the promised podcast

The Dialectics of Dayenu

Does the Passover Seder song, Dayenu, explain the difference between Israel’s right and left?

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What’s Wrong with Bnei Brak?!?

Why are most Israeli COVID-19 victims Ultra-Orthodox? Are all the others here who are outraged at Haredim justified in their anger?

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Not With a Bang, but With a Tweet

Labor head Amir Peretz tweets that he’s merging his party into Blue & White, killing off once and for all the party of David Ben Gurion, Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin. Should we mourn the loss?

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Econoclasm

Israel’s most venerable political scientist says that the coronavirus will kill off the country’s neo-liberal economic policy and nudge us towards social democracy. Does he have a point?

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What Gantz Wants, or Is Gantz a Shvantz?

What the hell is behind Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz’s decision to abandon his allies in the center and join Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government as his deputy?

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Too Loyal Opposition?

Most politicians, journalists, professors and other professional gadflies are acting like an “Amen corner” as Prime Minister Netanyahu steers the country through the crisis. Has the time come to be more critical?

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Chair Today, Gone Tomorrow

We survived a near-miss constitutional crisis, as the Chairperson of the Knesset pondered ignoring a ruling of the Supreme Court. Did Israeli democracy just almost shatter into pieces?

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“Torah Protects and Saves”?!?

A revered 92 year old rabbi decided to keep ultra-Orthodox schools open, in defiance of the Prime Minister and Health Minister, because studying Torah is our best protection from the coronavirus. Now what?

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Keeping Tabs

At 1 a.m., Netanyahu’s cabinet decides to grant the Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, the power to track COVID-19 sufferers and, along the way, the rest of us, too. Do desperate times demand such desperate measures, or is this a step (way) too far?

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