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“With love and humor, the presenters confront the complexity of the modern day miracle of the state of Israel, and all of the problems that come with re-entering history”
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“This podcast is fabulous: fun, witty, musical, inspired. Talk about Israel and issues by critical Americans who live in and love Israel. My favorite part of each podcast is the closing portion, What a Country! Try this, you will love it!”
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“The Promised Podcast is my lifeline to all things Israel. Particularly when abroad in the galut. These are witty, smart, insightful Israelis who are always informative and fun to listen to.”
Recent Episodes
The “All You Protest Kids” Edition
We discuss: 1) Whether the very different natures of the protests in Jerusalem, Haifa and Beer Sheva offer a corrective to the much bigger demonstrations in Tel Aviv 2) Whether it's right for ostensibly apolitical universities, professors and students to protest the government on campus
The “When Life Gives You Demons…” Edition
We discuss: 1) The Supreme Court ruling that Aryeh Deri cannot be a minister and the constitutional crisis that may follow 2) The essay by Yossi Klein Halevi arguing that we’re riven between those who long for a “State of Judaism”, and those who long for a “State of Jews.” We are joined for this discussion by the author himself!
About the Hosts
Noah Efron
Noah aspires to make his living as a professional podcast host, raising bloviating to high art. It was his childhood dream. He teaches at Bar Ilan University, where he was founding chairperson of the program in Science, Technology & Society. He served on the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council. Noah also played bass for an ill-fated band named Liquid Plumr, and has run marathons, slowly, on three continents. He lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, daughter, son, dog, and cat. His greatest regret is that he is not Nora Ephron.
Allison Kaplan Sommer
Allison was the Fall 2017 Arnold Distinguished Visiting Chair in Jewish Studies. She has been a journalist and columnist for Haaretz since 2012. She is the former Washington DC correspondent, feature writer and critic for the Jerusalem Post, and has written on a freelance basis for U.S. publications, including the New Republic, Politico, The Forward, and JTA. Originally from Rhode Island, she earned her B.A. in English and Theater at Wesleyan University and her M.A. from the Columbia School of Journalism. She moved to Israel in 1993 and lives in Ra’anana with her husband and three children.
Don Futterman
Don is the Program Director for Israel of the Moriah Fund, and the founding Executive Director of the Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI), the leader in turning around underperforming low income elementary schools in Israel. Don has been a columnist for Haaretz, and his writing has appeared in The Daily Beast, the San Francisco Chronicle, Tikkun, Maariv, +972 and Moment. He is the author of “Yaniv’s Treasure”, האוצר של יניב, a children’s book published by the Tal-Mai imprint of Yedioth Books. He has performed his original monologues at the 92nd Street Y, the American Jewish Theater, Storytellers in Concert, and on scores of college campuses.
Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida
Ohad is a critic for Haaretz, a student, and a research assistant in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel-Aviv University. After graduating from the Aleph High School of Arts, where he majored in theater, Ohad served in the military as an editor and translator for the Israeli Air Force Magazine. He also hosted a weekly show on arts and culture in Israel on halalit.tv, and was (at 21) the youngest candidate for Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council in the entire history of the Jewish People. He grew up in New York until the age of nine, and since then has lived in Tel Aviv.
Miriam Herschlag
Miriam is opinion and blogs editor at The Times of Israel. She was an anchor, reporter and editor at the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s English TV and radio news programs; and also held training and marketing positions at Given Imaging, a pioneering Israeli medical technology company. She lives in Tel Aviv.
The “Demonstrating Faith” Edition
We discuss: 1) The nearly daily, sometimes deadly Palestinian attacks on Jews, and their impact on the protests against Netanyahu’s reforms 2) The sudden rise of a (very small) religious left, and what it says about today and means for tomorrow