Podcasts about aluf benn

Join Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn in conversation with Patt Morrison for a critical discussion on Israel's ongoing crisis. As part of the America at a Crossroads Israel in Crisis Briefing series, Benn provides expert analysis on the latest developments in Israel, including military strategy, political shifts, and regional tensions.From the impact of the war in Gaza to the evolving relationship between Israel and the United States, this briefing delivers key insights into the challenges facing Israel today.Aluf Benn has been the Editor in Chief of Haaretz, the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, since 2011. Haaretz is now published in both Hebrew and English. Aluf Benn holds an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a degree from Tel Aviv University. At Haaretz, Benn has served as an investigative reporter and head of the news division. His articles have been published in a variety of international newspapers, including The New York Times, The Guardian, Foreign Affairs and Newsweek. 

In this special year-end episode, we take an in-depth look at the seismic events that shaped Israel in 2024 through the conversations on the Haaretz Podcast. It was a year in which the shadow of October 7, 2023 and its aftermath - the death and destruction in Gaza, the hostages still held by Hamas, unprecedented fighting between Israel and Hezbollah - loomed large with the nation grappling with its most devastating multi-front war in decades. Featuring excerpts from interviews with newsmakers and the analysis and insights of expert Haaretz journalists, we explore Israel’s journey through 2024 and its series of dramatic events and ask what has been learned - or not learned - from this ongoing crisis? The episode includes conversations with Ambassador Dennis Ross, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Jonathan Dekel-Chen - the father of an American-Israeli hostage in Gaza, and Haaretz journalists Aluf Benn, Amos Harel, Sheren Falah Saab, Amir Tibon, Ben Samuels and Dahlia Scheindlin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since 2011, Aluf Benn has been the Editor in Chief of Haaretz, thelongest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. Haaretz,founded in 1918, describes itself as “an independent daily newspaperwith a broadly liberal outlook both on domestic issues and oninternational affairs.” Aluf Benn holds an MBA degree from theKellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and adegree from Tel Aviv University. At Haaretz, Benn has served as aninvestigative reporter and head of the news division. His articles havebeen published in a variety of international newspapers, including theNY Times, The Guardian, Foreign Affairs and Newsweek. He is ahighly respected journalist and an astute observer and analyst of thewar in Gaza, of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and the broader politicsof the Middle East.Benn will be in conversation with award winning NPR broadcastjournalist Madeleine Brand.

Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn understands the incredulity abroad regarding the political survival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his grip on power despite the failures of October 7, terrible poll numbers, thousands of Israelis in the streets protesting weekly and his policies creating unprecedented tensions with the United States. In the second in a series of special podcast episodes in which subscribers from around the world were given the opportunity to ask questions, Benn emphasized in his responses Netanyahu isn't going away anytime soon. "Netanyahu did lose a lot of his popularity after October 7 - and rightly so. But he has been able to hold on to his coalition. And there is no sign of any imminent collapse of this coalition, or any cracks within it that might bring him down." Benn noted while answering a range of questions on security and political issues. "We have to bear in mind that while his government is unpopular, it's leading a very popular policy. There is very strong support in the Israeli Jewish society to continue the war until the defeat of Hamas and hopefully also of Hezbollah, the return of Israelis to live along the borders in the south and the north, and a more quiet future." Worryingly, Benn points out that the only clear-cut vision for post-war Gaza without Hamas rule is a long-term occupation of Gaza, coming from the the government's far right flank, with tacit cooperation from Netanyahu.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode of the Haaretz Podcast features two of the standout sessions from the recent Haaretz-UCLA conference: Israel After October 7  First, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman sits down with Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn to discuss the “perils” and “opportunities” that lie ahead for Israel in the aftermath of the war in Gaza.  Friedman predicts that "Israel is either going to come out of this with a new relationship with the Palestinians in 2024” or will “go back to 1947-48 with new weapons,” if it fails to develop a coherent vision for the future of Gaza and a wider strategic plan for the region. The latter option, he fears, becomes increasingly likely the longer that the extreme right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - a group of “incompetent” leaders he would not want “as waiters at my grandson's bar mitzvah” remains in power. Then, Haaretz diplomatic correspondent Amir Tibon and his father retired Major General Noam Tibon join deputy editor-in-chief of Haaretz English, Maya Lecker, to recount the dramatic episode on October 7 when armed Hamas militants infiltrated Kibbutz Nahal Oz, where Amir lives. He, his wife, and their two little girls spent tense hours locked in their safe room without food or electricity, before Amir's father undertook what he called "the mission of his life" and drove south in a daring campaign to rescue them on his own. "On the morning of October 8, I said that everyone responsible for this failure, the biggest failure in the history of the state of Israel, needs to go," Noam Tibon said, echoing Thomas Friedman's message - that Israel needs a change in leadership. "The leadership of the IDF, the Shin Bet – they took responsibility and I know they will go. All of the government too. But the first one who needs to take responsibility is Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister. I believe that Netanyahu is personally in charge of this failure, he basically developed Hamas as an asset. He needs to go as soon as possible." The entire conference is available for viewing on YouTube here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A year ago, protests began to rock Israel. For months, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to weaken the country's Supreme Court. Then came Hamas's attack on October 7, and everything changed. “The war has caught Israel at perhaps its most divided moment in history,” writes Aluf Benn in a new piece for Foreign Affairs. Benn, the editor of Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, argues that Netanyahu worked to divide Israeli society with policies that put the country on track for disaster. He spoke to Foreign Affairs Executive Editor Justin Vogt on February 27. You can find transcripts and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.

As Ukraine prepares to mark two years of war, many in the country are wrestling with the absence and loss of their loved ones on the front. Christiane reports from a military cemetery in the western city of Lviv to speak with some of the bereaved.  Also on today's show: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba; Jonathan Glazer, Director, "The Zone of Interest"; Aluf Benn, Editor-in-Chief, Haaretz  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Fareed speaks with Yaroslav Trofimov, the Wall Street Journal's chief foreign affairs correspondent, to discuss a major shake-up in Ukraine's military leadership amidst a new approach to the war. Will it change the state of battle? Next, Aluf Benn, Haaretz editor-in-chief, joins the show to discuss the sentiment on the ground in Israel, the strengths and weaknesses of President Netanyahu's coalition, and why he thinks the war is "Israel's self-destruction". Then, Randa Slim, the director of Conflict Resolutions Program at the Middle East Institute, talks to Fareed about the outcry in Iraq over the U.S. strike on a senior leader of a pro-Iranian militia in Baghdad. Might it spark an expulsion of U.S. forces from Iraq? Next, Fareed ask New York Times chief political analyst Nate Cohn why an improving economy doesn't seem to be helping President Biden's poll numbers. Finally, Jared Cohen, author of "Life after Power", sits down with Fareed to discuss how former presidents find purpose after leaving the Oval Office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israel's reality transformed overnight this weekend and what looks like a major war is unfolding. Events are progressing rapidly, so in this week's Haaretz podcast, editor in chief of Haaretz, Aluf Benn, and Haaretz senior analyst Yossi Melman explain in conversation with Allison Kaplan Sommer how a country that has prided itself with having the best intelligence in the world was hit hard by an unprecedented surprise attack from the Gaza Strip. Benn says the Hamas orchestrated attack – that has already claimed the lives of over 600 Israelis - was a "total surprise," and that "there was no intelligence indicating anything remotely like this." Even though there was a sense that Israel's enemies would take advantage of its inner rifts, "none of the warnings included anything similar to what happened yesterday." According to Benn, "This is the worst blow to Israel in any war, since 1948, and of any terrorist attacks inside Israel or abroad. In 1973 Israel was taken by surprise, but the fighting took place far away from civilians. Now this is first and foremost an attack against civilians, and for the first time we have dozens of military prisoners of war and civilians taken hostage in Gaza. People are desperately trying to find out what happened to their family members. We know people, friends, that have children who are missing or dead. It's a very sad, unprecedented situation for all of us." Melman addresses the "huge failure" of Israel's Intelligence. "When you talk to people in the intelligence community, they are confused, they are puzzled, they don't know what happened. They have no explanation," he says. "Certainly it was a huge failure, Israel has been prided with having the best intelligence in the world, and the intelligence failed. For many Israelis, what happened on Saturday, 50 years and one day after the Yom Kippur War started, is reminiscent of the same failure. But there is a big difference: Before the war in 1973, the intelligence was there. Israel had a lot of pieces of intelligence but didn't know how to read it or didn't want to analyze it in the correct way. This time there was nothing." The Gaza Strip is an area Israel was supposedly watching very closely, so having hundreds of militants cross into Israel on a holiday morning was unimaginable. "It's a failure of the military intelligence, it's a failure of the domestic security service - the Shin Bet – both the organizations have the technological means to listen to the other side, to recruit agents for human intelligence. It's a huge machine of intelligence gathering that didn't function." Looking forward, both Benn and Melman think the wounds will take years to heal. "It's going to take time for the public to realize what happened," Benn says. "We are talking about hundreds of bereaved families, hundreds of hostage families, it's still unthinkable. I'm hearing horrible stories from people I know."    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Open Season on Left Wing Demonstrators by Right Wing Vigilantes Sanctioned by Self Defense Laws and Now Considered Heroes | Build Back Better Now in the Hands of Senator Joe Manchin | The Editor-in-chief of Haaretz on the UCLA Conference on Israel's National Security backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Aluf Benn, Noa Landau and Anshel Pfeffer to discuss the 15-day war between Israel and Gaza, the cease fire that ended it and the immediate implications for Israel, the region and the world. We ask: Is there any chance of meaningful change? What is the significance of the internecine violence between Jews and Palestinians inside Israel? And will ‘Bibi fatigue’ end the electoral impasse that has paralyzed the Israeli government for so long? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Noa Landau, Aluf Benn and Anshel Pfeffer for a morning-after discussion on the interim results of the U.S. presidential election. Why could a second-term President Trump be a bigger headache for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than a Biden presidency? How should American Jews feel about tens of millions of their compatriots voting for a candidate who courts neo-Nazis? And can center-left candidates ever defeat their populist-nationalist rivals? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn and senior correspondent Anshel Pfeffer for a post-Rosh Hashanah, mid-lockdown episode. On the agenda: How did Israel became the first country to impose a second coronavirus lockdown? Is Naftali Bennett the leader to extricate the country from the pandemic quagmire? Will competence – for the first time in Israeli history – be the key issue in the next election? And what kind of 'October surprise' is the most unpredictable president in American history planning  for the Middle East? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn and correspondent Judy Maltz. In Part One, Aluf discusses the 'crime minister' protests against Benjamin Netanyahu, the optics of the PM's million-shekel tax refund, the arrest of a decorated Air Force commander, and why Bibi isn't to blame for the spike in new coronavirus cases in Israel. In Part Two, Judy comments on an unprecedented decision to take a proselytizing evangelical television channel off the air, the chaotic state of Nefesh B'Nefesh and how Israel is still importing coronavirus cases.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn to discuss on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, prime minister-in-waiting Benny Gantz’s great betrayal and how their coalition could annex parts of the West Bank to help U.S. President Donald Trump get reelected. In Part II, Haaretz’s senior editor for science and archaeology, Ruth Schuster, discusses the coronavirus crisis, its impact on the environment and whether Israel is rushing to ease the lockdown.

Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn and senior correspondent Anshel Pfeffer join host Simon Spungin for a final pre-election podcast. What, if anything, can oust Benjamin Netanyahu from the Prime Minister’s Office? Will Israeli voters finally deliver a decisive election result, or are we heading for a fourth election? Which of the parties will stick to their pre-election promises and which betray their voters? And, once the dust has settled on this election, how does Netanyahu plan to defeat his main rival and his potential nemesis – the Israeli justice system?

Joining host Simon Spungin for Episode 50 is Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn, who looks back on a tempestuous week in Israeli politics, following the attorney general's decision to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, breach of trust and fraud. We ask: Is the end for Netanyahu? Can he survive an internal challenge to his leadership of Likud? Who are the frontrunners to replace him? And could he possibly win the seemingly inevitable third election and be tasked with forming a government? Also, we find a silver lining: the current caretaker government is so disorganized that legislation allowing for the sacred status quo in religious-secular relations to be broken could make its way through the Knesset.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn, for a wide-ranging discussion on the upcoming Israeli election. We discuss speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump could provide Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a pre-election diplomatic gift, whether Ayman Odeh can galvanize Arab voters and whether Haaretz has the resources to fact-check everything said by politicians in the run-up to September 17.

With just hours to go before voting begins in one of the closest, bitterest and most contentious elections in recent Israeli history, host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn and columnist Anshel Pfeffer. Is there nothing that Bibi won't do, say or promise to remain in power? Will a coalition of former allies, from across the political spectrum, join forces to push Netanyahu out? And what do the prime minister's recent comments about annexing parts of the West Bank really mean? Follow Haaretz Weekly on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a snap general election for early April – despite apparently having staved off previous threats to the stability of his coalition. In this breaking news edition of Haaretz Weekly, editor-in-chief Aluf Benn speculates on the logic behind the prime minister's timing and says that, by holding an election seven months earlier than expected, Netanyahu has potentially deflected two of the main threats to him winning a fifth term as prime minister: possible criminal charges for corruption, bribery and breach of trust – and an American peace plan which could be impossible for his supporters to swallow.

On this week's edition of Haaretz Weekly, host Simon Spungin talks to Dina Kraft about the Midterm elections in the United States, billed by many as a referendum on President Donald Trump. We discuss the massive mobilization effort by Jewish organizations – especially targeting college students, who are traditionally unlikely to vote in Midterms. We also look back on a week of mourning in Pittsburgh, following the shooting attack that killed 11 Jewish worshipers.   In Part 2, we chat to Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn about the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the 23rd anniversary of which was marked on Saturday with a mass rally in Tel Aviv. Aluf explains why Rabin may have been the last Israeli leader to truly believe in democracy and why the rallies in his memory will always divide, rather than unify, the people of Israel. Sign up on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Send your comments to english@haaretz.co.il

PeaceCast is back after a long hiatus. Ori Is back from Israel and the West Bank. Debra Shushan is back from AIPAC's policy conference in DC.  In this episode, Ori and Debra talk about AIPAC, about APN's Israel Study Tour, and about the Encounter program that Ori attended in February in Israel. The featured segment of the episode is an edited version of a conversation that APN's Board of Directors had at Haaretz's office in Tel Aviv with Editor in Chief Aluf Benn.

Freedom of speech or freedom of the press has been a key ingredient of healthy democracies since, well, since healthy democracies have been around. But what does it mean to be a good Journalist? Where do we draw the lines between freedom of press and national security? How do you keep a newspaper's ethics in check without compromising on its values? As Israel's leading liberal national daily newspaper, Haaretz and its journalists must struggle with these questions on a daily basis, particularly the person who runs the paper. So, here to help us answer those questions is Aluf Benn, the editor-in-chief of Haaretz. Aluf Benn has been published in a number of international newspapers including The NYT, The Guardian and Newsweek. He joins us today to discuss journalism.

Om den skiftande sanden i Mellanösterns maktspel. USA och Iran talar med varandra, och plötsligt fylls regionen av både hopp och bävan. Kan de upptinade relationerna leda till en verklig och varm vänskap? Vem vinner i så fall på det? Hör röster från Washington, Raanana och Doha om israelisk övergivenhet, saudiska kärnvapen och svensken som befunnit sig i den diplomatiska stormens mitt. Det har gått två knappt två månader sen det tillfälliga avtalet träffades i Geneve mellan  Iran och P5 plus 1, det vill säga Säkerhetsrådets medlemmar tillsammans med Tyskland, om Irans kärnteknikprogram. Avtalet går ut på att Iran stoppar utveckling av delar av sitt kärnteknikprogram i utbyte mot begränsade lättnader i sanktionerna. Många betraktar det som en milstolpe i en betydligt större process där USA och Iran -  som tillbringat de senaste 30 åren i fientlighet - nu verkar vara redo att närma sig varandra. En som följt denna process mycket nära är statsvetaren och Iranexperten Trita Parsi. Många här i Sverige känner till honom som en av dom mest anlitade och insiktsfulla analytikerna om Iran och USA. Men Trita Parsi är inte bara analytiker, han är, i egenskap av president för NIAC, det nationella iransk-amerkanska rådet, i allra högsta grad en spelare i detta storpolitiska drama. Och i november var han på plats vid förhandlingarna i Geneve. Frilansjournalisten Petra Socolovsky träffade honom hemma i Washington. Ett land som både står USA väldigt nära och som samtidigt har ett väldigt konfliktfyllt förhållande till Iran är Israel. Därför är det inte konstigt att man i där har reagerat starkt på den senaste tidens utveckling. Men reaktionerna har varit mycket olika i olika politiska läger. Konflikts Ivar Ekman ringde upp Aluf Benn, chefredaktör på den liberala tidningen Ha'aretz. och ledarskribenten Sarah Honig på konservativa Jerusalem Post. Ett annat land som också uttryckt oro över närmandet mellan Iran och Usa, är Usas andra nära allierade i Mellanöstern - Saudiarabien. För saudierna tolkas avtalet som skrevs i november som bara ytterligare ett tecken -  i en lång rad  - på att USA är på väg att distansera sig från Saudiarabien. Och det har skapat panik, förklarade Mehran Kamrava, professor och chef för  International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar när Konflikts Kajsa Boglind ringde upp honom på kontoret i Doha. I studion kommenterar Frida Stranne, statsvetare och gästforskare vid American University i Washington tillsammans med Sveriges Radios utrikeskommentator Agneta Ramberg. Programledare:Ivar Ekman ivar.ekman@sr.se Producent:Kajsa Boglind kajsa.boglind@sr.se Tidigare Konfliktprogram på om relationen mellan USA och Iran:

Efter en omvälvande vår av revolter, står vi nu inför en lång het sommar? Den mentala kartan i Arabvärlden har ritats om, rädslan för repressiva regimer släppt och en återvunnen värdighet väcker förhoppingar om en ny verklighet. Konflikt blickar tillbaka på stapplande reformprocesser, inbördeskrig och flyktingströmmar i spåren av nyväckta drömmar om demokrati. Hör reportage från Syrien, Libyen och Irak och berättelser om hur vardagslivet förändrats i Jemen, Tunisien och Egypten Det var strax före jul förra året som den tunisiske grönsakshandlaren Mohammed Bouaziz tände eld på sig själv efter att ännu en gång ha blivit trakasserad av polisen och fått sina varor beslagtagna. En händelse som nätt och jämt trängde sig in i nyhetsflödet med en liten notis när människor som kände igen sig i hans frustration börjdade samlas till sporadiska demonstrationer runtom i Tunisien. På sjukhuset där Mohammed Bouaziz vårdades för sina svåra brännskador fick han besök av president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Men istället för att dämpa de ilskna stämningarna bidrog hans besök - som tunisierna uppfattade som höjden av hyckleri - snarare till att hälla ännu mer bränsle på brasan. Och utan att någon kunde ana det då, satte det också igång nedräkningen för Ben Ali. När Mohammed Bouaziz dog den 4 januari accelererade protesterna bara ännu mer och nu började de också ta allt större plats i internationella medier. Från Tunisien spred sig de folkliga resningarna som en löpeld över Nordafrika och Mellanöstern. Protester hördes snart från Jordanien, Oman, Algeriet, Egypten, Mauretanien för att nämna några platser. Men gång på gång kom förutsägelserna på skam om var nästa uppror skulle äga rum - eller var en revolt var helt utesluten. "Det är alldeles för tidigt att tala om en dominoeffekt" förklarade en analytiker efter Ben Alis fall i Tunisien. "Händelserna i Tunisien kommer att inspirera andra men de kommer inte att smitta av sig", deklarerade en annan. Men trots att verkligheten flera gånger överbevisade analytikerna så verkade alla överens om en sak: Det totalitära Syrien skulle inte få se några demonstrationer. Landet där varje försök till interna protestyttringar mötts med kallsinnig brutalitet och som trots omvärldens pariastämpel värnats som en stabiliserande faktor, där fanns inget att vänta i fråga om folkliga resningar, var den allmänna uppfattningen. Innan Konflikt ser tillbaka på våren som gått börjar vi med ett nedslag i just Syrien: Från gränsen mellan Turkiet och Syrien ger Ekots utsända Katja Magnusson sin bild av ett land i sönderfall, där tusentals människor flyr den syriska militärens attacker. Det land där den arabiska våren tog sin början var, som alla numera vet, Tunisien. En av de ledande krafterna i den tunisiska reformrörelsen är journalisten Sihem Bensedrine. Hon driver radiostationen Kalima som länge var bannlyst under den gamla regimen och hon leder Tunisiens nationella råd för frihet, CNLT. När Konflikts Daniela Marquardt ringde upp henne i januari, en vecka efter Ben Alis fall, var de gamla strukturerna fortfarande intakta. Och det var först efter en del förhinder som Daniela lyckades få kontakt med Sihem Bensedrine. Efter revolten i Tunisien spekulerades det genast i vilken annan regim som skulle kunna tänkas falla. Ett land som alla avfärdade direkt var Egypten, där Hosni Mubarak enligt de flesta bedömare satt säkert på sin post. Men bara tre veckor senare var också tiden ute för honom. När en askgrå vice president på kvällen den 11 februari meddelade att Mubarak avgick steg jublet till skyarna över Tahrir-torget. Men hur mår Egypten idag? Sedan Mubaraks fall pågår, precis som i Tunisien, ett mödosamt arbete för att förverkliga demokratisträvandena. Oenigheten om hur valen ska gå till är en av många brännande frågor. För Egyptens många fattiga och för de många arbetslösa ungdomarna har revolutionen knappast inneburit några lättnader i vardagen. Snarare har det blivit sämre när efterfrågan på egyptiska varor sjunkit och många fabriker fått slå igen. Särskilt hårt har alla de drabbats som jobbar i turistnäringen. En av dem är Romany Shohdi, som vi hörde i Konflikt den 26 februari, som handlade om EU:s ekonomiska förbindelser med Nordafrika. Ira Mallik ringde då upp Romany Shohdi, som arbetar på en restaurang i den exklusiva turistorten El Ghouna, dit vintertrötta européer brukar vallfärda i februari men där gatorna i år låg ödsligt tomma. Det av länderna i arabvärlden som genomlevt de längsta och mest intensiva protesterna är Jemen, på den arabiska halvön. Redan i februari, inspirerade av revolterna i Egypten och Tunisien, började jemeniter i huvudstaden Sanaa belägra en stor gatukorsning i stan, där de satte upp tält och arrangerade stora sitt-demonstrationer. Protesterna spred sig till flera städer under månaderna som följde, och hundratusentals personer krävde president Ali Abdullah Salehs avgång. I programmet den 19 mars intervjuade Konflikts Lotten Collin Nadia al-Sakkaf, chefredaktör för landets största engelskspråkiga tidning Yemen Times. Då var hon skärrad efter att några timmar tidigare ha bevittnat ett blodbad vid den stora gatukorsningen i stan, där fredliga demonstranter blivit nerskjutna av krypskyttar på taken runt omkring. Vi har också under våren i Konflikt uppmärksammat de länder dit den arabiska våren inte spridit sig, eller där skoningslösa makthavare varit snabba med att kväsa revolten i sin linda. Ett sånt fall är Jemens granne i norr, Saudiarabien, som programmet den 16 april handlade om. För samtidigt som många exilsaudier väntar med spänning på om deras landsmän i en av världens rikaste stater ska våga resa sig mot kungahuset, så fruktar många i Europa och USA för detsamma. Konsekvenserna för oss i väst, om regimen i Saudiarabien skulle falla, är helt enkelt alltför oförutsägbara. Att vi är beroende av saudisk olja för att köra våra bilar och värma våra hus är redan känt,  men hur är det med universitet, våra banker och fastighetsmarknaderna? Konflikts Lotten Collin begav sig i april till London och träffade där bland annat den saudiske dissidenten Fouad Ibrahim, som tillsammans med brorsonen Hani nu desperat försöker få igång en revolt i hemlandet. Medan missnöjet kokade runt om i arabvärlden var det ovanligt tyst från den plats som sedan decennier står i centrum för uppmärksamheten i Mellanöstern: Israel och Palestina. I mars sände vi ett program om den israelisk-palestinska fredsprocessen som hamnat i skuggan av de arabiska upproren. Avslöjandet av de så kallade Palestine Papers, som visade hur de palestinska ledarna under år av förhandlingar med Israel varit beredda att sälja ut grundläggande palestinska intressen och hur nära de samarbetade med den israeliska säkerhetstjänsten - möttes inte av motsvarande proteststormar som rasade runt korrupta ledare i andra länder. Men för många ungdomar blev det ändå en väckarklocka efter år av uppgivenhet och resignation. Frilansjournalisten Andreas Hedfors träffade en av dem på Bir Zeit-universitetet. Vi pratade också med chefen för Palestine Networks, Ramzi Khoury, och Aluf Benn, kommentator på den israeliska tidningen Ha'aretz. Något som varit påtagligt under våren när protesterna spridits från land till land är den förvåning som präglat reaktionerna i Israel, USA och Europa. Vi har alla häpna tittat på när de arabiska folken revolterat på ett sätt som ingen trodde var möjligt, i länder som många av oss inte visste mycket om innan demonstrationerna började, och ibland också på platser där vi inte trodde att missnöjet var så utbrett. Som i Irakiska Kurdistan, som vanligtvis brukar beskrivas som framgångsexemplet i regionen, där företagsamheten blomstrar, demokratin sakta men säkert förankras och dit utrikesdepartementet inte längre avråder svenskar från att resa. Men när Konflikts reporter besökte Irakiska Kurdistan i april var lugnet långt borta. Protester skakade universitetsstaden Sulaymaniyah, där studenterna demonstrerade mot korruption, valfusk och oljepengar som går till fel saker. Minst 10 personer dödades och 500 skadades under några intensiva veckor som delade det kurdiska folket. Lotten Collin hamnade på ett möte där besvikna och uppretade studenter samlats i aulan på universitetsområdet. För några veckor sen, den 21 maj, sände vi här i Konflikt ett unikt reportage inifrån Libyen, från Nafusabergen i den oåtkomliga västra delen av landet. Där har befolkningen sedan 3 månader envist hållit Gaddafi-trupperna stången, trots blockader, belägringar och ständig beskjutning. Media har hittills mest fokuserat på upproret i öster, i staden Bengazi, men området vid Nafusabergen är av lika stor, om inte större, vikt för regimen. Här finns oljeledningar, här fraktas nödproviant, vapen och även flyktingar över gränsen till Tunisien. Frilansjournalisten Urban Hamid reste till Nafusabergen och bevittnade krigets obarmhärtighet på nära håll. Han träffade läkare som tvingas operera med rostiga instrument, tonårspojkar som strider med gamla italienska gevär och såg hangaren vars ständigt minskade matreserver ska räcka till flera tusen människor. Han besökte också fängelset, där rebellerna precis tagit två gadaffi-soldater tillfånga när Urban klev in i den unkna, illaluktande cellen. Lotten Collin intervjuade också libyern Muhammed Habeish, som tillsammans med 9 andra svensk-libyer bestämt sig för att åka ner till Libyen för att ansluta sig till de oppositionella trupperna. Ordinarie Konflikt gör nu sommaruppehåll. Men lyssna på Konflikts reporter Randi Mossige-Norhems reportageserie Vredens blåbär, måndagar kl 14.30 i P1. En skön sommar önskar vi på Konfliktredaktionen och på återhörande den 27 augusti! Programledare: Daniela Marquardt Producent: Lotten Collin

Israeli journalist Aluf Benn says the president should make better use of his popularity with the Israeli public.