Episodes

Thursday May 28, 2020
Episode 104 | The price of annexation
Thursday May 28, 2020
Thursday May 28, 2020
Richard Pater speaks to Middle East analyst and journalist, Neri Zilber. Richard and Neri discuss the Palestinian Authority’s decision to suspend security cooperation with Israel, how the strategic outlook has shifted with the prospect of annexation and what will be the ramification on the ground.

Thursday May 21, 2020
Episode 103 | Abbas's threats
Thursday May 21, 2020
Thursday May 21, 2020
In this episode, BICOM Director Richard Pater talks to Middle East expert Professor Eyal Zisser about a wide range of regional issues including the instability inside Lebanon and Iran’s influence in Syria. They also discuss annexation, the latest comments from PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the prospects of maintaining the vision of a two state solution.

Thursday May 14, 2020
Episode 102 | Six hours in Israel
Thursday May 14, 2020
Thursday May 14, 2020
In this week’s episode, BICOM’s Ronie Gazit speaks with David Makovsky, director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations at The Washigton Institute for Near East Policy, about US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s brief visit to Israel. Ronie and David discuss why Pompeo traveled to Israel in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, whether Netanyahu will proceed with West Bank annexation, and US concerns over Chinese investment in Israel.
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Thursday May 07, 2020
Episode 101 | Bibi is given the "go head" by Supreme Court
Thursday May 07, 2020
Thursday May 07, 2020
In this BICOM podcast Director Richard Pater speaks with Dr. Amir Fuchs, Head of the Defending Democratic Values Programme at the Israel Democracy Institute, about the two-day Supreme Court hearing and the verdict, and they look ahead to the Netanyahu corruption trial that is due to start on 24 May.

Friday May 01, 2020
Episode 100 | Over to you, Supreme Court
Friday May 01, 2020
Friday May 01, 2020
To mark our 100th episode, Richard Pater interviews Yesh Atid MK, Idan Roll, and Likud Foreign Affairs Spokesman, Eli Hazan. Richard, Idan and Eli discuss the formation of the new coalition government, the Supreme Court decision concerning its legality, how the Israeli government has responded to the coronavirus outbreak, and the prospect of Israeli annexation after July 1st.

Thursday Apr 23, 2020
Episode 99 | Unpacking the Netanyahu-Gantz agreement
Thursday Apr 23, 2020
Thursday Apr 23, 2020
In this wide-ranging podcast, Richard Pater and The Jerusalem Post’s Editor-in-Chief Yaakov Katz assess the government’s grade on how it is handling the coronavirus so far, unpack the coalition agreement signed earlier this week between Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu, and discuss the latest security concerns for the IDF, including Iran’s military satellite launch and the escalating tension on the northern border.

Friday Apr 17, 2020
Episode 98 | The IDF's role in fighting COVID-19
Friday Apr 17, 2020
Friday Apr 17, 2020
Richard Pater talks to International Spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus about the IDF's growing role in combating COVID-19 in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the likelihood of renewed violence on the Gaza border and whether COVID-19 is changing Iran's entrenchment strategy in Syria.

Friday Apr 03, 2020
Episode 97 | Gantz gave up, Bibi won, what happens next?
Friday Apr 03, 2020
Friday Apr 03, 2020
James Sorene talks to journalist and Netanyahu biographer Anshel Pfeffer about Benny Gantz’s dramatic decision to join a Netanyahu led Government, the future of the Israeli right and the ultra-Orthodox communities response to coronavirus.

Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Episode 96 | Coronavirus and Constitutional Crisis
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Richard Pater talks to former Israeli Justice Minister Dan Meridor about Israel’s constitutional crisis, coalition talks, the postponement of Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial and Israel's response to the coronavirus.

Monday Mar 16, 2020
Episode 95 | Can Gantz form a minority government?
Monday Mar 16, 2020
Monday Mar 16, 2020
James Sorene interviews Dr. Assaf Shapira from the Israel Democracy Institute to discuss defections, minority Governments and a new law to ban an indicted MK from forming a Government.