In a January 28, 2026, Israel Insights Webinar hosted by the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program and moderated by Visiting Fellow in Israel Studies Or Rabinowitz, security experts Sima Shine and Raz Zimmt analyzed the growing risk of direct confrontation between Iran and Israel and the broader regional consequences of such a conflict. They argued that while Iran’s proxy strategy has failed to prevent escalation, Tehran remains committed to rebuilding Hezbollah and other allied groups despite mounting domestic economic pressures. Both speakers warned that any future war would likely be far more expansive than previous exchanges, potentially involving strikes on leadership, economic, and symbolic targets, and noted Israel’s preference for U.S. leadership in any major military action against Iran. Turning to the regional and long-term outlook, the panel highlighted Gulf states’ strong opposition to war in favor of stability and a negotiated U.S.–Iran agreement, and expressed skepticism that external military action would produce rapid democratic change in Iran, suggesting instead that any near-term transformation is more likely to emerge gradually from within the existing regime.

A full recording of the webinar can be viewed above.

In January and February of 2026, Alon Tal, Former Member of Knesset and Professor in the Department of Public Policy at Tel Aviv University, spoke in the Stanford course, "Sustainable Societies Lab: Exploring Israel’s Innovation Ecosystem in Human & Planetary Health – Pathways to Peace.” During his visit, he caught up with Amichai Magen, Director of the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program at CDDRL. They discussed the atmosphere and sentiment on the ground in Israel as Israelis begin preparing for the first national elections since the launch of the Netanyahu coalition government's controversial "judicial overhaul" campaign in January 2023 and the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. 

They set out seven principles for understanding Israeli elections, democracy, and electoral politics, and seven key questions about the upcoming elections.

A full recording of the webinar can be viewed above.

On December 3, 2025, the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program at CDDRL hosted Dr. Emmanuel Navon, a French-born Israeli international relations scholar and author of The Star and the Scepter: A Diplomatic History of Israel, for a wide-ranging discussion on Israeli foreign policy spanning 3,500 years of history. Navon, who lectures at Tel Aviv University and serves as a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, explored the enduring tension between political realism (the "scepter") and idealism (the "star") that has shaped Jewish diplomatic thought from biblical times through the modern era. Drawing on figures from Vladimir Jabotinsky to David Ben-Gurion, Navon argued that October 7, 2023, marked a profound paradigm shift in Israeli strategic thinking, as the "iron wall" doctrine of deterrence collapsed both physically and conceptually in the face of ideologically-driven enemies willing to sacrifice everything for Israel's destruction.

Navon emphasized that Israel's post-October 7 reality requires moving beyond containment strategies toward active dismantlement of existential threats, while simultaneously witnessing a spiritual reawakening among Israelis who have rediscovered the meaning of Jewish identity in the face of implacable hatred. He contextualized current challenges within broader civilizational struggles in the West, noting how Israel has become a focal point in debates over Western values, democracy, and resistance to Islamist ideology. Addressing questions about antisemitism, information warfare, and the blurring lines between Israeli foreign policy and diaspora concerns, Navon outlined how adversaries employ sophisticated propaganda through "inversion" — projecting their own colonial ambitions and human rights abuses onto Israel while speaking the language of justice and self-determination. The conversation underscored the necessity of historical understanding in navigating Israel's complex geopolitical environment and the ongoing struggle to balance military strength with diplomatic vision in an increasingly hostile international landscape.

A full recording of the webinar can be viewed below:

The November 5, 2025, Israel Insights webinar, hosted by the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program (JKISP) at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), featured a conversation between Amichai Magen, director of JKISP, and Ambassador Vivian Bercovici, former Canadian ambassador to Israel and a leading commentator on Israeli politics and society. Bercovici reflected on her tenure as a political appointee under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, describing tensions between Canada’s elected leadership and its foreign service bureaucracy, particularly on Israel policy. She emphasized that her mandate was to implement government policy rather than shape it, and discussed efforts to strengthen Canada–Israel commercial and technological ties amid institutional resistance and limited subject-matter expertise within the bureaucracy.

The discussion then turned to Israel’s current political and social trajectory following the judicial reform crisis and the October 7 Hamas attack. Bercovici argued that Israel’s next election could be the most consequential in the country’s history, with the future of liberal democracy and civic responsibility at stake. She highlighted a growing societal divide over the state’s founding ethos of shared obligation — particularly debates surrounding the return of hostages, unequal military and national service, and declining commitment among some groups to democratic norms. The webinar concluded with a discussion of how these tensions may reshape Israel’s political culture and determine the character of the state in the years ahead.

A full recording of the webinar can be viewed below:

In the October 22, 2025, opening session of the Israel Insights webinar series, Amichai Magen, Director of the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), spoke with Professor Azar Gat, the Ezer Weitzman Chair of National Security and Head of the International and Executive MA Programs in Security and Diplomacy in the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University.

Professor Gat’s talk, based on his recent essay for Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), explored what he calls “the problem with the Palestinian problem” — why the conflict has remained uniquely intractable despite decades of negotiation and apparent consensus around a two-state framework. He argued that the dominant national narrative has not centered on the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, but on the rectification of what is perceived as the injustice of 1948 — the very establishment of the Jewish state itself. The discussion concluded with a Q&A session exploring implications for Israeli strategy, regional normalization, and the evolving balance between realism and hope in future negotiations.

A full recording of the webinar can be viewed below: