On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir

Alon Ben-Meir
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Podcast by Alon Ben-Meir

  1. On the Issues Episode 152: Ambassador Patrick Theros

    2d ago

    On the Issues Episode 152: Ambassador Patrick Theros

    Today’s guest is Ambassador Patrick Theros, Strategic Advisor and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Gulf International Forum. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to the State of Qatar from 1995-1998, and from 1991-1993, served as the Political Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of Central Command (CENTCOM). In this episode, Alon and Ambassador Theros discuss the US-Israel-Iran war and the pending peace agreement between the US and Iran, the impacts of the war on the region, and how this conflict has affected the political prospects of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. Full bio Ambassador Patrick Nickolas Theros is a Strategic Advisor and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Gulf International Forum. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to the State of Qatar from 1995-1998. Prior to his appointment, he served as Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, responsible for the coordination of all U.S. Government counterterrorism activities outside the United States. From 1991-1993, Ambassador Theros served as the Political Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of Central Command (CENTCOM). Ambassador Theros joined the Foreign Service in 1963, and served in a variety of positions in Washington D.C., Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Nicaragua and Syria, including charge d’affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassies in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. In 1999, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifah Al-Thani awarded Ambassador Theros the Qatar Order of Merit for his efforts in service of the U.S.-Qatar bilateral relationship. His commitment to national service also earned him the President’s Meritorious Service Award and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service (1992). Ambassador Theros has also earned four Superior Honor Awards, the highest awards for distinguished service given by the Foreign Service. After his retirement from the Foreign Service Ambassador Theros assumed the office of President of the U.S.-Qatar Business Council in March 2000 until his retirement in 2017. Ambassador Theros’ personal commitment to community and public service earned him the rank of Knight Commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem (1999), as well as the Ellis Island Medal of Freedom (2005). In addition to his duties as President of the U.S.-Qatar Business Council, Ambassador Theros is also active in the following organizations: The Middle East Policy Council, Board of Directors; The Council of Foreign Relations, Member; The Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs, Member; and The American Academy of Diplomacy, Member. Ambassador Theros graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1963. He has done advanced studies at the American University in Washington, D.C., the Universidad Centroamericana in Nicaragua, the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia, and the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He is married to Aspasia (nee Pahigiannis) and has three children. He speaks and reads Spanish, Arabic and Greek professionally.

    1h 2m
  2. On the Issues Episode 151: Anne Speckhard

    Jun 10

    On the Issues Episode 151: Anne Speckhard

    Today’s guest is Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism. She's an expert in rehabilitation and repatriation of terrorists and their families, and has consulted with foreign governments on issues of terrorist prevention, interventions and repatriation; and the rehabilitation and reintegration of ISIS foreign fighters, wives and children. Her latest book, Homegrown Hate, examines the deepening threat of domestic violent extremism in the US through in-depth interviews with current and former members of domestic hate groups. In this episode, Alon and Anne discuss the psychosocial dimensions of violent extremism, what attracts people to these ideologies, how terrorists and violent extremists have been able to utilize social media to draw people in, and what can be done to try to prevent people from falling into extremist ideologies. Anne Speckhard, Ph.D., is Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) and served for over 2 decades as Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine as well as an Affiliate in the Center for Security Studies, Georgetown University. She has interviewed over 800 terrorists, violent extremists, their family members and supporters around the world. Over the past 5 years, she has conducted in-depth psychological interviews with 275 ISIS defectors, returnees and prisoners, as well as 16 al Shabaab cadres, studying their trajectories into and out of terrorism, and their experiences inside ISIS and al Shabaab. Speckhard developed ICSVE’s Breaking the ISIS Brand Counter Narrative Project from these interviews, which includes over 250 short counter narrative videos that mimic ISIS recruitment videos but contain actual terrorists strongly denouncing ISIS as un-Islamic, corrupt and brutal. Beginning in 2020, she launched the ICSVE Escape Hate Counter Narrative Project, interviewing 54 white supremacists and members of hate groups, developing counternarratives from their interviews, and creating anti-recruitment videos. She has also conducted rare interviews with five Antifa activists. Dr. Speckhard is also an expert in rehabilitation and repatriation of terrorists and their families. In 2007, she designed the psychological and Islamic aspects of the Detainee Rehabilitation Program in Iraq to be applied to 20,000+ detainees and 800 juveniles. This work led to consulting with foreign governments on issues of terrorist prevention, interventions and repatriation; and the rehabilitation and reintegration of ISIS foreign fighters, wives and children. She has also worked on these issues with NATO, OSCE, UN Women, UNCTED, UNODC, the EU Commission and EU Parliament, and to the US Senate & House, Departments of State, Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, Health & Human Services, and the FBI. Dr. Speckhard actively trains key stakeholders in law enforcement, intelligence, elite hostage negotiation teams, educators, and other professionals in countering violent extremism, locally and internationally, focusing on the psychology of terrorism, the effective use of counter-narrative messaging materials produced by ICSVE, as well as studying the use of children as violent actors. Her consultations and trainings include US, Australian, German, Swiss, Belgian, Iraqi, Jordanian and Thai national police and security officials, among others. She also serves as an expert witness, testifying on a variety of topics pertaining to trauma, loss, dissociation, violent extremism and terrorism. Dr. Speckhard is the author of 5 books & has appeared on CNN, BBC, NPR, Fox News, CTV, CBC, and in the New York Times, London Times, TIME Magazine, Daily Beast and more. She regularly writes a column for Homeland Security Today. Her research has been published in Global Security: Health, Science and Policy, Journal of African Security, Journal of Strategic Security, Journal for Deradicalization, Perspectives on Terrorism & more.

    58 min
  3. On the Issues Episode 150: Dimitris Eleas

    Jun 3

    On the Issues Episode 150: Dimitris Eleas

    Today’s guest is Dimitris Eleas, a political scientist, writer, and independent researcher. His work explores the role of personality in the social-historical, philosophy, global politics, antisemitism, and modern history, with a particular focus on the Holocaust. In this episode, Alon and Dimitris discuss the repercussions of the October 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s retaliation, the rise of antisemitism, and the Israel-Iran war. Full bio Dimitris Eleas is a New York City–based political scientist, writer, and independent researcher. His work explores the role of personality in the social-historical, philosophy, global politics, antisemitism, and modern history, with a particular focus on the Holocaust. He has written a plethora of articles, and his writing has appeared several times in the letters sections of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Dimitris Eleas supports the democratic ideals of Israel and the Jewish people. He believes in civil liberties, and that all people deserve a decent income, quality food, clean water and air, and equal human rights. He strongly opposes wars, because in the end it is always the poor, their children, and the workers who pay the price of every war. He has published several books in Athens, and is the author of the novel-essay When Shakespeare Was Lost, 1585–1592, published in 2025 by Govostis Publishers (Est. 1926). He is currently developing his long-term project, the novel-essay The Black Birds of Warsaw.

    1h 1m
  4. On the Issues Episode 149: Lulzim Peci

    May 27

    On the Issues Episode 149: Lulzim Peci

    Today’s guest is Lulzim Peci, principal founder and Executive Director of the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED), and a member of the Board of the Council of Kosovo Ambassadors. In this episode, Alon and Lulzim discuss political instability in Kosovo, particularly as the country is set to return to the polls for the third time in less than 18 months. They discuss what led to the series of elections and what we may be able to expect out of this upcoming election, as well as how this impacts Kosovo’s ongoing efforts toward EU candidacy. Full bio Mr. Lulzim Peci holds a PhD in Political Science from the South East European University in North Macedonia, an M.A. in International Relations from the University Institute Ortega y Gasset in Spain, and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Prishtina in Kosovo. He is the principal founder and Executive Director of the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED), and a member of the Board of the Council of Kosovo Ambassadors (CKA). In the past, Mr. Peci served as Ambassador of Kosovo in Stockholm (2009-2013). He also was Chair of the Board of the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (2019 – 2023), Member of the Board of the Kosovo American Education Fund (2021 – 2023), Member of the Board of the American University in Kosovo (2007 – 2009), Executive Director of the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (1999 – 2003), and as a Researcher at the Kosovo Center for International Studies (KCIS)/Foreign Policy Team of the late Kosovo’s President, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova (1995-1998). Mr. Peci’s research interests primarily focus on foreign and security policies, inter-ethnic relations, and political parties.

    59 min
  5. On the Issues Episode 148: Jane Olson

    May 20

    On the Issues Episode 148: Jane Olson

    Today’s guest is Jane Olson, a noted humanitarian who has worked many decades as a volunteer promoting international peace and justice and humanitarian work. She has chaired the International Board of Trustees of Human Rights Watch, from 2004 to 2010, and chaired the board of Survivor Corps for 12 years since its founding as Landmine Survivors Network. In this episode, Alon and Jane discuss the current rise in human rights abuses globally, what roles international organizations have played in combatting human rights abuses, and the importance of educating people about their basic universal human rights, including starting in schools. Full bio Jane Olson has worked many decades as a volunteer promoting international peace and justice and humanitarian work. She chaired the International Board of Trustees of Human Rights Watch, the largest US-based international human rights organization, from 2004 to 2010, having worked on behalf of HRW since 1988. She also chaired the board of Survivor Corps for 12 years since its founding as Landmine Survivors Network. LSN and HRW were among the five organizations to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997for the International Landmine Ban Treaty. Jane is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and a board member of both the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and Direct Relief, based in Santa Barbara, CA. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Pacific Council on International Policy. She served as co-chair of the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York and continues to support the WRC as a commissioner. Jane has received numerous awards, including the 2010 inaugural Alison Des Forges Award from Human Rights Watch, and the inaugural Eleanor Roosevelt Award from Feminist Majority in 2005. California Senator Barbara Boxer presented the “Women Making History” Award to Jane in 2010. She received Public Counsel’s Community Achievement Award and the Silver Achievement Award from the Los Angeles YWCA.

    57 min
  6. On the Issues Episode 147: Katrina Fotovat

    May 13

    On the Issues Episode 147: Katrina Fotovat

    Today’s guest is Katrina Fotovat, the former Principal Deputy Director in the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, where she led a team of experts promoting women, peace, and security, countering violent extremism, promoting women’s economic empowerment, and combatting gender-based violence. In this episode, Alon and Kat discuss the critical work that has been done by the Office of Global Women’s Issues under three different presidential administrations, local outreach programs facilitated by the US overseas to support women’s issues and combat gender-based violence, including working with men and boys, and the global impacts of the current Trump administration’s drastic cuts to foreign aid. Full bio Katrina “Kat” Fotovat is the former Principal Deputy Director in the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI), where she led a team of experts promoting women, peace, and security, countering violent extremism, promoting women’s economic empowerment, and combatting gender-based violence. Ms. Fotovat has over 20 years of experience advocating gender and human rights globally, specifically in conflict and post-conflict settings. Before joining the office she served as Director for the Office of Communications, Policy, and Partnerships, in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations where she oversaw an expert team that provided policy and strategy guidance to respond to atrocities, fragility, increase global stability and peacebuilding, and integrating women, peace, and security efforts in areas of conflict. Ms. Fotovat was also the Deputy Director for the Global Programs Office in the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor where she oversaw over a billion dollars in active programs geared toward supporting civil society and human rights in the most sensitive and fragile spaces, including internet freedom, transitional justice, and marginalized populations. Other positions in the US Government included as a Political Officer in the US Embassy in Moldova, and as the Senior Grants Officer in the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Senior Human Rights Advisor in the Office of the Procurement Executive, and Interagency Liaison at USAID. Before joining the U.S. government, Ms. Fotovat’s experience includes transitional justice and peace negotiations efforts with the Nobel Prize-nominated, Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG). This work included drafting post-conflict constitutions in Iraq and Kosovo, and international crisis aid negotiations in Sri Lanka. Additionally, she has done extensive gender and human rights work supporting the efforts of UNHCR, CEDAW, American Bar Association, and other organizations. Ms. Fotovat previously worked as a part of legal counsel at the International Human Rights Legal Clinic, focusing on trafficking in persons and asylum cases, with a special focus on Burma. Ms. Fotovat also helped to found an anti-trafficking in persons organization in Moldova, where she was also a Peace Corps Volunteer. She holds a Juris Doctor in International Human Rights Law and a master’s degree in Foreign Policy from American University. She is married and has a son.

    57 min
  7. On the Issues Episode 146: Asaf Romirowsky

    May 5

    On the Issues Episode 146: Asaf Romirowsky

    Welcome to another episode of “On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir.” Today’s guest is Asaf Romirowsky, a Middle East historian and Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East. In this episode, Alon and Asaf discuss Israeli and American interests behind the war in Iran and Iran’s role in regional instability, the war in Gaza, and how to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while addressing Israel’s security concerns. Full bio Asaf Romirowsky PhD is the Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME). Trained as a Middle East historian, he holds a PhD in Middle East and Mediterranean Studies from King’s College London, UK and has published widely on various aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict and American foreign policy in the Middle East, as well as on Israeli and Zionist history. Romirowsky is co-author of October 7: The Wars Over Words and Deeds.

    59 min
  8. On the Issues Episode 145: Samer Sinijlawi

    Apr 29

    On the Issues Episode 145: Samer Sinijlawi

    Today’s guest is Samer Sinijlawi, a Palestinian political activist who calls for democracy and Palestinian political reforms, and the founding chairman of the Jerusalem Development Fund. In this episode, Alon and Samer discuss the future of the Palestinians in light of the current state of affairs, the need for new Palestinian leadership, and what Palestinians can do to build bridges and create dialogue with Israelis.

    55 min
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Podcast by Alon Ben-Meir

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