The Rise and Fall of Hezbollah
Hilal Khashan in Conversation with Michael Rubin

For many years, the Lebanese Hezbollah organization was widely seen as the most powerful non-state military force in the world.  Hezbollah’s ascent from a militia to a dominant political and military force in Lebanon captivated the world. But after entering the war with Israel on October 8, 2023, the organization suffered a series of devastating blows, leaving it severely diminished. The Middle East remains a crucible of global tensions, and Hezbollah’s trajectory—from Iranian-backed insurgency, to emergence as a regional power broker and now to decline and reduced status—offer critical lessons. How did Hezbollah’s alliances, ideology, and missteps shape its rise and fall? What does its collapse mean for Lebanon, Iran, and the broader geopolitical landscape?

Monday, June 9, 2025
1:00PM Eastern Time

Hilal Khashan is a is a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut and a respected author and analyst of Middle Eastern affairs. He is the author of a number books, including his most recent, "Contemporary Middle East and North Africa Politics: Essays on a Region in Flux. (Ethics Press, 2025.) He is also the author of more than 110 articles that have appeared in journals such as Orbis, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, The Brown Journal of World Affairs, Middle East Quarterly, Third World Quarterly, Israel Affairs, Journal of Religion and Society, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, and The British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. He holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University.

Michael Rubin is director of research at the Middle East Forum and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he specializes in Middle Eastern countries, particularly Iran and Turkey. His career includes time as a Pentagon official, with field experiences in Iran, Yemen, and Iraq, as well as engagements with the Taliban prior to 9/11. Mr. Rubin has also contributed to military education, teaching U.S. Navy and Marine units about regional conflicts and terrorism. His scholarly work includes several key publications, such as Dancing with the Devil and Eternal Iran. Rubin earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in history and a B.S. in biology from Yale University.

Israel Insider
with Ashley Perry

Could these be the last days of Israel’s current governing coalition? What are the ramifications for the war if the Netanyahu government falls?

Wednesday, June 11, 2025
3:00PM Eastern Time

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).

Dangerous Liaisons: The LGBT Movement's Dance with Jihad
with Yuval David

In a perplexing twist, segments of the LGBTQ+ community have aligned with Islamist terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, despite these Islamist groups’ brutal persecution of individuals from this community. From Pride parades chanting “Queers for Hamas” to slogans like “Gays for Gaza,” some activists champion pro-Palestinian causes while ignoring the imprisonment, torture, and execution of LGBTQ+ people in territories governed by these groups. In Gaza, Hamas enforces strict anti-LGBTQ+ doctrines, rooted in ideologies that deem homosexuality a sin punishable by death. Palestinian refugees like Ahmad Abu Murkhiyeh, a gay man decapitated after seeking asylum in Israel, highlight the deadly consequences. Why are parts of the LGBTQ+ community embracing groups that oppose their very existence? What are the risks of this paradoxical alliance?

Friday, June 13, 2025
1:00PM Eastern Time

Yuval David, an Emmy Award-winning actor, filmmaker, and activist, channels his career in Madam Secretary, Feud, and the award-winning documentary Wonderfully Made – LGBTQ+R(eligion) into advocacy for Jewish and Israeli causes. He speaks and creates content for Stand With Us, Jewish National Fund, and the Israeli American Council, promoting Jewish identity and Zionism. His news commentary on Fox, CNN, i24, and others, alongside writings in The Jerusalem Post, The Hill, and Out Magazine, addresses civil rights, Jewish, Israeli, and LGBTQ+ issues. David also supports LGBTQ+ rights with A Wider Bridge and the National LGBTQ Task Force, advocating for marginalized communities globally. He studied at the University of Maryland, where he was a named a Maryland Distinguished Scholar.

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.