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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”
“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!”
“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 “Together, But Not Together-Together” Edition
We discuss: 1) The decision of Benny Gantz to join a “Unity Government” and Yair Lapid's decision not to 2) A heartbroken open letter from leaders of Israel’s left over the support for Hamas on the part of some leaders of America’s and Europe’s left
The “These Last Awful Days Through the Eyes of a Palestinian” Edition
Peace, co-existence and social-justice activist Sally Abed tells Noah what these last, terrible days of grief, anger and fear have been like for her, as an Israeli Arab. This discussion is not for everyone, not at this moment, and if it is not for you, at this moment, don’t listen to it
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 serves 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. He is the author of Adam Unrehearsed, a National Jewish Book Awards Finalist. Don’s comic and moving autobiographical monologues can be heard on his performance podcast, Futterman’s One-Man Show. Don blogs for The Times of Israel and has been a columnist for Haaretz and The Daily Beast.
Linda Gradstein
Linda is the correspondent for Voice of America and CBS Radio in Jerusalem. She also teaches journalism at NYU-Tel Aviv and recently taught at NYU-Abu Dhabi.
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.
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.
The “Jangled Nerves” Edition
We discuss: 1) The unsettling period between the Hamas attack and Israel’s ground response 2) Whether our hostage crisis is driving us towards our government, or away from it