We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected] or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

Israel is facing a moment without precedent: a sitting prime minister on trial for corruption is now asking the president for a pardon. 

Benjamin Netanyahu has spent years fighting charges of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting gifts from wealthy associates. The trial has dragged on through political crises, judicial reform battles, and two years of war. He insists he’s the target of a political conspiracy. Others say the case is a test of whether Israel’s leaders can ever be held accountable.

Now he argues the trial is hurting the country — and wants President Isaac Herzog to bring it to an end.

The move has split Israelis. Supporters say a pardon would allow the nation to turn the page. Critics warn it would set a dangerous precedent and undermine public trust in the rule of law. And into this already charged moment stepped President Trump, urging Herzog to grant the pardon and calling the prosecution politically motivated.

In this episode, Dr. Michael Oren joins host Aviva Klompas to break down the stakes: what a pardon would mean for Israel’s democracy and how it could reshape the political map.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected] or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

In this episode of Boundless Insights, host Aviva Klompas speaks with Dr. Einat Wilf about her decision to launch a new political party in Israel and what she believes the country urgently needs right now. Wilf explains why she founded the Oz Party, arguing that Israel must move from what she calls “exile-consciousness” to true sovereign behavior — reclaiming clarity, responsibility, and strategic purpose in a time of political exhaustion.

Their conversation explores Wilf’s insistence that any future peace depends on Arab and Palestinian recognition of Zionism and the legitimacy of the Jewish state, as well as her views on citizenship, military service, sovereignty, and the limits of the current political consensus. Wilf also addresses skepticism about her platform, the challenges of building a new coalition in a polarized landscape, and what kind of leadership she believes Israel requires to navigate its next chapter.

Boundless relies on your support to produce courageous conversations and nuanced analysis at a time when clarity matters more than ever. If this episode helped you better understand the moment we’re living in, please consider making a donation at boundlessisrael.org/donate.

Guest Bio

Dr. Einat Wilf is a leading thinker on Israel, Zionism, foreign policy and education. She was a member of the Israeli Parliament from 2010 to 2013, where she served as Chair of the Education Committee and Member of the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Born and raised in Israel, Dr. Wilf served as an Intelligence Officer in the Israel Defense Forces, Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and a strategic consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Dr. Wilf has a BA from Harvard, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. She was the Goldman Visiting Professor at Georgetown University.

Dr. Wilf is the author of seven books that explore key issues in Israeli society. “We Should All Be Zionists“, published in 2022, brings together her essays from the past four years on Israel, Zionism and the path to peace; the co-authored “The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace”, was published in 2020

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected], or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas.

 Boundless relies on your support to produce courageous conversations and nuanced analysis at a time when clarity matters more than ever. If this episode – or any of our work – has helped you better understand the moment we’re living in, please consider making a contribution at boundlessisrael.org/donate.

Host Aviva Klompas sits down with Dr. Michael Oren to examine how the U.S.–Israel relationship has been reshaped over the course of the war — and what Israel may be conceding in the process.

Together, they explore how shifting American leadership has transformed the boundaries of Israeli decision-making, from constraints on military operations to mounting pressure around Gaza’s future governance and a potential path toward Palestinian statehood. Dr. Oren unpacks the tension between strategic dependence and national sovereignty, and questions whether Israel is being nudged toward an uneasy reality in which Hamas survives by default.

Their conversation also addresses growing concerns over Israel’s qualitative military edge, the implications of arms commitments to regional powers, and whether the alliance still rests on shared values or has evolved into a more transactional dynamic.

Guest Bio

Dr. Michael Oren is a historian, author, and former Israeli ambassador to the United States. A leading voice on Middle East strategy and Israeli politics, he has written numerous best-selling books and served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Middle East analyst David Makovsky joins Dr. Rachel Fish to unpack the “phase one to phase two” handoff in Gaza: what the Trump plan actually changed, why returning the remaining hostages bodies still matters, and why an international stabilization force is unlikely to disarm Hamas. 

Makovsky outlines a de-Hamas future for Gaza built on a West-Berlin model that pairs PA-Israel security coordination with technocratic Palestinian governance, while Arab states provide funding and public cover. They also map the Saudi calculus on normalization, the risks of delay, and how Israel’s coming election could reshape U.S.–Israel ties, regional alignments, and Israel’s democratic character.

Further Reading

David Makovsky and Shira Efron, For Progress in Gaza, Empower the Palestinian Authority

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected], or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas.

In this episode, Aviva sits down with Dr. Michael Oren to examine the troubling spike in settler violence in Judea and Samaria. In recent weeks, attacks on Palestinian communities and farmers have become more frequent and more brazen, raising alarms among Israel’s top political and military leaders.

Although the government maintains that only a small fringe is responsible, the surge has exposed deeper problems in enforcement, politics, and public trust. Aviva and Dr. Oren explore what’s fueling the unrest, how it connects to the broader wartime landscape, and why these incidents pose real risks to Israel’s security and international standing. 

This Giving Tuesday, please consider supporting Boundless. Your gift helps us produce thoughtful conversations like this one, elevate courageous voices, and build a future grounded in knowledge, strength, and moral clarity. You can make a tax-deductible donation at boundlessisrael.org/donate.

Guest Bio

Dr. Michael Oren is a historian, author, and former Israeli ambassador to the United States. A leading voice on Middle East strategy and Israeli politics, he has written numerous best-selling books and served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Mentioned in this Episode

In 2048: The Rejuvenated State by Ambassador Michael Oren

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected] or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas.

The Republican Party is in flux. Once unified around faith, freedom, and family, it now finds itself wrestling with internal divisions — between traditional conservatives, populists, and the MAGA movement — over what it means to be a Republican in America today.

In this episode, Florida Congressman Randy Fine joins host Aviva Klompas to talk about the battle for the soul of the GOP and the rise of antisemitism on the right.

This Giving Tuesday, please consider supporting Boundless. Your gift helps us produce thoughtful conversations like this one, elevate courageous voices, and build a future grounded in knowledge, strength, and moral clarity. You can make a tax-deductible donation at boundlessisrael.org/donate.

Guest Bio

Congressman Randy Fine was elected to represent Florida’s 6th Congressional District in April 2025 and serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Education and Workforce Committees. A third-generation Floridian, he attended Harvard twice and built a successful career as an entrepreneur before retiring at 40 to spend time with his family. In 2016, he began his public service in the Florida House, later serving in the Florida Senate and passing more than forty bills over eight years. he is working to ensure that the values of faith, freedom, and family continue to guide the nation.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected] or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas.

Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City has stirred a deeper conversation about the Democratic Party’s identity. Once defined by pragmatism and broad coalitions, the party is now grappling with a rising current of ideological purity and moral outrage — one that increasingly casts Israel, and sometimes Jews, as symbols of injustice.

Aviva Klompas speaks with political commentator and lifelong Democrat Brianna Wu about what’s driving this transformation, how the Democratic Socialists of America gained power, and whether the party’s center can hold — or if this is the new political reality on the left.

Guest Bio:

Brianna Wu rose to national prominence during Gamergate, a flashpoint in the video game industry that pioneered many of the toxic tactics now common in online political discourse. She ran for Congress in 2018 as a progressive Democrat, but experienced a sharp break with her party following the October 7th Hamas attacks. Today, she is a prominent advocate for U.S./ Israel national security cooperation and a leading voice in the evolving debate over liberalism, extremism, and the future of the trans movement.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected] or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas.

The day after New York City elected its first openly anti-Israel mayor, many Jews in America’s largest Jewish community are asking the same question: what now?

In this episode, Michael Rapaport joins Aviva to talk about what Mamdani’s win reveals about the political and cultural shifts happening in New York — and what it means for Jews everywhere.

They trace Rapaport’s unexpected journey from actor and comedian to one of the most outspoken Jewish voices in America, and why he refuses to stay silent in the face of hate. Together, they unpack the silence of celebrities after October 7, the self-defeating choices of Jewish voters, and the growing divide between pride and fear in public Jewish life.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected] or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas.

Eli Sharabi spent 491 days in Hamas captivity — hidden in homes, held in tunnels, and forced to survive the unthinkable. When he finally emerged, Israel rejoiced, but his freedom came with unbearable news: his wife and daughters were among the victims of October 7.

In this powerful conversation, Eli reflects on life before the massacre, the will to survive, and what it means to rebuild after loss. He also speaks about the moral clarity that came from witnessing Hamas up close and why confronting that ideology is central to any hope of peace.

Eli’s memoir, Hostage, has become a global phenomenon — the fastest-selling book in Israel’s history and a #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller. In this raw and unflinching firsthand account, Sharabi offers an unprecedented look inside Hamas captivity, chronicling the starvation, isolation, brutal beatings, and psychological torment he endured — and the extraordinary will to survive that carried him through.

Guest Bio

Eli Sharabi is a former hostage who survived 491 days in Hamas captivity following his abduction from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023. Sharabi became a global advocate for the remaining hostages, meeting with world leaders like US President Donald Trump, speaking at the United Nations, and sharing his story with audiences around the world. His memoir,  Hostage, the first published account by a released Israeli hostage, became an instant number one bestseller in Hebrew (the fastest selling book in Israeli history) and an instant New York Times (US) and Sunday Times (UK) bestseller.

Born in Tel Aviv to Yemenite and Moroccan parents, Sharabi moved to Be’eri as a teenager and later married Lianne, a British woman with whom he shared two daughters, Noiya and Yahel, aged sixteen and thirteen. A longtime resident of Be’eri, Sharabi served as the Kibbutz’s business manager, as well as the Chief Financial Officer of the Kibbutz, Be’eri Printing, and other private companies in Israel. Sharabi continues to work tirelessly as leading advocate for raising awareness of the October 7th atrocities. 

Gazan-born analyst Ahmed Fouad AlKhatib joins Dr. Rachel Fish for a conversation about Gaza after the war’s “freeze.” He explains why the current deal hasn’t solved core problems, how Hamas is using the pause to re-entrench and terrorize rivals, and why outside power in the form of an international stabilization force with real teeth is the only path to disarmament, reconstruction, and a future for Palestinians that isn’t held hostage by Hamas. Rachel and Ahmed also dig into Qatar and Turkey’s roles, UNRWA’s entanglements, and what Western activists miss when “ending Israeli violence” becomes the only objective.

Guest Bio

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib is the founder of Realign For Palestine, an Atlantic Council project challenging entrenched narratives in the Israel–Palestine discourse and promoting a new, pragmatic framework for Palestinian advocacy. The project cultivates Palestinian voices committed to nonviolence, a two-nation solution, and a break from extremism.

A senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programs, Alkhatib writes extensively on Gaza’s political and humanitarian challenges and is a prominent critic of Hamas. His work has been featured across U.S., Israeli, and international media, and he is widely followed on social media.

Born and raised in Gaza City, Alkhatib moved to the U.S. in 2005 as a student. His worldview is shaped by the hopes of the Oslo peace process and the trauma of its collapse, alongside the rise of Islamism in Gaza. Since October 7, he has lost 33 family members to Israeli airstrikes but continues to advocate for breaking the cycle of dehumanization, violence, and revenge.

Read More

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, "The ‘Peace Protesters’ Who Won’t Give Peace a Chance" (The Free Press)

Sam Mednick and Sally Abou Aljoud, Women in Gaza say they were promised food, money or work in exchange for sexual interactions (The Independent)