossad removed from a Tehran warehouse in January 2018 continue to shape the discussion of Iran’s nuclear program. The covert archive contained much information that contradicts longstanding assumptions about Iran’s nuclear program by revealing additional nuclear facilities, equipment, and activities previously unkn...

From the time he became the mufti of Jerusalem in 1921, Amin al-Husseini (1897-1974) became the most toxic enemy of Jews. He initiated Palestinian rejectionism, had an important role in Hitler’s Final Solution, gave sanctuary to Nazis and loosed them against a nascent Israel, and urged the Muslim Brotherhood to fight Zionists. Even after his death his influence on Palestinians is still felt. Will...

With the US Administration meeting to decide the future of annexation, and Prime Minister Netanyahu putting down markers in case of another election, this is a crucial week in Israeli politics. What is being planned and what will it mean for the short and medium term?