When Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office as prime minister at the end of 2022, his coalition government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, ushered in a divisive new era of political polarization, pushing ahead with reforms to overhaul the judiciary in an effort to consolidate power. But the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent declaration of war have brought the country to a critical inflection point, undermining Netanyahu’s carefully crafted image as “Mr. Security” and raising questions about his political future. Many now hold him directly responsible for the national security failure, including retired Gen. Benny Gantz, who is a member of the emergency war cabinet. A number of recent public opinion polls indicate that Israelis are seeking new leadership. At the same time, Israel's left already begins its political renewal, as Labor party chief Merav Michaeli recently announced her upcoming resignation and called for new elections for the party’s leadership. Will Netanyahu be able to maintain his hold on power and keep his coalition government together? What are the prospects for political change in Israel? And could this bring about progress towards Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking?
The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to host an expert panel to discuss the current state of Israeli domestic politics and its implications for a potential resolution to the Israel-Hamas war and the future of the Israeli-Palestinian relations.
Speakers
Rami Hod
Executive Director, the Berl Katznelson Center
Nilly Richman
Public Strategy & Branding Consultant
Tal Shalev
Political correspondent, Walla News
Nimrod Goren, moderator
Senior Fellow for Israeli Affairs, Middle East Institute
Detailed Speaker Biographies
Nimrod Goren is the Senior Fellow for Israeli Affairs at the Middle East Institute. Goren is the President and Founder of Mitvim - The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, Co-Founder of Diplomeds - The Council for Mediterranean Diplomacy, and Co-Chair of a regional initiative at President Isaac Herzog's Israeli Climate Forum. Previously, He was a Teaching Fellow on Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University, and has also worked at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies and the Nehemia Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies. Nimrod is a past recipient of the Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East and the Centennial Medal of the Institute of International Education, and was selected as a Vamik Volkan Scholar by the International Dialogue Initiative. He serves on the steering committees of the Geneva Initiative and the Turkish-Israeli Civil Society Forum, and is a member of the Global Diplomacy Lab. Nimrod's fields of expertise include Israel’s foreign policy and regional relations, as well as the Middle East peace process.
Rami Hod serves as the executive director of the Berl Katznelson Center (BKC), a progressive Zionist ideas center that promotes policy solutions to Israel’s core challenges, and educates and trains the next generation of progressive Zionist leaders, thinkers and civil servants. Prior to joining BKC, he served as the director of the Social Economic Academy (SEA), a social justice leadership institute, and was the first employee of ˜Koach LaOvdim,” a new labor union that sparked a revival of labor organizing in Israel. Since August 2020 he serves on the public directorate of Israel’s National insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi), overseeing the major governmental agency and consulting the Social Services Minister on key social policy issues. Over the years, he has provided strategic and policy-related consulting to senior public figures, leading strategic thinking processes and formation of political agendas and party platforms. He also serves as a lecturer and a regular commentator and publicist on issues of social justice and politics in Israel’s mainstream media and major publications.
Nilly Richman is the CEO and founder of Humanizing Public Identity Branding, a boutique agency for public strategic consulting, crisis management, public branding and identity architecture design. She has consulted a wide range of various organizations, high-profile individuals and leaders from the business, public and political arenas. She is also a commentator on news platforms & shadow speech and life stories writer. Richman led the winning campaign for the presidency of the State of Israel, of the 11th president Yitzhak Herzog. Her reputation in the Israeli public & political arenas has been built on unprecedented outcomes in national elections campaigns, worldwide covering: 'Yesh Atid' party, led by later Prime Minister Yair Lapid, which won 19 seats in the Knesset, an astonishing outcome for a new party; Benjamin Netanyahu's first comeback; and 'The Pensioners' Party.
Tal Shalev is the chief political correspondent for Walla! News – the largest Israeli website providing independent breaking news and analysis 24 hours a day. She covers Israel’s prime minister, government, and parliament as well as the country’s foreign and diplomatic affairs. Shalev will be providing exclusive written analysis and briefings for Israel’s Policy Forum’s 120 project.
Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images