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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 “The Falcon & the Falconer” Edition
We discuss: 1) Whether something “fundamental” just changed with the recent elections 2) Whether the jurisdiction of Rabbinical courts ought to be expanded to include civil disputes
The “Getting the Book of Books on the Books” Edition
We discuss: 1) The new “coalition agreements” signed, some of which Netanyahu already said he ain’t gonna honor 2) The new proposed Basic Law that gives learning Talmud in a Yeshiva the same weight and status as commanding a tank in the IDF
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 “What Is Up? What Is Down?” Edition
We discuss: 1) The “Judicial Reform” that has so many people so worried 2) Who Israel’s “National Poet,” Hayim Nahman Bialik is to us, on the 150th anniversary of his birth