Podcasts

In this podcast, INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with three INSS senior researchers: Brig. Gen. (ret.) Dr. Meir Elran, head of the INSS program on Israel’s Civilian Front and Societal Resilience; Dr. Chuck Freilich, former Deputy National Security Adviser in Israel’s National Security Council; and Col. (res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit Baruch, head of the INSS Law and National Security Program. Together they discuss worrying developments in the Israeli social-political crisis, in light of the government’s proposed judicial overhaul and the implications for Israel’s “special relations” with the United States. What are the main concerns from the side of the protesters regarding the judicial overhaul? Is there still a chance to reach a compromise? How do the domestic events in Israel shape the public discourse in the US? Is there a similarity between the crisis in Israel and the deep political polarization in American society? How essential are the “special relations” to Israel and its national security interests? And what can Israel do in order to ensure these relations remain firm and stable in the long run?

INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with former MK and journalist Ofer Shelah, who served as a member of the Knesset for Yesh Atid from 2013 until 2020 and today is a senior researcher at INSS, and with INSS researcher Noa Shusterman, coordinator of the INSS Israel-Palestinian Research Program. Together they analyze the latest events in Israel in light of the judicial overhaul crisis, focusing on the main threats presented in the INSS Strategic Alert. They try to assess where Israel is headed now, in view of Netanyahu’s suspension of the proposed overhaul; what are the implications of the crisis on the security level; how it affects the IDF; how it is seen from Palestinian eyes? and how will the special relations between Israel and the US be affected by the current events. 2023, the year in which Israel marks its 75th year of independence, will also be remembered as the year in which the country’s democratic and liberal DNA was severely threatened as never before