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Ben Caspit, an Israel correspondent for Al-Monitor, brings you weekly interviews with newsmakers and officials to discuss the latest news in Israel. Ben is no stranger to broadcast, hosting a daily radio show from Tel Aviv and frequently appearing on television and radio programs. Caspit is one of Israel’s most in-demand journalists and his columns – deeply sourced and vividly written -- are must reads for his take on the latest political developments. His most recent book is The Netanyahu Y ...
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro: Biden to continue Abraham Accords’ momentum
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Ben Caspit talks this week to former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro about President-elect Joe Biden’s impending term, and how future ties between Jerusalem and Washington will look. Shapiro notes that "Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have known each other for 40 years, and [there’s] a real friendship between them." He says that…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Opposition lawmaker Eli Avidar: Netanyahu pushing Israel towards dictatorship
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Ahead of a crucial Knesset vote on Tuesday, Ben Caspit speaks with Knesset member Eli Avidar of the opposition Yisrael Beitenu party. Over the past few months, Avidar has become one of the leaders of the demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with demonstrators calling for the premier to step down. Avidar notes that no other demo…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israeli Meretz Party leader Nitzan Horowitz ready to work with right wing to topple Bibi
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With Israel's Knesset advancing towards possible fourth elections, Ben Caspit talks this week with Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz. The leftwing politician does not rule out partnering with rightwing partners in order to achieve the supreme goal of toppling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We are in times of unprecedented economic, corona and poli…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israeli-Arab media star says Israel’s democracy in danger
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Ben Caspit talks this week with Israeli-Arab journalist Lucy Aharish. The media celebrity warns that Israel’s democracy and freedom of speech are shaky and even endangered. She says that with only a small number of media outlets, social media has become more powerful and louder in Israel than anywhere else on the globe. On the other hand, she says,…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israeli minister lambasts ‘organized campaign’ on Arab social media to target peace accords
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Ben Caspit speaks this week with Orit Farkash Hacohen, Israel’s minister of tourism and strategic affairs. The Blue and White minister says an organized campaign on Arabic social media is now targeting the UAE, Bahrain and all other countries who have chosen the route of normalization with Israel. “In the ministry, we exposed this campaign for what…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Former IDF General expects Biden will stay close to Israel on Iran
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Ben Caspit speaks this week with Brig. Gen. (ret) Michael Herzog, former chief of staff to Israel's defense minister, who discusses what Israel might expect from a Biden Administration, noting that "President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris have special feelings towards Israel’" which will keep the relationship with Israel st…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Netanyahu scrambles to reset ties with Democrats after best ever relations with Trump
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Ben Caspit spoke with Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist Haim Saban, who is hailing Joe Biden’s victory. Saban thinks that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still afraid of the unpredictable nature of President Donald Trump, who "shoots from the hip," and could turn against Netanyahu in a heartbeat. On the Democrats, Saban says that…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Does Netanyahu face uphill battle to win over Democrats?
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One day after former Vice President Joe Biden was declared winner of the US presidential election, Ben Caspit talks with Yaakov Katz, editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. Katz says that Netanyahu now faces an uphill battle vis-à-vis the Democrats, who have not forgotten his animosity towards the Barack Obama administration. Katz notes he was shoc…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israelis have their fingers crossed for Trump
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Four days before the presidential elections, Ben Caspit spoke with Dan Gillerman, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations. Gillerman thinks that whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden is elected, the US administration will strive for a deal with Iran. He also said that the trend of Arab countries normalizing ties with Israel will continue and i…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israel leading in cyber technology, but also more vulnerable to attacks
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On the backdrop of Israel’s tenth annual cyber-tech conference, Ben Caspit speaks with Professor General (ret.) Itzhak Ben- Israel. Ben-Israel – a pioneer figure in the cyber technology sphere – tells how the country took it first steps in transforming technological know-how into civil and security uses. Still, Ben-Israel warns, ‘’Unlike most of ou…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israeli official on delegation to Bahrain discusses Gulf diplomacy and next steps
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Ben Caspit talks this week with veteran Israeli diplomat, Foreign Ministry General Director Alon Ushpiz. Speaking about peace with the Gulf states, Ushpiz says, “The beauty of what we’ve been doing in the last two to three months, is that it continued what we’ve been doing for the last 20 years.’’ Relations with United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and ot…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israeli general warns: If Hezbollah attacks, it will be a nasty war
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Ben Caspit talks this week with Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Gershon, who was one of the only IDF generals to express support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement-annexation plan. The latter was subsequently abandoned for the sake of the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates. The decorated general insists that while peace wi…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Despite Netanyahu’s claims, normalization with Arab world can’t be separated from Palestinian issue
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Ben Caspit talks with popular diplomatic analyst Barak Ravid on demonstrations in Israel, developments in Azerbaijan and the peace agreements signed with the Emirates and Bahrain. Ravid argues that contrary to affirmations by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the peace agreements broke the old 'peace-for-land' paradigm, normalization with Ara…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Failed government response to COVID-19 pushes Israel to second lockdown
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On this week’s episode, foreign news editor of Israel’s Channel 13 Nadav Eyal explains to Ben Caspit how the government failed in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and why it pushed Israel to become the first western state to impose a second nationwide lockdown. Israel opened up its economy much too early after the first lockdown, with large we…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israel’s former UN envoy says UAE deal sends message to Palestinians, Iran
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This week Ben Caspit speaks with former Israeli envoy to the UN Ron Prosor. The veteran ambassador argues that the normalization deal with the United Arab Emirates transforms Israel from a 'secret mistress' into a 'legitimate wife'. For Prosor, the UAE is telling the Palestinians: We are engaging with Israel so that we can change its policy, instea…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Netanyahu convinced Israel cannot exist without him
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Ben Caspit, publisher of the bestselling book "The Netanyahu Years," talks to journalist Anshel Pfeffer, who in 2018 published "Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu." Pfeffer says that by reaching the agreement with the UAE, Netanyahu has reached the peak of his political career as a leader. In his opinion the premier has finish…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Instead of peace with the Palestinians, Israel makes peace with the UAE
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Ben Caspit speaks with former National Security Expert Maj. Gen. (ret.) Giora Eilad about the behind-the-scenes details of the historic agreement signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. For Eiland, by signing an agreement with Israel, the United Arab Emirates turned its back on the 2002 Arab Initiative, which conditions advancement of t…
Ben Caspit talks this week with Science and Technology Minister Izhar Shay of the Blue and White party on the current budget crisis, which is shaking Israeli politics. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz traded shouts at the weekly corona cabinet meeting on Sunday. For Shay, the country’s nine million citizens…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid warns of potential for civil war
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Ben talks with former Finance Minister and head of the opposition Yesh Atid Party in the Knesset, Yair Lapid. Lapid explains why he blames Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for incitement against demonstrations and why Israel’s political salvation won’t be coming from Blue and White Leader Benny Gantz.…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Big Brother and the future of Israel’s democracy
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This week Ben talks with Professor Karine Nahon, an associate professor of information science at the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya, the president of the Israel Internet Association and chairwoman of the National Committee of Ethics, Regulation and Artificial Intelligence. Prof. Nahon says that while Israeli democracy isn’t dead yet, there a…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Former head of military intelligence: Israel should be prepared for Iranian strike anytime, anywhere
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In this week’s episode, Ben discusses the Israeli government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, the threat of Iranian retaliation on Israel, and potential for Tehran and Washington renegotiating the nuclear deal with Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, executive director of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and a for…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Venture capitalist and former MK Erel Margalit: Israel at end of Netanyahu era
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In this week’s episode of On Israel, Ben speaks with Erel Margalit, the founder and executive chairman of the Jerusalem-based venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners and a former lawmaker from the Labor Party from 2013-2017. Margalit offers a sharp and focused critique of the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and says that …
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Former top Israeli general Yair Golan rejects annexation, says "we need deal with Palestinians, not US”
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32:59
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This week, Ben talks with former chief of staff of the IDF and Knesset Member Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Yair Golan. The left-wing lawmaker, a member of the Meretz Party, said that he is opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to annex parts of the West Bank, expressing his fears that annexation will endanger the Zionist dream and turn Israel int…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Israel’s Naftali Bennett urges full annexation, calls for turning Syria into ‘Iran’s Vietnam’
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In this week’s episode, former defense minister and head of the right-wing Yamina party Naftali Bennett calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare full annexation of parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley, while expressing his confidence that Israel is winning the war against Iran in Syria.…
Ben Caspit speaks with former Labor Party leader Isaac “Bougie” Herzog, who is now serving as the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, the largest Jewish nonprofit organization focused on the diaspora and the ‘Aliyah’, meaning the immigration of Jewish people to Israel. Herzog talks to Ben about how coronavirus has changed the landscape for Aliyah…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Former Israeli National Security Adviser, Uzi Arad, on Netanyahu’s lose-lose annexation bid
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Ben talks with Professor Uzi Arad, Netanyahu's former National Security Adviser and a lifelong friend (now a foe) says that "Netanyahu can be the loser of the annexation dream from both sides. His legacy argument and tendency to take credit and inflate his accomplishments is dangerous. Fake accomplishments and the attempt to imprint it into history…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Maj. Gen.(Ret.) Amos Gilead, one of the most prominent and experienced intelligence and military experts in Israel, sees doomsday disaster if Israel annexes West Bank settlements.
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Ben talks with Major General ( retired ) Amos Gilead who has had a long and distinguished career in the military and government in Israel. General Amos and Ben discuss Netanyahu’s plan to annex the West Bank. Gilead calls it a fiasco that can sabotage the stability of the Hashemite kingdom, risk the peace treaty with Israel and cause huge damage to…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Did Gantz Break the Blue and White Party?
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Joining Ben on this week’s podcast is MK Ofer Shelah, a leader in the Yesh Atid party and former journalist. Shelah gives his thoughts on the recent unity government between Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and Benny Gantz’s Blue & White Coalition, and whether he thinks Gantz has any real political leverage in this arrangement. Will Netanyahu actua…
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On Israel with Ben Caspit, an Al-Monitor podcast
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Olmert on Netanyahu - the 12th Prime Minister of Israel talks about the 13th PM's trial, annexation, and more
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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Bibi’s trial, the prospects for annexation, and whether the new Israeli emergency government can keep it together.
Ben Caspit, an Israel correspondent for Al-Monitor, brings you weekly interviews with newsmakers and officials to discuss the latest news in Israel. Ben is no stranger to broadcast, hosting a daily radio show from Tel Aviv and frequently appearing on television and radio programs. Caspit is one of Israel’s most in-demand journalists and his columns…
