Advertise on podcast: On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir

Today’s guest is Dr. Feride Rushiti, founder and Executive Director of the Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims. Dr. Rushiti, a medical doctor, began treating civilian victims of war during the Kosovo war in 1999. She was among the first doctors to recognize the need for treatment of psychological trauma for refugees fleeing the violence, particularly for women and minority groups. Dr. Rushiti also played a key role in developing Kosovo’s legal framework for the humane treatment of prisoners and other detainees, successfully advocating for independent monitoring of detention facilities. In March 2018, Dr. Rushiti received the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award in recognition of her work with survivors of torture and human rights advocacy. In this episode, Alon and Dr. Rushiti discuss her work with survivors of sexual violence during wartime and what led her into this work, efforts to have survivors of sexual violence recognized as war victims in Kosovo and to dismantle stigmas against survivors, the impact of intergenerational trauma, and encouraging survivors to seek support. Full bio Dr. Feride Rushiti is the founder and Executive Director of the Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (KRCT). Through almost two decades of research and advocacy, Dr. Rushiti has secured access to healthcare and justice for civilian victims of Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war. Her advocacy led to the recognition of the survivors of wartime sexual violence among other civilian victims of war in 2014 as well as the landmark decision in 2017 by the Cossack government to fund pensions for Kosovo’s victims of wartime sexual violence. Dr. Rushiti, a medical doctor, began treating civilian victims of war during the active conflict in 1999. She was among the first doctors to recognize the need for treatment of psychological trauma for refugees fleeing the violence, particularly for women and minority groups. She pioneered a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing the needs of conflict victims, with an aspiration to build a single organization to provide psycho-social support, legal assistance, medication, treatment, and policy advocacy. Dr. Rushiti also played a key role in developing Kosovo’s legal framework for the humane treatment of prisoners and other detainees, advocating successfully for the independent monitoring of detention facilities. In March 2018, Dr. Rushiti received the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award in recognition of her work with survivors of torture and human rights advocacy. Throughout her career, she has received numerous other prizes in recognition of her human rights work with survivors of wartime sexual violence as well as other marginalized groups.

Today’s guest is Kelsey P. Norman, a fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute and director of the Women’s Rights, Human Rights, and Refugees Program. Her book with Dr. Nicholas Micinski, titled Aiding Autocrats: Migration Management, Governance, and Repression in Africa, offers the first global account of how wealthy countries use money and influence to control the movement of people across the world. In this episode, Alon and Kelsey discuss the broader implications of migration management aid, what it does and what kind of impact it actually has, how this type of aid often does not actually reduce migration and can in fact undermine democracy, and whether or not these systems can be improved upon to have the type of impact they are intended to have. Full bio Kelsey Norman, Ph.D., is a fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute and director of the Women’s Rights, Human Rights, and Refugees Program. Her research focuses on the politics of migration and refugee hosting in the Middle East and globally, as well as human rights, comparative political institutions, international relations, and Middle East and North African politics. She also teaches courses in the Department of Political Science and the Master of Global Affairs program at Rice University. Her research has been published in academic journals including the European Journal of International Relations, International Studies Review, the Journal of Global Security Studies, International Migration Review, The Journal of Refugee Studies, Migration Politics, and the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, among others. She has also published policy-oriented articles in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and The Conversation. Her article, “Rich Countries Cannot Outsource Their Migration Dilemmas,” won the 2021 Perry World House-Foreign Affairs Emerging Scholars Policy Prize. In recognition of her research, she was awarded the 2025 Emerging Scholar award by the Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration section of the International Studies Association, as well as an Honorable Mention for the 2025 Emerging Scholar award by the Migration and Citizenship section of the American Political Science Association. Her first book, Reluctant Reception: Refugees, Migration, and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2021. The book is based on three years of fieldwork in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey, and is adapted from her award-winning dissertation. The book was selected as one of Choice’s Outstanding Titles for 2021, was awarded an honorable mention by the American Political Science Association’s Migration and Citizenship 2021 Best Book Committee, and was selected for The Washington Post’s 2022 Annual African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular. Her second book with Dr. Nicholas Micinski, titled Aiding Autocrats: Migration Management, Governance, and Repression in Africa, is forthcoming in 2026 from Cambridge University Press. The book offers the first global account of how wealthy countries use money and influence to control the movement of people across the world. Prior to joining the Baker Institute, Norman was an SSHRC postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia and a postdoctoral fellow at the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy at the University of Denver. She received her doctorate in political science from the University of California, Irvine, a master of public policy from the University of Toronto, and a bachelor of arts from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Today’s guest is Ambassador Lukman Faily, Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations. Ambassador Faily has served in various roles in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including as Ambassador of Iraq to Japan, the United States, and most recently, Germany. In this episode, Alon and Ambassador Faily discuss diplomacy at the United Nations, especially at a time of great global conflict and advancing technologies like AI, how dialogue and discussion are utilized in managing world affairs in relation to security, development, and human rights, and what impact the redefinition of the US’ national security and role in the world will have globally. Full bio Ambassador Lukman Faily is the Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations. Ambassador Faily has served in various roles in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as Ambassador of Iraq to Japan, the United States, and most recently, Germany. Ambassador Faily represents a rising generation of professionals, business leaders, and civic activists who have returned home to build a free-market democracy in their native land. Mr. Faily brings extensive experience in diplomacy, business organization management, Information Technology, and civic activism, as well as a familiarity with Anglo-American traditions and institutions, to his role. From August 2021 until July 2025, Mr. Faily served as Iraq’s Ambassador to Germany. He previously served as Ambassador to Japan from June 2010 until May 2013. Before this assignment, he served as an Ambassador at the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Faily lived in the United Kingdom for 20 years, working in the Information Technology sector for several transnational companies. During his last ten years in the UK, he held senior management positions in two major American companies, Ceridan Centrefile and then Electronic Data Systems, which is now part of Hewlett Packard. In addition, he held consultancy and team-leader positions in the Information Technology sector. While living and working in the UK, Mr. Faily was an active leader within the large Iraqi exile community and served as a trustee for several non-governmental Iraqi organizations. He also played an active role in opposing Saddam’s dictatorship and advocated for democracy and rule of law in Iraq. Mr. Faily holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK in 1988. Continuing his postgraduate studies, he has completed a Master in Business Administration (MBA) in Technology Management and a postgraduate degree in Computing for Commerce and Industry. Fluent in English, Arabic and Kurdish, Ambassador Faily was born in Baghdad in 1966. He is married to Mrs. Lameis Faily and is the father of four boys.

Today’s guest is Dr. Dania Arayssi, a Senior Research Fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy and a scholar of Middle East political economy and participation. She also serves as an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and teaches at George Washington University. Her research focuses on Middle East politics, with particular expertise in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and Hezbollah. In this episode, Alon and Dania discuss the fragmentation of the order and power that used to exist in the Middle East, the efforts of Iran to spread their influence and power in an attempt to hold on to the old order, the possibility of a NATO-like alliance in the Middle East, and the potential for security arrangements like the Mecca Agreement eventually encompassing Israel alongside its neighbors. Full bio Dania Arayssi, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy and a scholar of Middle East political economy and participation. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Colorado Boulder, where her dissertation examined the political effects of remittances and civic engagement in the Middle East. She also served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at CU Boulder and held fellowships with the Barney Ford Lab for Civic Thought and Engagement and the Institute of Behavioral Science. Arayssi also serves as an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and teaches at George Washington University. Before joining New Lines, Arayssi held analytical and research roles with the World Bank, USAID, Oxfam America, and the U.S. Army War College. Her research focuses on Middle East politics, with particular expertise in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and Hezbollah. Her doctoral work investigates how remittance income shapes political behavior and civic engagement in Lebanon, challenging conventional theories of political mobilization. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Beirut and leads survey research initiatives examining political participation patterns across the region. Dania’s broader research interests include democracy and peace studies, development economics, economic policy, elections and voting behavior, non-state actors and ideology, protest movements, race and representation, regime change, and trust development. She has particular expertise in the role of civil society organizations in political transitions and democratization processes. At the New Lines Institute, Dania’s work addresses critical policy questions related to Syrian political transitions, minority inclusion in post-conflict governance, and regional security dynamics. Her recent publications analyze Al-Sharaa’s governance model in Syria and the implications for U.S. strategic interests in the region. She regularly briefs congressional staff and policymakers on Middle East security issues. Her work has been published by Foreign Policy and the Digest of Middle East Studies as well as regional and international media outlets. Dania holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Colorado Boulder, a Master of Public Policy from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, a master’s degree in History of International Relations from Saint Joseph University in Beirut, and a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the American University of Science and Technology. She has also completed a Diploma in International Criminal Law from the Asser Institute in The Hague.

Today’s guest is Major General G. G. Dwivedi. He retired as an Assistant Chief Integrated Defense Staff in the Indian Army in 2009 after 38 years of distinguished service. He is a professor of International Relations and has taught at a number of universities, including Aligarh University, where he was instrumental in establishing the Faculty of International Studies. He has authored/edited five books; published over 50 articles including book chapters on Geo Strategy, National Security and Leadership, and over 70 short pieces in the leading professional journals and national dailies. In this episode, Alon and Major General Dwivedi discuss the changing winds in West Asia specifically since Trump came to power in the US, the impact of the war in Iran on Asian countries, especially India and China, and the diminishing of American influence in the region. Full bio Major General G G Dwivedi retired as an Assistant Chief Integrated Defence Staff (strategic) in 2009, after 38 years of distinguished service in the Indian Army (Infantry). A Veteran of the Bangladesh War in 1971, he later commanded unit/formations in intense operational environment; as well as held important staff, instructional and foreign assignments. A graduate of National Defence Academy Kharkvasla, he holds M Sc, MBA, M.Phil (double) in Defence & Strategic Studies from Madras University and a Ph.D. in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Besides Interpretership in Chinese from the School of Foreign Languages, he obtained ‘Art & Practice of Leadership Development’ and Senior Executives Programme in National/International Security from Harvard Kennedy School, USA. An alumnus of National Defence College, he has been faculty at Indian Military Academy Dehradun and Defence Services Staff College Wellington; served as Defence Attaché in China, Mongolia, and North Korea. He was instrumental in the formulation of numerous concept papers and doctrines as the Head of Doctrine/Strategic Branches. From 2013-17, he was a Professor of International Relations at Aligarh University, a central university, and was instrumental in establishing the new Faculty of International Studies. Currently he is a Visiting Faculty at Foreign Services Institute Delhi, Panjab University Chandigarh and North Cap University, Gurgaon, and is a resource person for UGC HRD Centers of Leading Central Universities. He has authored/edited five books; published over 50 articles including book chapters on Geo Strategy, National Security and Leadership, and over 70 short pieces in the leading professional journals and national dailies. A member of renowned think tanks, he regularly guest speaks at premier ‘Centers of Excellence’ both in India and abroad and appears frequently on national television as a panelist.

Today’s guest is Serap Fišo, an independent researcher, freelance project expert, social activist, and storyteller. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science and Sociology from the International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2023, where she examined forced migration, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and identity construction in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this episode, Alon and Serap discuss how the Bosnian war and the subsequent Dayton Peace Agreement affected women’s development in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially academic challenges faced by women, how socioeconomic issues fueled displacement and migration, and memory and history and their impact on refugees, especially women. In addition, they discuss I Want to Live, a participatory theatre initiative involving migrants from a number of countries living in Sarajevo, exploring womanhood, migration, displacement, family, and belonging. Full bio Serap Fišo is an independent researcher, freelance project expert, social activist, and storyteller, born and raised in Lüleburgaz, Türkiye. She comes from a Macedonian-Turkish family whose roots trace back to Štip, North Macedonia. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science and Sociology from the International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2023. Her doctoral research examined forced migration, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and identity construction in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 2014 to 2023, she was engaged in higher education and academic research as a Senior Assistant in the Department of Political Science at the International University of Sarajevo. She currently works as a freelance project expert and independent researcher. Her research interests include migration studies, women’s and gender studies, memory studies, qualitative research methodologies, participatory and community-based arts, and post-conflict peacebuilding.

Today’s guest is Michael Wuthrich, Associate Professor of Political Science and the Associate Director for Global & International Studies at the University of Kansas. He is co-author of the book, Beyond Piety and Politics: Religion, Social Relations, and Public Preferences in the Middle East and North Africa. In this episode, Alon and Mike discuss the intersection of religion and politics, particularly in the non-Arab Muslim countries of Turkey and Iran, what has been behind the growth of Islam globally, changes in secularism in Turkey under Erdogan, and the impact of the Islamic Republic on religiosity for everyday people in Iran. Full bio Mike Wuthrich is an Associate Professor of Political Science and the Associate Director for Global & International Studies at the University of Kansas. He received his PhD in Political Science from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey in 2011. His interests are Middle East politics, particularly Turkish, Kurdish, and Iranian politics, parties and party systems, electoral behavior, religion and politics, women and politics in Turkey, and nationalism. His publications have appeared in Journal of Democracy, Political Research Quarterly, Parliamentary Affairs, the International Journal of Middle East Studies, the Middle East Journal, and Turkish Studies among others. He is co-author of the book, Beyond Piety and Politics: Religion, Social Relations, and Public Preferences in the Middle East and North Africa, with Indiana University Press in 2022. His book, National Elections in Turkey: People, Politics, and the Party System was published in 2015 with Syracuse University Press.

Today’s guest is Tony Klug, a Middle East analyst who has been a senior advisor on the Middle East to the Oxford Research Group and a consultant to the Palestine Strategy Group and the Israeli Strategic Forum. In this episode, Alon and Tony discuss the plausibility of a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the feasibility of such a resolution, the past negotiations between Israel, the Palestinians, and involved Arab states, and what can be done based on the current facts on the ground. Full bio Dr Tony Klug has been a senior advisor on the Middle East to the Oxford Research Group and a consultant to the Palestine Strategy Group and the Israeli Strategic Forum. He has written extensively about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the early 1970s and was one of the first advocates of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel in the wake of the 1967 war. His PhD thesis (1979) was on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. For many years, he worked at Amnesty International, where he headed the international development program.

Welcome to another episode of “On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir.” Today’s guest is Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation. Considered one of the foremost experts on Sudan and the Horn of Africa, his scholarly work and practice has also probed humanitarian crisis and response, human rights, HIV/AIDS and governance in Africa, and conflict and peace-building. In this episode, Alon and Alex discuss the background of the current war in Sudan, both the immediate spark and the underlying history, the role of external forces in the conflict, the prospects for a resolution to this conflict, and the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe that has been fueled by this war. Full bio Alex de Waal is the Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation. Considered one of the foremost experts on Sudan and the Horn of Africa, his scholarly work and practice has also probed humanitarian crisis and response, human rights, HIV/AIDS and governance in Africa, and conflict and peace-building. His latest book is Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine (Polity Press 2017). He is also he author of The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa (Polity Press, 2015), a full list of his publications is available below. Following a fellowship with the Global Equity Initiative at Harvard (2004-06), he worked with the Social Science Research Council as Director of the program on HIV/AIDS and Social Transformation, and led projects on conflict and humanitarian crises in Africa (2006-09). During 2005-06, de Waal was seconded to the African Union mediation team for Darfur and from 2009-11 served as senior adviser to the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel for Sudan, where he took on a number of roles in the negotiations leading to the independence of South Sudan. He was on the list of Foreign Policy's 100 most influential public intellectuals in 2008 and Atlantic Monthly's 27 "brave thinkers" in 2009.

Today’s guest is Aaron David Miller, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Between 1978 and 2003, he served at the State Department as an historian, analyst, negotiator, and advisor to Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, where he helped formulate U.S. policy on the Middle East and the Arab-Israel peace process, most recently as the senior advisor for Arab-Israeli negotiations. In this episode, Alon and Aaron discuss the current state of Israeli-Palestinian affairs and what the prospects are for peace, including regionally, what we may see from the upcoming elections in Israel, the current status of the Iran war and its implications for the region, the Gulf states’ concerns about their security in the war’s aftermath, Israel’s gains and losses from the war, and the state of US foreign policy under Trump toward the region. Full bio Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy. He has written five books, including his most recent, The End of Greatness: Why America Can’t Have (and Doesn’t Want) Another Great President (Palgrave, 2014) and The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace (Bantam, 2008), and hosts Carnegie Connects, Carnegie’s premier live podcast. He received his PhD in Middle East and U.S. diplomatic history from the University of Michigan in 1977. Between 1978 and 2003, Miller served at the State Department as an historian, analyst, negotiator, and advisor to Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, where he helped formulate U.S. policy on the Middle East and the Arab-Israel peace process, most recently as the senior advisor for Arab-Israeli negotiations. He also served as the deputy special Middle East coordinator for Arab-Israeli negotiations, senior member of the State Department’s policy planning staff, in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and in the office of the historian. He has received the department’s Distinguished, Superior, and Meritorious Honor Awards. Miller is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and formerly served as resident scholar at the Georgetown Center for Strategic and International Studies. He has been a featured presenter at the World Economic Forum and leading U.S. universities. Between 2003 and 2006 he served as president of Seeds of Peace, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence. From 2006 to 2019, Miller was a public policy scholar; vice president for new initiatives, and director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Miller’s articles have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, Foreign Policy, and Foreign Affairs. He is a frequent commentator on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, BBC, and Sirius XM radio.

Today’s podcast guest is Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Previously, he worked as senior Gulf analyst at the Gulf Center for Strategic Studies and as codirector of the Kuwait Program on Development, Governance and Globalization in the Gulf States at the London School of Economics. In this episode, Alon and Kristian discuss the still-ongoing war on Iran, the impact the war has had on the Gulf States, Trump’s ability or failure to negotiate an end to the conflict, and whether or not we may see further escalation of the conflict. Full bio Kristian Coates Ulrichsen is the Fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Working across the disciplines of political science, international relations and international political economy, his research examines the changing position of Persian Gulf states in the global order, as well as the emergence of longer-term, nonmilitary challenges to regional security. Previously, he worked as senior Gulf analyst at the Gulf Center for Strategic Studies and as codirector of the Kuwait Program on Development, Governance and Globalization in the Gulf States at the London School of Economics. Coates Ulrichsen has published extensively on the Gulf. His most recent books include The Gulf States in International Political Economy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and The United Arab Emirates: Power, Politics, and Policymaking (Routledge, 2016). His articles have appeared in numerous academic journals, including Global Policy and the Journal of Arabian Studies, and he consults regularly on Gulf issues for Oxford Analytica and the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center. He also writes regularly for the Economist Intelligence Unit, Open Democracy, and Foreign Policy, and authors a monthly column for Gulf Business News and Analysis. He holds a doctorate in history from the University of Cambridge.

Today’s guest is Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, Founding Director of the Center for Governance and Markets and a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public and International Affairs. She is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a Distinguished Fellow of Peace and International Cooperation at the Institute for Humane Studies. In this episode, Alon and Jennifer discuss the situation in Afghanistan under the Taliban, particularly the difference between the Taliban 1.0 that ruled in the 1990s prior to the US invasion, and the current Taliban 2.0, the Taliban’s relations with Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, women’s rights in Afghanistan currently, and the prospective for insurgency against the Taliban. Full bio Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili is Founding Director of the Center for Governance and Markets and a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public & International Affairs. Her research focuses on issues of self-governance, security, political economy, and public sector reform in Eurasia, Central Eurasia, and South Asia. She is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a Distinguished Fellow of Peace and International Cooperation at the Institute for Humane Studies. Murtazashvili is the author of several books including Land, the State, and War: Property Institutions and Political Order in Afghanistan (Cambridge University Press, 2021) with Ilia Murtazashvili, and Informal Order and the State in Afghanistan (Cambridge University Press, 2016), which received the Best Book Award in Social Sciences by the Central Eurasian Studies Society and received honorable mention from the International Development Section of the International Studies Association. Murtazashvili has advised the United States Agency for International Development, the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, World Bank, the US Department of Defense, the United Nations Development Program, and UNICEF. She is the President of the Central Eurasian Studies Society and a board member of CEDOS a Kyiv-based organization focused on urban policy and education in Ukraine. She is a member of PONARS Eurasia, a research organization focused on security issues in Eurasia. She previously served as a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.

Today’s guest is Mordechai Kedar, an Orientalist and lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University, and a Research Fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. In this episode, Alon and Mordechai discuss the Palestinian Emirates Plan, which Dr. Kedar has presented as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, delving into the intricacies of the plan and discussing what merits this plan may have. Full bio Dr. Mordechai Kedar is an Israeli scholar of Arab culture and a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, and the vice president of NEWSRAEL. He is an Orientalist and lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University, a Research Fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, and Vice President of “NEWSRAEL – Pro-Israeli Dynamic Feed”. He specialized, among other things, in researching the Hafez al-Assad administration in Syria. He completed all his academic studies at Bar-Ilan University. In 1981–1983 he studied for a bachelor’s degree in the Department of Arabic and the Department of Political Science, and in 1991–1997 he completed a doctorate in the Department of Arabic. The topic of his doctoral dissertation was “The Public Political Language of the Assad Regime in Syria: Messages and Ways of Expressing Them.” In 2000, he was appointed a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University. In 1970 he enlisted in the IDF, served in the Armed Forces and completed his service, after 25 years, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Welcome to another episode of “On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir.” Today we are joined by two guests, Alon Liel and Ziad AbuZayyad. Alon Liel is a veteran of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, serving in various positions, including as Director General of the Foreign Ministry, and as a member of the Israeli negotiating team at the Taba talks with Egypt. He is the author of several books, and is the founder and chairman of the Israel-Syria Peace Society. He is one of the instigators of an Israeli campaign to advance recognition of a Palestinian state by European parliaments and governments. Ziad AbuZayyad is a Palestinian lawyer, journalist, and politician. He is the co-founder and editor of the Palestine Israel Journal, a former Palestinian Authority minister, and former Minister of State in the Palestinian Authority. Ziad AbuZayyad served as an advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team in Washington, DC in 1992, and was a member of the post-Oslo negotiating team in 1994 that concluded the Cairo Agreement, which led to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. In this episode, Alon, Ziad, and Alon discuss the prospects for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian political leader who has been imprisoned since 2002. The three discuss Barghouti’s political and peace efforts both prior to his imprisonment and while in prison, the perception of him as a widely uniting figure among the Palestinians, and what conditions in Israel will be necessary to allow for his release. Alon Liel Alon Liel has served the Israeli Foreign Ministry in various positions: the head of the Israeli mission in Turkey (1981-1983), the Foreign Ministry spokesman and the member of the Israeli negotiating team at the Taba talks with Egypt (1985–1987), Ambassador to South Africa in (1992-1994), Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Planning (1994-1996), Foreign Policy Advisor to Ehud Barak (1997-1999), Director General of the Foreign Ministry (2000-2001). Liel is the author of several books, namely Turkey in the Middle East – Oil, Islam and Politics (1993), Black Justice – The South African Upheaval (1999), Turkey – The Military, Islam and Politics (1999), Turkey in the Middle East (2001), Demo Islam, Turkey’s New Regime (2003). He has taught courses at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University on Turkey and the Middle East politics. Liel was the board member of Gazit Inc. (biggest real estate company in Israel). He was the chairman of the Israel-Turkey Business Council between 2002-2006, and is the chairman of the Global Code Ltd. Liel was the president of the Jewish-Arab soccer club, Abu Gosh-Mevaseret. He is also the founder and the chairman of the Israel-Syria Peace Society. Ziad Abu Zayyad ZIAD ABUZAYYAD is the Co-Founder and Editor of Palestine Israel Journal. He is a former PA minister (1998 – 2002), former legislator and Chair of Law and Constitution in the Palestinian Parliament (1996 – 2006). AbuZayyad was the Head of the Palestinian Delegation to the multilateral talks on Arms Control and Regional Security (ACRS), and a negotiator in post Oslo Accords Cairo negotiations which led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority. AbuZayyad was the first representative of the Palestinian Parliament to the Council of Europe, participated in numerous conferences on the Middle East, and is frequently interviewed by local and international media on the political situation. He is a weekly columnist of al-Quds Arabic Daily. He is a lawyer graduate of Damascus University, and Member of the Palestinian Bar Association.

Today’s guest is Hon. Lise Pearlman (ret.), a former California trial lawyer and first Presiding Judge of the California State Bar Court. Following her retirement from the bench, Judge Pearlman has become a best-selling author and nationally recognized speaker on famous 20th century trials whose books have won multiple awards in the categories of law, U.S. History, and multicultural nonfiction. In this episode, Alon and Judge Pearlman discuss her book With Justice for Some: Politically Charged Criminal Trials of the Early 20th Century That Helped Shape Today’s America, and a few of the significant cases detailed within – the murder trial of Black Panthers founder Huey Newton, the Scottsboro Boys, and Sacco and Vanzetti – and delve into the injustices surrounding each trial and how they have impacted the American legal system. Full bio Hon. Lise Pearlman (ret.) was the first Presiding Judge of the California State Bar Court and a former California trial lawyer. Following her retirement from the bench, Judge Pearlman has become a best-selling author and nationally recognized speaker on famous 20th century trials whose books have won multiple awards in the categories of law, U.S. History, and multicultural nonfiction. Pearlman’s latest book, The Lindbergh Kidnapping Suspect No.1 — The Man Who Got Away was Amazon’s #1 Best Seller in Criminal Evidence in December 2021. Judge Pearlman is also the author of four other critically-acclaimed history books published by Regent Press: Call Me Phaedra: The Life and Times of Movement Lawyer Fay Stender, winner of the 2018 International Book Award for biographies; With Justice for Some: Politically Charged Criminal Trials of the Early 20th Century That Helped Shape Today’s America (2017) [highly recommended for “anyone interested in history, courtroom drama or criminal justice”]; The Sky’s the Limit: People v. Newton: The REAL Trial of the 20th Century? (2012); and American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton (2016) which is also a companion to the nonprofit documentary of the same name which won a Civil Rights award from the Berkeley Film Foundation and had its world premiere in April 2022 at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Pearlman serves as its Producer. (See: www.justicemovie.com) In 2015 Pearlman had a cameo appearance in Director Stanley Nelson’s PBS acclaimed documentary, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution as the country’s leading expert on the 1968 Huey Newton Trial that transformed the American “jury of one’s peers” from the traditional 12 white men to the diverse panels Americans often take for granted today. Pearlman was in the first class of undergraduates at Yale University to include women (1971). After moving to the California Bay Area, Pearlman graduated Order of the Coif from Berkeley Law (1974), clerked for California Chief Justice Donald Wright and was a Teaching Fellow at Stanford Law School before joining a San Francisco Bay Area firm as a litigator where she was named managing partner in 1984–the first established firm in California headed by a woman. In 1989, Pearlman was selected by the California Supreme Court as the first Presiding Judge of the State Bar Court. After retiring, Judge Pearlman served as mediator and arbitrator with Alternative Resolution Centers, Chair of the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, President of Women Lawyers of Alameda County and on the Board of California Women Lawyers. Judge Pearlman is married to San Francisco bankruptcy lawyer Peter Benvenutti. They have three grown daughters and four grandchildren. One of her daughters, Jamie Benvenutti, served as the chief research assistant for Pearlman’s book on the Lindbergh kidnapping.