Upcoming Webinars

Please consider sponsoring an EMET webinar featuring top experts offering critical insights impacting Israel and U.S. national security. Policymakers and the general public need to hear these voices. Your support is essential for these webinars to continue. Sponsor a webinar here.

Thursday, October 12th, 2023 at 12 PM ET

In a recent and deeply tragic turn of events, a harrowing assault orchestrated by Hamas on Israel during the weekend left an overwhelming toll in its wake. Over 1,000 precious Israeli lives were lost, with an additional 3,418 individuals suffering injuries, as per the official report from the Israeli Embassy in the United States. Additionally, preliminary assessments from senior Israeli military officials suggest that Palestinian assailants have taken at least 150 Israelis as hostages. This chilling episode represents an unprecedented scale of terrorism in Israel’s history and sadly, the largest single loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust. In this webinar, we are honored to host Brigadier General (retired) Amir Avivi, who will enlighten us on the IDF’s response to this tragic incident. Join us as he discusses the steps being taken to ensure the safety and security of Israel during this difficult period.

About the Speaker: Brigadier General (Ret.) Amir Avivi is the Founder and CEO of Israel’s Defense and Security Forum (IDSF) which is comprised of more than 17,000 senior reserve/retired officers, commanders, and operators from all branches of the Israeli security establishment. Retired from the IDF after more than 30 years of military, counter-terrorism, and national security experience, he held various command positions in the Corps of Engineers leading thousands of soldiers in a dynamic environment combating terrorism.

Brigadier General Amir Avivi (ret.) concluded his service as the Head of the Auditing and Consulting Department of the Israeli Defense Establishment, (including the Israel Defense Force, the Ministry of Defense and Israeli Military Industries). In that position, Avivi managed more than 100 military auditors and advisors. He was responsible for the audit of military readiness, budgeting, procurement, projects, bids, cyber, logistics, infrastructure and operations. Avivi fulfilled various command positions in the Corps of Engineers leading thousands of soldiers in a dynamic combat environment.

Avivi served as Brigade commander, Deputy Division commander and head of the Military School of Engineers. He also served as the aide-de-camp for the Chief of the General Staff of the IDF, Lt. General Moshe “Bogie” Yaalon.

Avivi was at the heart of the policy making process in the Israeli Government and Defense establishment during that term. Avivi also serves as the Principal of the New State Solution working group. Avivi is the Founder & CEO of Habithonistim.

Wednesday, October 11th, 2023 at 12 PM ET

There are very interesting developments occurring in the Middle East involving negotiations among the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia. While an Israeli-Saudi Arabia normalization agreement was, according to at least one leading expert, “on the two-yard line” prior to President Trump’s departure from office, President Biden put it on hold as he entered office with a hostile view of the Saudis. Now, in his third year in office, Biden has reversed course and his administration is actively pursuing a trilateral agreement between the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia that would normalize relations between the two Middle Eastern countries and involve various security guarantees from America among other proposed terms which also include Saudi enrichment of uranium and possible concessions to the Palestinians. Furthermore, JINSA’s recent report, From Partner to Ally: The Case for a U.S.-Israel Mutual Defense Treaty, makes a compelling case to expand the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship from a close partnership to a formal alliance that in the words of JINSA President and CEO, Michael Makovsky, “addresses common threats, stabilizes the region, ensures Israel’s qualitative military edge and freedom of action, and advances U.S. global interest while mitigating the need for American boots on the ground.” Join us for an in-depth discussion of these important developments with Dr. Makovsky.

About the Speaker: Michael Makovsky since 2013 has been President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), a leading Washington, D.C.-based policy and educational organization focused on U.S. defense and national security issues in the Middle East. Makovsky has worked extensively on U.S.-Israel defense ties, U.S. policy toward Iran, Syria, Iraq, Gaza, the Persian Gulf, and the role of energy in U.S. national security policy, and the Eastern Mediterranean, Previously, Makovsky served as Foreign Policy Director for the Bipartisan Policy Center, special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, advising senior Defense, and an energy market analyst for various investment firms. Makovsky has written articles, op-eds, and editorials for various publications on U.S. national security issues primarily involving the Middle East as well as energy markets. He is also the author of Churchill’s Promised Land (Yale University Press), a diplomatic-intellectual history of Winston Churchill’s complex relationship with Zionism. Makovsky has a Ph.D. in diplomatic history from Harvard University, an MBA in finance from Columbia Business School, and a B.A. in history from the University of Chicago.