The Middle East Forum cordially invites you to this week's podcasts.

Syria after the Assads: What Happened and What Follows? with Jonathan Spyer

Monday, December 9, 2024
1:00PM Eastern Time

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist organization, has taken Damascus, completing its stunning ten-day offensive and overthrowing the Bashar al-Assad regime. This historic moment has many and profound implications. Which key factors made possible the HTS success? What next for Syria? How will this major shift affect Turkey, Iran, Israel, Russia, and the United States?

Jonathan Spyer is MEF’s director of research. He has traveled extensively in Syria and reported from all sides of that country’s conflicts. He has a BSc from the London School of Economics, an M.A. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and a Ph.D. from the University of London.

Israel Insider with Alex Selsky

Wednesday, December 11, 2024
3:00PM Eastern Time

After 54 years of al-Assad rule in Syria, what are the many implications for Israel of its demise? More a good thing (a setback to Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia) or more of a danger (Turkey will sponsor a vigorous and aggressive new Islamist government)?

Alex Selsky is a senior adviser to MEF's Israel Victory Project, and lecturer at Hadassah Academic College. He is currently serving as Homefront Command reserve major in the Israel Defense Forces. Formerly, he served as advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu and as CEO of the International Israel Beytenu Movement. He holds a B.A. in Business and Executive M.A. in Public Policy from Hebrew University.

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.