“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”
— ACCurrent
“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!”
— BerniceHP
“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.”
— Axel Chitlin
Recent Episodes
The “Panthers and Cubs” Edition
We discuss 1) the addition of an activist to the Labor Party list who once called it a party of racist oppression 2) a revisionist history of the settler movement arguing that it was not about religious ideology but rather economy and class 3) whether it's right or not to harangue Avner Netanyahu about the purported “sins” of his father
“The Elephant has Left the Building” Edition
We discuss 1) why the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not a campaign issue in our incipient elections 2) an ad campaign showing PM Netanyahu with autocratish world leaders 3) the revolutionary advance of municipal bus service on the Sabbath
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 Israel Program Director of the Moriah Fund and Director of the Israel Center for Educational Innovation. He is a columnist for Haaretz, and has written for the Daily Beast, the San Francisco Chronicle, Tikkun, Moment, and other periodicals. Don was a commentator for public radio in San Francisco and Seattle, and before that — an iniquity of youth — a professional actor and story-teller.
The “Is Netanyahu Over?” Edition
We discuss 1) whether or not Netanyahu has lost his edge, his grip, his inevitability and his invincibility 2) a new group aiming to politically empower English-speaking Israelis 3) what to make of the Israeli HBO series about the 2014 murders of Jewish kids by Palestinians and a Muslim kid by Jews