Danube Institute Podcast

In this special episode of Reflections from Budapest, we had the honour to have a discussion with Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, International Media Spokesperson of the Israel Defence Forces. We started our conversation by asking Lieutenant Colonel Shoshani about his military background and his role in telling the IDF’s story to the world. Lieutenant Colonel Shoshani reacted to a question about the intelligence failure of the IDF on Oct. 7 and IDF's fight against the denial of the Arab world and the ignorance of the West regarding Hamas's brutality, including sexual violence and torture.

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Shirel Liberman, an Israeli activist and the co-founder of Shift, a women-led impact network aimed at supporting women in public diplomacy and enhancing Israel's positive global influence. In this part, Shirel walked our listeners through her own experiences on the October 7th massacre and highlighted the lack of international response to Hamas's violence, including sexual violence. To conclude, Shirel shared her experiences of organizing tours to the kibbutzim where the atrocities took place.

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Nadia Matar, co-chairman of the Sovereignity Movement. We asked Mrs Matar about the Islamic extremism and security in the West Bank. In our conversation we also discussed the Gaza War and the case of the hostages. In the end, Mrs Matar shared with us her views about the Israeli sovereignity and the future of the West Bank and Gaza.

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we had a two-part discussion with Shirel Liberman, an Israeli influencer of the Voices of Israel program, Chief of Operations at Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy and the co-founder of "Shift," a women-led impact network aimed at supporting women in public diplomacy and enhancing Israel's positive global influence. In this part, we started our conversation by asking Shirel about her previous experiences with pro-Israel advocacy. As Shirel was also involved in the We're Brothers Initiative, which formed before October 7th at the time of the mass anti-government protests against judicial reform to bring people together, we discussed how a deeply divided society became united for a couple of months following the October 7th massacre. We concluded by discussing the rise of anti-Semitism around the world, Zionism and its major role in the Israeli society.

In this episode of Danube Dialogues, John O'Sullivan and Eric Hendriks discuss the reality of world-cultural zones with James Bennett, the popularizer of the term "the Anglosphere".

This is the second webinar in the “China Keywords” series of the Telos-Paul Piccone Institute. In this webinar, Eric Hendriks, the director of TPPI's China Initiative, and Logan West of the Danube Institute talk with Yan Xuetong about the concept of Wangdao, or "The Kingly Way." Among China's most influential foreign policy thinkers, Yan Xuetong is the author of numerous books, including Analysis of China's National Interests (1996), Ancient Chinese Thought, Modern Chinese Power (Princeton University Press, 2011), and Leadership and the Rise of Great Powers (Princeton University Press, 2019). He is a distinguished professor and dean of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University.

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked Nadia Matar, co-chairman of the Sovereignity Movement. We asked Mrs Matar about the Jewish identity and its connection to the Land of Israel. Since Nadia Matar currently live in the West Bank, she gave us insight into the situation of the israeli settlement in the region and the relation with the Palestinians. Mrs Matar also share with us her personal memories and thoughts about the most famous persons in the settlement history.

In this episode of Reflection from Budapest, we interviewed Josh Hasten, International Spokesperson for Gush Etzion, host of the weekly “Israel Uncensored” program and a well-known award winning freelance journalist. Through the discussion we can learn about the settlements and the perception of settler violence in the media and the Western world. We also touched upon the events of October 7 and the possible consequences of the UN Security Council resolution issuing an immediate ceasefire.

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we interviewed Shadi Khalloul, Director of Strategic Partnerships Alma Research & Education Centre, Founder and President of the Israeli Christian Aramaic Association and Aram Galilee Centre, and reserve captain in the IDF. Listening to the discussion, we can get an overview of the history of the Aramaic community in the Middle East and Israel, and a deeper insight into their life today in a Jewish state. Also, how do other religions in the country and the region relate to them?

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Amiad Cohen, director-general of the Tikvah Fund in Israel. We asked Mr Cohen about his intake on Hungary’s strong support of Israel, the IDF’s operation in Rafah, and his insights into the historical background of the current conflict in Gaza. To conclude, we talked about how the war impacted the West Bank, the possibility of a third Lebanon war, and the future of the Middle East in the day after the Israel-Hamas war.