The Middle East Forum cordially invites you to this week's podcasts. |
Note: We have recently switched our live podcasting platform from Zoom to Riverside. You will still be able to participate in the audience Q&A by clicking "Register as an Audience Member" or by utilizing the live chat feature on our YouTube live streams. | Regime Change in Iran? with Beni Sabti |
For decades, Iran's theocratic regime has wielded unyielding control, fueling regional instability through its nuclear ambitions, proxy militias, and ideological fervor, casting a shadow over the Middle East. Yet, amid escalating internal protests, economic collapse, and external pressures from Israel's precision strikes on key military targets in 2025, whispers of regime change are growing louder. How might a post-regime Iran redefine its role in the region? What opportunities and risks would this present for Israel's security, Arab states' stability, and the broader quest for Middle Eastern equilibrium? | Monday, July 14, 2025 1:00p.m. Eastern Time (5:00p.m. UTC) | Beni Sabti is an Iran expert at the INSS. He was born in Iran in 1972 and raised primarily under the Islamic Revolution regime before escaping to Israel in 1987, where he served in the IDF, primarily as a researcher in projects relating to Iranian culture and influence on cognition, decision making, and media, including leading the establishment of the IDF Spokesperson’s platforms in Persian. Sabti previously worked as a research fellow at JISS in Jerusalem. He gives lectures about issues related to Iran and is a commentator on Iran for media outlets in Israel and abroad. He holds an M.A. in political science and public communications from Bar Ilan University. | Israel Insider with Ashley Perry |
What will Happen Next in Gaza? Is the war coming to an end? Is another temporary ceasefire imminent? Might the long declared IDF military surge to conquer the Gaza Strip be about to begin? | Wednesday, July 16, 2025 3:00p.m. Eastern Time (7:00p.m. UTC) | 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 U.K., he moved to Israel in 2001. He holds a B.A. from University College London and an M.A. from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya). | Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West with Josh Hammer |
Rising antisemitism, multiculturalism, and postmodern relativism currently threaten the well being and security of Israel and the Jewish people. Josh Hammer argues that the West’s survival hinges on Israel’s strength and the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. From the trauma of October 7, 2023, to global anti-Israel sentiment, the stakes are clear: a proud Jewish heritage is vital to the West’s endurance. How does Israel stand as the West’s bulwark against Islamist terrorism and secular nihilism? What does a grand alliance of Jews and Christians mean for the future of civilization? | Friday, July 18, 2025 1:00p.m. Eastern Time (5:00p.m. UTC) | Josh Hammer is senior editor-at-large of Newsweek, and a fellow with the Edmund Burke Foundation and Palm Beach Freedom Institute. He hosts The Josh Hammer Show, a Newsweek podcast and syndicated radio program, and is a frequent pundit and essayist on political, legal, and cultural issues. He previously served as an editor at the Daily Wire, and his work has appeared in outlets including the Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Daily Mail, National Review, The Spectator, Townhall, Fortune, Fox Business, the Jerusalem Post, the Times of Israel, The Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and Jewish Journal. Josh holds a degree in economics from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. | Or view the livestreams on the following channels: | 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 and operational means, the Forum recurrently has policy ideas adopted by the U.S. government. | |