BICOM's Podcast

Episode 29 | The Israeli coalition survives and Jeremy Hunt’s shuttle diplomacy

James Sorene talks with Richard Pater and Calev Ben-Dor about the UK Foreign Secretary’s Saudi and Iran visits, crisis with the UAE and a full analysis of this week’s events in Israeli politics and the inside story of how the Israeli coalition survived. 

Episode 28 | Gaza Attacks, Lieberman Resigns

James Sorene talks to Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief and co-author of two books: "Weapon Wizards - How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower" and "Israel vs. Iran - The Shadow War". They discussed the fallout from the latest conflict in Gaza, the impact of Defence Minister Lieberman's resignation and early elections in Israel. 

Episode 27 | US sanctions on Iran

CEO James Sorene speaks to Katherine Bauer, an expert on sanctions and terrorist finance at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former official at the US Treasury. They discuss the latest US sanctions on Iran, what sectors they target, what their effects will be, and what measures Iran might take to avoid them.

Episode 26 | All politics is local

BICOM CEO James Sorene and BICOM Israel Director Richard Pater discuss the Israeli local elections and BICOM’s poll of UK attitudes to Israel and the Middle East.

 

Episode 25 | Bibi hits the campaign trail

BICOM CEO James Sorene interviews Tal Shalev from Walla News to assess Prime Minister Netanyahu’s week as he ponders early elections - Israeli media reported that the Attorney-General will decide whether or not to indict Netanyahu by March, Gaza continues to cause insecurity for the Israeli public and Jordan announced it will cancel a lease deal as part of the bilateral peace treaty. 

Episode 24 | The future of Israeli tech

James Sorene talks to David Rosenberg, Haaretz Business Editor about his new book: 'Israel's Technology Economy’. The discuss the origins of the Israeli tech boom and the factors that could slow the pace of the Israeli tech boom in the future. 

 

Why is the UK about to ban Hezbollah? | Episode 23

James Sorene talks to Dr Matthew Levitt, Fellow at the Washington Institute and head of their counter terrorism and intelligence programme. Matthew is a former US Treasury and FBI official and author of the 2013 book Hezbollah: The global footprint of Lebanon’s party of god.

The Gaza enigma – Hamas talks about a truce but intensifies border | Episode 22

James Sorene, Richard Pater and Calev Ben Dor discuss Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar’s interview with Yediot Ahronot, the increase in attacks on the Israeli border, IDF reinforcements and the role of the Palestinian Authority limiting options in Gaza to punish Hamas.

Russia sells S-300 to Syria, is the IDF prepared for war? | Episode 21

James Sorene interviews Jerusalem Post defence correspondent Anna Ahronheim about the imminent arrival of the S-300 air defence system in Syria and how it will affect Israeli operations against Iranian forces. They also discussed the Israeli Defence Force Chief of Staff’s warning about the high chance of increased violence in the West Bank and the IDF ombudsman’s report on military preparedness. 

Syria shot down a Russian plane | Episode 20

James Sorene interviews Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Assaf Orion to ask why Syria shot down a Russian surveillance aircraft and what it means for Israeli-Russian relations and Israel’s ongoing fight against Iran in Syria. Assaf was head of Strategy in the Planning Directorate in the IDF General Staff (2010-2015) and is currently a senior research fellow at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.