Episode 10 of “Defense Matters” looks at Israel-China relations. In our season finale, Host Aron Heller speaks with Carice Witte, Founder & Executive Director of SIGNAL – Sino-Israel Global Network & Academic Leadership. Witte and Heller delve deep into the fascinating and complex relationship between Israel and China. They discuss China’s long-term goals, executed through its Belt & Road Initiative … Read More
Episode 9 of “Defense Matters” tackles the new Israeli government. Host Aron Heller speaks with Eitan Dangot, retired IDF general, former Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, and currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Jerusalem Institute of Strategy and Security. They discuss the strength of Israel’s defense structure and the new Israeli government, including the expected new Defense … Read More
Episode 8 of “Defense Matters” focuses on the cyber and its complex reach into our lives. Host Aron Heller speaks with Erez Kreiner, a former director of the Cyber Division of Israel’s Shin Bet security service and currently a senior research fellow at the Insitute for Counterterrorism at Reichman University. The two examine the prominent role that cyber plays in today’s … Read More
Episode 7 of “Defense Matters” focuses on Saudi Arabia. Host Aron Heller speaks with Prof. Uzi Rabi, PhD, Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for the Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, about the Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia and potential future normalization. Prof. Rabi and Heller discuss the Kingdom’s vital role as the lynchpin of the … Read More
Episode 6 of “Defense Matters” focuses on the upcoming Biden visit to the Middle East and what it means for Israel and the region. Host Aron Heller speaks with Helit Barel, a security expert on US-Israel relations, the former Director at the Israeli National Security Council, a founding member of Forum Dvorah, Women in Foreign Policy and National Security, and … Read More
Episode 5 of “Defense Matters” focuses on the current status of relations between Israel and Turkey. Host Aron Heller talks to Dr. Gallia Lindenstrauss, an expert on Turkey and a Senior Research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. They review the recent history of the two countries, discuss the impact of Turkish President Erdoğan, … Read More
Episode 4 of “Defense Matters” tries to figure out why Israel always seems to be on the losing end of global public opinion. We will review recent crises, such as the deadly shooting of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and its aftermath, to see how Israel communicates them to the world – or, often times, how it miscommunicates them. Host … Read More
Episode 3 of “Defense Matters” looks at the seemingly new era in the Middle East. Israel now has open relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and others, and the Palestinian issue seems passe. And yet, we still have rocket attacks from Gaza, terrorism on Israeli streets and the same, persistent tensions within the Old City of Jerusalem, restricted access to … Read More
Episode 2 of “Defense Matters” focuses on the recent wave of terror attacks in Israel, after the deadliest month of nationalist violence in years. The stabbing and shooting attacks in Beer-Sheba, Hadera, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv were all very different, but the one common thread was that the perpetrators were all lone attackers who acted by themselves without any … Read More
Episode 1 of “Defense Matters” focused on the war in Ukraine and discussed the fighting on the ground, the technology involved, the cyber war, the post-Cold War military balance that is currently unfolding – and, of course, the Israeli angle, its mediation efforts, and how all of this is tied to the Iran nuclear deal. Host Aron Heller’s first guest … Read More