with Shlomo Avineri

Shlomo Avineri, the author of Herzl's Vision: Theodor Herzl and the Foundation of the Jewish State, discusses the father of modern Zionism and his legacy. Avineri is director of the Institute for European Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Herzl’s Chutzpah: Unpacking a Founder’s Vision

with Ben Caspit and David Horovitz

In the season finale, David is joined by Ben Caspit, columnist and author of The Netanyahu Years, and David Horovitz, the founding editor of The Times of Israel, to discuss Israel's returning prime minister and his controversial right-wing government. David and the guests break down the keys to Binyamin Netanyahu's long-lasting political career, the evolution of his public persona, and try to understand the trajectory of the new government.

Grappling with the Direction of the New Netanyahu Government 

with Deborah Lipstadt

David is joined by acclaimed historian Deborah Lipstadt, appointed by President Biden as the State Department's Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism. The two discuss the state of contemporary anti-Semitism, reflect upon the role of the Holocaust in Israel, and draw takeaways from Lipstadt's travels to the Gulf and Morocco.

Combating Anti-Semitism in the Middle East and Beyond

with Yehudah Mirsky

In this episode, host David Makovsky welcomes Yehudah Mirsky, professor of Near Eastern and Judaic studies at Brandeis University, faculty member of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, and author of Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution. The two discuss the ideology of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, founder of Religious Zionism, and how his teachings are being subverted by certain members of the modern movement.

Rabbi Kook: Founding Religious Zionism and Those Who Seek to Subvert His Legacy Today

with Yossi Klein Halevi and Yousef Bashir

Yossi Klein Halevi, Shalom Hartman Institute fellow and author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor, joins the podcast to discuss Israeli-Palestinian coexistence with Yousef Bashir, Director of Research &amp; Operations for the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace and author of The Words of My Father. Halevi and Bashir share personal experiences, common public perceptions among Israelis and Palestinians, and potential steps to narrow the societal divide amid difficult times.&nbsp;

Too Much History and Too Little Geography: A Conversation Across the Israeli-Palestinian Societal Divide

with Stuart Eizenstat

David Makovsky hosts veteran diplomat Stuart Eizenstat, who served as Jimmy Carter’s chief domestic policy advisor and whose book President Carter: The White House Years provides an unparalleled view of the administration’s Middle East decisionmaking. In this episode, David and Stuart discuss the Camp David Accords, U.S.-led negotiations with Syria’s Hafiz al-Assad, an Egyptian-Israeli field trip to Gettysburg, and more.

An Insider's View of the Carter White House: Negotiations with Sadat, Begin, and Assad

with Martin Indyk

David Makovsky hosts Martin Indyk, Washington’s former peace envoy and ambassador to Israel, to discuss his recent book Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy. The conversation will focus on Kissinger’s Middle East strategy from the 1973 war to the beginnings of the peace process.

Kissinger’s Middle East: Limiting Moscow and Starting a Road to Peace

with Hillel Halkin

Hillel Halkin, author of Jabotinsky: A Life, joins host David Makovsky to discuss Russian Zionist thinker Zeev Jabotinsky and the origins of the Revisionist movement, which has shaped a great deal of Israel’s political thought over the decades.

Jabotinsky and the Birth of the Israeli Right

with Anita Shapira

David Ben-Gurion's term as Israel's prime minister marked not only a new era for the Jewish people, but a starkly different chapter in his own life. Anita Shapira, the author of Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel, joins the podcast to discuss the challenges and accomplishments of this time, from immigration and Labor party politics to German reparations and nuclearization.

David Ben-Gurion: Leader of the Young State Confronts Momentous Decisions

Decision Points is a Washington Institute podcast on key moments in Israel's history and present. The first season focused on the history of U.S. Israel relations, the second season examined key Israeli and Arab leaders, and the third season shifted the focus to Israel's toughest contemporary policy dilemmas. Season 4 of the podcast highlights a set of books which are essential to understanding the U.S.-Israel relationship and the history of Zionism and Israel. In each episode, authors will unpack their books and engage in striking and insightful conversations.&nbsp;The host, David Makovsky,&nbsp;is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow in The Washington Institute's Irwin Levy Family Program on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Relationship and director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations. He is a former senior advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, as well as a sought-after expert in U.S.-Israel diplomatic relations and territorial solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.&nbsp;Guests include Michael Oren, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.; Natan Sharansky, a human rights activist and former Israeli government minister; David Petraeus, former CIA Director; and Tzipi Livni, former Israeli Foreign Minister.&nbsp;The podcast is both a history lesson and an exploration of contemporary policy decisions impacting Israel, the United States, and the Middle East at large.

Decision Points

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Herzl’s Chutzpah: Unpacking a Founder’s Vision

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Combating Anti-Semitism in the Middle East and Beyond

Rabbi Kook: Founding Religious Zionism and Those Who Seek to Subvert His Legacy Today

Too Much History and Too Little Geography: A Conversation Across the Israeli-Palestinian Societal Divide