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.
Since Israel’s founding in 1948, it has never faced a reality quite like this: seven active combat fronts, including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, the West Bank, Gaza, and Yemen. This multi-front war was once the vision of Qassem Soleimani, the late commander of the Iranian IRGC’s Quds Force, who referred to it as the “ring of fire” — a strategy designed to suffocate Israel through proxy forces on all sides. Today, this vision has become reality, with Iranian-backed militias entrenched across the region, waging a war of attrition and destabilizing local governments. How does Iran view its proxy network as part of its broader regional strategy, and how do the local interests of these proxies align with Tehran’s overarching goals? Why are these proxies so resilient, and, most importantly, what strategies can the U.S. and Israel employ to curb their power?
In this episode of Decision Points, David Makovsky is joined by three experts to unpack Iran’s proxy network and its broader geopolitical implications: Dr. Michael Knights, Zohar Palti, and Dr. Patrick Clawson. Dr. Knights is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute, specializing in the military and security affairs of Iraq, Iran, and the Gulf states. Palti is the former head of the Policy & Political-Military Bureau at Israel's Ministry of Defense and a former leader of the Mossad Intelligence Directorate. Dr. Clawson is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute and a leading expert on Iran and U.S. policy, with extensive experience at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and National Defense University. Together, they discuss the complexities of Iran’s regional ambitions and the strategies to counter them.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
