Allison, Don, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote each about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Who really killed the Israeli Left?

Where exactly is the Israeli Left failing? And if it is, indeed, dead, was it killed by an ill-advised infatuation with ‘abroad,’ which distracted it from winning hearts and minds at home?

Can the army smash class barriers in Israel?

Is the Israeli Army a great equalizer and civilian high-tech incubator? Or are today’s soldiers, who will be tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, just yesterday’s privileged rich, white boys? And what of those who don’t participate in the army?

The Promised Podcast’s ‘year that was’

PM Netanyahu’s Rosh Hashanah speech to the nation listed Israel’s accomplishments over the last year – we didn’t know we’d had it so good! In reality, what, if anything, has changed over the past year? And what changes would we like to see next year?

Playlist:

All songs by Tamar Aphek, in honor of the European tour she’s just announced:

We Deserve It
Who Cares/Summer Comes
The Second I Am Hone
It’s For Us

Photo: Israeli activists at a demonstration in Tel Aviv against Operation Protective Edge, July 1014.