Ask Haviv Anything

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If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

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Episode 160: Israel voted, and nobody won. Gadi Eisenkot gets the first shot at forming a government, and there’s no easy path to one.

Micah Goodman returns to the podcast with an argument the anti-Bibi camp won’t want to hear: the only way out is a unity government with Netanyahu. Bibi gives up Ben Gvir and the Haredi parties, the opposition gives up replacing him, and Israel gets a government with enough domestic legitimacy to put down the growing chaos at home and turn its battlefield wins into regional normalization. He gives it a 40% chance.

Haviv gives it zero. After “no tricks, no shticks” in 2020, what could Netanyahu promise the other side that anyone would believe? And Israel’s tradition, after all, is to crash first and rebuild after.

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This episode was sponsored by a father-daughter duo, Philip Wharton and Sophie Smith, who asked us to share: “At a time when public opinion of Israel is at all time low among young Americans, we dedicate this episode to the young people who take the time to think more critically and independently about these issues. It takes bravery to go against the popular tide, especially on college campuses, and so we tip our hats to you.”

Thank you for that dedication, Philip and Sophie.

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Producer and editor: Rachel Gur

Presenter and editor: Haviv Gur

Operations: Nadav Singerman

Musical intro: Adam Ben Amitai

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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also “Buy Me a Coffee” at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

We have merch! Find our awesome new shirts, mugs and hats at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).

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Episode 159: Tuesday’s midterms in the US delivered a political earthquake, handing the Democratic Party a landslide victory and control of both the House and the Senate. Journalist and podcaster Michael Moynihan joins the pod to break down why the MAGA coalition collapsed across nearly every demographic -- from tariff pain and gas prices to voter exhaustion with White House "fan service" and perceived corruption.

We also dig into what the Israeli press is getting wrong about the results. While headlines in Israel fixate on a handful of far-left, anti-Israel primary winners, the actual American wave was driven by centrist "Blue Dog" Democrats and pragmatic voters who simultaneously backed conservative ballot measures like voter ID. We look at why US strategic ties with Israel will probably prove sturdier than the panic suggests, why blaming Israel for American grocery prices is a great way to do nothing about the problem of high grocery prices, and how the outcome of Israel’s own political crisis could reshape the relationship with Washington.

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This episode is sponsored by Americans for Ben Gurion University.

Israel is known worldwide as the Start-Up Nation, a powerhouse of grit, determination, and breakthrough technology. At the center of that ecosystem is Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, with three campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sde Boker, and Eilat. BGU is home to 20,000 students, and more than 100,000 alumni from Israel and all over the world are leading the way in areas like: cyber security, engineering, medicine, AI, and sustainability.

On November 15, Americans for Ben-Gurion University is bringing the best and brightest minds from their labs in Beer-Sheva to Philadelphia for the first-of-its-kind BGU Innovation Showcase. This isn’t your typical event. Trade the stage for the laboratory floor, explore interactive demos and chat one-on-one with the BGU scientists shaping our future.

Learn about breakthroughs in robotics, autism, and environmental biotechnology.

Use the link https://events.blackthorn.io/5e1M8K37/5a23VXYtL0D?utm_source=podcast&utm_content=toi_Ask_Haviv_Anything to buy tickets and learn more.

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Producer and editor: Rachel Gur

Presenter and editor: Haviv Gur

Operations: Nadav Singerman

Musical intro: Adam Ben Amitai

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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also “Buy Me a Coffee” at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

A note from Haviv to our viewers: Please excuse the video troubles. Elizabeth’s connectivity was limited for the first half hour or so of the conversation. But the audio came through perfectly and we didn’t want to scrap a deeply informative conversation because of those connection issues.

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We have merch! Find our awesome new shirts, mugs and hats at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).

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Episode 158: What actually holds Iran’s regional axis together, and why can't military force alone break it? Israeli analyst Elizabeth Tsurkov, now working on her doctorate at Princeton on these and other questions, has spent two decades studying the Arab nations most influenced by Iran’s regime. She also knows firsthand how Iran’s “proxies” in the region operate, having survived 903 days of captivity in Iraq at the hands of the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah.

She joins me to talk about the impending round of war with Iran, the lessons that she hopes were learned from the failure of the 39-day war to topple the regime in the last round, and how Iraq’s militias have evolved from ideological holy warriors into a massive state-looting racket that now bankrolls Tehran.

We also debate whether Israel’s post-October 7 buffer-zone strategy is backfiring in Syria, and whether Jerusalem is blowing a historic opportunity to strike a peace deal with Damascus.

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This episode was sponsored by Barbara and Peter Tuckel in memory of their parents, Eva and Max Tuckel and Rose and Harry Kaplan, with thanks to Haviv for encouraging more learning about Jewish and Middle Eastern history, inviting experts to bring greater clarity to controversial issues that affect us daily, and constantly instilling the core idea that Jews are an “am” -- a people.

Thank you to the Tuckel’s for that dedication. It’s wind in our sails.

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Producer and editor: Rachel Gur

Presenter and editor: Haviv Gur

Operations: Nadav Singerman

Musical intro: Adam Ben Amitai

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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also “Buy Me a Coffee” at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).

We have merch! Find our awesome new shirts, mugs and hats at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.

And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).

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Netanyahu was vulnerable. His opponents mobilized their voters and delivered huge increases in turnout. But no side secured a governing majority. What happened?

We dig into the election numbers, the cracks in Netanyahu’s coalition, and the opposition’s failure to turn his weaknesses into victory.

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This episode was sponsored anonymously in appreciation of Haviv’s “tireless commitment” to history, analysis, and a wide-ranging selection of guests. The sponsor called our community an “essential forum for diaspora audiences seeking to understand Israel and for Israelis engaging with the concerns and perspective of Jewish communities around the world.”

Thank you for sponsoring this episode.

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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).

We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.

And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).

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Even if you hate every option on the ballot today, staying home is a vote for the factions you dislike most. And understanding David Ben-Gurion’s founding principle of mamlachtiut reveals why showing up to the polls is as vital to Israel's survival as military reserve duty.

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This episode is sponsored by the Technion.

Israel became the Startup Nation by turning talent into strength, ideas into industries.

For more than a century, the Technion has trained the engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who transformed Israel into the Startup Nation and delivered breakthroughs that changed the world.

Now Technion scientists are advancing the next wave of innovation to help power Israel’s next chapter.

Israel. Engineered by the Technion.

Join us. Visit ats.org/rebuild.

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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).

We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.

And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).

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American and Israeli Jews make up nearly 90% of world Jewry, yet when they talk to each other, they more often than not talk past each other. Like ships passing in the night. To unpack why, Haviv is joined by his father, Rabbi Dr. Ed Rettig. Born in the US, Ed moved to Israel at 18, fought on the front lines of the Yom Kippur War just months later, and went on to become a Jerusalem police prosecutor, a rabbi, and a sociologist of the Jewish people.

Together, they break down the six hidden fault lines dividing the world’s two great Jewish civilizations: how radical American Protestantism turned American Judaism into a "religion of choice" while Israel remained a Middle Eastern "religion of fate"; why secular Judaism thrives in Israel but struggles to survive two generations in America; why "separation of church and state" and "separation of religion and state" mean opposite things; how each community understands and wields power after October 7; and how the centrality of sacrifice shapes the way they see the world.

This episode is dedicated by Michael Kapnick in memory of Max Steinberg, z"l, an American kid from Los Angeles who fell as a Golani lone soldier in Gaza in 2014, and whose life and sacrifice embody the bond between our two different worlds.

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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).

We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.

And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).

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In the 1950s and 60s, Gamal Abdel Nasser promised the Arab world that unity would erase the humiliation of 1948 and ultimately destroy Israel. Instead, it led to the devastation of 1967. Enter Anwar Sadat, who engineered a limited war in 1973 not to conquer Israel militarily, but to deliver a psychological shock that would force American intervention and secure Egypt’s national interests over pan-Arab fantasies. Today, Israel faces a new regional axis led by Iran, fueled by religious redemption rather than secular nationalism. Dan Schueftan joins the podcast to unpack the strategic genius of Sadat, the miscalculations of President Carter, and the historical blueprint Israeli leaders are working from as they seek to break the Iranian ring of fire today.

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This episode is sponsored by David Allouch and dedicated to his friend Jake Marlow, whose Hebrew name was Yaakov Avraham ben Moshe, a talented musician who was murdered on October 7, 2023 while rescuing partygoers at the Nova festival where he had been working security. This episode is also dedicated to Eden Yerushalmi and the five other hostages murdered alongside her in August 2024, and to all the tzaddikim (righteous) who were murdered on October 7. It is also dedicated as “a tribute to the memory of Israel’s fallen soldiers and to the courage of the roaring lions of the IDF and the IAF in their battle against evil.”

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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. On Patreon and Substack, you can also ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).

We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.

And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).

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On October 7 and in the months that followed, Israel’s leaders were fighting Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran -- and each other. Where was Netanyahu on October 7 and its aftermath? Did Washington’s push for de-escalation prolong the fighting? And why have American Jews struggled to mobilize against the rising antisemitism that followed October 7?

The Wall Street Journal’s Elliot Kaufman joins the podcast to answer these questions and discuss his new book, In the War Room: The Inside Story of Israel's Fight Against Hamas and the Iranian Axis, written with Jerusalem Post military analyst Yonah Jeremy Bob. The book explores the bitter rivalries, catastrophic failures and bold and successful decisions that have shaped the war and reshaped the Middle East.

In the War Room is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/War-Room-Israels-Against-Iranian/dp/B0G2JWY3TG

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This episode is sponsored by the Tikvah’s Millstone Scholars program. A unique program designed for those middle-school years when young people begin deciding what they believe and who they want to become.

For parents and grandparents wondering what comes after the bar or bat mitzvah, Millstone offers substantive, serious learning. This isn’t more Hebrew school; it’s a selective national honors program for seventh- and eighth-graders. Students meet weekly in small cohorts to study Jewish civilization, modern Israel, and the Jewish ideas that inspired America. Through primary sources and guided, seminar discussion, they develop the confidence to become proud Jews, proud Americans, and future leaders.

Millstone offers in-person and online cohorts across thirty cities. Classes begin the week of October 18. You can learn more and apply at https://tikvah.org/haviv.

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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. On Patreon and Substack, you can also ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).

We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.

And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).

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Most Israelis agree on almost everything that matters. So why does it feel like the country is coming apart?

Two weeks before election day, Dr. Micah Goodman returns with two stories about Israel that contradict each other and are both true.

We look at two Israels: the one held together by sacrifice and solidarity, the one consumed by grievance, fear, and political loyalty – and the millions of Israelis who live in both mental worlds simultaneously. And we ask a harder question: How much of our division is real and how much is cultivated by leaders whose power depends on it?

A conversation about Israel’s hidden consensus, its failing politics, and the peace Israelis need to make with one another.

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This episode is sponsored by the Tikvah’s Millstone Scholars program. A unique program designed for those middle-school years when young people begin deciding what they believe and who they want to become.

For parents and grandparents wondering what comes after the bar or bat mitzvah, Millstone offers substantive, serious learning. This isn’t more Hebrew school; it’s a selective national honors program for seventh- and eighth-graders. Students meet weekly in small cohorts to study Jewish civilization, modern Israel, and the Jewish ideas that inspired America. Through primary sources and guided, seminar discussion, they develop the confidence to become proud Jews, proud Americans, and future leaders.

Millstone offers in-person and online cohorts across thirty cities. Classes begin the week of October 18. You can learn more and apply at https://tikvah.org/haviv.

--

If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. On Patreon and Substack, you can also ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).

We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.

And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).

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What actually brought hostages home, and why did it take so long? Brett McGurk, who led Biden’s efforts to free the October 7 hostages, joins Haviv to discuss his new book, Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages. From secret Saudi talks to the showdown over Rafah, he describes the decisions, failures and breakthroughs behind the negotiations -- and why he concluded that a deal would remain out of reach while Yahya Sinwar was alive.

You can buy the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/843630/brink-by-brett-mcgurk/

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This episode is sponsored by a friend of the podcast, Professor Robert Hockett, a Rhodes Scholar and professor of law and finance at Cornell University, who wishes regularly to support this podcast and this community, he writes us, which in his words “demonstrate with astonishing frequency that theology and history in the Middle East do not code easily as Western left or right, and that treating these subjects deeply, not facily, actually makes them more comprehensible, not more obscure or intractable.”

Thank you so much to Prof. Hockett for his support.

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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. On Patreon and Substack, you can also ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.