logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
30m 45s

Israeli politics with Merav Michaeli

ECFR
About this episode
Earlier this month, Israel marked its 75th birthday amid one of the biggest crises of democracy the country has ever experienced. Since returning to power in December last year, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has introduced a set of controversial judicial reforms, resulting in mass protests on the streets of Tel Aviv and beyond.This week, Mark Leonard welcomes member of the Knesset and leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Merav Michaeli, to discuss what is at stake with these reforms and how they could affect the country’s global standing. What is behind the waning influence of the left in Israel over the past 20 years? What can be done to reinvigorate the peace process with the Palestinians? And what might the next 75 years have in store for the Israel? This podcast was recorded on 23 May 2023. Bookshelf: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Will Trump bomb Iran?
Protests across Iran have entered their third week and Donald Trump is said to be considering a military intervention against the Khamenei regime. According to human rights organisations, its brutal crackdown against demonstrators has led to at least 2,500 deaths, as well as an i ... Show More
35m 49s
Jan 9
The world in 2026
Following on from January 2nd’s prediction episode, Mark Leonard hosts Julien Barnes-Dacey, ECFR’s Middle East programme director, Alex Vines, ECFR’s Africa programme director, Andrew Small, ECFR’s Asia programme director, and Jana Kobzová, co-director of ECFR’s European Security ... Show More
27m 40s
Jan 5
Trump attacks Venzuela
On January 3rd, the US military struck Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro. Trump has declared that America will now “run” the country, shifting from a narrative which had focused on the US fighting a war against drug traffickers to a narrative which sees the US ... Show More
35m 31s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2022
The Far Right Rises in Israel
<p>This week, Israel swore in a new Parliament, paving the way back to power for former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as he is on trial for corruption. Now, the country is on the cusp of its most right-wing government in history.</p><p>Who and what forces are behind the ... Show More
29m 16s
Mar 2023
Strikes and protests as pressure mounts on Israel's PM
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under immense pressure over controversial judicial reforms that he wants to push through. The changes to the country's justice system have provoked an outpouring of anger from nearly all parts of Israeli society, including its powerfu ... Show More
48m 59s
Apr 2023
Netanya-boooooo: The Israeli protests against judicial reforms
<p>During his most recent campaign to become Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu promised that he would overhaul the judiciary.&nbsp;</p><br><p>When the elections came around, the fourth in five years, his Likud Party, with the help of some far-right allies, were able to ... Show More
40m 56s
Jun 2021
Will Netanyahu Fall?
<p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has always sold himself as a peerless defender of his country. In the minds of many Israelis, he has become a kind of indispensable leader for the nation’s future.</p><p>Despite that image, Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving pri ... Show More
27m 45s
Mar 2023
Protests and the Future of Democracy in Israel
<p>Almost immediately after taking power in December, Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition in Isreal proposed a highly contentious overhaul of the Supreme Court.</p><p>The court has long been seen as a crucial check and lone backstop on the government, and the plan has divide ... Show More
29m 3s
Mar 2023
Israel’s Far Right Government Backs Down
<p>For months in Israel, the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing a highly contentious plan to fundamentally change the country’s Supreme Court, setting off some of the largest demonstrations in Israel’s history.</p><p>On Monday, Mr. Netanyah ... Show More
23m 4s
May 2023
Israel on the Brink
<p>Ben and Tommy are joined by Max Fisher for a special episode on the roots of the judicial crisis in Israel that has brought millions of protestors out into the streets and still threatens to tear the country apart. They dig into the unresolved constitutional questions from Isr ... Show More
55m 33s
Jun 2024
What's behind massive anti-Netanyahu protests in Israel?
Over the weekend, tens of thousands marched in the streets of Tel Aviv to protest against the Israeli government. This particular protest was calling for early elections and a hostage deal now. Demonstrations similar to the one over the weekend have been a regular occurrence acro ... Show More
26m 10s
Dec 2023
A Different Path Israel Could Have Taken — and Maybe Still Can
<p>Before Oct. 7, Israel appeared to many to be sliding into a “one-state reality,” where it had functional control over Gaza and the West Bank, but the Palestinians who lived there were denied full rights. In 2021, a group of hundreds of former senior defense and diplomatic offi ... Show More
59m 26s
Mar 2023
Netanyahu delays legal reforms after strikes
Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would delay a key part of controversial plans to overhaul the justice system to prevent a "rupture among our people". However it is unclear what a delay will achieve beyond buying time. It followed intense protests after he ... Show More
48m 53s