In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, host Lauri Regan speaks with Dr. Joel Fishman, historian and fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, about information warfare in the Israel-Gaza war and the campaign to delegitimize Israel.

Fishman examines how anti-Israel narratives have spread through media coverage, academia, demonstrations, and international institutions since October 7. He argues that these claims are part of a broader propaganda effort aimed at undermining Israel’s legitimacy, sovereignty, and right of self-defense.

The conversation also explores the history of political propaganda, the link between incitement and violence, and the role of education, intellectual leadership, and moral clarity in countering falsehoods that gain power through repetition.

In this month’s Forum Roundtable, host Lauri Regan speaks with Zineb Riboua of the Hudson Institute and Brigadier General (Res.) Assaf Orion of the Washington Institute and Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies about how the Iran war has affected China’s ambitions in the Middle East and beyond.

The panel examines Beijing’s relationship with Tehran, Iran’s weakened regional position, and the limits of China’s effort to balance ties with both Iran and the Gulf states. They also discuss how energy security, sanctions evasion, proxy warfare, and regional infrastructure have shaped China’s Middle East strategy.

The conversation expands to Israel-China relations, the Belt and Road Initiative, U.S.-China competition, and the stakes surrounding Taiwan, trade, and global power. Together, the panelists assess whether the war has strengthened American leverage, disrupted China’s assumptions, and opened a new phase in the contest between Washington and Beijing.

In this episode of the MEF Podcast, host Lauri Regan speaks with Michael Rubin, Director of Policy Analysis at the Middle East Forum, about why Hezbollah remains the central obstacle to stability between Israel and Lebanon.

Rubin examines Hezbollah’s role as an Iranian proxy, its grip on Lebanese politics, and the limits of diplomacy while the group remains armed and entrenched. He also discusses the weaknesses of the Lebanese Armed Forces, the risks of international miscalculation, and what a realistic path toward Hezbollah’s disarmament would require.

The conversation offers a clear-eyed look at Iran’s regional influence, Hezbollah’s evolving strategy, and why lasting peace depends on changing the conditions that allow the group to operate as a state within a state.

In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, host Lauri Regan speaks with U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman about his new book, Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law.

Judge Altman applies courtroom standards of evidence, burden of proof, and legal reasoning to accusations leveled against Israel, including claims of genocide, apartheid, and illegal occupation. The conversation examines how law, history, and factual evidence can clarify one of the most contested debates in international politics.

Regan and Altman also discuss modern antisemitism, the role of the United Nations and other international bodies, the challenge of separating fact from narrative, and why critical thinking matters in an age of information overload.

Iran’s military isn’t built to win fast — it’s built to survive.

Host Lauri Regan speaks with Iran analyst Alexander Grinberg of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security on Tehran’s decentralized “mosaic defense” doctrine — a system designed to function even if central command is destroyed.

They examine how fragmented command, autonomous units, and proxy networks allow Iran to absorb strikes and continue operating, and why that resilience complicates U.S. and Israeli strategy.

The return of Israeli hostages marked an emotional turning point—and the clearest sign of Donald Trump’s renewed influence in the Middle East. His intervention pushed Israel toward a fragile peace that trades withdrawal for relief, as Hamas reasserts control in Gaza and global leaders remain hesitant to condemn it. With Netanyahu absent from the talks, Israel’s strategy and Hamas’s future hang in the balance. Has Israel traded security for symbolism? Can Hamas be disarmed through diplomacy? What comes next for Gaza and the region?

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).

The Houthis (Ansar Allah), entrenched in Yemen’s highlands and backed by Iran, have resisted years of military campaigns and efforts to dislodge them through diplomacy. Controlling key territory, including the Yemeni capital and a large part of the coastline, and exploiting the humanitarian crisis, they wield growing power and regional influence. The Houthi campaign against shipping on the Gulf of Aden-Red Sea route has effectively shuttered a key global maritime artery. Can local resistance, regional unity, and international resolve finally defeat them, or is Yemen fated to remain an arena for endless conflict?Summer Ahmed is a researcher and analyst of the Middle East. Yemen-born, she is the Yemeni Southern Transition Council’s Foreign Affairs Representative to the United States. She holds a BBA from Northwood University.

Dearborn, Michigan, long celebrated for multicultural harmony, now faces scrutiny for suppressing dissent under claims of fighting Islamophobia. Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s public attack on Christian critic Ted Barham coupled with the city council’s silence on Hamas and Hezbollah, raises alarms about radical Islamism’s influence. Dexter Van Zile, on a recent visit to Dearborn, observed further evidence of Islamism and support for terror in other forms. What future awaits non-Muslim voices in Dearborn, and what does this mean for religious freedom in America?Dexter Van Zile, the Middle East Forum’s Violin Family Research Fellow, serves as managing editor of Focus on Western Islamism. Prior to his current position, Van Zile worked at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis for 16 years, where he played a major role in countering misinformation broadcast into Christian churches by Palestinian Christians and refuting antisemitic propaganda broadcast by white nationalists and their allies in the U.S. His articles have appeared in the Jerusalem Post, the Boston Globe, Jewish Political Studies Review, the Algemeiner and the Jewish News Syndicate. He has authored numerous academic studies and book chapters about Christian anti-Zionism.