Decision Points is a Washington Institute podcast hosted by David Makovsky on key moments in Israel’s history and present. The first season focused on the history of U.S.-Israel relations, the second season examined key Israeli and Arab leaders, the third season explored Israel's contemporary policy dilemmas, and the fourth season highlighted books essential to understanding Zionism, Israel, and U.S.-Israel relations.
Season 5 dives into the Gaza war and explores the long-term implications for Israel, U.S.-Israel relations, and the Middle East region. In each episode, distinguished scholars, analysts, journalists, and officials will put the current conflict in perspective and discuss the road ahead.
Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Director of its Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations. He is a former senior advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, as well as a sought-after expert on U.S.-Israel diplomatic relations and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Decision Points is both a history lesson and an exploration of contemporary policy decisions impacting Israel, the United States, and the broader Middle East.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Decision Points is a Washington Institute podcast hosted by David Makovsky on key moments in Israel’s history and present. The first season focused on the history of U.S.-Israel relations, the second season examined key Israeli and Arab leaders, the third season explored Israel's contemporary policy dilemmas, and the fourth season highlighted books essential to understanding Zionism, Israel, and U.S.-Israel relations.
Season 5 dives into the Gaza war and explores the long-term implications for Israel, U.S.-Israel relations, and the Middle East region. In each episode, distinguished scholars, analysts, journalists, and officials will put the current conflict in perspective and discuss the road ahead.
Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Director of its Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations. He is a former senior advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, as well as a sought-after expert on U.S.-Israel diplomatic relations and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Decision Points is both a history lesson and an exploration of contemporary policy decisions impacting Israel, the United States, and the broader Middle East.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Gaza War is Israel’s longest battle since its War of Independence in 1948. Wartime demands have put an outsized strain on Israel’s army, reopening the debate over the ultra-orthodox (Haredi) draft and the broader secular-religious fault line in Israeli society. While the Haredim have historically enjoyed a blanket exemption from military service, a June 25th decision by the High Court of Israel overturned that status quo. In the weeks since, nearly 3,000 draft orders have been sent out to members of the Haredi community.
Will crisis create opportunity? On this episode of Decision Points, two unique voices from the secular and Haredi communities—Yohanan Plesner and Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer—join David Makovsky to discuss how the Gaza war could narrow the secular-Haredi divide in Israeli society, finding points of divergence and common ground. Plesner is the President of the Israel Democracy Institute and former member of the Knesset with the Kadima Party. Rabbi Pfeffer is the Editor in Chief of Tzarich Iyun, a Haredi thought magazine, and former head of the Haredi division at the Tikvah Fund.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.