From Ankara to Damascus to Jerusalem : Challenges and Opportunities - Jerusalem Studio 926
The post-Assad regime in Syria is now waking up from its dreams of unifying the war-torn, multi-ethnic country under its rule. Syria's neighbors are Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, most of whom are either threatening or being threatened most of the time.
Due to various communities within Syria feeling vulnerable under this constant state of threat, they look for outside support, which may or may not coincide with the interests of regional powers such as Israel and Turkey.
What are the current opportunities and challenges facing Syria and its neighbors in this precarious period? Joining us for the analysis:
Panel:
- Host : Jonathan Hessen : Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute and Host of TV7 Israel News
- Analyst : Amir Oren : TV7 Editor at Large and Host of Watchmen Talk
- BG (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser: JISS President; former Head of Research Division, IDF, and DG of Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs
- Prof. Russell Berman : Senior Advisor in the US State Dept; Director of the Middle East Project, Hoover Institute
The program offers the viewer deeper understanding about current events in Israel. The topics vary from domestic and foreign policy to social changes, archaelogy and religion.
The program is hosted by TV7 Israel News anchor Jonathan Hessen.
From Ankara to Damascus to Jerusalem : Challenges and Opportunities - Jerusalem Studio 926
The post-Assad regime in Syria is now waking up from its dreams of unifying the war-torn, multi-ethnic country under its rule. Syria's neighbors are Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, most of whom are either threatening or being threatened most of the time. Due to various communities within Syria feeling vulnerable under this constant state…
Israel vs Iran’s Faltering Axis of Resistance - Jerusalem Studio 925
During the past decade, as the Islamic Republic of Iran has been preparing to do battle with Israel, or at least to deter it from a strike on its nuclear infrastructure, a network of proxies was being built from the Persian Gulf to the Eastern Mediterranean to the Red Sea. The idea was to prepare…
Iran’s nuclear weapons race: from the threshold to the brink? - Jerusalem Studio 924
President Trump seems to approach the growing danger of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons from two opposites simultaneously. Trump, in private messages and public statements, is both courting and threatening Tehran. He repeats the pledge to do whatever is necessary to preempt the Iranian from dashing towards the finish line, and broadly hints that he would…
Ahmed a-Shar'a’s honeymoon as Syria’s new ruler lasted exactly three months and ended predictably in bloodshed. Hundreds of civilians, mostly members of the Alawite minority - which flourished under the despotic Assad dynasty - were massacred by the new regime’s loyalists. A-Shar’a’s efforts to portray his Jihadist identity as belonging to the past were exposed…
Iran’s Nuclear aspirations: should Israel strike? – Jerusalem Studio 922
Iran’s Nuclear aspirations: should Israel strike? – Jerusalem Studio 922 After several decades of building its Nuclear potential, which threatens the entire Middle East but most especially Israel, Iran is now in a unique position. It is at the same time most dangerous and weakest. The highly enriched fissile material it has accumulated is enough…
Syria: A desperate attempt to glue a torn country - Jerusalem Studio 921
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that his government would insist on demilitarising the Southern Syria territory between Damascus and the Golan Heights border, in order to avert any takeover by hostile forces. He also mentioned the top of Mount Hermon, on the Syrian side, as a high ground that Israel would defensively…
Facing the Iranian challenge – Jerusalem Studio 920
The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to remain Israel's biggest threat, regardless of what is happening on other fronts, the majority of which also emanates from the Iranian master plot to annhialite the Jewish State. For the rest of the world, the spectre of an Iranian nuclear arsenal is unsettling but not an existential threat.…
Western efforts to confront Iran’s global belligerence – Jerusalem Studio 919
The Islamic Republic of Iran appears to operate on two parallel and mutually supporting tracks. While slowly but surely building up its nuclear stockpile, it simultaneously conducts malign and militant activities in its local region as well as further afield in other continents and bodies of water. The executive agents involved are both their own…
The US- Israel Alliance amid Mideastern Complexities – Jerusalem Studio 918
Through thick and thin, across the decades, wars, and administrations, the US-Israel relationship has endured and grown stronger. This is our starting point for today’s discussion on the state of this partnership. This alliance is now facing many challenges and complexities in the Mideast region, from Gaza to Lebanon and all the way to Iran.…
Syria: Does Al-Qaeda hold sway over Damascus? Jerusalem Studio 917
Support @tv7israelnews - https://tv7israelnews.com/donate/ Listen to TV7 Israel News latest War updates also on our podcast https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tv7-israel-news You are welcome to join our audience and watch all of our programs - free of charge! TV7 Israel News: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/563/ Jerusalem Studio: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/18738/ TV7 Israel News Editor’s Note: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/76269/ TV7 Europa Stands: https://www.tv7israelnews.com/vod/series/82926/ TV7 Powers in Play:…
The Gaza Strip: Can Hamas be Eradicated? Jerusalem Studio 916
The first stage of the hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas is now at mid-point. So what may happen in the latter half of this stage, and will there be a second stage? POTUS’ proposal to empty Gaza of its population, thereby stripping Hamas of its power to rule the Strip and threaten Israel,…
Jerusalem's most Pressing Strategic Challenges – Jerusalem studio 915
When Israeli civilian and military leaders consider their strategic vista, it is imperative for them to see the forest rather than the trees. It is easy to focus, or even fixate, on the problem of the day, instead of clinging to a coherent context and deriving the details from it. So what are the most…
Confronting Iran’s Axis of Terror Proxies: What’s next? Jerusalem Studio 914
Iran entered 2024 with the apparent realization of Qassem Soleimani’s scheme : the development of a regional system of proxies, each receiving guidance from Tehran, acting out of various geographic locations, with the sole aim of harassing Israel, the West and moderate Arab countries. Come 2025, this plan is now in shambles. Hamas and Hezbollah…
Iran’s Race Towards Nuclear Weapons Proliferation – Jerusalem Studio 913
Last week, President Trump appeared to throw a wrench into Iran’s strategic deliberations when he sounded willing to negotiate a new nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic. Also, should this effort fail, he may even be open to supporting an Israeli strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities. Whatever the Iranians position - either a dash…
Israel versus Iran: what’s next? – Jerusalem Studio 912
With the Gaza ceasefire in its first week and the Lebanon one in its last (although it will most likely be extended) the Iran-Israel confrontation has now entered a new phase. For the first time since October 7, the guns and missiles have fallen silent, with even the Houthis announcing that they will hold their…
Damascus’ Jihadist Ruler : Regional Implications – Jerusalem Studio 911
While one important governmental transition ended yesterday, having global implications, another one with regional repercussions is still ongoing, and there is a connection between the two. The new, post-Assad regime in Damascus under Ahmed al-Shara is still being organised, with simultaneous efforts being undertaken in foreign policy as well as domestic realignment. Al-Shara and his…
A New Trump-Era for the Middle East : Geo-Strategic Overview - Jerusalem Studio 910
When Donald Trump once again takes the oath of office, the entire world will be waiting anxiously to see whether the priorities, policies and promises he made during the Presidential Campaign will stand true when tested by reality. This, of course, will include the Middle East, although probably not featured at the top of Trump’s…
Israel's State of War VS the Iran-led Axis - Jerusalem Studio 909
Outgoing CIA director Bill Burns described over the weekend the decision point facing the Iranian regime: this being whether to try and reach military nuclear power, running the risk of drawing the regime’s adversaries into a preemptive blow, or to signal its readiness to negotiate a deal with the incoming Trump administration. If the latter…
Israel: 2025 Strategic Outlook - Jerusalem Studio 908
Historians are often fond of saying that periods are not always marked by round numbers, but rather by events, whenever they happen. For instance, the 20th Century really started in 1914, with the First World War. According to this standard, 2025 will strategically begin three weeks after New Year’s Day, with the change in administrations…
Israel: 2024 Recap – Jerusalem Studio Special _07.01.25
When 2024 came knocking on Israel’s door, there was still a sense of shock bordering on disbelief at the horrendous events of October 7, yet there was also hope that military victory over Hamas would be swift and decisive, and that more than 100 hostages would be set free, either by rescue raids or by…
Syria’s Profound Internal and Foreign Challenges – Jerusalem Studio 907
Less than two weeks after Bashar el-Assad fled Damascus for Moscow and the IDF destroyed the bulk of the Syrian air, naval, missile, and research and development power, future prospects for Syria both internally and externally remain vague. Who will eventually control it? Will Syria become a sovereign nation in fact and not only in…
Iran’s Nuclear Race : On a Collision Course - Jerusalem Studio 906
For more than twenty years now, ever since the American invasion of Iraq made the Tehran leadership fearful of a follow-up move against Iran, its military nuclear program has been advanced but constrained, lest an attack by either Israel or the US or both destroy this precious investment so dear to the Regime’s heart. But…
The first strategic challenge in considering Syria’s future has to do with its very nature - will it be a nation-state, with a central government and institutions - both military and civilian - or will it split into several entities, along ethnic and geographical lines? Then there is the challenge of Islamist and Jihadist forces…
The Fall of the Assad Regime : What’s Next? Jerusalem Studio 904
The rapid collapse of the Assad regime at the onslaught of rebel forces has left Syria in a fluid condition, with a transformation back to solid-state sure to take some time, if at all. Regional as well as global players are jockeying for influence over the emerging composition of the provisional government, its leaders and…
Iran’s Nuclear Proliferation in Defiance of Global Concerns - Jerusalem Studio 903
Some 45 days before Joe Biden’s movers vacate the White House for the new tenant, returning to the place he reluctantly left four years earlier, the looming Trump Presidency has an evident impact on Middle Eastern dynamics. A major topic, as always, is the Iranian nuclear project. Trump’s record is known in Tehran, but so…
Syria at War : Dissecting the Strategic Landscape - Jerusalem Studio 902
The basic facts about Syria are as simple as the situation there is not. Syria borders Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. It is of major strategic importance for Russia. For the last 54 years the Syrian regime was held by the Assad family, but since 2011 the country has been torn apart by civil…
Israel’s seven front war: How does victory look like? - Jerusalem Studio 901
Israel’s national security and peaceful co-existence in the Middle East has not been guaranteed for a single moment since the Jewish State was established 76 years ago. It triumphed over its enemies in several wars and countless campaigns and battles but could never be satisfied that it is finally and irreversibly victorious. So now that…
Iran’s Nuclear Proliferation: Inching toward Weaponization - Jerusalem Studio 900
Strategically, Iran is evidently on course to reaching military nuclear power, as circumstances permit. Tactically, it is taking the measure of both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump Presidency, in order to maximise benefit and minimise cost. How does it go about it, in the two months ir so left for the transition…
Iran versus Israel: Seven Mideast Fronts of Active Warfare - Jerusalem Studio 899
The so-called “Ring of Fire” around Israel, which was conceived by Qassem Soleimani in the long years he headed the Revolutionary Guards Qods Force, was supposed to consist of Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East, ready to spring into action when ordered by Tehran. The first part, build-up, was essentially completed, but rather than wait…
The Mideast Strategic Woes: Facing Iran's Belligerent Behavior on Multiple Fronts – JLM Studio 898
With Donald Trump’s resounding election victory, the Iranian regime is facing a pressing dilemma as it prepares for the handover from the Biden administration. Trump abrogated the JCPOA and ordered the killing of Qassam Soleimani, but is now excluding from his foreign relations and national security team the mastermind of maximum pressure, Mike Pompeo. So…
Facing Islamist Anti-Semitism in the West: Threats and Opportunities – Jerusalem Studio 897
The Amsterdam riots and near-lynching perpetrated by Moslem hooligans against Israeli soccer fans shocked many in Israel, Europe and around the world. That this barbarism took place in one of the West’s premier cities, in a nation with a mixed World War 2 record but indeed a staunch supporter of Israel, was cause for enhanced…
U.S. President Donald Trump's Victory: Implications for Israel and the Mideast -Jerusalem Studio 896
As the votes in the U.S. elections are counted, the trends - though not just yet the final results – are evident towards a Republican success in the Presidential and Senate contests. Though the fight focused on domestic issues, there will obviously be global and regional repercussions. What are they expected to be? Panel -…
Pre-election results. Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 895
American citizens have been going to the polls today, and indeed for several weeks now, to make their choices In Presidential, Congressional and various State and local contests. As we are all waiting for the results and their implications, one fact is already clear: neither the fears nor the hopes that in the run-up to…
Israel’s post-strike posture vis-a-vis Iran - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 894
Early Saturday morning, October 26, dozens of military and industrial targets throughout Iran have been hit by a meticulously planned and precisely executed Israel Air Force counter-offensive, in retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage four weeks ago. Israeli officials expressed satisfaction at both the tactical success of the mission and the strategic impact. The initial…
Countering Iran’s belligerent strategy - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 893
When the Islamic Republic of Iran set out to expand its reach throughout the Middle East, its ambition was to have it both ways, as cost-free as possible. Tehran developed a wide network of proxies to do its work for it, but also to pay in their own blood and livelihood should the intended victims…
Israel’s strategic objectives for Lebanon - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 892
The War of Attrition Hezbollah waged on Israel since last year’s October 8 has suddenly been transformed into a mid-September into an intensive IDF counter m-attack across several sectors of Lebanon, from the Shiite terror organization's headquarters in Beirut to its offensive infrastructure across from the Upper Galilee. But the military campaign is supposed to…
Policy after Polls : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 891
There are many public opinion polls in the run-up to the November 5 elections in the United States, but the only ones which really count will close that night, with the ballots counted and the winners in the Presidential, Congressional and State races declared, hopefully soon thereafter. Once the new or returning office-holders are inaugurated,…
Israel Vs. Iran - what Cycle? Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 890
As Iran has been bracing for the retaliation promised by the Jerusalem Government for the missile barrage launched at Israel two weeks ago, the two questions are: 1) what exactly this counter-attack will entail and 2) once it is over, how are the Iranians going to respond? The Iranian response needs to weigh in the…
Iran's nuclear weapons program: On the verge of breakout, Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 889
With less than four weeks to go before the U.S. elections, tension is rising vis-a-vis the Iranian Nuclear project. For the first time, President Biden spoke publicly about the military option against it, and though he said he would not support an Israeli retaliation against these facilities, he did not banish the idea as unthinkable.…
A Year of War: Israel versus Iran's Axis of Evil. Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 888
When Yahia Sinwar ordered his Hamas subordinates to attack Israeli military positions and civilian communities and massacre and abduct as many Israelis - and other nationals - as possible, he expected other members of the Iranian-led Axis to immediately jump into the fray. It did not happen exactly the way he hoped, but over the…
US and European Policies vis-à-vis the Middle East : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 887
As far as the US is concerned, the Middle East is a major arena. It may wish to focus on other theatres, especially China-Taiwan and Russia-Ukraine, but too much is at stake here for it, so totally withdrawing appears to be out of the question. Hence in times of crisis the US bolsters the reduced…
Prospects of a Wider Conflagration: Israel vs Iran : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 886
When the IDF operation Northern Arrows transitioned from being only defensive and added an incursion into Southern Lebanon, the concern has been raised that it will not be limited to that area and Israel’s fight against Hezbollah has naturally been heightened. Iran has been sponsoring and guiding the Lebanese Shiite militia for its own purposes.…
Israel versus Hezbollah: entering into a new stage of warfare - Israel At War – Jerusalem Studio 885
In 1970 the term “Black September” was coined in an Arab against Arab context - Jordanians against Palestinians. The PLO was beaten by the Hashemites and fled to Lebanon, destabilising it and attacking Israel from the North. Fast forward 54 years, and Hezbollah, Israel’s most potent hostile neighbour, has just suffered its own Black September,…
Europe’s Stance on Israel : the Institution VS Member States : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 884
Up until the end of the last decade, Israel attached great importance to the views of European institutions. Europe seemed headed toward some form of a loosely federated continent with a common foreign and security policy. There was a great deal of alignment between the membership of the EU and NATO, which was relevant to…
Jordan’s Strategic Woes and the Ramifications for Israel : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 883
Earlier this week, Jordan’s King Abdullah II appointed his Chief of Staff Jafar Hassan to form a new government, following last week’s Parliamentary elections. The Hashemite Monarch has commendably been trying to modernize the Kingdom’s political system, so as to better reflect the views and aspirations of a restless new generation. The problem, however, is…
The Philadelphi Corridor and Hamas' bid to Survive : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 882
When Israel withdrew its forces and settlements from Gaza, 19 years ago, it was a unilateral move only as far as the Palestinian Authority was concerned. There was an agreement between Israel and Egypt regarding the border between Egypt’s Northern Sinai district at Rafah and the Gaza Strip, code-named Philadelphi on Israeli maps. This 14…
Israel's Preparations for a Full-Scale Northern War : Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 881
In the 11 months since Hezbollah launched its first attacks on Israel’s Northern communities, the IDF was restrained in its counter-offensive, limiting it to stand-off strikes, mostly from the air. The center of gravity of the multi-front war was and remains Gaza. The idea, backed by Hezbollah's declarations, was that a ceasefire with Hamas will…
Iran's Nuclear Weapons Race : Breakout Inevitable? Israel at War – Jerusalem Studio 880
Iran has invested a lot of effort over several decades to advance it’s nuclear project, giving it the option of racing towards nuclear weapons if it so chooses, which Western Intelligence claims it has not yet achieved. But if this is indeed the case, then Iran is simply a mere policy decision away from shedding…
