Pinsker policy fellows Olivia Peterson, Ryan Wee and William Rome discuss whether anti-Zionism is antisemitism. They argue that anti-Zionism is often used as a cover for antisemitism, discuss whether the anti-Israel bias in international institutions amounts to antisemitism and note that anti-Zionism has become socially acceptable and even trendy, particularly on university campuses.

Tune in for our Coronation Special podcast episode! Our policy fellows William Rome, Ryan Wee and Olivia Peterson discuss the role of the monarchy in contemporary Britain, the economic value of the monarchy and the royal family's role in diplomacy and representing Britain abroad, especially in the context of rising republicanism in the Commonwealth. They also consider how the traditional role of the monarch in politics and policy may be changing with King Charles III.

Mackenzie France interviews Paul Gross, a Senior Fellow at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, discussing the judicial reform and its implications for Israel. Paul outlines and explains the four main proposals incorporated into the judicial reform, arguing that the reform aims to weaken the judiciary and change the governmental system of Israel.

Mackenzie and Paul further discuss whether Netanyahu’s support for the reform is ideological or pragmatic, and what benefits various coalition members hope to derive from it. Paul also noted that the judicial reform is hurting Israel’s reputation abroad, not only among the critics of Israel but also among her friends.

As the Midterms have passed, and the Presidential campaigns are picking up steam, where is US politics heading? In this episode of People Talk...Politics Policy Fellows William, Ryan and Olivia analyse the recent trends and developments in American domestic politics, such as increasing political polarisation, the cost of living crisis, Trump's influence in the Republican Party and DeSantis' ambitions. They also discuss foreign policy, questioning whether support for Ukraine will remain bi-partisan, and evaluating how the Biden administration approaches the relationships with America's adversaries like China and friends like Israel.

In this episode, Mackenzie France interviews Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi. Sarit is the founder and president of Alma – a nonprofit independent research and education centre specialising in Israel’s security challenges on the Northern border. Following the conversation about Alma, its focus, mission and recent work, they discuss security threats facing Israel and how these should be addressed. Sarit and Mackenzie also discuss the implications of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and reflect on the August 2022 operation Breaking Dawn, evaluating its successes and failures.

Policy Fellows Alex, Elliot and Ojel analyse the short-term impacts of the war in Ukraine for Britain as well as longer-term geopolitical consequences from the war for Europe as a whole.

Relatedly, they debate what Britain’s role in the war should be and how Britain can best aid the Ukrainian war effort. The fellows also touch on the prospect of conflict resolution and what a ‘victory’ for Ukraine could look like.

In this episode of People Talk… Politics, Pinsker Policy Fellow Mackenzie France interviewed Paul Gross, a senior fellow at The Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. He has previously worked on religious discrimination legislation for the British Government and has also worked for the Israeli Embassy in London. They discuss the politics and historical legacy of Menachem Begin, the sixth Prime Minister of Israel who famously made peace with Egypt. Mackenzie and Paul also analyse the shorter-term political events which will result in Israel’s fifth election in three years.

In this episode, The Pinsker interviewed Tim Ogden, the assistant editor of New Europe. He also writes for various other media outlets including The Spectator, focusing on post-Soviet Eurasia.

They discuss the historical and geopolitical importance of the South Caucasus. Primarily, how the political climate has shifted in light of the Russo-Ukrainian war, and what this means for China’s and Iran’s influence in the region.

In this episode of People Talk… Politics, Maria, Mackenzie, and Joe, discuss how Israel is treated by international organisations. They put forward the evidence for these bodies having double standards towards Israel compared to other members of international institutions.

The policy fellows also assess the International Criminal Court and the UN Human Rights Council’s ability to hold perpetrators of crimes to account and explain the evidence of bias in the UN General Assembly and UN Relief and Works Agency.

Our policy fellows debate how British schools should teach history. They discuss the importance of representation in history, the emphasis on the British Empire and the relevance of the history curriculum in the contemporary world. They evaluate the merits of ‘decolonising History’ and argue that teaching history through this lens to 14-year-olds who may drop History in their further studies risks oversimplifying and misrepresenting history by over-scrutinising Britain while giving little critical attention to other empires, colonial powers and conquerors.

Is free speech in academic institutions under attack? Our Policy Fellows highlight the changing culture in academic institutions, whereby, far from being places for free debate and exchange of ideas, academic institutions are increasingly becoming echo chambers, characterised by restrictions of free discussion, lack of diversity of perspectives and desire to silence the other side on the grounds of “offensive” or “hate speech”. They address the question: should academic institutions have the right to limit free speech and deplatform speakers?

How has the Labour Party changed under Keir Starmer? Policy Fellows Lucy, David and Alex discuss how Kier Starmer has transformed the Labour Party, moving away from Corbynism and distancing himself from the far left of the party. They further discuss whether Labour still represents the values of the working class and whether "Starmerism" can be considered an extension of Blairism. Finally, they compare and contrast the Labour and Conservative campaign promises.

In this episode, Mackenzie France interviewed Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation and a former aide to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Mackenzie and Nial discussed the US midterms, the success of Di Santes in Florida and changes in the Latino vote, recent Ukrainian advances, Russian failures and Putin’s plans and reflected on the recent developments in the Conservative party and how Britain is viewed abroad.

With the ongoing protests in Iran and stalled nuclear negotiations, issues around policies towards the Iranian regime and the national security threat that Iran poses have come to the fore.

This episode of People Talk… Politics, unpacks the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran with a focus on how this impacts Israeli foreign policy and national security. They also discuss the historical basis of the modern rivalry between these two players in the Middle East.

In this episode of People Talk… Politics Policy Fellows Oliver, Thomas and Avishai assess the nature of the threat posed by domestic and international terrorism.

The fellows cover the rise of far-right extremism in the UK as well as how the Covid-19 pandemic may have led to a rise in online extremism and ‘lone-wolf’ attacks. Lastly, they debate how terrorism is covered in mainstream British media, with a particular focus on terrorist attacks carried out in Israel.

In this episode of People Talk… Politics policy fellows Marina, Michelle and Jordan discuss various dimensions of US foreign policy, including, the withdrawal of Afghanistan. They ask how this has fed the notion of Western weakness under Biden, and potentially impacted Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

The episode also covers US-Israel relations, specifically how these have been affected by the war in Ukraine.

With countries, such as China, pursuing ‘Zero-Covid’ policies and implementing severe lockdown measures, policy fellows, Oliver, Thomas and Avishai, think it is time to re-assess and reflect on the domestic and international response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Oliver, Thomas and Avishai debate how states differed in their ability to gain access to and distribute vaccines, they ask both if the race to vaccinate has led to a rise in nationalism globally and if this could impact other areas of policy such as energy security.

In this week's podcast, Policy Fellows Michelle, Marina and Jordan discuss the most pressing security concerns facing Israel. The fellows highlight Iran’s extensive sponsorship of international terrorist groups and the Iranian regime’s pursuit of a nuclear bomb.