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Hosted by David Makovsky · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 78 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
Decision Points is a Washington Institute podcast hosted by David Makovsky 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, the third season explored Israel's contemporary policy dilemmas, and the fourth season highlighted books essential to understanding Zionism, Israel, and U.S.-Israel relations. Season 5 dives into the Gaza war and explores the long-term implications for Israel, U.S.-Israel relations, and the Middle East region. In each episode, distinguished scholars, analysts, journalists, and officials will put the current conflict in perspective and discuss the road ahead. Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Director of its 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-
David Makovsky hosts Decision Points, a history show with 78 episodes published.
The recent NATO summit in Ankara raised the already high temperatures between Israel and Turkey, two major regional powers. President Trump says he's considering selling U.S. F-35 stealth fighters to Turkey despite the o
The Gaza war is over, but the misery on the ground continues. Reconstruction in the Gaza Strip has stalled; Hamas refuses to disarm; and the world's attention has moved on to the Iran war and other issues. Gaza remains b
The conflict may be over, but the shockwaves of the Iran war are still spreading. The United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states endured Iranian drone and missile strikes; Iran withstood weeks of bombardment from the U.S
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly central to U.S. strategy in the Middle East. AI has played a pivotal role in the current Iran war, even as the U.S. is deepening its AI investments in the region. Israel a
Conflicting statements from President Trump leave open the question about whether the Iran war is any closer to being over or whether the significant impasse over the nuclear program remains an impediment. Regardless of
One of Israel’s most important election cycles is underway. Opposition parties see a rare chance to oust Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, who now heads the most right-wing coalition in Is
Lebanon and Israel held diplomatic talks for the first time in decades after Israel's months-long campaign against Hezbollah. But the ceasefire is shaky: Israel displaced close to a million Lebanese civilians amid fighti
After nearly six weeks of war, the U.S. and Iran agreed on April 8 to a fragile two-week ceasefire. But Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan Sunday after 21 hours of high-level talks with the Iranians without making pro
As part of Iran’s retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war, Tehran has targeted the United Arab Emirates with more than 2,000 ballistic missiles and drones. Senior Emirati officials warn that their confrontation with Iran wo
As the Iran war shakes the Middle East, Hezbollah has fired missiles into northern Israel, and Israel has struck Hezbollah-related targets across Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut, leaving hundreds dead and hundre
In this special episode of Decision Points , Washington Institute experts Dennis Ross, Dana Stroul, Robert Satloff, and Holly Dagres sit down with the Institute's managing director, Michael Singh, to assess the joi
The United States and Iran stand on the brink of war. The Pentagon has deployed a huge amount of air power in the Middle East, and President Trump has set a 10-15 day deadline to decide whether to strike. In the first ep
Decision Points is the podcast that gets beyond the noise on tough choices in the Middle East. Hosted by David Makovsky of The Washington Institute, the show brings together top policymakers and experts from Washington a
Israeli society has been through the gambit of emotions in 2024: from the national trauma of the aftermath of October 7th and repeated failed hostage negotiations, to major military achievements that have shifted the reg
After just a few days of fighting, Bashar al-Assad's regime has fallen, and Assad has fled to Russia. However, the collapse of the Assad regime is far from a fairytale ending. The rebels responsible for toppling Assad, H
The past few weeks in the region have been some of the most eventful in recent history. Hizbullah, the crown jewel of Iran’s proxy network, has suffered a devastating blow, Iran’s air defense systems have been dismantled
After more than a year of intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, President Biden recently announced a ceasefire, raising hopes that this agreement could save lives, restore stability, and bring an end to the unpr
Since October 1st, tensions between Israel and Iran have reached new heights. In recent weeks, we’ve seen significant Israeli strikes on Iranian targets and a weakening of Iran’s proxy network. At the same time, Israel i
On October 16th, the world was shocked to learn that the architect of the October 7th attacks, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by an IDF infantry unit. Yahya Sinwar’s death was a central goal of the Israeli war effort, and it m
On November 5th, Americans will head to the polls to make a decision that will shape U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East for years to come. Now more than ever, it is important to understand the critical foreign p
Victoria Coates
Author and Vice President of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation · The Heritage Foundation
1 appearance on this show
Ray Takeyh
Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies · Vandenberg
1 appearance on this show
Dana Stroul
Director of Research and Shelly and Michael Kassen Senior Fellow · Washington Institute for Near East Policy
1 appearance on this show
Yossi Klein Halevi
Senior Fellow · Shalom Hartman Institute
1 appearance on this show
Dennis Ross
Counselor and William Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute · The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
1 appearance on this show
Ghaith al-Omari
Washington Institute
1 appearance on this show
Shira Efron
RAND Corporation
1 appearance on this show
Ghaith Al-Omari
The Washington Institute
1 appearance on this show
Hanin Ghaddar
Washington Institute
1 appearance on this show
Yedidia Stern
Jewish People Policy Institute
1 appearance on this show
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Decision Points is hosted by David Makovsky. The show is categorised under history (government) and has published 78 episodes.
Decision Points has published 78 episodes.
Decision Points regularly covers history, government, news. It sits in the history category, with a government focus.
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