My Neighbor, My Kapo
Between 1950-1972, dozens of former Jewish kapos stood trial in Israel, yet their story is almost entirely unknown. Prof. Dan Porat's new book, a 2019 National Jewish Book Award finalist, sheds light on these incredible cases.
The “Getting Blitzed!” Edition
Is Gantz’s strategy for winning voters, “I’m a Mensch, that other guy ain’t, so vote for me”? What's behind Bibi’s surprisingly positive message to the voters, about how we’re prosperous and things are only getting better? Should the government pay cities to build ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods?
Kol Cambridge’s Swan Song
Kol Cambridge is going to take a break. We could be sad - but what’s the point? Turn up the volume, enjoy, and follow us on Facebook to find out when we’ll be back!
Improve Your Hebrew With These 4 Tools
Guy demonstrates how to use 4 valuable online tools he thinks every Hebrew learner should know.
On the Job
This episode features true stories on the theme “On the Job” as told by Abraham Silver, Alison Bender Kellner, Elana Dorfman, Allison Kaplan Sommer, and Noah Efron.
Israeli and Palestinian Literature as Critique
Exploring the relevance of political economy to literary criticism, Dr. Kfir Cohen Lustig offers a new understanding of Israeli, Palestinian and World literature.
The “Self-Determination Abnegation?” Edition
Is Bibi’s embrace of Trump’s peace plan a reversal of Israel's insistence that only it and the Palestinians can resolve the conflict? Was the now overturned decision to outlaw a Palestinian-Israeli lawmaker from running for Knesset fed by misogyny? What does the new “Voice of Women” party offer our body-politic?
Nava Semel’s “Isra Ilse”
“Isra Ilse” opens as a detective story when Liam Emanuel, an Israeli descendant of Noah, learns about and inherits Grand Island, downriver from Niagara Falls. He leaves Israel intending to reclaim this “Promised Land” in America. Shortly after he arrives in America Liam disappears. Simon T. Lenox, a Native American police investigator, tries to recover Israel’s “missing son.”
More Jewish, Less Democratic?
Rabbi Hara Person, the Chief Executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, offers insights into how Reform Rabbis, whose finger is on the Jewish-American pulse virtually more than anyone else, can communicate Israel to their communities and vice-versa.
The “Godlessness, in Theory & Practice” Edition
Has the Left sold itself out by failing to fight for secularism? What are we to make of Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party's campaign arguing only they can make Israel liberal? What's behind the Israeli-film-industry boycott-threat on an NGO that dared to help settler filmmakers make settler films?
This Week’s Israeli Soundtrack
On this episode we play you the latest music singles, including new releases from Sarit Hadad, Noa Kirel, HaTikva 6, and a song dedicated to Krembo!
Existential Frets: The Rise and Fall of Jean-Paul Sartre in the Arab World
Dr Yoav Di Capua, professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in Arab intellectual history, discusses his new book “No Exit: Arab Existentialism, Jean Paul Sartre and Decolonization.”
The “Bibi’s Busy Week” Edition
What does Trump’s Deal of the Century augur? What does Netanyahu’s retraction of his request for immunity augur? Did Netanyahu display diplomatic brilliance in getting Issachar freed, or did he just become Putin’s bitch?
Ayala Ben Lulu’s “Mona Lisa”
This week Marcela returns to focus on up and coming Israeli writers who have rarely or never before been translated into English, by featuring Ayala Ben Lulu. “Mona Lisa” appears in the latest issue of The Ilanot Review, which was a collaboration with Granta Hebrew.
Reading Farsi in Tel Aviv
Behind the political bogeyman of modern Iran lie centuries of Persian poetry and literature. Orly Noy, journalist and political activist, translates Farsi literature into Hebrew. Her work brings the soul of Iran to Israel - and her readings bring the music.
The “Challenging Assumptions” Edition
Is former US Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, right that America needs to wean itself off the dream of bringing peace to the Middle East? Do Israelis really vote by straight class-interests, proving identity politics less powerful than we think? Is it finally time to get religion out of politics?
Kol Cambridge’s 15th Birthday Special
Can you believe it! Kol Cambridge is celebrating 15 years of playing the best in Israeli and Jewish music with a special show full of reminiscing, special messages and of course - great music!
Falafel 101: Your Guide to Ordering Falafel in Hebrew
Ordering falafel in Israel may seem simple. But when learning Hebrew, the many different options and the barrage of short and direct questions from the seller could make the whole experience a bit stressful. Today, Guy explains how to keep calm through the mayhem of an Israeli falafel stand at lunch time.
Why Can’t America Embrace Palestine?
Khaled Elgindy writes that America's fundamental ambiguity over the Palestinian national cause has been an underlying and unappreciated factor in the failure of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over the years, in his new book, “Blind Spot – America & the Palestinians, From Balfour to Trump.
The “Tube and Other Boobs” Edition
Do the recently united Meretz and Labor-Gesher parties actually agree about anything? What do we make of the unity agreement between 3 of the 4 right-wing parties that leaves the far-right, neo-Kahanists to run on their own? Are reality shows political activism by other means?
Ronit Matalon’s “And the Bride Closed the Door”
This podcast is dedicated to marriage—all the engaged couples with cold feet, newly married couples, and long-married couples who survived the wedding day. Marcela reads from and discusses Ronit Matalon's last book written before her death, which was awarded Israel’s prestigious Brenner Prize.
7 Tips That Will Improve Your Spoken Hebrew
Many podcast listeners have written to ask, “How can I improve my Hebrew?” So on this episode, Guy provides 7 tips that will help anyone, from those highly proficient to those just getting started, improve their spoken Hebrew.
Populism for the Popular Audience
Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser provides a comprehensive look at the elusive phenomenon of populism, spanning left to right, south to north, people to leaders, and explains why democracies are the most vulnerable to populist trends.
The “There Will Be Blood” Edition
What's all the fracas over an interview with a sociologists who says Israeli “liberals” are the least tolerant folks? Is “activist journalism” what we need in an age of “fake news”? Should HMOs be providing free tests of “ritual purity” to religious women who want it?
Dead Tired or Just a Bit Crazy?
Slang usage of the word קרוע (ka’rua), literally meaning ‘torn’, is fascinating because when someone says it about themselves, it means one thing, and when the same is said about them behind their back, it means something completely different. Guy explains.