The Promised Podcast

The “New Hopes & Old” Edition

We discuss: 1) A new challenger to PM Netanyahu – Gideon Sa’ar – this time from the right 2) Whether someone should be allowed to stipulate that their donated kidney go to a Jew 3) What song should represent Israel at the next Eurovision

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The “Rational Insecurity” Edition

We discuss: 1) the vote to disperse the Knesset 2) the assassination of the head of the Iran nuclear weapons program 3) what to make of an archaeologist’s claim that King David was little more than the mediocre chieftain of a mediocre tribe

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The “Subs, Spies & Videotape” Edition

We discuss: 1) Gantz’s decision to investigate corruption in the purchase of German submarines 2) How the spy Jonathan Pollard ought to be welcomed when he moves here 3) Why the IDF is trying so hard to be cool on social media

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The “Vaxx, Facts & Tax” Edition

We discuss: 1) whether Bibi made the right call rushing to buy a mess of Pfizer’s vaccines at high-end prices 2) a campaign aiming to publicly shame rapists and abusers by putting their faces on billboards 3) whether the gov should start charging tax on overseas internet purchases

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The “Sons of Strongmen” Edition

We discuss: 1) what lasting impact Donald Trump and “Trumpism” had on Israel 2) an initiative led by the old Left to forge a new left that leaves Zionism behind 3) the really strange new podcast by Yair Netanyahu

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The “Leaders Come and Leaders Go” Edition

We discuss: 1) what we can learn from the mess of American politics about the mess of Israeli politics 2) the claim that Jews are breaking down into Trump Jews and Anti-Trump Jews 3) the outrage over one minister’s claim that Rabin’s legacy means nothing to her

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The “This Place!” Edition

On this special episode, Miriam Herschlag, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida, Allison Kaplan-Sommer, Don Futterman, Charlotte Halle, and Noah Efron tell stories of life and love in this place they call home.

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The “Anything But Apathy” Edition

We discuss: 1) what to do with Ultra-Orthodox schools that opened illegally, against COVID regulations 2) whether race is a useful concept for understanding Israel 3) a new Israeli-Palestinian fashion company

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The “Exit Strategy” Edition

We discuss: 1) whether the new plan to get out of lockdown in stages is a good one 2) the worried claim that people here are growing coarser, and all the faster in these pandemical times 3) a big front-page ad comparing mistreatment of cows to Treblinka

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“The People Doth Protest Too Much!” Edition

We discuss: 1) the new limitations on protest demonstrations and whether they diminish Israeli democracy 2) what to do now that a big survey shows that distance learning is a flop 3) whether poetry can lead to political and social change

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