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Today’s episode:

Following the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel, Brett McGurk was a lead negotiator for the U.S. Government in every round of hostage/ceasefire negotiations in 2023, 2024, and January 2025.

In today’s episode, which we recorded before a live audience at the Manhattan JCC last week, Brett sat down for his first long-form/on-the-record conversation on his lessons learned, including how these lessons inform the current (on-again/off-gain) negotiations over the Witkoff Plan.

Brett McGurk has held senior national security posts across the Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations.

Most recently, he served as President Biden’s White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. In this role, he spearheaded U.S. Government efforts across the region to secure the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza and he coordinated international support for Israel’s defense against Iranian ballistic missile attacks.

As Special Presidential Envoy for both President Obama and President Trump, McGurk was an architect of the global coalition of more than 80 countries together with local forces on the ground to defeat ISIS. He also led secret negotiations with Iran to secure the release of American hostages, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaein.

As a senior White House official under George W. Bush, Brett was an early advocate for a change in Iraq war policy and helped develop “the surge” strategy. He also negotiated the Strategic Framework Agreement with Iraq, which continues to guide U.S. relations between the two countries.

He is now a Venture Partner at Lux Capital, a venture capital firm based in New York City and Silicon Valley, as well as a Special Advisor for international affairs at Cisco, and holds fellowships at both the Harvard’s Belfer Center and the Atlantic Council. He’s also a CNN Global Affairs Analyst.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

(00:00) Introduction

(05:18) Israel’s new aid program and its threat to Hamas

(18:11) Anti-Hamas protest movement

(24:22) Trump’s Gaza migration plan

(28:07) Who is Abu-Shabab?

(31:39) Enclave program in Gaza

(40:04) The day after and deradicalization in Gaza

(47:32) Closing

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Subscribe to Ark Media’s new podcast ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/DZulpY

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: http://instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

Today’s episode:

Political news has been erupting out of Israel over the past two days, as tensions simmer within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The coalition’s ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, announced they will join the opposition to vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset due to its failure to pass a law exempting the ultra-orthodox from serving in the IDF. If a simple majority votes in favor of dissolving the Knesset, it would force parliamentary elections.

As if the news pouring out of Israel wasn’t enough, major developments are also taking place in Gaza. The food-aid program, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, is showing signs of success in circumventing Hamas, weakening its political power of Gaza’s population. This food aid program is not just a humanitarian endeavor; it is part of a larger strategy that was developed over the past year, referred to as humanitarian bubbles, in which Hamas-free zones are intended to be administered by vetted local Palestinians unaffiliated with Hamas.

Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed today that Israel is providing weapons to an anti-Hamas militia, led by Yasser Abu-Shabab. The rise of Israel-backed Abu-Shabab, along with the weakening of Hamas’ political and military power, has prompted a conversation about whether we are witnessing the early stages of the day after Hamas in Gaza.

Our guest today is Joseph Braude. He leads the Center for Peace Communications (CPC), a nonprofit that amplifies Gazans who oppose Hamas, and has been active inside the Gaza Strip throughout the war. If you’ve seen a video of Gazans speaking out against Hamas, chances are they came to you through the CPC.

It is the first time we will be speaking with someone who has been in close contact with direct sources inside Gaza’s population. In fact, Joseph has helped us receive audio to questions that the Call me Back podcast sent directly to Gazan civilians.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Subscribe to our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to Ark Media’s new podcast ‘What’s Your Number?’:

https://www.youtube.com/@wyn.podcast?sub_confirmation=1

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

Today’s episode:

On Sunday, a peaceful demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, advocating the release of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas, was violently disrupted when 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, disguising himself as a gardener, attacked participants with Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flamethrower. The assault injured six elderly individuals, aged between 67 and 88 — including a survivor of the Holocaust — with at least one victim in critical condition. In Paris, vandals defaced the Holocaust Memorial, two synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant in a coordinated act of antisemitic violence. These horrific events come just over one week after Elias Rodriguez, a radical, leftist activist, murdered two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Jewish museum in Washington DC.

We have been hearing from Israelis who lived through the Intifada in Israel, as they reflect on what “Globalize the Intifada” means when it reaches our country; we hear one Israeli’s perspective in today’s episode.

Meanwhile, just as it appeared that Israel was facing increasing international pressure, it is Hamas’s position in the hostage negotiations that is weakening with time, according to U.S. officials.

Late on Wednesday, the United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the release of all the hostages and unhindered aid access across the enclave. Dorothy Shea, Acting US Ambassador to the UN cited the failure to condemn Hamas and calling for its disarmament as the reason for the veto.

Nadav Eyal, senior analyst at Yedioth Achronot, joins us to discuss the implications of the antisemitic terror attack in Boulder as well as the turmoil in Gaza.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer