Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs

“Thank you for this beautiful life.”

Five months before 11-year-old Alma was killed in the Majdal Shams rocket attack, she sent those words to her mother.

In a deeply moving conversation on East to West, Alma’s mother, Naela, shares who her daughter truly was, the dreams she carried, the unbearable moment she realized she was gone, and her decision to transform grief into love, hope, and action. “I want the world to remember the way she lived.”

Watch the full episode of East to West with Sarah Martinez. Links in the first comment.

What happens when you leave a country, but that country never really leaves you?

In a new episode of Spill the Chai, Sogand Fakheri tells Negar Mojtahedi about the dreams she has had since she was 15, dreams of being back in Iran without her veil, running from the Basij.

Negar shares a similar story from her documentary, My Dream Goes All the Way to Iran, about an Iranian former ambassador forced to flee the country. Years later in Canada, he still dreamed in Farsi, and his dreams were still set in Iran.

Different stories, but the same connection to a country that stays with you, even in your dreams.

در قسمت جدید Spill the Chai، سوگند فخری با نگار مجتهدی از خواب‌هایی می‌گوید که از ۱۵ سالگی درباره ایران می‌بیند: بازگشت به ایران بدون حجاب و فرار از بسیج.

نگار نیز داستان مردی را از مستند My Dream Goes All the Way to Iran تعریف می‌کند که مجبور به فرار از ایران شد. سال‌ها بعد، در کانادا، او هنوز به فارسی خواب می‌دید و ایران همچنان در رویاهایش حضور داشت.

دو داستان متفاوت، اما یک پیوند مشترک با کشوری که حتی در رویاها هم با تو می‌ماند.

English▫️ العربية

“The West failed, and failed miserably.”

A striking claim from Saudi researcher and journalist Abdulaziz Alkhamees in a new episode of In the Middle with Tamir Morad.

Speaking candidly, Alkhamees argues that Western policy has consistently misunderstood the region: “There is a widening gap between Western perceptions and Middle Eastern realities,” he says.

He also reflects on Saudi Arabia’s evolving regional posture, the aftermath of October 7, and the strategic weight of the Strait of Hormuz in today’s geopolitical balance.

“The region is being reshaped in real time,” he notes, pointing to shifting alliances and emerging fault lines across the Middle East.

"الغرب فشل، وفشل فشلاً ذريعاً."

تصريح لافت من الباحث والإعلامي السعودي عبدالعزيز الخميس في حلقة جديدة من In the Middle في المنتصف مع تمير مراد، تم تسجيلها في القدس.

يقول الخميس إن السياسات الغربية أخفقت في فهم المنطقة: "هناك فجوة متسعة بين التصورات الغربية وواقع الشرق الأوسط."

كما يتحدث عن التحول في الموقف السعودي الإقليمي، وما بعد أحداث 7 أكتوبر، والأهمية الاستراتيجية لمضيق هرمز في موازين القوى الحالية.

ويضيف: "المنطقة تُعاد صياغتها أمام أعيننا."

Watch the full conversation / شاهدوا الحوار كاملاً 👇

She survived Yemen, but nothing prepared her for what awaited her in Tehran.

The moment Catherine Perez-Shakdam landed in Iran, two men approached her, took her passport, and disappeared. Surrounded by regime security and confronted with massive propaganda billboards, one question raced through her mind: “Do they know? Am I going to die today?”

In the latest episode of East to West, Catherine recounts her extraordinary journey into the ideological world of the Islamic Republic and the path that eventually brought her face-to-face with Ali Khamenei.

Watch or listen to the full episode.
🔗 Links in the comments.

First: “It never happened.”

Then: Sinwar’s own handwritten instructions, read by Mosab Hassan Yousef.

Decide for yourself.

This is the only difference.

Why is Trump getting closer to Erdoğan?

It's one of the most important geopolitical shifts in the Middle East, and it's about far more than the F-35.
As Washington rethinks its relationship with Ankara, the implications extend from NATO and Syria to Iran, Israel, and the future balance of power across the region.

Why is Trump investing in his relationship with Erdoğan? And what could it mean for America's allies?

Israel = Saudi Arabia? 🤔

In a recent ABC News interview, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he supports Israel only as "a state with equal rights" and argued that he cannot support any country that privileges one religion over another, placing Israel and Saudi Arabia in the same category.

But does that comparison hold up? JCFA intern Tamara Yeshurun examines the claim by looking at the facts. Israel is a democratic state where citizens of all faiths (including Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and others) can vote, run for office, serve in the judiciary, and freely practice their religion. Saudi Arabia, by contrast, is an absolute monarchy governed under Islamic law, where public religious freedom is far more restricted.

Political criticism of Israel is legitimate. However, comparing Israel's democratic system and legal protections for religious freedom to Saudi Arabia's political and religious structure overlooks fundamental differences between the two countries.

Watch and let us know what you think👇