BICOM's Podcast

Episode 46 | Gantz’s golden opportunity

BICOM CEO James Sorene talks to Lahav Harkov, the Senior Contributing Editor at the Jerusalem Post, about Benny Gantz's Tuesday night TV interviews and the surging support for small right wing parties. 

Episode 45 | Has the Blue and White ‘bubble’ Burst?

James Sorene, Richard Pater and Calev Ben-Dor discuss the latest election news in Israel, including the Prime Minister’s row with Gal Gadot about the nation state law, why the Blue and White Party is declining in the polls and why Naftali Bennett said Benny Gantz is Hamas’s ‘wet dream’.

Episode 44 | Bibi’s criminal process

Richard Pater and Calev Ben-Dor interview Dr Guy Lurie from the Israel Democracy Institute, discussing what happens now after the Israeli Attorney General decided to indict Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Episode 43 | Will a UK ban hurt Hezbollah?

In this week’s episode, James Sorene is joined by Hanin Ghaddar, Visiting Fellow at the Washington Institute, to assess the impact of the UK’s new ban on Hezbollah and how it will hurt Hezbollah’s precarious financial situation. Hanin also sets out her ideas for what more can be done to counter Hezbollah activity in the Middle East.

Episode 42 | Israeli elections special – What are the Israeli public thinking? An interview with polling expert Dahlia Scheindlin

This week, in the first of our Israeli election specials, BICOM CEO James Sorene interviews polling guru and star of the Tel Aviv Review podcast Dahlia Scheindlin to discuss what the Israeli public are thinking ahead of the elections and how we can interpret the latest opinion polls.

Episode 41 | The emerging threat of Hezbollah’s precision missiles

James Sorene talks with colleagues Calev Ben-Dor and Toby Greene on BICOM’s new paper, “Hezbollah's precision missile project”. They discuss how the project is increasing the threat to Israel’s infrastructure and population centres and the wider implications for Middle East security if the technology is shared with Houthi and Shia militias in Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

Episode 40 | Who won the Likud Primary and what did Gantz really say about Gaza withdrawal?

James Sorene talks to Gil Hoffman, the Jerusalem Post’s chief political correspondent, about who really won the Likud primaries and what kind of party is likely to emerge after April's elections. Gil also analysed the fallout from Benny Gantz’s first newspaper interview in which he said Israel should “learn the lessons from the disengagement from Gaza and implement them in other arenas.”

Episode 39 | Gantz speaks

From Tel Aviv, James Sorene talks to Richard Pater after attending Benny Gantz’s campaign launch. They discuss Gantz’s surge in the polls and what Benjamin Netanyahu will do next.

 

Episode 38 | Israel’s war with Iran enters a new phase

James Sorene is joined by Anshel Pfeffer to discuss the latest phase in the ongoing war between Israel and Iran in Syria. They also analyse the latest news in the Israeli election campaign. Anshel is the author of ‘Bibi: the turbulent life and times of Benjamin Netanyahu’ and a journalist for the Economist, Times and Haaretz. 

Episode 37 | The IDF has a new Chief of Staff

James Sorene talks to Calev Ben Dor and Richard Pater about Aviv Kochavi, the new IDF Chief of Staff and the challenges he will face in the job. They also discuss former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz’s first words in the election campaign about the Nation State law.