The Middle East Forum presents this week's podcasts.


Note: There will be no podcast on Friday, September 13.

Ben-Gurion Titan of Israel

with Michael Mandelbaum

David Ben-Gurion was the single most important figure in the founding of modern Israel and also during the first two decades of independence. He built the Israel Defense Forces, shaped the country’s alliances, and solidified its democratic system of governance. For these reasons, Michael Mandelbaum included him in a book on eight political titans of the twentieth century (along with Woodrow Wilson, Lenin, Hitler, Churchill, FDR, Gandhi, and Mao). Who was David Ben-Gurion? How is the impact of his contribution felt even today? Has the country deviated from his vision?



Monday, September 9, 2024
1:00pm - 1:30pm ET

Michael Mandelbaum is a professor at the Johns Hopkins University and director of the American Foreign Policy program at its School of Advanced International Studies. He has written sixteen books, the most recent being The Titans of the Twentieth Century: How They Made History and the History They Made (Oxford University Press, 2024). He holds a B.A from Yale, an M.A. from Cambridge, and a Ph.D. from Harvard.

Israel Insider

with Ashley Perry

At home, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mass demonstrations demanding the swift conclusion to a hostage deal. Abroad, he faces the Biden Administration applying similar pressure.  Will he agree to a deal that goes against his belief and will likely bring down his government?





Wednesday, September 11, 2024
3:00pm - 3:30pm ET

Ashley Perry is an advisor to the Middle East Forum’s Israel office. He served as adviser to Israel's minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister in 2009-15, and has also worked with Israel's Ministers of Intelligence, Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy, Water and Infrastructure, Defense, Tourism, Internal Security, and Immigrant Absorption and as an advisor to The Negev Forum. Originally from the UK, he moved to Israel in 2001. He holds a B.A. from University College London and an M.A. from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).

Catch up with our previous podcast episodes!

All podcasts are recorded for viewing after the event. To view past episodes, please visit our YouTube channel or our website.

The Middle East Forum

An activist think tank, deals with the Middle East, Islamism, U.S. foreign policy, and related topics, urging bold measures to protect Americans and their allies. Pursuing its goals via intellectual, operational, and philanthropic means, the Forum recurrently has policy ideas adopted by the U.S. government.

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