[READ TRANSCRIPT HERE]

Join us for an insightful webinar exploring the evolving dynamics of the Middle East conflict and its geopolitical implications. In this engaging session, we will delve into the shifting landscape of regional confrontations, moving beyond the traditional Arab-Israeli paradigm to a broader Western versus Iranian blocs confrontation. The recent Israeli military operations against Hamas will be analyzed as a significant milestone in this new reality, reflecting deeper strategic alignments in the region.

Furthermore, we will examine Russia’s expanding interests in the Middle East and the “Global South” through the lens of Jerusalem. Gain valuable insights into Russia’s strategic motivations and its impact on regional dynamics, shedding light on the complexities of geopolitical interactions in this critical area.

In addition, our discussion will explore the bilateral relations between Israel and both Russia and Ukraine following key geopolitical events in 2022 and 2023. Specifically, we will analyze the ramifications of the events of February 24, 2022, and October 7, 2023, on the diplomatic landscape of the Middle East and beyond. This session promises to offer nuanced perspectives and expert analysis on the intricate web of international relations shaping the Middle East today.

Don’t miss this opportunity to deepen your understanding of the complex geopolitical forces at play in the Middle East and their global ramifications.

About the Speaker: Dr. Vladimir (Ze’ev) Khanin is an Israeli expert on Russian-speaking Jewish community in Israel and the Diaspora, the Israeli society and the Israel-FSU relations and politics. He got his Ph.D. in Political Science/Contemporary History from Moscow Institute for African Studies, the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1989, and in 1991 completed post-Doctoral studies in the Institute for Russian and Soviet Studies at the University of Oxford, U.K. Since his Aliya to Israel in 1992 and till 1999 he worked, as a lecturer and researcher, at the Department of Middle Eastern and African History and the Cummings Center for Russian and East European Studies, Tel-Aviv University. In 1998-2012 and again since 2022 he lectures Political Studies (currently as Adjunct Professor), and currently heads the Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Program at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University. In 2012-2020 (since 2013 as Associate Professor) he taught Political and Jewish Studies at Ariel University, and in 2009-2022 he also served as Chief Scientist (chief scholarly expert and Deputy Director-General for research) of the Israeli Ministry of Aliya and Integration. Since 2018 Prof. Khanin also serves as the Academic Chairman of the Institute for Euro-Asian Jewish Studies, established by the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

He gave visiting courses and public lectures in Israeli and the FSU Government, Politics and Society in a few Universities and other academic establishments in the Great Britain, the USA, Germany, Romania and the FSU (including London, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, Potsdam, Bucharest, Cluj, Moscow, Kiev, Lvov, Kharkov, Riga, Minsk and Baku) and served as a political commentator at the Israeli Channel Nine TV, The Voice of Israel Radio, Radio Liberty and the BBC Russian Service. His interviews and articles often appear in various Israeli, USA and European, as well as the FSU printed and electronic media.

His academic publications include 9 books, 8 edited collections, several monographs, and numerous articles on Israeli, East European, Jewish, and African politics and society. Among the books are: Documents on Ukrainian Jewish Identity and Emigration (London, 2004); “Russian” Israelis at “Home” and “Abroad”: Migration, Identity and Culture (Ramat-Gan, 2011); Post-Soviet Jewish Youth (Moscow and Ramat-Gan, 2013); Political Party Systems and Electoral Trends in Israel of the Early 21st Century (Moscow, 2014); “The Third Israel”: Russian-speaking Community and Politics in the Contemporary Jewish State (Moscow, 2015); From Russia to Israel… And Back? Contemporary Transnational Russian Israeli Diaspora (Berlin and Boston, 2022), The Jews of Contemporary Post-Soviet States: Sociological Insights from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and Kazakhstan Berlin and Boston, 2023). Since March 2022, Prof. Khanin serves as co-editor of the academic series Post-Soviet Jewry in Transition at the De Gruyter-Brill academic publishers.