The Israel-Hamas War, Hezbollah, and Iran's Destabilization of the Middle East
with David Daoud and Garrett Exner
Reception and Panel
Wednesday, July 24th, Washington DC
Garrett Exner is an adjunct fellow at Hudson Institute, where he writes and comments on US national defense with a specific focus on the use of special operations forces and gray zone competition. He is executive director of the Public Interest Fellowship.
David Daoud is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Lebanon and Hezbollah. He previously worked as a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, director of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria research at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), and a research analyst at FDD.
Understanding Cognitive Warfare
with Dr. Juliana Geran Pilon and Guests
Dr. Juliana Pilon
Dr. Juliana Geran Pilon is a Senior Fellow at the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization, where she directs AHI’s Washington Program on National Security. The author of over 250 articles and reviews, her books include An Idea Betrayed: Jews, Liberalism, and the American Left (2023), The Utopian Conceit and the War on Freedom (2019),The Art of Peace: Engaging a Complex World (2016); Soulmates: Resurrecting Eve (2012); and Why America is Such a Hard Sell: Beyond Pride and Prejudice (2007), among others.
Islamic Thought: Religion, Politics and Society Zoom Seminar
with Daniel Sonnenfeld and Guests
Course Description
Researcher and IDF reservist Daniel Sonnenfeld will lead virtual seminars for young American and Israeli professionals on modern Islamic thought, politics, and society. These will feature discussions about the history and contemporary dynamics of Sunni and Shia Islamist philosophy, Arab and Palestinian Nationalism, Liberal Islam, and Muslim Traditionalism. Meetings will include guest experts in the Middle East and Islam. Last spring, Tikvah assembled a group of American and Israeli professionals to discuss the U.S. Israel Relationship with foreign policy experts Elliott Abrams and Eran Lerman. Understanding the motivations of our shared adversaries emerged as a primary point of discussion. Since then, the Israel-Hamas war and unrest in the West has prompted renewed debate around topics of Arab Nationalism, terrorism, and anti-Semitism. Modern Islam, the belief system of Israel’s enemies and potential friends, should be studied as foundational to public discourse and policy-making.
The seminar on Modern Islamic Thought will meet over Zoom for nine sessions starting in May and concluding in July. Meetings will occur every Thursday at 12PM EST, 7PM Israel.
Daniel Sonnenfeld
Daniel Sonnenfeld is a graduate student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Middle Eastern Studies department, where he researches the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and modern Islamic movements. He is also a researcher of Jihadi movements at the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Daniel has worked as a Middle East Reporter for The Media Line, an analyst for the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum, and is an alum of the Krauthammer Fellowship. Daniel is a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces Reserves.