I'm Aiton Weinstein.

And I'm Na'or Menninger.

And you're listening to Two Nice Jewish Boys.

This podcast is made in collaboration with the Jewish Journal.

In 2011, Civil War broke out in Syria.

Many people had high hopes for the uprising and for the Arab Spring in general.

Perhaps this would end the long reign of dictators in the Middle East.

But quickly the war took a sharp downturn into oblivion.

What started out as rebels against the regime quickly transformed into something

entirely different. Since 2011, you might have noticed that Israel has struck Syria with

hundreds of airstrikes. And if you've only been reading the headlines, you might be wondering,

what the hell is Israel doing? Why get embroiled in a mess that has seemingly

little to do with Israel? Let the Muslim nations battle it out, and let's just be happy that

they're not messing with us. Well, it turns out that's not the case at all. Dan Shifdan is the head

of the international graduate program in national security Studies at the University of Haifa.

He's taught at the Israel Defense Forces National Security College and the IDF's Command and Staff

College. He was an advisor to Israel's National Security Council and former Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon. He's also the author of several books and articles on issues pertaining

to Israel's national security. He joins us today to talk about the Iranian threat. We're thrilled

to welcome Dan Chifton to the podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. Good evening.

Before we get to the episode, guys, I have to tell you about our sponsors over at the Chosen One

card game. Let's face it,

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