The Importance of Understanding the Middle East Reality

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"The way I understand today, myself is when society, and even the way I understand the Middle East reality is a result of my years in the shin bed," says Yossi Ben-Ghiat. "They are specially after the 60s, they saw themselves as people, and they fought since then to create a state alongside Israel", he adds. 'I understood it only 20 years later, during the first in Defada'

Ami Ayalon is the former head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal intelligence agency, and former commander of the Israeli navy. After his retirement from the Shin Bet, Ayalon served as a member of the Knesset and co-founded the grassroots peace initiative The People’s Voice with Palestinian philosopher Sari Nusseibeh. He is the author, with Anthony David, of Friendly Fire: How Israel Became Its Own Worst Enemy and the Hope for Its Future.

On the 75th anniversary of Israel’s founding, Yascha Mounk and Ami Ayalon discuss the roots of today’s democratic crisis in the country; lessons from Ayalon’s lifelong career in Israel’s defense and intelligence communities; and why Palestinian hope is an Israeli security asset.

Editor’s Note: This conversation was recorded in April, before the most recent round of violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

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Podcast production by John Taylor Williams, and Brendan Ruberry

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