Ami Ayalon is a former director of Shin Bet (1995-2000), former commander-in-chief of the Israeli Navy (1992-1996) and a former member of the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, for the Labor Party (2006-2009). In 2003, he launched, together with Palestinian professor Sari Nusseibeh, a peace initiative called ‘The People’s Voice’. In 2012 he featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary film The Gatekeepers. He is currently a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and a founder of the Blue White Future, a non-partisan political movement in Israel committed to keeping Israel Jewish and democratic that seeks to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of a “two states for two peoples” solution.

Ayalon talked to Fathom Editor Professor Alan Johnson about the changing regional security environment, including the looming threat from Iran, and the pursuit of peace with the Palestinians. He sets out his thinking about the linkage between the two and the strategy Israel should adopt to remain Jewish and democratic, secure and at peace with its neighbours.

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