Haaretz Podcast
366 episodes - English - Latest episode: 19 days ago - ★★★★ - 129 ratingsFrom Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.
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Episodes
'And then I heard the gun click': What happens when a terrorist enters a synagogue
July 26, 2022 10:34 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBJanuary 15, 2022, began as a quiet Saturday morning for Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, then the rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. When a stranger knocked on the synagogue’s glass door and inquired about a night shelter, Cytron-Walker performed an act of kindness: he invited the man inside and made him a cup of tea. For the next 11 hours, the man, who happened to have a gun, held Cytron-Walker and several congregants hostage, demanding the release of an Al-Qaida-affilia...
Haaretz goes to Saudi Arabia: LISTEN to Ben Samuels and David Makovsky
July 19, 2022 06:36 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBLast week, Haaretz reporter Ben Samuels was the only Israeli journalist to fly with the White House press delegation from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – a first-of-its-kind historic flight between two countries that officially still don’t recognize one another. Almost 30 years ago, David Makovsky, then Haaretz’s diplomatic correspondent, also visited Jeddah, accompanying U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as part of the Oslo Accords-era flurry of Middle Eastern negotiat...
What will MBS give Biden in Saudi Arabia? LISTEN to Gregg Carlstrom
July 11, 2022 08:25 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBAs President Joe Biden takes off from Washington for his long-awaited visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia, The Economist's Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom joins the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on U.S. policy in the region. Hosts Allison Kaplan Sommer and Amir Tibon ask him what Biden will try to extract from the Saudis; how the Gulf states view the Abraham Accords, almost two years after they were signed; and whether Vladimir Putin is the one who should actually get the c...
'This president loves Israel:' U.S. ambassador talks Biden visit, Saudi ties
July 03, 2022 12:22 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBU.S. President Joe Biden is set to arrive in Israel next week, and his top diplomat in the country says that the long-expected visit won’t be affected by Israel’s recently-announced election. “The show will go on,” Ambassador Thomas Nides told the Haaretz Weekly podcast in a special July 4th interview. “Joe Biden is coming here for the Israeli people. He's not coming for one political party or another,” Nides told hosts Allison Kaplan Sommer and Amir Tibon, describing the U.S. president as ...
‘Abortion bans hurt our religious freedom': LISTEN to Sheila Katz
June 29, 2022 12:43 - 32 minutes - 29.7 MBWhen the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, ending the federal right to abortion, it was “devastating,” says Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, in an interview with Haaretz Weekly. “We had been mapping out every possible path this decision could go down. And the one the court chose was absolutely the worst,” Katz tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer. Katz has been spearheading the fight for abortion rights in the Jewish community under the banner of rel...
Israel heads to elections, with its democracy on the line
June 20, 2022 12:28 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBFor the fifth time since 2019, Israel will hold an election as the country's political crisis grows ever worse, with no end in sight. Why did Prime Minister Naftali Bennett decide to shock the political scene by blowing up his own government? What kind of leader will his interim successor, Yair Lapid, be? And is it too soon to discuss a comeback by Benjamin Netanyahu? Our team in the studio – Amir Tibon, Anshel Pfeffer and Allison Kaplan Sommer – answer all your most pressing questions on t...
A Frightening View of Steve Bannon’s World: Listen to Jennifer Senior
June 14, 2022 08:55 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBTrump adviser Steve Bannon has refused to testify to the congressional January 6 committee about his role in the Capitol insurrection. But he agreed to speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jennifer Senior – though when confronted he didn’t tell her the truth. “He was definitely working the phones all day. And he was lying to me about it,” Senior tells Haaretz Weekly podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, discussing her recent profile of Bannon in The Atlantic. Senior also talks about ho...
Israel's political crisis is far from over – and getting worse
June 09, 2022 08:12 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBHaaretz Weekend host Allison Kaplan Sommer and Haaretz English Deputy Editor Amir Tibon review the turbulent Israeli political scene after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s embattled governing coalition failed to pass a contentious West Bank bill this week – and ask if this could be the death knell for the anti-Netanyahu "change government." Later on the show, Prof. Joshua Shanes joins the podcast to discuss changes in ultra-Orthodoxy – a community that will soon represent a fifth of all U.S...
AIPAC Wants to Defeat this Jewish Democrat. He's fighting back
June 02, 2022 09:41 - 38 minutes - 35.7 MBRep. Andy Levin, a progressive Democrat from Michigan, is facing a tough primary race against fellow lawmaker Haley Stevens, as the two politicians battle in a newly redrawn Congressional district in the Detroit area. Their election has become the latest front in the political war between AIPAC, which is supporting Stevens, and J Street, which has endorsed Levin. Joining host Allison Kaplan Sommer on this episode, Levin responds to what he calls “sad and pathetic” personal attacks from a fo...
Biden wanted to isolate the Saudis. Now he has to kiss the ring
May 25, 2022 10:07 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBU.S. President Joe Biden visited Asia this week, where he made headlines by promising to defend Taiwan in case of a Chinese attack on the island. At home, his administration has been struggling with rising inflation ahead of this year's midterm elections. So why, in the face of multiple internal and international crises, is the president soon planning a visit to Israel and potentially also Saudi Arabia? On this week's episode, we asked leading U.S. foreign policy expert Aaron David Miller w...
'Putin's own paranoia will bring NATO to his doorstep'
May 18, 2022 11:13 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBEnding a decades-long policy of neutrality, Sweden and Finland have decided to join NATO in response to Vladimir Putin's botched invasion of Ukraine. On this episode of Haaretz Weekend, our correspondent in Stockholm, David Stavrou, explains why this decision is an earthquake for the two Scandinavian countries, and veteran national security analyst Amir Oren discusses the global implications it will have, ranging from Washington and Moscow to Israel and the Middle East. They also tell host A...
LISTEN: Joshua Cohen On Winning a Pulitzer for ‘The Netanyahus’
May 15, 2022 11:41 - 38 minutes - 35.7 MB“If I thought that I was going to win the Pulitzer for a book called ‘The Netanyahus’ I would have to be crazy to want to be in Israel when that happened,” novelist Joshua Cohen tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer on Haaretz Weekly, shortly after arriving in Israel for the Jerusalem International Book Forum and Writers Festival. In the interview, recorded in Tel Aviv days after he got the news, Cohen says he is still in shock that he had won the biggest literary prize in the United States for...
Why an Islamist Party Just Saved Israel’s Government
May 12, 2022 08:19 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBAs the Israeli Knesset begins its summer session, political expert and Haaretz columnist Dahlia Scheindlin joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s chances of survival, and why United Arab List leader Mansour Abbas pulled his party back from the brink after threatening to leave the coalition. Abbas is taking “a huge risk," she notes, amidst growing criticism from within the Arab camp “attacking him every day for being some kind of collaborator in this go...
What I wanted to tell the Palestinian sniper who killed my son
May 03, 2022 17:12 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBRobi Damelin’s life was transformed in 2002 when she received the bitter news that her beloved son David was gunned down by a Palestinian while serving as a reserve soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. In an emotional interview, she tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer about the personal journey that led her to peace activism and leadership in the Parents Circle-Families Forum – a co-sponsor of the annual Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Day Ceremony. “I remember sitting around the table ...
Who really calls the shots in Tehran? Listen to Israel's top Iran expert
May 02, 2022 11:16 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBDr. Raz Zimmt, a leading Israeli expert on Iran, joins the podcast to talk about the ambitions, fears and concerns of Iran's current leadership. We ask him: Does Tehran really want to go back to a nuclear agreement with the United States and other world powers, or is it just buying time? Is the aging supreme religious leader Ali Khamenei still the top decision-maker in the country? And what have Israeli governments gotten wrong about Iran in recent decades? Zimmt, who recently published the ...
‘Israel is Failing a Moral Test in Ukraine. I’m Ashamed’
April 27, 2022 12:01 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBZehava Galon, former head of the left-wing Meretz Party, who served in the Knesset for 16 years, is also the child of Holocaust survivors. For this reason, she finds it personally painful to see Israel’s government refusing to explicitly condemn Vladimir Putin and refraining from sending arms to Ukraine. “We have to protect the rights of people around the world – people who need our help,” says Galon, who now heads the human rights organization Zulat, on the latest episode of Haaretz Weeek...
Fire on Temple Mount: What's behind the violence in Jerusalem ?
April 25, 2022 14:02 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBIt was supposed to be a week of celebrations as Jews, Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land all marked their holidays at the same time. But in Jerusalem, and particularly on the sensitive Temple Mount / Al-Aqsa compound, the biggest story in recent days has been the outbreak of violent clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli police. Nir Hasson, Haaretz's Jerusalem correspondent, and our senior analyst Anshel Pfeffer, join the podcast to explain what's behind this wave of violence an...
'The French were always grumpy. Now they're angry': Will Macron survive?
April 14, 2022 13:11 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBAhead of the second round of the French presidential election, our in-house experts on French politics join the podcast to explain what's behind the "great anger" expressed by voters in the first round, and how President Emmanuel Macron can become the first in two decades to secure a second term in office. Emmanuelle Elbaz-Phelps, host of Haaretz's Hebrew-language podcast on the French election, and Haaretz editor and writer Eléonore Weil, share their conversations with family and friends ...
'The French were always grumpy. Now they're angry': Why Le Pen could win
April 14, 2022 13:11 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBAhead of the second round of the French presidential election, our in-house experts on French politics join the podcast to explain what's behind the "great anger" expressed by voters in the first round, and how President Emmanuel Macron can become the first in two decades to secure a second term in office. Emmanuelle Elbaz-Phelps, host of Haaretz's Hebrew-language podcast on the French election, and Haaretz editor and writer Eléonore Weil, share their conversations with family and friends i...
'Putin heard my question. His entire demeanor changed:' Listen to Susan Glasser
April 06, 2022 09:37 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBSusan Glasser has been one of the most prominent journalists covering Washington's political dramas in the Obama, Trump and Biden years. But earlier in her career, as an American reporter stationed in Moscow, she witnessed the rise of a man who has had just as much influence on world affairs over the years: Vladimir Putin. On this episode of Haaretz Weekend, Glasser joins hosts Allison Kaplan Sommer and Amir Tibon to discuss Putin's evolution from "an obscure KGB officer" to a murderous aut...
What Iran Learned From Ukraine War: Listen to Former Israel Intel Chief
April 04, 2022 10:10 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBMore than a month into the Ukraine war, is it too soon to call the Russian invasion a failure? What impact will it have on America's international standing, and why has it increased Iran's motivation to acquire nuclear weapons? Retired Israeli general Amos Yadlin, former head of Israel's military intelligence, joins the podcast to discuss these questions amid reports of Russian war crimes on the outskirts of Kyiv. Yadlin tells host Amir Tibon that Putin's "barbaric" war is a reflection of R...
Israel's 'embarrassing' Ukraine policy: Listen to General H.R. McMaster
March 31, 2022 08:15 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBFormer U.S. National Security Adviser, retired General H.R. McMaster, joins Haaretz Weekend for a frank conversation about Ukraine, Iran and the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship. McMaster told host Allison Kaplan Sommer that Israel “ought to be embarrassed” for failing to “fully support” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his fight against the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian situation “is at least a little bit analogous to the situation of Israel” having been “attacked with...
With two shocking attacks, ISIS rears its head in Israel
March 28, 2022 14:32 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MBThe images from the north-central city of Hadera on Sunday sent many Israelis back in time to the dark days of the second intifada: two terrorists, armed with multiple weapons, standing in the middle of a busy street and opening fire. The fact that the perpetrators turned out to be Arab citizens of Israel who had pledged allegiance to ISIS, and that an attack by another Arab-Israeli ISIS supporter took place just days earlier in the south of the country, made the situation even more shockin...
Former AIPAC leader slams lobby's 'bullshit' political endorsements
March 24, 2022 09:34 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBTom Dine, executive director of AIPAC from 1980-1993, is extremely worried that the organization’s controversial decision to endorse and fund congressional candidates who refused to certify the 2020 election will prove to be an “existential mistake.” The pro-Israel lobby has “walked into a trap they set themselves” and are now being seen as supporting “antidemocratic” forces, he tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer on Haaretz Weekend. The current AIPAC leadership's efforts to defend their choi...
"Biden and China have one common interest when it comes to Russia"
March 21, 2022 13:28 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MBAs the war in Ukraine rages on, Vladimir Putin's army is being exposed as less effective than previously thought, argues Haaretz senior correspondent Anshel Pfeffer on this week's episode. Joining from Kyiv, where he has been covering the war with photographer Ohad Zwigenberg, he shares what "normal life" currently looks like in the bombarded Ukrainian capital, explains what it takes for a journalist to enter Ukraine these days, and offers a grim assessment about the possibility of the war e...
Putin's wild card, Ukraine's hope: Listen to Anshel Pfeffer in bombarded Kyiv
March 21, 2022 13:28 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MBAs the war in Ukraine rages on, Vladimir Putin's army is being exposed as less effective than previously thought, argues Haaretz senior correspondent Anshel Pfeffer on this week's episode. Joining from Kyiv, where he has been covering the war with photographer Ohad Zwigenberg, he shares what "normal life" currently looks like in the bombarded Ukrainian capital, explains what it takes for a journalist to enter Ukraine these days, and offers a grim assessment about the possibility of the war en...
Democracy or Putin: 'Israel must choose a side in Ukraine'
March 15, 2022 11:43 - 37 minutes - 34.2 MBIsrael's attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine represent an important shift in the country's foreign policy, says Eran Etzion, a former senior Israeli diplomat and previously the deputy head of Israel's national security council. A country that for decades was clearly aligned with the U.S. and the West, says Etzion, has been drifting toward a more neutral position in the global arena, but now it must choose between the democratic world and an authoritarian axis trying to destroy it....
Inside Putin's Mind: A conversation with Julia Ioffe
March 09, 2022 17:51 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MBJournalist Julia Ioffe was born in the former Soviet Union, immigrated to the U.S. as a child, and returned many times since to Russia as a reporter covering the country's politics, wars and relations with the world. On this episode of Haaretz Weekend, she explains why Vladimir Putin was surprised by U.S. President Joe Biden's tough sanctions, but why the economic damage caused to Russia won't deter him from continuing his cruel war in Ukraine. Putin, she warns, is cornered, and is far from ...
'This is Putin's show, he has several ways to take it nuclear'
March 08, 2022 12:26 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBWhat is it like to cover the Ukraine war from inside the beleaguered country? Who are the people escaping the Russian onslaught? And is Israel doing enough to help the refugees arriving at its gates? Haaretz correspondents Yarden Michaeli and Judy Maltz, who recently returned from Ukraine and Moldova, respectively, share their experiences on the ground, offer a dark assessment of the war's next steps and end with some optimistic stories of resilience and generosity despite the enormous crisi...
Molotov cocktails and desperation: what our reporter saw in Ukraine
March 08, 2022 12:26 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBWhat is it like to cover the Ukraine war from inside the beleaguered country? Who are the people escaping the Russian onslaught? And is Israel doing enough to help the refugees arriving at its gates? Haaretz correspondents Yarden Michaeli and Judy Maltz, who recently returned from Ukraine and Moldova, respectively, share their experiences on the ground, offer a dark assessment of the war's next steps and end with some optimistic stories of resilience and generosity despite the enormous crisi...
Ukraine War: What our reporters saw on the ground
March 08, 2022 12:26 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBWhat is it like to cover the Ukraine war from inside the beleaguered country? Who are the people escaping the Russian onslaught? And is Israel doing enough to help the refugees arriving at its gates? Haaretz correspondents Yarden Michaeli and Judy Maltz, who recently returned from Ukraine and Moldova, respectively, share their experiences on the ground, offer a dark assessment of the war's next steps and end with some optimistic stories of resilience and generosity despite the enormous cris...
How the Ukraine war opened up a fight over Holocaust denial
March 02, 2022 18:14 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBDani Dayan, chairman of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center, joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss the war in Ukraine and how it affects his organization's main mission, preserving the memory of the Holocaust. He finds reason for concern in some recent developments: “Both sides are trivializing and distorting the Holocaust. I regret that both sides are using their propagandistic comparisons to the Holocaust that are completely inaccurate and completely improper.” Dayan chose...
'Holocaust distortion': Israel's Yad Vashem fights its own Ukraine war
March 02, 2022 18:14 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBDani Dayan, chairman of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center, joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss the war in Ukraine and how it affects his organization's main mission, preserving the memory of the Holocaust. He finds reason for concern in some recent developments: “Both sides are trivializing and distorting the Holocaust. I regret that both sides are using their propagandistic comparisons to the Holocaust that are completely inaccurate and completely improper.” Dayan chose...
Ukraine war opens up a fight over Holocaust denial
March 02, 2022 18:14 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBDani Dayan, chairman of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center, joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss the war in Ukraine and how it affects his organization's main mission, preserving the memory of the Holocaust. He finds reason for concern in some recent developments: “Both sides are trivializing and distorting the Holocaust. I regret that both sides are using their propagandistic comparisons to the Holocaust that are completely inaccurate and completely improper.” Dayan chos...
'Syria was Putin's laboratory. Now he's taking his methods to Ukraine.'
February 28, 2022 11:06 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBThrough the fog of war, details are beginning to emerge from the war in Ukraine – but the full picture is still unknown. Has Putin achieved any of his objectives so far? Why is the world surprised by Ukraine's defiance and resolve? And what does Israel stand to lose by refusing to take a stronger position against Russia? Israeli strategic planning expert and former army colonel Udi Evental joins the podcast to discuss the latest developments in the fighting, and how Syria was Putin's laborat...
Visit Israel? you're canceled. The new threat to Democrats in D.C.
February 23, 2022 17:40 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MB“We see a voice in Congress that is not talking about Palestinian human rights, that isn’t a progressive pro-Israel voice. It is a voice saying ‘Israel is completely illegitimate and you shouldn’t engage with it at all.’” Americans for Peace Now CEO Hadar Susskind joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer this week to talk about the pressure being put on a group of left-wing Democratic lawmakers who have participated in delegations to Israel – even when those delegations meet with Palestinian leader...
Not just Ukraine: "Putin uses Iran to make America look weaker"
February 22, 2022 10:00 - 42 minutes - 38.6 MBAs war gets closer in Ukraine, signs of progress are being reported from Vienna, where Iran and world powers are discussing a new nuclear agreement. Is a new deal actually within reach, and will it be a weaker, more dangerous agreement as Israeli officials have been warning? Nuclear historian Avner Cohen joins the podcast to answer these questions, and also to explain how Putin is using the Iran card against America, and why China won't mind if Iran becomes a nuclear threshold state. Later ...
'New KKK’: The danger of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians
February 16, 2022 15:34 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBIsrael’s top human rights attorney, Michael Sfard, made headlines with an explosive article comparing Israeli settler violence in the West Bank to the activities of the Ku Klux Klan. In an interview with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, he calls the perpetrators “the new antisemites,” and talks about why denouncements from Israeli authorities and settler leaders ring hollow. “Every society has people who do bad things. The question is: what does that society do about it? My conclusion is that con...
If Putin invades Ukraine, will the country's Jews turn to Israel?
February 16, 2022 15:34 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBHaaretz senior writer Judy Maltz joins the podcast to talk about the plight of Ukrainian Jews living in the shadow of a possible Russian invasion, and whether she believes a massive wave of aliyah is likely should a military conflict begin. She also talks about why the Israeli government may soon be taking steps that would actually make it harder, not easier, for many of those Ukrainian Jews to come to Israel if they want to do so, due to political horse-trading that would see a radical ch...
Israel's dangerous Pegasus scandal – and how to protect your phone
February 15, 2022 11:12 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBThe biggest story in Israel in recent weeks has been the alleged use of Pegasus spyware by the Israeli police against journalists, directors of government ministries, witnesses in the Netanyahu trial and other civilians. But did it really happen, or is the entire situation one big conspiracy theory? And what lessons can democratic governments learn from Israel's spyware scandal? To answer these questions, our guests on this week's episode are Haaretz cybertech editor Omer Benjakob and Dr. Te...
Israel's Pegasus scandal: how you can protect your phone
February 15, 2022 11:12 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBThe biggest story in Israel in recent weeks has been the alleged use of Pegasus spyware by the Israeli police against journalists, directors of government ministries, witnesses in the Netanyahu trial and other civilians. But did it really happen, or is the entire situation one big conspiracy theory? And what lessons can democratic governments learn from Israel's spyware scandal? To answer these questions, our guests on this week's episode are Haaretz cybertech editor Omer Benjakob and Dr. T...
'We're fighting back’: Israeli Arab women battle for their lives
February 10, 2022 08:58 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBWhen the mayor of the Israeli Arab town of Jatt canceled the performance of a play featuring the voices of women murdered by their husbands, claiming it 'disrespected Islam', feminist activist Samah Salaime refused to stay silent. On Haaretz Weekend, Salaime – a leading voice in the struggle against violence against women in the Arab community – tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer that in her view, the cancellation of the play was a form of “oppression.” “We can’t, as Palestinians, say that...
Why 'Suspicion' and other remakes of Israeli tv shows lost the plot
February 10, 2022 08:58 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBHaaretz television critic Adrian Hennigan reviews the two latest Israeli hit shows to receive English-language reboots: “Suspicion” on Apple TV+ and “As We See It” on Amazon Prime, and takes a deep dive into the global phenomenon the Israeli television industry has become. Hear the full conversation with him, starting at time code 21:00. Also on this episode, feminist activist Samah Salaime – a leading voice on violence against women in the Arab community – talks with host Allison Kaplan So...
"Netanyahu bet everything on Trump": Inside Israel's Iran bind
February 07, 2022 11:01 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBFrom Iran and Ukraine to China and India, on this week's episode we have a wide-ranging discussion of Israel's foreign policy with Yossi Shain – one of the country's top political science experts and a recently elected member of the Knesset. Shain explains how former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a bet on Donald Trump winning reelection, and how that bet put Israel in a terrible situation regarding Iran. He also discusses Israel's alliance with India, and tells host Amir Tibon tha...
What an attack on Ukraine will mean for Biden – and Israel
February 01, 2022 12:00 - 35 minutes - 32.9 MBAs Russian troops mass on the Ukrainian border and fears of an invasion grow, Haaretz’s Alon Pinkas talks to Allison Kaplan Sommer about Vladimir Putin’s motivations and the reaction of President Joe Biden to the crisis. “Anything having to do with America’s image, with America’s power and ability to project power has a direct impact on Israel’s national security,” Pinkas says. Also, Haaretz correspondent Liza Rozovsky joins the podcast from the ground in Ukraine. While Ukrainians in the b...
How a plea bargain for Netanyahu could rock Israeli politics
January 24, 2022 12:36 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBAnshel Pfeffer and Dahlia Scheindlin dissect Bibi's latest legal drama, and listen in as Omer Benjakob discusses the latest NSO scandal with host Allison Kaplan Sommer See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Iran’s bizarre but worrying espionage campaign against Israel
January 18, 2022 09:54 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBWhen news broke that four middle-aged women in Israel had been recruited by an Iranian intelligence agent on social media and dispatched on a series of bizarre missions, many Israeli commentators found the story amusing. Haaretz intelligence and security analyst Yossi Melman tells podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer why he believes the episode is no joking matter. Additionally, he delves into the ongoing controversy over why Princeton University continues to employ Seyed Mousavian, a propa...
Israel's omicron wave is exploding out of control
January 10, 2022 16:28 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBIsrael's COVID infection rate broke all-time records this week as the omicron variant washed over the country. But the same Israel that offered inspiration by being the first in the world to offer booster shots against the delta variant, now seems inclined to let this outbreak simply run its course. Rules for testing and quarantine constantly change, and many Israelis are left confused and angry. We discuss this evolving situation with Prof. Diane Levin from Clalit, Israel's largest health ca...
He predicted Obama's big wins. Now he warns of a Trump comeback
January 10, 2022 16:28 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBDays after America marked one year to the January 6 attack on Congress and the attempt to subvert American democracy, author and political analyst John Judis joins the podcast to offer a disturbing view of these events and their place in U.S. history. Judis, famous for predicting an "emerging Democratic majority" ahead of Obama's rise to power, now warns of a possible Trump comeback. Listen to his full conversation with host Amir Tibon starting at time code 13:35. Also on this episode: Isra...
Omicron is exploding in Israel. Is Israel tired of fighting?
January 10, 2022 16:28 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBIsrael's COVID infection rate broke all-time records this week as the omicron variant washed over the country. But the same Israel that offered inspiration by being the first in the world to offer booster shots against the delta variant, now seems inclined to let this outbreak simply run its course. Rules for testing and quarantine constantly change, and many Israelis are left confused and angry. We discuss this evolving situation with Prof. Diane Levin from Clalit, Israel's largest health ca...