The “Sidelocks & Sidearms?” Edition
We discuss: 1) The decision by families of the hostages to link their campaign to bring them home to the campaign for “elections now” 2) The Supreme Court injunction that cuts off funding for army-aged, ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students who learn instead of serve
Israel/Palestine: A Gaze From Below
Dr Dafna Hirsch, senior lecturer at the Open University of Israel's Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication, discusses her edited book, “Entangled Histories in Palestine/Israel: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives”
The “(Feels Like) Sumpin’ Gonna Give” Edition
We discuss: 1) The very fast seeming-decline in US-Israel relations 2) The claim by an urban warfare expert that Israel has displayed an unprecedentedly-high standard of concern for the safety of civilians in Gaza
The Prophet: On Judah Magnes’ Politics and Theology
Dr David Barak-Gorodetsky discusses his book, “Judah Magnes: The Prophetic Politics of a Religious Binationalist,” a biography of one of the more unusual characters in the history of Zionism
The “The P Word?” Edition
We discuss: 1) An opposition conference at the Knesset setting out a new peace plan for our troubled times 2) the trope of an eternal, genocidal Amalek, why it is everywhere these days
I’m Finally Settling In
The words להתיישב and לשבת are both translated as ‘to sit down’, but they are not used in the same manner. Guy explains the differences and how these words relate to the West Bank
Rabbi Binyamin: Zionism’s Ultimate Contrarian
Dr Avi-Ram Tzoreff discusses his new book, “R. Binyamin, Binationalism and Counter-Zionism,” dedicated to one of the most unusual Jewish and Zionist intellectuals of the 20th century
The “You Know, I Read It in a Magazine” Edition
We discuss: 1) The Atlantic cover story arguing that the “Golden Age” for American Jews has come to a close 2) The well-regarded literary journal's retraction of an essay by an Israeli on account of, well, what exactly?
What Are You Sitting On?
The word לשבת means to sit, and there’s a plethora of uses for this verb in Hebrew. We'll be talking about jails and cafes, dog trainers, Ottoman Jews, and restaurant hosts, all in the same episode!
Their War, Our War
Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, discusses his new book, “Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence.” What parallels can be drawn between Ukraine's war with Russia and Israel's with Hamas?
Has the Jewish Nation-State Model Run Its Course?
The October 7th attack undermined some of the basic assumptions Israelis have had about the tenets of their sovereignty. Will the crisis send the country into a post-nation-state phase?