Leading Conversations - the Begin Center Podcast

Continuing our series on Israel's Prime Ministers, “The Buck Stops Here”.To discuss Yitzhak Shamir, we welcomed Dan Meridor, a veteran politician who started his career in public life as Begin’s cabinet secretary and continued in that role after Shamir succeeded Begin as Prime Minister. He would go on to be Justice Minister under Shamir. This was recorded in front of a live audience at the Begin Center.

Continuing our series on Israel's Prime Ministers, “The Buck Stops Here”.To discuss Menachem Begin, we were joined by the Begin Center’s very own erstwhile President, Herzl Makov. He joined the Center on Day One as CEO, then working alongside founding President Harry Hurwitz.This was recorded in front of a packed house in the Begin Center's auditorium.

This episode continues our series of conversations about the men - and one woman – who served as Prime Minister of Israel.For our discussion about Israel’s fifth Prime Minister, we welcomed the author of "Soldier, Leader, Statesman", a biography of Yitzhak Rabin. Itamar Rabinovich was also Israel’s Ambassador to the United States under Rabin and is a distinguished historian and currently Vice-Chair of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

This episode continues our series of conversations about the men - and one woman – who served as Prime Minister of Israel.Michael Oren is a historian, author, diplomat, and former Israeli Ambassador to the United States. Dr. Oren is the bestselling author of several books on Middle Eastern history and international affairs, including "Six Days of War" and "Ally".*We apologize for some problems with the sound quality of this recording.

This episode continues our series of conversations about the men - and one woman – who served as Prime Minister of Israel.Prof. Meron Medzini, who worked as Golda Meir’s spokesperson and wrote an acclaimed biography of her, discusses Israel’s iconic fourth Prime Minister – one of the country’s most popular leaders abroad, but under-appreciated at home.*We apologize for some problems with the sound quality of this recording.

This episode continues our series of conversations about the men - and one woman – who served as Prime Minister ofIsrael.Prof. Yoav Gelber, professor emeritus of history at the University of Haifa discusses Moshe Sharett; Israel’s first foreign minister and second prime minister, who tirelessly pursued diplomacy and the possibilities of peace.*We apologise for some problems with the sound quality of this recording.

This episode marks the first in a new series of conversations about the men - and one woman – who served as Prime Minister of Israel. Prof. Michael Bar Zohar discusses David Ben Gurion, whose leadership and decisions in Israel’s early years set the agenda for so much that followed. Prof. Bar Zohar is a former member of Knesset, journalist and writer of several books; including biographies of both David Ben Gurion and Shimon Peres.

This episode is a recording of a live webinar, part of a series in collaboration with the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy & Security (JISS), one of Israel's leading think tanks.Qatar has an outsize influence in the Middle East and beyond because of its vast wealth from oil and natural gas, and because of the reach of its Al Jazeera news network. As the principal funder of Hamas and as a promoter of anti-Israel propaganda, it is largely viewed as a malign actor by Israel. Nevertheless it has a strong relationship with the United States and is now on the receiving end of Iranian missile attacks.Qatar-expert Ariel Admoni joined us to help piece together the Qatari puzzle.Dr. Ariel Admoni is a researcher specializing in Qatari policy, and lectures in academic, media, governmental, and security forums on issues related to Qatar.

This episode is a recording of a live webinar, part of a series in collaboration with the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy & Security (JISS), one of Israel's leading think tanks.Prof. Gabi Siboni is a long-time military expert who serves as a consultant to the IDF and is the former director of the military and strategic affairs program of the Institute for National Security Studies. He is also the author of a recently published book on October 7 and its aftermath.In this conversation with Paul Gross, he shared his assessment of what October 7 told us about the flaws in the IDF system, what changes have already made by the Israeli military, and what more needs to be done.

This episode is a recording of a live webinar, the third in our series in collaboration with the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy & Security (JISS), one of Israel's leading think tanks.The Trump plan which ended the war holds out the conditional offer to the Palestinian Authority of resuming governance of Gaza in the future, the condition being “reform”. In such a scenario, the Trump proposals also promise a “credible pathway” toward greater Palestinian self-determination.What does this all mean in practice? How realistic is this kind of “reform” of the PA?Podcast host Paul Gross was in conversation with Prof. Hillel Frisch to answer these questions, and more.