Alpher discusses the Israeli-Palestinian pre-negotiation talks in Amman, interim conclusions from the "Arab spring" one year after the outbreak of the revolution in Egypt and the meaning of the 2009 survey just published on Israeli attitudes towards religiosity.

Q. General Martin Dempsey (pictured), chief of the US Armed Forces General Staff, visited Israel last Thursday. The escalating atmosphere with Iran was obviously high on his agenda. How do you view US-Israel strategic coordination regarding Iran?



Q. As election fever appears to heat up in Israel, what are the political balance-of-forces indicators we should be watching and the questions we should be asking?

Alpher discusses human rights and racism in the wake of martin Luther King's birthday, and the Israeli government's role and reports on the meetings in Amman and their potential political repercussions in the US, Israel and Jordan.

Alpher discusses the significance of a settler among the new justices for the Israeli Supreme Court, the prospects for fruitful negotiations in the aftermath of last week's meeting in Amman, Fateh preventing Israeli-Palestinian track II meetings in Jerusalem, and the political potential of journalist Yair Lapid.

Alpher offers a limited year-in-review for 2011, and discusses the recent developments on the Palestinian scene and whether Arab League observers in Syria will make any difference there.

Alpher discusses whether there is a connection between the the hill youth/price-tag attacks and those of the ultra-orthodox against women, the strategic ramifications for Israel of the US military withdrawal from Iraq, and the strategic consequences for Israel of the leadership transition in North Korea.