Call-In Number: (712) 432-0075
Participant Code: 397784*

Featuring:

Dr. Anat Berko and Dr. Colonel (ret) Reuven Berko
During the past two months terror attacks against Israelis have spiked, in the form of stabbings, shootings, cars plowing over innocents, and more. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has praised Palestinian terrorists for the murders and continues to incite violence against Jews in Israel. On December 10th, Palestinian rioted near Ramallah, causing Israeli soldiers to halt their progress into civilian areas. One of the rioters, Ziad Abu Ein, a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council and a convicted terrorist with blood on his hands, died of a heart attack, autopsy reports show. The PA and Abbas have blamed Israel for Abu Ein’s death, hailed him as a martyr, and called for a response.

How will the PA’s continued incitement to violence in the wake of Ziad Abu Ein’s death impact Israel’s national security? What is the mind-set of radical terrorists who continue to wage a campaign of violence against Israel? Please join us as we hear from Israeli intelligence and terrorism experts Dr. Reuvan Berko and Dr. Anat Berko on these topics, and more.

Dr. Colonel (ret) Reuven Berko is a distinguished scholar in Islamic and Arab Studies, holds a Ph.D in Political Science from Haifa University. Dr. Berko served as a Paratrooper Officer in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and later served in Lebanon and Gaza in various military intelligence positions. Upon his retirement from active military service, he served for ten years as Advisor on Arab Affairs to the Chief of Jerusalem Police (1995-2005). Today, Dr. Berko is a regular senior commentator and contributor on Arab and Islamic Affairs for the largest Israeli Daily Newspaper Israel Hayom (Israel Today) in Israel. Fluent and proficient in Arabic, Hebrew and English, Dr. Berko is a frequent commentator and expert analyst featured in Israeli Hebrew print and electronic media, as well as a frequent guest on major Arab satellite networks, and an analyst for the Arab speaking channel on Israeli TV. Dr. Berko is a frequent panelist at major international conferences in Israel and abroad discussing the rise and development of radical Islamic movements, organizations and terror groups. Throughout his distinguished career both with the IDF and the Israeli Police, Dr. Berko developed close intimate ties with senior Palestinian and Arab officials involved in the peace process; leading Arab journalists and editors; as well as leading Arab diplomats and ambassadors from neighboring Arab countries. With his expertise and experience in face-to-face communication, negotiations and persuasion skills, coupled with his broad experience both in the “real world” as well as the scholarly academic world, Dr. Berko provides a fresh, original and “out of the box” approach and understanding to the complex processes and developments affecting the often enigmatic, rapidly changing Islamic and Arab world.

Dr. Anat Berko, a world-renowned terrorism expert whose research focuses on suicide bombers and their handlers (first hand research), conducts research for Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Team and Israel’s National Security Council, and serves as an advisor to senior government officials. A visiting professor at George Washington University, Dr. Berko is a Research Fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. She also lectures at the IDC’s Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Security. Dr. Berko conducts counter-terrorism lectures for NATO, and before Congress, the State Department, the FBI and the military forces, and for a multitude of universities throughout the United States and elsewhere. Dr. Berko is a lecturer at Israel’s National Defense College and the coordinator of its counterterrorism program. A sought-after commentator, Dr. Berko appears frequently in the international media to provide her professional insight following terrorism incidents throughout the world. After a distinguished 25-year career in the military, where she achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Berko retired from the Israel Defense Forces in 2003. She holds a Ph.D. in Criminology from Bar-Ilan University and is the author of The Path to Paradise: The Inner World of Suicide Bombers and Their Dispatchers and her new book is: The Smarter Bomb: Women and Children as Suicide Bombers.

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