As the Middle East continues to undergo dramatic geopolitical and ideological shifts in the aftermath of October 7, 2023, one of the leading voices examining the broader implications of the conflict will take center stage on Monday, June 1, at the upcoming Jerusalem Post Annual Conference 2026 being held in New York.
Dr. Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, will lead a panel assessment titled “The New Middle East: Terror, Influence and the War for the West,” together with Syrian Lebanese-born analyst Rawan Osman and former Mossad counterterrorism chief and current JCFA senior researcher-strategist Oded Ailam.
Diker has emerged as one of Israel’s prominent voices arguing that the multi-front terror war facing Israel, which the US-led Western alliance has underestimated and underappreciated, is a religiously-fueled ideological conflict. In a recent Jerusalem Post analysis, he warned that Iran and its proxy organizations are engaged in what he described as a “forever war” against both Israel and the West, combining terrorism, political warfare, disinformation campaigns, and ideological influence operations.
According to Diker, the October 7 Hamas massacre represented far more than a localized conflict. He argues that the attack exposed a broader “red-green” alliance of Islamist movements, radical left political activism, and anti-Western forces that today shape discourse on university campuses, in local and international institutions, influence political and diplomatic leaders, and social media platforms. In his writings and public appearances, Diker has repeatedly emphasized that democratic societies have often underestimated and failed to recognize how extremist ideologies exploit Western freedoms, penetrate and subvert cultural norms, and undermine the very values that free societies seek to protect.
At the conference, Diker, Eilam, and Osman will expand on these themes while examining the growing influence of Iran, the role of misinformation and ideological warfare, and the broader implications for Israel, the United States, and the Western alliance.
The full-day Jerusalem Post conference, to be held at 583 Park Avenue in Manhattan, will bring together senior Israeli officials, American policymakers, diplomats, business leaders, philanthropists, and international thought leaders to discuss the future of Israel and the Middle East.
This article was written in collaboration with the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.