Podcasts

After more than a year of conflict, Israel is facing a critical decision point regarding the Gaza Strip. With Hamas still in control and ongoing security challenges, what are Israel’s strategic options? Should it pursue a full military takeover, work towards establishing a moderate Palestinian Authority, encourage voluntary migration, or maintain the current strategy of containment? In this episode of The National Security Podcast, host Nicole Zedeck discusses the complex choices facing Israel, from military operations to political initiatives. Joining the conversation is Dr. Ofer Guterman, a senior researcher at INSS, who breaks down the potential outcomes and the role of regional partners.

Trump’s trade war is back—what does it mean for the Middle East and Israel? As the U.S. imposes new tariffs on China, Mexico, and other major economies, the global economic landscape is shifting. Oil markets are fluctuating, supply chains are under pressure, and key U.S. allies in the Gulf are reassessing their economic strategies. Meanwhile, Israel faces critical decisions. Will it have to curb its trade ties with China under U.S. pressure? How will Trump’s economic policies impact Israel’s high-tech sector and defense industry? And could these tensions spill over into broader geopolitical conflicts? In this episode of The National Security Podcast, host Nicole Zedeck breaks down the economic and strategic consequences of Trump’s latest tariffs with her guests, Dr. Tomer Fadlon, Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), and INSS researcher Jesse Weinberg.

Hostage negotiations in Gaza have hit a deadlock after phase 1 of the ceasefire deal ended on March 2. Israel wants an extension, but Hamas insists on moving to phase 2, demanding an Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war. With Hamas refusing to disarm and Israel unwilling to leave, what’s next? Professor Kobi Michael joins Nicole Zedeck on The National Security Podcast to discuss the uncertain path forward.

One year ago on October 7th at 6:29 am, the Hamas terror organization initiated a surprising, brutal, and murderous attack on Israel, committing unimaginable war crimes against innocent civilian, firing thousands of rockets indiscriminately at major towns and cities, and abducting 251 people to the Gaza Strip. On that day alone, 1,200 Israelis were murdered. To this date, the war has claimed the lives of more than 1,700 Israelis. As Israel regrouped in the aftermath of the attack, the military launched a large-scale ground maneuver in Gaza with two primary objectives: dismantling Hamas’s military and governing structures, and securing the release of the hostages.  One year and one week after the October 7th massacre, Israel eliminated the mastermind behind the heinous attack, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. This critical point in history provides a turning point for not only the war in Gaza, but the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon as well. On this week’s episode of the National Security Podcast, Senior Researcher and Director of the Israel National Security Policy research program at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and former member of the Israeli Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Ofer Shelah, discusses how Israel should use these military successes to its strategic advantage.

On the occasion of Israel’s 76th Independence Day, INSS researcher Adi Kantor discusses with Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman, executive director of INSS and former chief of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, about the significance of “Israeli independence” in the shadow of the October 7th massacre and the Israel–Gaza war. Together they analyze the current situation in Gaza, particularly in Rafah and Jabaliya, and discuss the importance of establishing an alternative civilian authority in Gaza to replace Hamas and hopefully bring about a solid hostage deal and a safe return of Israeli citizens who have been displaced from their homes in the Gaza border communities. Furthermore, they address Hezbollah’s current strategy in the north and the danger of Israel’s paralysis in response to this threat and the ways to end it. They also discuss the lack of a viable solution for the tens of thousands of displaced Israelis who are eager to return home. Finally, they focus on the crucial need for a regional alliance in order to effectively counter Iran and the threat of the Shiite axis.

At the end of January 2024, four months into the Israel–Hamas war, an Israeli official report was published accusing more than a dozen employees of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) for allegedly participating in the Hamas massacre against Israelis on October 7, with some actively involved in the kidnappings into Gaza as well. What exactly is the nature of relations between UNRWA and Hamas? How has it been characterized in the last years? How antisemitic are its educational programs? Does Israel need UNRWA in Gaza on “the day after” the war, or can it be dismantled? In this case, which other organization could be relevant to replace it? In this show, INSS Researcher Adi Kantor sits down with Arik Agassi, COO and head of Global Partnerships at the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) and an expert in the field of global policy and education, and with Prof. Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at INSS and a visiting professor at the International Center for Policing and Security, University of South Wales. Together they discuss UNRWA’s active role in Hamas’s murder of Israelis, its incitement, and its antisemitism over the years as well as opportunities for “the day after’ in Gaza and the option of dismantling the organization.

في هذة الحلقة- مع الباحث الكبير في المعهد بروفيسور محمد وتد- نلقي الضوء على ردود الأفعال عند المجتمع العربي في إسرائيل، على الهجوم الإرهابي الذي حدث في السابع من أكتوبر والحرب في غزة نتطرق الى ردود الافعال على المجزرة في وسائل الاعلام المحلية، في تصريحات القادة الدينيين والسياسيين، وفي الرأي العام لدى المجتمع العربي. لماذا لم يتكرر سيناريو التصعيد الداخلي بين مواطنين عرب ويهود، كالذي حدث خلال عملية حارس الأسوار (٢٠٢١)، بل على العكس تماما؟ كيف ينعكس هذا الحدث على هواجس الجمهور العربي والرغبة في العيش المشترك وكيف يتم التعبير عن ذلك ضمن مبادرات للمساعدة والتضامن المدني مع ضحايا المجزرة؟

On October 7, 2023 at 06:30 am Israel woke up to a horrific nightmare. Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group based in the Gaza Strip, began a vicious and coordinated attack that shook southern and central Israel. Hamas launched a massive rocket attack targeting civilian areas, and simultaneously, infiltrated the Israeli villages surrounding the Gaza Strip with the goal of committing mass slaughter, abduction, rape, and other acts of brutality toward innocent Israeli victims. The results of this attack are beyond belief: Israeli babies were beheaded, and dismembered bodies burned, among them children. Other testimonies indicate that children were tied with their hands behind their backs and shot in the head. Between 120-150 Israeli hostages were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists to Gaza. In this podcast INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with Colonel (res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit Baruch, INSS senior researcher and head of the INSS program on law and national security, and with Anat Shapira, Neubauer Research Associate in the INSS Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict Program and a PhD candidate in the Tel Aviv University Philosophy Department. Together they discuss the viscous and barbaric acts of Hamas toward innocent civilians in Israel. What is known thus far about Hamas’s plan? How has the international community reacted? How has Hezbollah in the north responded until now, and what will be Israel’s reaction?

“Swords of Iron,” the war that began with the Hamas surprise attack that took the lives of hundreds, injured thousands, and led to the abduction of dozens, caught Israel unawares. In this podcast, INSS researchers Prof. Kobi Michael and Yohanan Tzoreff from the INSS research program on the Palestinian arena, and Orna Mizrahi, formerly deputy head of the National Security Council and now part of the INSS research program on the northern arena, analyze the important issues on the agenda.

The Oslo Accords, signed 30 years ago, were a seminal development in Israel-Palestinian relations. In today’s podcast, INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with Dr. Anat Kurz, senior researcher and director of research at INSS and editor of INSS Insight, Col. (res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit Baruch, senior researcher and head of the INSS Program on Law and National Security, and Brig. Gen. (res.) Udi Dekel, who served as Managing Director of INSS for ten years and currently heads the INSS Program on the Palestinian Arena. Together they examine the core principles of the Oslo Accords and ask: what is left of these principles today? Did they fail in the long run, or have some remained valid on the ground? How did Israel move from “making peace” toward “managing the conflict”? What threats confront what is left of the agreements? And finally: what can still be done to stop the dangerous slide into a one-state reality?