EPISODE NOTES

Israel and Hamas are just over two weeks into a ceasefire agreement, after fifteen months of fighting. 

This is a paradoxical moment to talk about long term peace. The horrific October 7th attacks and the near - destruction of Gaza that followed, served to amplify already high levels of distrust, hate, and trauma. At the same time, the war has demonstrated to Gazans that their government placed conflict with Israel above their own survival. And it has shown Israelis that an indefinite blockade of Gaza doesn’t ensure their security. 

So while the ceasefire doesn’t mean the end of the conflict by any means, it does offer an opportunity to envision a way out. 

Our guest for this episode is Ksenia Svetlova, an expert observer of politics and media in the Middle East and the executive director of the Regional Organization for Peace, Economics, and Security, or ROPES. 

Svetlova is an immigrant to Israel from the Soviet Union, an Arabic speaker and a Middle East specialist. For fifteen years. Svetlova reported from Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and different countries in the region. She served four years in Israel’s parliament representing the center-left Zionist Union Coalition. 

MORE FROM KSENIA SVETLOVA:

Read: Netanyahu’s phase two dilemma: Political survival vs defying President Trump, for Chatham House

Listen: ROPESCAST, the podcast from ROPES

Watch: Webinars and more on ROPES’ YouTube channel