In this episode, BICOM's Research Associate Samuel Nurding speaks with Lord Eric Pickles, the Parliamentary Chairman (Lords) of the Conservative Friends of Israel, about everything Israeli-related at the Tory party conference, as well as Sally Rooney's decision to join the cultural boycott of Israel, and the UK's position on designating Hamas' political wing, Iran and the JCPOA, and strengthening the Abraham Accords. 

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Episode 162 | The Conservative Party and Israel

Richard Pater was in Dubai and sat down with Dr. Mohammed Baharoon, the Director General of the Dubai Public Policy Research Center. They discuss the progress of the Abraham Accords and the development of bilateral relations between Israel and the UAE. They also discuss the wider regional implications of the accords, whether other countries will join and how they can help foster a two state solution. Dr. Baharoon also shares his perspective on the Iranian role in the region.      

Episode 161 | BICOM in Dubai

Ronie Gazit speaks to Luke Akehurst, the Director of We Believe in Israel, and an elected member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, about the 2021 Labour Party Conference. Luke discusses Keir Starmer’s leadership, foreign policy and his agenda for ridding the party of antisemitism. Luke also discusses the importance of other key members in the party’s leadership, such as Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy and her position towards Israel and the two state solution.

Episode 160 | The Labour Party and Israel

In this episode, Director Richard Pater interviews Dr Moran Zaga on the eve of the one year anniversary of the signing of the Araham Accords. Dr Zaga speaks about the impact the accords has had on the region during its first year, analyses how Israel and its new Gulf partners will look to expand ties in the year ahead, and examine how other regional countries can take advantage of the shifting strategic map of the Middle East.     Dr Zaga is a policy fellow at Mitvim – the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, where she specialises on existing and potential cooperation between Israel and the UAE. She is also a research fellow at the Chaikin Chair for Geostrategy at the University of Haifa.

Episode 159 | The Abraham Accords one year on

Professor Jonathan Rynhold, the Deputy Head of the department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University, speaks about the future of American leadership following its withdrawal from Afghanistan, specifically whether the "American Era" is over in global politics, and the Middle East in particular, or whether the basic coordinates of US leadership will remain in place. His opening remarks were part of a BICOM Webinar held on 9 September 2021.

Episode 158 | What does the withdrawal from Afghanistan mean for the US role in Middle East?

Research Associate Samuel Nurding speaks with Robert Wexler, President of the Washington-based S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace and former Democratic member of Congress from 1997 to 2010. Robert discusses the impact of the first meeting between Prime Minister Bennett and President Biden, as well as the shifting sands of support for Israel within the US Democratic Party and why Michael Herzog is an excellent choice for the next Israeli ambassador to the US.  

Episode 157 | Bennett goes to Washington

Ronie Gazit speaks to retired Brigadier General Assaf Orion about the latest escalation with Lebanon, and the threats from Syria and Iran. Brig Gen Orion explains the background to Palestinian groups responsible for the recent rocket attack from Lebanon.  They discuss whether Hezbollah will further escalate the situation and growing frustration from the Druze community in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah. They also discuss Iran’s malign regional behavior, Israeli-Russian deconfliction in Syria and what more the international community should be doing to stabilise the increasingly volatile situations in Lebanon, Syria and the region as a whole.

Episode 156 | Tensions on Israel’s northern border

Director Richard Pater talks with distinguished historian Professor Gil Troy about the latest developments in Israeli politics. They discuss the true meaning of Ben & Jerry's recent decision to boycott Israeli settlements, assess Foreign Minister Yair Lapid's new agenda to talk about antisemitism and look toward Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's upcoming trip to the US. 

Episode 155 | Gil Troy reflects on Ben & Jerry's and Lapid's antisemitism agenda

In this episode, Research Associate Samuel Nurding and Director Richard Pater discuss the how the new Israeli government is holding up after five weeks in power. Richard also explains how the opposition is acting in new and unprecedented ways, the rivalry emerging between the United Arab List and the opposition-based Joint Arab List, and the potential government-ending obstacles that lay in wait.  

Episode 154 | A scorecard of the government's first five weeks in office

Research Associate Samuel Nurding speaks to Henry Rome, the deputy head of research at the geopolitical risk consultancy firm, the Eurasia Group. Samuel and Henry discuss the state of play at the nuclear talks in Vienna, what Iran's foreign policy may be under President Raisi, and how a return to the JCPOA agreement could impact the balance in the region.

Episode 153 | The future of the JCPOA and Iran under President Raisi

Richard Pater speaks to Elad Simchayoff,  the European correspondent for Israel’s Channel 12 News. Richard and Elad discuss how the Bennett-Lapid government has fared in its first couple weeks in power and what we may expect to see from opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Elad also discusses his experience being an Israeli journalist in London, the growing anti-Israel rhetoric he has seen over the years, covering UK politics for an Israeli audience, and UK-Israel relations more broadly.  

Episode 152 | An Israeli journalist in London

In this episode, BICOM's Samuel Nurding speaks with Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer about the Biden administration's approach to the Middle East. Ambassador Kurtzer draws on his unique experience as the US Ambassador to Israel and Egypt to discuss the US role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the challenges of confronting Iran and reconstruction in Gaza, and Israel's relations with its neighbours in the region. Daniel C. Kurtzer is the S. Daniel Abraham Professor of Middle East Policy Studies at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. During a 29-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, Ambassador Kurtzer served as the United States Ambassador to Israel and as the United States Ambassador to Egypt.

Episode 151 | Understanding Biden's approach to the Middle East with Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer

Ronie Gazit speaks to Brig.-Gen. Michael Herzog about the latest developments regarding the Vienna talks implications for Israel should the US return to the deal. Brig.-Gen. Herzog is a member of the BICOM advisory board and the Israel-based International Fellow of The Washington Institute. Herzog and Ronie discuss the impact of Iran’s presidential election on the nuclear talks in Vienna, what are the most important elements Israel would like to see in a new deal, and the importance of the Iranian threat when it comes to Israel’s relations with Arab countries. Herzog also reflects on the latest escalation between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and what the US, Gulf countries and broader international should do to rebuild Gaza without strengthening Hamas.

Episode 150 | The security challenges facing the new Israeli government

In this episode, BICOM's Director Richard Pater explains the makeup of the new government and its priorities, what we may expect to see in the coming weeks and months, as well as what options Benjamin Netanyahu now has as leader of the Opposition. He takes questions from an audience on a range of other issues regarding the political significance of the new government in Israel. 

Episode 149 | Israel's new government, what now?

In this episode, BICOM's research associate Samuel Nurding speaks to Director Richard Pater about the dramatic events on Wednesday night when Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid informed President Rivlin that he had succeeded in forming a coalition. Richard spoke about why negotiations went down to the wire, explains the structure of the Change Government and some of the key principles that the government will try to adopt, and assesses what next for Netanyahu. 

Episode 148 | Making sense of the new coalition government

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