Just as money from conservative American organizations promoted the ideas that led to Israel’s judicial overhaul, some of the same billionaire-backed funds are now being used to cultivate a "new elite" of right-wing ideologues within Israel's security establishment, promoting a vision of West Bank annexation and mass Palestinian emigration. 

Haaretz correspondents Yarden Michaeli and Nettanel Slyomovics discuss their in-depth investigation into this ambitious “long-term project,” which involves a complex network of organizations founded and funded by conservative American Jews. 

A new group at the center of this network presented its 274-page vision document to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year, which recommends Palestinian “voluntary emigration” from the West Bank be encouraged. The plan stipulates that half a million Palestinians would leave within the first decade, and another 250,000 in the following. 

Slyomovics noted that many of the people and organizations involved in this “new ecosystem” also played key roles in promoting the judicial overhaul that sparked mass protests across Israel, and have ties to conservative ideological movements in the U.S.

Alumni of the program, he added, include Shin Bet chief David Zini and Yoram Halevi, the official responsible for coordinating government activities in the West Bank, both of whom were appointed to their positions after participating in the program.

Also on the podcast, Haaretz correspondent Linda Dayan joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss Israeli reactions to the U.S. midterm elections and the results’ implications for coalition negotiations amid a political deadlock following Israel’s election last week. They also look at the continuing efforts by Netanyahu's right-wing allies to delegitimize the election results with allegations of foreign interference.

Read more on haaretz.com:

U.S. Midterms Will Usher in a Radically Different Israel Policy. Israelis Aren't Ready

Netanyahu Is Plotting a Final Power Grab. His Loyalist Shin Bet Chief Is the Key

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