the promised podcast

The “Herem” of Public Opinion: On Excommunication and Rehabilitation

It was too soon for an august American Jewish institution like the 92nd St. Y to invite confessed groper and harasser Ari Shavit to speak. But how can we ever know when justice has been served?

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Only Sixteen

A sixteen-year-old becomes an international sensation when she berates, punches and kicks IDF officers as they enter her yard in her West Bank Village. What do we learn from this unsettling sight?

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New Right?

Right wing politicians, journalists, and activists gather in Jerusalem to denounce the corruptions of a right-wing government. Is that grinding we hear the sound of tectonic plates shifting?

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Webbutz?

Is there something Israeli about WeWork’s weird vision of combining kibbutz-y communalism and neo-liberal late capitalism?

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More Thomas Hobbes, Less Dale Carnegie?

Is it time for the opposition to try to make life for Netanyahu and his coalition more Hobbesian, viz., nasty, brutish and short? Is parliamentary civility dead?

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Capital Crimes?

After pharmaceutical giant Teva announces it is firing 1,700 Israeli laborers, workers barricade themselves inside factories, unions declare a general strike, and opposition politicians call to nationalize the factories. What’s the right response?

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Who Killed Hanukkah?

What explains the downgrading of Hanukkah from one of the most important Zionist holidays to one of the least important Israeli holidays?

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The Perplexing Problem of Patriotism

Why does Israel’s Left consistently fail to persuade fellow citizens that they are just as patriotic as other Israelis?

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See No Evil? Evil Not to See?

The country explodes in rage and ridicule after an ultra-orthodox musician tapes his eyes so they would not behold woman dancing in front of the stage. In a tolerant society, why can’t we tolerate that?

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What Do and Don’t Demonstrations Do?

Are mass demonstrations in the streets the key to toppling the bastards, to just a meaningless bit of self-important self-delusion?

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