A webinar analyzing the future of U.S.-Israel relations.
Organized by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Co-sponsored by the UCLA Department of Political Science, the UCLA Department of Public Policy, and the UCLA Center for Middle East Development.
About the Program
This fall, Israel and the United States will hold fateful elections. Join Dr. Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis from the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and Tel Aviv University as he analyzes the implications of the results of these elections for the relationship between the two countries — a relationship that has seen growing strain as well as unprecedented cooperation over the last few years.
About the Speakers
Dr. Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University, where he heads the Israel-United States Research Field. He works on the implications of domestic American politics, and U.S. policy more broadly on Israeli national security. Avishay is also a Senior Lecturer at the School of Political Science, Government, and International Relations at Tel Aviv University. His academic work focuses on the democratic backsliding and the political theory of the military. He is a frequent commentator on Israeli current affairs in international and Israeli media, and his commentary has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Haaretz, and World Politics Review.
Jon D. Michaels (moderator) is Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law and Advisor to the Dean on Civic Engagement. His scholarly and teaching interests include constitutional law, administrative law, national security law, the separation of powers, presidential power, regulation, bureaucracy, privatization, political extremism, and political violence. A two-time winner of the American Constitution Society’s Cudahy Award for scholarly excellence in administrative law and an elected member of the American Law Institute, Michaels has written essays for the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, LA Times, the Forward, Foreign Affairs, Time Magazine, American Prospect, and the Guardian. He is a frequent legal affairs commentator for national and local media outlets. Michaels is a graduate of Williams College, Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and Yale Law School, where he served as an articles editor for the Yale Law Journal.
DISCLAIMER: The views or opinions of our guest speakers and the content of their presentations do not necessarily reflect the views of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Hosting speakers does not constitute an endorsement of the speaker's views or opinions.
Published: Friday, November 13, 2026
