“The Book of Disappearances”
Set in contemporary Tel Aviv 48 hours after Israelis discover all their Palestinian neighbors have vanished, the novel unfolds through alternating narrators, Alaa, a young Palestinian man who converses with his dead grandmother in the journal he left behind when he disappeared, and his Jewish neighbor, Ariel, a journalist struggling to understand the traumatic event.
Sick? Get Well Soon!
Hebrew provides plenty of ways to wish someone well, and they all depend on the severity of the illness. So what should we say to someone with a cold? How about the flu? Pneumonia? This winter, Guy provides a linguistic toolkit for all you well-wishers to use in almost any circumstance.
The Right to Culture: A Right in Its Own Right?
Edna Harel-Fisher, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former legal adviser to several government bodies, discusses her position paper on the government's role in financing culture as part of ensuring the freedom of expression - before, during and after Miri Regev.
House and Home
This episode features true stories on the theme “House and Home” as told by Linda Lovitch, Tova Kamioner, Nora El Zokm, Milton Roller, Elana Dorfman, and Sharon Goldfarb.
My Israel: A Neo-Zionist Awakening
Sara Haetzni-Cohen, the director of My Israel, a grassroots organization dedicated to promote Zionism online and a columnist in the weekly Makor Rishon newspaper, explains the role of the hard right in challenging Likud centrists and center-left moderates alike.
The “Teacher, Is the Prime Minister a Crook?” Edition
We discuss 1) the idea of having a winner-take-all run-off between Netanyahu & Gantz 2) whether and how educators ought to address the sad spectacle of a PM under multiple indictments 3) who should decide the names of the stops on Tel Aviv-Jaffa’s new light rail system
Nora the Mind Reader
What if, when you were in Kindergarten, your mother had given you a magic wand that allowed you to read people’s minds? Well, that’s just what happens in Orit Gidali’s book, “Nora the Mind Reader,” which will bring to a close our month of illustrated children’s books written by Israeli poets and writers.
This Corner Store is Da Bomb
The Hebrew word פיצוץ (pitsuts) means explosion but is also used in the same fashion as the English phrase, “a blast,” meaning incredible or highly entertaining. And did you know that our neighborhood corner store is called a פיצוצייה (pitsutsiya)?
Anti-Globalization Goes Global
Veteran foreign affairs reporter Nadav Eyal has hung out with miners in Pennsylvania, Molotov-cocktail wielding anarchists in Greece and neo-Nazis in Germany. Does globalization provide the unifying context for some of the most powerful, and worrying, political movements of our age?
Who Is a Gentile?
Rabbi Sigalit Ur, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, discusses her study encompassing hundreds of dialogues between Jews and Gentiles in Rabbinic literature.
The “Quid Pro Squat” Edition
We discuss 1) whether loyalty remains a virtue when applied to an indicted politician like PM Netanyahu 2) the claim of some scholars that the courts are wrong to criminalize the complicated you-wash-my-hands-I’ll-wash-yours relationships between politicians and journalists, of the sort at the basis of 2 of the 3 indictments of the PM
This Week’s Israeli Soundtrack
Kol Cambridge is back and bigger than ever with brand new releases from Omer Adam, Idan Raichel, A-WA and many many more!
Leah Goldberg’s “Room for Rent”
No Israeli childhood experience would be complete without Leah Goldberg. Her story “Room for Rent” was published in 1948 and is one of the most classic children’s books available in Hebrew.
Avishai Margalit on Betrayal
Avishai Margalit discusses his book “On Betrayal,” a philosophical exploration of the similarities and differences between adultery, treason and apostasy as well as other forms of breach of trust.
The “Going, Going, Gantz!” Edition
We discuss 1) the failed coalition-forming strategy of Benny Gantz 2) the fear that maybe the recent skirmish with the rocket-firing Islamic Jihad in Gaza was timed for political purposes 3) a brouhaha over an ultra-Orthodox-run NGO that helps people navigate Israel’s health care system
Bad Advice
This episode features true stories on the theme “Bad Advice,” as told by Benji Lovitt, Elana Dorfman, Julia Mor, Sarah Goldberg, Milton Roller and Miriam Herschlag.
Shira Geffen’s “The Heart-Shaped Leaf”
This month we continue our spotlight on beautifully written and illustrated Israeli children’s books translated into English with “The Heart Shaped Leaf,” by Shira Geffen and illustrated by David Polonsky.
Church, State and Hospital: Haredi Encounters With Healthcare Services
Dr Ben Kasstan, medical anthropologist at the University of Sussex and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discusses his new book “Making Bodies Kosher: The Politics of Reproduction Among Haredi Jews in England.”
The “We 3 at Z3” Edition
We discuss 1) a newly proposed constitution of the Jewish People, by the Jewish People, and for the Jewish People 2) whether and how American Jews have left an imprint on Israel, and Israeli Jews have left an imprint on America 3) the debate among leftist Jews over Zionism, that pits Jewish Zionists against Jewish Anti-Zionists
Kol Cambridge’s Mishpachat TACT Soundtrack
On this episode of Kol Cambridge, we’re celebrating some of our favorite songs from Subliminal and his TACT family following a special request from one of our loyal listeners!
“The Mermaid in the Bathtub”
Some of Marcela's favorite children’s books have been written by well known poets and illustrated by some of Israel’s most talented artists. This episode features “The Mermaid in the Bathtub,” written by Nurit Zarchi and illustrated by Rutu Modan.
The Jewsraelis: Portrait of a People, Portrait of a Nation
Shmuel Rosner, journalist, editor and senior research fellow at JPPI discusses his new book, “Israeli Judaism,” an attempt at a snapshot of current Israeli attitudes towards Judaism as a religion, as peoplehood and as tradition.
The “Gantz Is the New Rabin?” Edition
We discuss 1) Gantz’s efforts to channel the spirit of Yitzhak Rabin 2) a demand by the head of the union of IAI workers that the company be privatized 3) the bruhaha over the sale-at-auction of a 1937 letter written by an 11 year old who was later murdered in Auschwitz
Nano Shabtai’s “Corn”
For the next few weeks, we will feature new, up-and-coming writers whose work have recently been translated to English. Nano Shabtai is known in Hebrew arts and letters as a poet, dramatist and director.
The “Déjà Vu All Over Again?” Edition
We discuss 1) our third elections, what they’re about and whether we learned anything from our first two 2) whether the love/hate relationship with the PM is really a struggle between “First Israel” and “Second Israel” 3) whether or not native-born Israelis “get” the fear of anti-semitism that so many Jews around the world feel