[READ TRANSCRIPT HERE]

Since its founding, Israel has been fighting enemies who have continually sought its annihilation but today’s wars – military, cognitive, and diplomatic – are presenting an existential threat unlike anything it has confronted since perhaps 1973. While the Islamic Republic of Iran has unleashed not just proxies in the form of Hamas’ attack on October 7th, Hezbollah’s 150,000 missiles aimed at the country, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations infiltrating the West Bank; in an unprecedented attack, it has now directly joined the war to destroy the Jewish homeland. While 133 hostages, both dead and alive, remain captive in Hamas’ terror tunnels, Israelis are moving back to divisive rhetoric as to exactly how to bring them home and its war cabinet that united former political foes appears to be possibly fracturing with its own disagreements. On top of it all, while the U.S. initially seemed to actually have Israel’s back, the Biden administration’s own domestic political calculations have led to very dangerous daylight between the U.S. and Israel that seemingly emboldens Israel’s enemies. Joining us to discuss all of this from the perspective of a Member of the Knesset is MK Ohad Tal.

About the Speaker: MK Ohad Tal is an Israeli politician who serves as a Member of Knesset for the Religious Zionist Party. He Chairs the Knesset Committee for Public Enterprises and is a Member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense, Finance, and Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Knesset Committees.

MK Tal was elected to the 25th Knesset following the 2022 general elections, after serving for many years in several high-level positions in the non-formal Jewish education and diaspora relations arenas.

Under his tenure as Chairman of the Knesset Committee for Public Enterprises, the Committee passed laws whose main purpose is to lower the cost of living in Israel and reduce regulation and bureaucracy in the financial system as well as developing and securing a Jewish presence in the Negev and the Galilee areas.

MK Tal is an active member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and from the beginning of Operation Iron Swords he has led several initiatives to secure Israel’s military and security position.

He Chairs the Knesset Caucus for U.S. – Israel Relations and is the Chair of the parliamentary friendship caucus with Australia, Guatemala and Honduras.

MK Tal holds both an Executive MBA in Public Policy and Administration from Hebrew University and a BA in Education Administration from Bar Ilan University.

He is married to Tamar (nee Shachel), the director of finance and human resources at the “Daat” network of high schools and religious youth villages. The couple has four children, and they live in Efrat in the Judean Hills.