Middle East Brief with Avi Kaner

The Arab Peace Initiative: The Deal That Still Matters

In 2002, Saudi Arabia shocked the Middle East by proposing full peace and normalization between Israel and the entire Arab world. The proposal became known as the Arab Peace Initiative. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores: * The history behind the initiative * Why it was revolutionary coming from Saudi Arabia * The unanimous support from all 22 Arab League states and the broader Muslim world * The violent backdrop of a violent period including the Passover massacre * Why Israel rejected the proposal at the time * The unresolved refugee issue, including the parallel story of 850,000 Jewish refugees expelled from Arab lands * The battle over Jerusalem and possible realistic solutions * How the Abraham Accords emerged from the same regional shift * Why a future Israeli government could revisit the initiative A deep look at one of the most important and misunderstood diplomatic proposals in modern Middle East history, and its possible rebirth today.

Trump’s Middle East Gamble: Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Abraham Accords

Today, Donald Trump proposed one of the most ambitious Middle East visions in years: an expanded Abraham Accords framework potentially including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, and even Iran itself. In this episode, Avi Kaner breaks down Trump’s dramatic proposal, the strategic logic behind it, and the fierce social media reaction it triggered. From intelligence cooperation and trade to media warfare and regional realignment, this episode examines how the Middle East may be entering an entirely new strategic era.

Shavuot: The Day a Nation Received Its Mission

Tonight begins Shavuot, the holiday commemorating the moment the Israelites stood at Mount Sinai and received the Torah. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores how Sinai transformed a former slave people into a civilization bound by law, ethics, memory, and covenant, and why that moment still shapes Jewish identity and modern Israel thousands of years later. The episode connects the ancient story of Sinai to today’s realities. From Mount Sinai to modern Jerusalem, a story about survival, responsibility, identity, and civilizational continuity.

Europe’s Hezbollah Fiction

The European Union does not fully designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Instead, Europe officially bans only Hezbollah’s so-called “military wing,” despite Hezbollah’s own leaders insisting the organization operates as a single unified structure. In this episode, Avi Kaner examines the political logic behind Europe’s partial designation policy, the financial and legal loopholes it creates, and how European cash flows connected to Hezbollah-linked networks sustain the organization’s broader military and terrorist infrastructure. The episode also explores Hezbollah’s role as Iran’s most powerful regional proxy, and why Europe’s approach may be undermining Lebanon itself by weakening efforts to restore Lebanese sovereignty and limit Hezbollah’s dominance. A story about terrorism, diplomacy, ideology, financial networks, and the dangerous consequences of geopolitical ambiguity.

Eli Cohen: The Spy Who Changed the Middle East

Today marks the anniversary of the execution of one of Israel’s greatest intelligence operatives: Eli Cohen. Operating under deep cover inside Syria during the early 1960s, Cohen infiltrated the highest levels of the Syrian political and military establishment, gathering intelligence that many historians believe helped shape Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. In this episode, Avi Kaner explores Cohen’s extraordinary rise inside Damascus society, the intelligence methods that made him legendary, his eventual capture and public execution in Syria, and why his story still resonates across Israel sixty years later. The episode also examines the broader Israeli philosophy behind intelligence, adaptation, and survival in one of the world’s most dangerous regions. A story of espionage, sacrifice, deception, and the power of information in the modern Middle East.