Israel Dialogues
Winter 2026 sessions, 12:00 pm
The Israel Dialogues returns for our Winter Semester. This series of expert discussions provides a nuanced window into the state’s critical challenges and evolving successes. Presented by a respected cross-section of academics, former diplomats, and policy experts, the program offers participants an opportunity to engage with the fundamental issues facing Israel, its people, and the Jewish diaspora today.
The January-April 2026 season moves beyond surface-level headlines to explore the regional, international, and domestic factors shaping Israel’s future. From the strategic role of Gulf states like Qatar to the internal pressures of Iranian politics and the impact of media algorithms on power, this series aims to bridge the gap between scholarly research and the public consciousness.
With thanks to our Israel Dialogues Organizing Committee and our expert panellists.
January 15: “Israel’s Moment of Truth”
with Prof. Dan Ben-David, Professor of Economics
TAU, Founder & President, Shoresh Institute
Prof. Dan Ben-David has served as the president and founder of Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research, from its founding in 2015 until today. He received his PhD from The University of Chicago and is a specialist in Macroeconomics, Economic Growth and Development, International Trade and the Israeli Economy. Named ‘Person of the Year’ by Calcalist newspaper and included 3 times in the Haaretz newspaper’s annual list of Israel’s 100 most influential people. His academic research placed him among the ten most cited economists in Israel during the years 1990-2000.
January 27: “Captured Screens: How Media Oligarchs and Algorithms Lock in Power”
with Prof. Guy Rolnik, Strategic Management
Booth School of Business, U of Chicago
Prof. Guy Rolnik is an expert in the intersection of business, finance, regulation, politics, and the media. He is an internationally acclaimed economic strategist and the creator and director of multiple documentary films on business, economics, and politics focusing on the power and influence of big tech and social media. Rolnik is the 2013 recipient of the Sokolov Prize for lifetime achievement, Israel’s most prestigious journalism honor. He is an active lecturer at the University of Chicago in the Booth School of Business.
February 6: “US-Israeli Relations & the Changing ME Arena: A Conversation”
with Dr. Aaron David Miller, Carnegie Endowment & Prof. Emeritus Asher Susser, TAU/ Dayan Centre
Dr. Aaron David Miller is a Middle East analyst, author, and negotiator. He is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy. He previously was vice president for new initiatives at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and has been an advisor to both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state. He is a Global Affairs Analyst for CNN.
Dr. Susser is Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University (TAU). He was the Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at TAU for twelve years and taught for over thirty-five years in TAU’s Department of Middle Eastern History. Dr. Susser’s most recent book is Jordan, Palestine, and the Politics of Collective Identity – A History. (Boulder & London: Lynne Reiner, 2024)
February 19: “The Other Side of the Moon: MEOs as a Prelude to Peace – Lessons for Israel”. [MEOs = Mutually Enhancing Opportunities]
with Dr. Amira Schiff, Sr.Lec. & Director, Conflict Management, Negotiation, and Resolution Graduate Program, Bar-Ilan University
Dr. Amira Schiff is director of the Conflict Resolution, Management, and Negotiations Program at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Her research includes conflict management and peace processes in intra- and interstate conflict, pre-negotiation processes, and international negotiation. She is the author of Negotiating Intractable Conflicts: Readiness Theory Revisited (2019).
February 26: “Israel’s Changing Political Culture & Implications for Liberal Democracy” *
with Dr. Mark A. Heller, Senior Researcher (Emeritus)
Institute for National Security Studies & Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Mark A. Heller is a senior researcher (Emeritus) at the Institute for National Security Studies and Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute, Washington, DC. Dr. Heller received his B.A. in Political Science and Economics at the University of Toronto and did his graduate studies at Harvard University, where he earned an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and a Ph.D. in Political Science. Since 1979, he has been affiliated with the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies (formerly, the Center for Strategic Studies), now incorporated into the Institute for National Security Studies, and he has taught Middle Eastern politics and international relations at Tel Aviv University and at several American universities, including the University of California at San Diego, Cornell University, and Harvard University. Dr. Heller has written extensively on Middle Eastern political and strategic issues.
March 4: “Israel and Somaliland: A New Horizon in the Red Sea Arena”
with Dr. Maxwell Webb, Independent analyst of the Horn of Africa and the Middle East
Coordinator of Leadership, Israel Policy Forum Atid Program
Dr. Maxwell Webb is an independent Horn of Africa and Middle East analyst who currently serves as the coordinator of leadership initiatives at the Israel Policy Forum’s IPF Atid program. Max has spent significant time in the Horn of Africa conducting research on Somaliland foreign policy, and is a 4-time guest and panelist at the Hargeysa International Book Fair speaking on regional geopolitics and great power competition. This May, Max received a certificate in Horn of Africa studies from the Rift Valley Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. His work can be seen with the Atlantic Council, International Policy Digest, and Israel Policy Exchange.
March 11: “Qatar: Micro-state but Macro-role”
with Dr. Ariel Admoni, Bar-Ilan University & Research Fellow, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS – specialist on Gulf States)
Dr. Ariel Admoni is a researcher specializing in Qatari policy, and lectures in academic, media, governmental, and security forums on issues related to Qatar. He received his PhD from Bar-Ilan University. Before his current role at the JISS (Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security) he was a speaker at Cambridge University from 2022-2024.
March 19: “Civil Society & Democracy: the Intersection of Faith, Politics and Social Justice” *
with Mikhael Manekin, Inaugural Van Leer Fellow
Van Leer Foundation, Jerusalem. Director of the Alliance Fellowship Network
Mikhael is an Israeli activist, writer, and community organiser working at the intersection of faith, politics, and social justice. He engages with issues of occupation, equality, and democracy. He previously served as the director of Breaking the Silence, an organization that gathers testimonies from Israeli soldiers about their experiences in the occupied territories, and the progressive think tank Molad. He is also one of the leaders of the Faithful Left movement.
March 26: “Iran: Managing Internal Challenges and External Pressures” *
with Prof. Meir Litvak, Chair
Department of Middle Eastern and African History & former Director, Alliance Center for Iranian Studies, Tel-Aviv University
Prof. Meir Litvak is a Professor at the Department of Middle Eastern History and a senior research associate at the Alliance Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on Modern Iranian and Shi`I history, modern Islamic movements, and Arab anti-Semitism.
April 16: “Religious Dimensions of the Middle East Conflict: Actors and Opportunities”
with Rabbi Dr. Daniel Roth, Director of Mosaica
Graduate Program for Conflict Management, Resolution, and Negotiation, Bar-Ilan University
Rabbi Dr. Daniel Roth is the director of Mosaica, an Israeli NGO advancing community mediation and dialogue in Israel. Roth’s work focuses on the network of insider religious mediators who help prevent, mitigate, and mediate crisis situations throughout Israel, the Middle East, and beyond. Roth also works to connect religious leaders to the national network of community mediation and dialogue centers throughout Israel including in the Arab sector and in mixed Jewish-Arab cities and areas, which Mosaica professionally supports through a tender of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs.
Formerly, Roth was the founder and director of the Pardes Center for Judaism and Conflict Resolution; the Mahloket Matters Projects; and the 9Adar: Jewish Week of Constructive Conflict.
Roth holds a Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan University’s Graduate Program for Conflict Management, Resolution, and Negotiation; an MA in Talmud from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; a B.Ed in Jewish Philosophy from Herzog Teachers’ College; and studied for eight years at Yeshivat Har Etzion during which time he received Orthodox rabbinic ordination.
