On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Israel's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Orit Farkash-Hacohen. Israel and the United States started this week a strategic dialogue focused on technological cooperation. The minister explains that "climate change, the covid pandemic, the desertification phenomenon and so many other international and regional issues, are all in essence technological challenges. Even security has become a technological challenge." Farksha-Hacohen says that the Israeli-American technological strategic cooperation plan launched this week builds on that understanding, that national security challenges faced by our two nations and by the world must involve a significant technological pillar if we are to cope with them efficiently. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Knesset member for the Likud party Nir Barkat. The legislator just came back from a tour in the United States, where he campaigned against the Iranian nuclear program. Barkat argues that the Iranians do not hide their desire to annihilate Israel, and thus the international community should not try to conclude any deal with them. "You don't make a deal with someone who wants to take you out of business. They want to destroy Israel, so what kind of a deal can you make with them? Instead of negotiating a deal, we must focus of creating a force that would threaten and deter Iran," says Barkat. He also argues that Tehran cannot be trusted with any kind of agreement, arguing, "they will surely breach the agreement from day one."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Attila Somfalvi, chief anchor at the Israeli Ynet news site and tv channel. Israel is preparing now for its fifth round of elections in less than four years. Somfalvi, a senior political analyst, says Israeli politics and society have deeply changed in the last few years. In the past, the political battle centered on the Palestinian issue, with the Peace Now camp on one side and those advocating against any territorial concessions on the other. This political duel is now gone, replaced by a struggle over the very nature of the state of Israel. The two camps — liberals and right-wingers — are now battling over how Israel's democracy will look like in the coming years. "Opposition leader [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his Likud party no longer hide their ambition to change Israel, starting with its judicial system and judges," explains Somfalvi. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Amir Tibon, who serves as deputy editor for Haaretz' English edition. Tibon, an expert on Israel-US relations, believes that a nuclear deal with Iran is bound to be eventually reached, as it is in the interest of all the world powers involved in the negotiations. Tibon recalls that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried in 2015 to stop the agreement but failed. "Prime Minister [Yair] Lapid, alternate Prime Minister [Naftali] Bennett and Defense Minister [Benny] Gantz have adopted a more realistic policy, of trying to influence the agreement. They are not trying to kill it, but rather shape it so it would be more comfortable for Israel on certain aspects," he explains. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with veteran geologist Yossi Langostsky, considered the founding father of natural gas discoveries off the Israeli coast. Langotsky recounts that the first discovery took place in 1999, when he himself asked for an exploration-drilling permit for gas and oil, deep into Israel's economic waters. Ten years later, actual drilling started, in an area Langotsky labeled the Tamar field, after his eldest granddaughter. The renowned geologist explains that the Tamar field could supply Israel with all the natural gas it needs for a period of 25 years. He also believes there is potential for discovering oil in the same region. Still, such exploration, he says, would require much deeper drillings and much more costly procedures. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Maj. Keren Hajioff, the international spokesperson of Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Haijaoff has been managing relations with foreign media during the recent IDF operation in Gaza. Alongside the exchange of fire on the ground, Israel and Islamic Jihad also fought each other in the media arena. Hajioff explains that winning media battles requires more than the truth. "The difficult part is to make people listen, to make sure that the story goes viral. You have to find a way to get attention for your narrative, in order to amplify the message you want to share," she notes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week to Arkady Mil-man, the head of the Russia program at the Israel National Institute for Security Studies and previously Israel's ambassador to Russia and Azerbaijan. Over the past three weeks, tensions have increased between Moscow and Jerusalem. The reason for the diplomatic crisis is the decision by Russian authorities to stop the activities of the Jewish Agency, tasked with assisting Jews who want to emigrate to Israel. "The crisis over the Jewish Agency today is mostly the result of internal processes in Russia. For the last decade, the atmosphere in Russia became more and more hostile to foreigners, including locals who received support from outside Russia. Adding to this a rise in antisemitism and the war in Ukraine as strong catalyst to hostility towards the West, and we get the crisis we are now witnessing," argues Mil-Man. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman, the managing director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). Hayman previously held a number of senior positions within the IDF, including chief of Military Intelligence. Referring to President Joe Biden's recent visit to Israel, Hayman notes that the American leader clearly demonstrated his warm feelings and deep commitment to Israel, based on common values. "In our neighborhood, in the Middle East, it is very important to have powerful friends that are emotionally connected to you," he noted. Still, Hayman argues that the real achievement lies in the combination of the bilateral agreement between Israel and the US for technological and scientific cooperation, critical for Israeli research, and the Jerusalem Declaration, critical for Israel's campaign against Iran. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week Nadav Tamir, the executive director of J Street Israel. Commenting on US President Joe Biden's visit to the region last week, Tamir welcomed Washington's renewed interest in the Middle East. "I believe the current engagement of Biden with the Saudis is good for Israel. It is good not only from the perspective of those focused on normalization or a united front against Iran, but also on the Palestinian issue." The seasoned diplomat notes that the original idea of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump with the Abraham Accords was to bypass the Palestinians and show that Israel could normalize relations with Arab states without solving the conflict with the Palestinians. Still, Tamir believes that in the end it will actually be normalization that will help solve the Palestinian issue as well.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Ambassador Mark Regev. Having served under several governments, Regev says that US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to Israel will politically serve both the American and the Israeli leaders. "Lapid obviously wants to be seen as a world statesman. Meeting French President Macron last week, and President Biden this week, could fix things visually for [Lapid], making him seen for the first time as an international statesman.” Biden's 2010 visit to Israel as vice president didn't go well, because of Israel's announcement on new housing units to be built in the West Bank. Regev does not expect anything like that this time around. "I think both sides have an interest in making this work. I think we can expect a good visit," he says. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with the former head of the Israel Mossad's Intelligence division, Haim Tomer. Contrary to the IDF, the Mossad holds the view that Israel should not commit to stopping its activities against Iran. Tomer explains that according to the Mossad's estimate, clandestine warfare against Iran could actually accelerate Tehran's receptiveness to an agreement. "The pressure inflicted on Iran makes Iranian leadership more flexible for a possible agreement with the US and the world powers ... Israel must preserve maneuverability [vis-à-vis Iran]," he claims. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit talks this week with Gil Messing, the Chief of Staff and Head of Global Corporate Communications at the Israeli software technologies company Check Point. Messing recounts how his company recently stopped a sophisticated fishing campaign by Iranian hackers, which targeted senior Israeli political and security figures. “We constantly need to be under the assumption that such campaigns, such hacking operations, are taking place as we speak by the Iranians and by others,” he says.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit talks this week with Dr. Shivi Greenfield, Deputy Director General at The Jewish Agency and author of the recently-published Hebrew-language book “Judaism and Liberalism.” Addressing the cleavage in Israel between secular and religious, Orthodox and Liberals, extremists and moderate, Greenfield argues that “the Orthodox assume as granted that the Judaism as they understand it today is the authentic one, from ever. On the other hand, Liberal Jews have very little knowledge on what Judaism says aside of what Orthodox tells them it says.” He says that the great challenge is to make people understand that there is more than one version to Judaism. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Hagit Ofran, co-director of the Settlement Watch Project at the anti-occupation NGO Peace Now. Police recently detained three Peace Now activists who allegedly intended to reach the West Bank outpost of Homesh with a bulldozer in order to demolish the illegal yeshiva operating there. Police also prevented dozens of the Peace Now activists and Meretz Knesset members from demonstrating there. Without the bulldozer campaign, the media and public opinion would have ignored the activists, explains Ofran. "We want to change a bit the language, because the settlers are completely violating the law. They are practically holding the Israeli public and government hostage. They decide where to go and they decide what Israel's security considerations should be," says Ofran. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week on his podcast Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll. The coalition Roll is part of is fragile, with only 60 parliamentarians supporting it at the Knesset, compared with 60 parliamentarians for the opposition. Still, the deputy minister strongly believes in the precedent set by the Bennett-Lapid government — that of true partnership with an Arab party. For him, the success of this alliance is of historical proportions. "We are determined to make it work. Not just for this coalition to hold on, but also for this country of us to have a better future," he notes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Yarden Vatikay, the former director of the national information directorate in the prime minister's office. The senior strategic adviser speaks about the killing of Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh and the ensuing media storm Israel found itself in the midst of, noting that "being in the middle of a storm over international public opinion is not new for Israel. It is somewhat of a routine for the country, to move from a crisis to a crisis, though each crisis is different." Vatikay argues that Israel responded quickly and accurately when it proposed to the Palestinians to hold a joint investigation over Abu Akleh's death. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Dani Dayan, the chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov caused a diplomatic incident with Israel, Ukraine and the Jewish world last week when he claimed that Hitler had Jewish roots. For Dayan, the conspiracy theory advanced by Lavrov was antisemitic by any account. The Yad Vashem head expresses his satisfaction over the reported apology made by Russian President Vladimir Putin for Lavrov's words. Still, he regrets that the apology was not included in the readout published by the Kremlin after Putin's talks with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. "What Lavrov said is what we call an inversion of the Holocaust. The victims suddenly become part, and even the head, of the perpetrators. And this is classic antisemitism."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week to Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz. He notes that his mother survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, while Gantz's father fought in Israel's 1948 Independence War. Gantz, who himself has lost many friends and comrades in the battlefield, says, "We have the privilege, the duty and the honor to continue their legacy, to guarantee Israel's security." Speaking about the biggest threat to Israel's security and existence — the Iranian nuclear program — Gantz notes that Israel is doing it utmost vis-à-vis its partners and allies to improve a possible agreement with Iran, should there ever be one. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week Brig. Gen. (res) Nadav Zafrir, the former commander of the elite IDF 8200 intelligence unit and currently the founder and managing partner of the cyber company Team8. Israel has suffered three terror attacks within the span of only three weeks. Zafrir notes that while these attacks were obviously terrible and tragic, numerous other attacks have been foiled recently via very sophisticated intelligence that IDF unit 8200 members and others in Israel's defense establishment have collected. "It is true that young men unaffiliated directly with terror organizations who suddenly decide to perpetrate terror attacks are creating an almost unprecedented challenge. However, the world has become hyper connected, and the digital footprint of all of us is constantly rising. And so, the best response to these kinds of attacks would probably be based on very sophisticated, relevant and very big data."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Boaz Ganor, the executive director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism and the Ronald S. Lauder Chair for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. Israel has suffered in the past ten days three terror attacks of different types and by different kinds of perpetrators, explains Ganor. He notes that the method to thwart any more attacks should be the same in principle — gathering as much intelligence as possible. He also says that when we are dealing with a lone attacker, as was the case of the first attacks in Beersheba, the intelligence-gathering challenge is obviously much more complex. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week Col. (res.) Ofer Haruvi. After 20 years as a pilot in Israel's air force, Haruvi co-founded FlightOps, a startup which develops operation systems for drones. Haruvi argues that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are changing modern battlefields. "Each conflict, we see more and more UAVs. Their performance is getting better, they are more integrated into military operations, and therefore their impact on the battlefield is more significant and visible. No military operations today are conducted without UAVs. What we also see now, is that less-sophisticated armies also using them, and even irregular organizations and paramilitary groups." Haruvi notes that drones are now used for most missions. In the past, armies used them mostly for intelligence-collection. Now, however, drones are becoming weapon systems on their own. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Dr. Alon Liel, former Director General of Israel's Foreign Ministry and former Israeli ambassador to Ankara. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just finished addressing the Israeli parliament via Zoom, calling on the Jewish state to help his country. Liel says he was surprised to see that Zelenskyy's speech indicated that Ukraine and Israel have very different impressions over the role Jerusalem has been playing so far in this conflict. "Zelensky attacked the Israeli neutrality, Israeli attempts to mediate [vis-à-vis Russia], he attacked Israel for not helping Ukraine militarily, and he attacked Israel for not joining the economic sanctions…During these past three weeks, [Israel] had the impression that Ukraine wants us to mediate. That they had asked us to do so. Also, we did not hear until now a direct request for us to supply them with weapons."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week former Knesset member Ksenia Svetlova, who grew up in Russia and later made Israel her home. Noting that she still feels shock at the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Svetlova said she keeps herself busy by helping people to evacuate and by writing about what is happening. "I think this policy of Israel of sitting on both chairs, not taking sides, is not justified. It was not justified in 2014 [with the Russian annexation of Crimea], and it is not justified now, when there are many thousands of Jews, millions of Ukrainians, who are being murdered in their homes, while sitting in shelters, or while trying to evacuate," she says. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Israel's most prominent high-tech entrepreneur, former Knesset member Erel Margalit. Reacting on the current Ukraine crisis, Margalit warns that the dictatorial camp is also carrying out cyber attacks, which is why Israel must be a resolute partner to other free democracies fighting in this field, "especially as Israel is the second-strongest country in the world in cyber security warfare." While Margalit understands the Israeli need for coordinating with Russia in the Middle East, he is convinced that "every young Israeli who lives in a democracy, who cherishes the democracy, who wants to see people protected, needs to speak up, and the government needs to stop playing game and speak up clearly again the aggression of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Yaki Dayan, Israel's former Consul General in Los Angeles and an expert on Israel-US relations. Dayan comments on reports about Prime Minister Naftali Bennett talking Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone, offering for Israel to mediate the conflict. "Bennett truly believes he can negotiate, because he got the phone call from [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky. Zelensky wants to see the negotiations taking place outside of the zones of influence of Russia. Having said that, I do not think Putin would accept Bennett's offer, because he does not want negotiations. He wants to see the white flag waved."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan D. Halevi, who currently serves as senior Middle East researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Commenting on the unprecedented decision by the head of the Islamic Ra'am party Mansour Abbas last May to join the ruling coalition, Halevi says that from Abbas' perspective, this decision legitimizes Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. "Analyzing Abbas' statements over the last decade, one can see he is guided by two principles, pragmatism and Islamism," says Halevi. Abbas had said very clearly, even after joining the coalition, that he bases his political agenda on Islam. Inspired by Prophet Muhammed, Abbas, he argues, also strived to create an alliance with the Jews.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week Anat Ben David, a specialist in communication and professor at the Open University of Israel. Talking about the internal-Israel Pegasus scandal, Ben David says that "cyber-attack tools like NSO's Pegasus software are in fact unconventional weapons. Their use deeply undermines a large number of human rights, and no state authority should be allowed to use them against its citizens in democratic regimes, or in any regimes for that matter." For her, what is most worrisome in this affair is the prevailing sentiment within Israeli society that the use of Pegasus by police should be condemned only if carried out without a prior court order. She believes that police should not be allowed to use these tools, which endanger democracies and violate human rights. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Brig. Gen. (res.) Assaf Orion. The senior research fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) explains that the US is not responding strongly to attacks against the Emirates by Iran and its proxies. It does not make them pay. "And so, Iran and its proxies feel empowered and notch up their aggression. This situation brings the other countries in the region to seek other ways to mitigate the threat. The first way would be diplomacy and decreasing the conflict, but also building up military forces and enhancing military cooperation with others. Israel's capabilities are very relevant in these fields. It is perceived as an important asset in the game of regional security."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Gen. (ret.) Ephraim Sneh, a geopolitical expert and former minister. While the current government did change some of its approach to the Palestinians, it is not really presenting any new policies on the issue, argues Sneh. Only one third of the coalition is against the two-state solution. The rest are in favor of it. Still, the government had not prevented provocative settlement attempts in the West Bank. These include enlarging settlements around Jerusalem in order to separate the city from the area that is supposed to be a Palestinian state. "Meeting senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [the way Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz did] is not enough in order to rectify the policies of the former government," he says, noting this by itself will not prevent the situation from deteriorating into an ethnic conflict. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with veteran attorney Amit Becher about the possibility of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signing a plea bargain in order to escape prison time. The chairman of the Tel Aviv District of the Israeli Bar Association argues that even though Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit leaves office at the end of the month, Netanyahu still has enough time to reach such a deal. "If Netanyahu agrees to the conditions proposed, the technical/legal part could be wrapped up quickly. It is not a complex agreement," he says. Having said that, he notes that in the broader sense, this could prove to be much more complicated. "You must take into account the personality of the defendant Netanyahu, as well the necessity to agree on very specific wordings in which the former premier pleads guilty to some of the charges," says Becher. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, who was one of the main architects of the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians. Beilin is pessimistic about the government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett launching any sort of talks with the Palestinians. “Since 2014, when the Secretary of State John Kerry-initiated talks stopped, we don't have any peace process. I am sure that eventually we will have such process — I hope so. But I don't know when talks will be renewed, since on the Israeli side there is no partner.” Beilin adds that “the non-partner is saying very clearly for the first time in many years that he does not even intend to meet with the other side.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Eytan Schwartz, who heads the Tel Aviv Municipality Media and Communications Department. Schwartz and his colleagues at the municipality dissociate themselves from the term “The State of Tel Aviv,” which implies that Tel Aviv residents allegedly do not carry the burden of Israeli society and are removed from the difficulties and challenges other Israelis cope with. Schwartz says that such a judgmental approach is unjustified. “In Tel Aviv, we feel part of Israeli society and part of the Israeli mosaic.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, currently the director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center. Kuperwasser, who previously headed the strategic affairs ministry and also the IDF research division, is considered a top expert on Iran's nuclear program. Kuperwasser says that, from Israel's point of view, none of the current options regarding the Iranian nuclear program are good. “The option that should have been up for discussion – a better, longer, stronger agreement, that guarantees that Tehran will not be able to produce nuclear weapons in the future – this option is currently not on the table,” he laments. Given this reality, Kuperwasser argues that the only option Israel can hope for is the collapse of talks. A return to the original nuclear deal will offer Iran, in ten-years-time, the possibility to construct a whole arsenal of nuclear weapons. In contrast, without an agreement, Iran will strive to become a nuclear threshold country, aiming for one nuclear bomb, he explains. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week on his podcast Israeli diplomatic correspondent Barak Ravid of Channel 13 News and Axios. Ravid just published his first book, which is about the Trump and Netanyahu era and the Abraham Accords. "For me, the Abraham Accords were really the biggest break-through in Middle East peace in 25 years, and I wanted to be the person to first write as detailed-as-possible account of how these accords came about," he says. Ravid thinks former President Donald Trump, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed are the people who deserve the most credit for them.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On his podcast this week, Ben Caspit hosts Brig. Gen. (res) Prof. Jacob Nagel, the former Israeli acting National Security Advisor. The ups and downs in the talks conducted these days in Vienna, says Nagel, are not real drama. These are well-orchestrated stories that the Iranians are running, with all the climax points fixed well in advance. Nagel explains that the way things stand now, there is no returning to the 2015 nuclear agreement, adding, “Even the Biden administration's special envoy on Iran, Robert Malley, understands that.” The reason, he says, is that the mistakes made at the time enabled the Iranians to advance their nuclear ambitions over the years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Dr. Raz Zimmt, an expert on Iran at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). Zimmt says that the strategy espoused at the time by then-President Donald Trump and then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against Iran was obviously flawed, as it did not reach its objectives. While it's true that Iran's economy was severely harmed, that was the means, not the goal. Iran's nuclear policy did not change and the regime was not replaced. Or to be more exact, the policy changed in the wrong direction, as far as the US and Israel are concerned. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Yonatan Adiri, a leading Israeli digital healthcare entrepreneur. Adiri, a former adviser of late President Shimon Peres, explains that most of Israel's startup leadership is avantgarde, pushing forward visions for the next internet wave. "Companies like Wix or Fiverr or Mymed, and so many other across biotech, across bioinformatics, across infrastructure, all these companies are building the tools for the future," he notes. Adiri adds that those who control the tools for the future, like cyber and software service companies, are the ones likely to win, and this is precisely what current Israeli tech is doing. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg. The minister explains that while Israel is a small country in terms of population and its contribution to global pollution, it is also very fragile in terms of the effects of climate change such as bush fires and floods. The latter are expected to increase heavily in the upcoming years, which is why Israel must react rapidly. Zandberg says that Israel must now invest most of its resources not in looking for more natural gas marine fields, but in developing renewable energy resources, with emphasis on solar energy. "We have to do this very quickly, because we are way, way behind," she notes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Lt. Col. (res.) Peter Lerner, the former director of international media at the IDF's spokesperson's office. Commenting on Israel's repeated failures in the field of public diplomacy, Lerner says that “In Israel, we are very good at improvising, we are fantastic with innovation, but public accountability, responsibility and transparency are limited. We do have a hard case to make, but we can also do better on public diplomacy.” Lerner cites as a negative example the case of Israel's ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely, recently attacked by BDS activists when coming out of a university lecture. For Lerner, immediately after the incident, Hotovely failed to enter into a “media-crisis-mode,” and she also focused her reactions on Israeli media, instead of addressing primarily the British press.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week on his podcast David Makovsky, the Ziegler distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Commenting on recent signs of tensions between Washington and Jerusalem on the Palestinian issue and other topics, Makovsky says that “We have a situation where both President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett have an understanding, to try to maintain a public sense of harmony and avoid airing dirty laundry in public. An understanding on both sides to keep disagreements private.” Makovsky further notes that while rooting for the Bennett-led government and hailing its success in passing Israel's state budget, the US administration is now concerned it could take moves it could not have taken otherwise. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Geneva Initiative-Israel Director General Gadi Baltiansky. Commenting on the recent decision by Israeli authorities to advance construction of homes in West Bank settlements, Baltiansky says that "the Americans don't want a confrontation with the Israeli government, and vice-versa. The US administration still senses relief over [former Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu being out of the game, and they know that the Bennet-Lapid government is the only alternative." For Baltiansky, as long as there are no dramatic steps on the ground, the Americans won't engage seriously and deeply with this issue. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week Alon Ben David, the senior military analyst for Channel 13 news. Ben David says that "in 2012 Israel abandoned practicing and preparing for a viable military option [to attack Iran]. Netanyahu was responding to requests made by the American administration at the time. Now the Israeli army is back to doing what it should have done long ago, namely preparing an option to be presented for the Israeli decision-makers." Still, he emphasizes that Israel's military options vis-à-vis the Iranian nuclear program are very, very limited. "The ability to launch a strike that would stop the Iranian nuke program, like the strike in Iraq in 1981 or the strike in Syria in 2007, is almost non-existent."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit talks this week to Dr. Eyal Zisser of Tel Aviv University. Zisser, an expert on Syria and Lebanon, reacts to recent incidents in Beirut, noting that while Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah is strong, he also has his own constraints and sources of weakness — particularly since not all the Shiites in Lebanon are following him. Zisser addresses the possibility of a civil war breaking out again in Lebanon, estimating that like in Syria, this could present a tactical threat to Israel, but not a strategic one. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week on his podcast Professor Eviatar Matania of Tel-Aviv University, who has played a key role in turning Israel into a world cyber power. The book he coauthored recently with Amir Rapaport, titled Cybermania, has created a stir in Israel and elsewhere. Matania explains that in this domain, Israel is a real player, not just per capita, but in absolute numbers. “Forty percent of global private investments in cyber reach Israel, and one third of the unicorn companies belong to Israelis. These are real numbers of a global power,” he notes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Shmuel Rosner, the political editor of the Jewish Journal and a long-time contributor to the New York Times. Rosner says that the recent meeting in New York of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett with leaders of the American Jewish community was successful, first and foremost because they were happy to meet an Israeli prime minister who isn't Benjamin Netanyahu. Referring to the strained relations that prevailed between Netanyahu and parts of the American Jewish community, Rosner says that “the leaders of the American Jewry are hoping that a fresh start [with Bennett] means getting rid of the illness that disrupted Israel-diaspora relations in the last decade.” Rosner adds that “Bennett's message of reconciliation, his message concerning state and religious affairs in Israel, his message concerning a more pluralistic type of government, a more pluralistic type of Israeli society, all these are messages that are fairly easy to communicate to an American crowd, and the Jewish leaders indeed welcomed these messages.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Channel 12's diplomatic correspondent Dana Weiss. The senior analyst comments about Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appearing on Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2021. What is amazing, she notes, is not that Bennett was included in the list, but rather that Arab politician Mansour Abbas would be the one to endorse him. "This is practically science fiction, to think that this could have happened. That this leader of an extreme right party and of the settlers, would be endorsed by someone that until the last elections was considered almost as an outcast in Israeli politics," she notes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit hosts this week Israel's former ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. Ambassador Oren explains that while former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approach made the Iranian threat an Israeli issue, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is trying to internationalize it again. Still, Oren says that Israel must also remind the international community that it has the right and the historic duty to defend itself, and that it will take action should Iran try to break out towards a nuclear weapon. "We should be repeating that over and over again, as loudly as possible and at every possible forum," he notes. Ambassador Oren argues that the US does not necessarily need to choose between diplomacy and war against Iran, and that a military operation by heavy bombers against Iran would not necessarily mean war. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Professor Yossi Shain, an international expert on political science who recently left the academic world to join Israeli politics. The new member of the Knesset from Yisrael Beitenu says that after the United States' painful withdrawal from Afghanistan, it must now reevaluate and determine American interests in the region. It also must reposition itself as a superpower vis-à-vis China. "Now, the administration has the opportunity to sit with the Israelis, their major allies who are also well equipped on intelligence, and really understand the risks, the advantages and the disadvantages the Middle East presents," he says.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit talks this week with Moty Cristal, CEO and founder of NEST Consulting. Lt. Col. (res) Cristal, who served in the past as a negotiator and adviser in the prime minister's office, comments on the Aug. 27 meeting between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. According to Cristal, "The chemistry between the two leaders was good because Bennett really came prepared and humble." He further explains that Bennett approached the meeting with a lot of respect to the gap in age and experience vis-à-vis Biden, almost as a son to his father. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Maya Jacobs, who heads Israeli NGO Zalul Environmental Association. For Jacobs, even though the new cabinet calls itself the government of change, no real change has been seen on environmental issues and no real commitment was made to addressing the dangers of climate change. "Despite having new governments in the US and in Israel, our government here keeps proving that climate change does not really interest it," she says. She feels that the new government is actually reducing the responsibilities of the ministry for environmental protection, instead of increasing its domain of authority. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben speaks this week with Maj. (res.) Danny Citrinowicz, one of Israel's most notable experts on Iran, its proxies in the region and its nuclear ambitions. Citrinowicz refers to the barrage of 19 rockets fired by Hezbollah against Israel last Friday. He explains that Hezbollah's main concern in general is the deterrence equation with Israel. Hezbollah's leadership now worries that Israel might exploit the growing insecurity in Lebanon to further attack the group, "especially after recent statements by Israeli seniors over pre-emptive strikes against Hezbollah's precise-missile facilities."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.