The Middle East Forum cordially invites you to this week's podcasts.
Note: We have recently switched our live podcasting platform from Zoom to Riverside. You will still be able to participate in the audience Q&A by clicking "Register as an Audience Member" or by utilizing the live chat feature on our YouTube live streams.
Silent Slaughter in Syria: The Alawite Crisis and the West's Embrace of HTS with Wafa Sultan
Syria’s Alawite communities along the coast have in recent months faced brutal massacres, terrorism, and widespread kidnappings, perpetrated by Sunni jihadi groups including the ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization, and met with near silence from the global community. Western powers have meanwhile legitimized HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and his emergent regime. How have these atrocities, tied to HTS’s actions, gone unchecked? What does Western support for al-Sharaa, a wanted jihadist, mean for Syria’s future and the Alawites’ survival?
Wafa Sultan is a Syrian-American doctor, writer, and outspoken critic of Islam, recognized by Time Magazine in 2006 as one of the 100 most influential people. Born into an Alawite family in Baniyas, Syria, she studied medicine at Aleppo University and emigrated to the U.S. in 1989. Sultan is the author of A God Who Hates, and her work has appeared on Al Jazeera, CNN, and in various Arabic publications, sparking widespread debate. She holds a medical degree from Aleppo University.
Israel Insider with Ashley Perry
Now that the US has bombed nuclear sites across Iran, how long will the operation against Iran's nuclear weapons program last? What are the options for its conclusion?
Ashley Perry is an advisor to the Middle East Forum’s Israel office. He served as adviser to Israel's minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister in 2009-15, and has also worked with Israel's Ministers of Intelligence, Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy, Water and Infrastructure, Defense, Tourism, Internal Security, and Immigrant Absorption and as an advisor to The Negev Forum. Originally from the U.K., he moved to Israel in 2001. He holds a B.A. from University College London and an M.A. from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).
The Forum Roundtable: The U.S. and Israel – A Team Like No Team Before
As Israel’s battle with the Islamic Republic of Iran continues in its new phase of direct conflict after four decades of proxy wars, numerous questions remain. How is Israel defining victory and what means does it have to attain its goals? What role will the U.S. play militarily, diplomatically and politically? What does defeat look like for Iran and what does the future hold for its citizens? What does all of this mean for the Middle East more broadly, including new alliances and the prospects for achieving a final and lasting peace in the region?
To help parse through all of these issues from the perspective of the U.S., Israel and Iran are three renowned experts with important insights to share: Victoria Coates, author of The Battle for the Jewish State: How Israel - and America - Can Win and vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation; John Hannah, Randi & Charles Wax Senior Fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America’s Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy; Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran Program senior director and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; and Lauri Regan, vice president and treasurer of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East.
The Middle East Forum, an activist think tank, deals with the Middle East, Islamism, U.S. foreign policy, and related topics, urging bold measures to protect Americans and their allies. Pursuing its goals via intellectual and operational means, the Forum recurrently has policy ideas adopted by the U.S. government.
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