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Israel may be holding its own on the battlefield, but it’s losing ground in the court of public opinion. False accusations, distorted statistics, and relentless condemnation in parliaments, human rights groups, the press, and international courts have created a storm that threatens Israel’s very legitimacy.

Why is this happening, and what does it mean for Israel’s future? Is the problem rooted in Israel’s own communication missteps—or in a deeper hostility and antisemitism in the West? And if the narrative war is being lost, what can still be done to change course?

Joining me is Dr. Michael Oren—historian, author, and former Israeli ambassador to Washington. Together we explore what’s at stake, who should be stepping up, and whether Israel can still turn the tide in a battle that matters as much as any fought on the ground.

Mentioned in this episode:

Michael Oren: The Wisdom of Yahya Sinwar

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IsraAID — Israel’s leading humanitarian relief group — has quietly worked inside Gaza. What began as behind-the-scenes coordination with international NGOs has grown into direct aid: delivering medicine and medical equipment, running a logistics hub, and supporting water and healthcare projects for thousands of Palestinians.

Until recently, this work was kept secret, but as the humanitarian crisis deepens — and the debate over aid grows more toxic — IsraAID has decided to speak openly.

In this episode, IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer joins host Aviva Klompas to discuss how the organization operates in Gaza, the risks it faces, and how it ensures aid doesn’t fall into the hands of Hamas.

Guest Bio

Yotam Polizer is the Global CEO of IsraAID, Israel’s largest humanitarian NGO, where he leads a team of 300+ responding to crises in 12 countries, including large-scale relief operations in Israel and Gaza following the October 7th attacks. A 2023 Charles Bronfman Award laureate, he has spearheaded missions worldwide—from evacuating at-risk Afghans during the 2021 Taliban takeover to supporting Syrian refugees in Greece and Germany, Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone, earthquake victims in Japan and Nepal, and typhoon-stricken communities in the Philippines. With 15 years’ experience in humanitarian aid and international development, Yotam serves on the boards of the Society for International Development and JustServe, is a Schusterman Fellow, and holds degrees in African studies and international relations from Tel Aviv University and the Israeli Open University.

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The protests for Israel’s hostages have become one of the largest grassroots movements in the country’s history. Highways are blocked, strikes are called, and ministers’ homes are surrounded by demonstrators demanding one thing: a deal to bring the hostages home.

Some see the protests as proof of Israel’s moral resolve. Others warn they hand Hamas leverage by exposing division and desperation. And the government now faces a wrenching dilemma: how to weigh public pressure against military objectives and national security.

In this episode, Dr. Michael Oren - historian, author, and Israel’s former ambassador to Washington - joins host Aviva Klompas to examine what the protests reveal about Israel’s national character, whether they help or hinder the war effort, and how history may judge this moment.

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

On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists stormed the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. Among those kidnapped was Elkana Bohbot, who was working as a co-producer that morning. Before he was taken, Elkana called his wife, Rebecca, to tell her he was staying behind to help the wounded. He promised he would come home. That was their last conversation.

In this powerful conversation, Rebecca speaks about who Elkana is as a husband and father – a man of joy, bravery, and kindness who never left anyone behind. She shares the pain of raising their young son, who was just three years old when his father was abducted, and how she explains his absence now that he is older.

Rebecca also describes what she has learned of Elkana’s condition in captivity and why she chose to speak out publicly despite fears it might jeopardize his chances of release. Her story is a deeply human reminder of the unbearable toll this crisis continues to take on families.

This episode was first released earlier this summer, and its urgency has not diminished. Please listen, share widely, and keep the hostages in your thoughts.

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

On October 7, 2023, 21-year-old soldier Tamir Nimrodi was kidnapped from his base near the Gaza border. He was barefoot, in his pajamas, and unarmed when Hamas terrorists dragged him across the border. Since that day, his mother, Herut Nimrodi, has received no sign of life.

In this conversation, originally recorded in June, Herut speaks with host Aviva Klompas about who Tamir is, what she’s learned about his abduction, and what it’s like to live in a constant state of limbo. She opens up about the emotional toll of broken promises, political maneuvering, and the painful uncertainty faced by every hostage family.

Herut’s story is a heartbreaking reminder that behind every headline is a family living this nightmare in real time.

This episode was first released earlier this summer, but it remains just as urgent. Please listen, share widely, and keep the hostages in your thoughts.

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

As students head back to campus, universities are stepping into a storm of debates over antisemitism, safety, and free speech. The Trump administration has stepped up federal intervention — pulling funding, opening investigations, and demanding major policy changes at schools accused of failing to protect Jewish students.

But are these measures working? Are they creating a safer environment, or simply shifting the battleground to new fronts?

In this episode, Alyza Lewin, president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, joins host Aviva to examine the administration’s strategy, explore how universities are reacting, and discuss what this means for Jewish students in the year ahead.

Guest Bio:

Alyza D. Lewin is President of The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, where she leads legal and educational efforts to combat antisemitism and defend civil rights, particularly on college campuses. She is also a partner at Lewin & Lewin, LLP, specializing in litigation, mediation, and government relations.

Lewin successfully represented Avi Zinger in securing the rights to sell Ben & Jerry’s in Israel and argued the landmark Zivotofsky v. Kerry case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which helped pave the way for U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. She has also litigated key terror finance cases, clerked on Israel’s Supreme Court, and led the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists. A graduate of Princeton and NYU Law, she is a member of the New York and D.C. bars and a trained mediator.

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

Israel is preparing for one of the most consequential moves of the war: taking control of Gaza City. Supporters say it’s the only way to finish the fight against Hamas; critics warn it could endanger hostages, deepen the humanitarian crisis, and fracture Israel’s already fragile political landscape.

In this episode, Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins Aviva to explore the strategic aims, political risks, and international pressures shaping this decision. They discuss Netanyahu’s five principles for ending the war, the growing rifts inside Israel’s leadership, and whether this gamble can bring about victory—or prolong the conflict.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer is Executive Director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he oversees the organization’s research and policy work. A former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Treasury, Jonathan has tracked and disrupted funding networks for groups like Hamas and al-Qaeda. He’s authored several books on the Middle East, including Gaza Conflict 2021, State of Failure, and Hamas vs. Fatah. A frequent congressional witness and media commentator, his analysis appears regularly in major outlets including CNN, Fox News, and the BBC.

Yossi Klein Halevi joins Dr. Rachel Fish for an honest and moving conversation about the State of Israel, Zionism, and the widening rift with the American Jewish community. From the trauma of October 7 to the breakdown of Israel’s political consensus, Yossi reflects on how Israelis are navigating war, grief, and internal division. 

Together, they explore why American and Israeli Jews understand power, victimhood, and identity so differently, and what’s at stake if they continue to talk past one another. Along the way, Halevi shares what still gives him hope, and how a 12-year-old’s question in synagogue revealed something profound about how Jews understand themselves across the globe.

Guest Bio:

Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Together with Imam Abdullah Antepli of Duke University, he co-directs the Institute's Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI), which teaches emerging young Muslim American leaders about Judaism, Jewish identity and Israel.

Halevi’s 2013 book, Like Dreamers, won the Jewish Book Council's Everett Book of the Year Award. His latest book, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor, is a New York Times bestseller. He writes for leading op-ed pages in the US, including the Times and the Wall Street Journal, and is a former contributing editor to the New Republic.

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Israel is fighting two wars: one on the ground in Gaza—and another in the court of global opinion.

In this episode, host Aviva Klompas is joined by urban warfare expert John Spencer to discuss the double standards Israel faces in its fight against Hamas. While other democracies conduct military campaigns with little scrutiny, Israel is seemingly expected to wage war without civilian casualties.

Aviva and John discuss the pressure on the IDF to operate under moral and tactical constraints that no other military would accept—and how those constraints may be prolonging the war and increasing the death toll on both sides.

Guest Bio:

John Spencer is an award-winning scholar, internationally recognized expert and advisor on urban warfare, military strategy, tactics, and other related topics. Considered one of the world’s leading experts on urban warfare, he served as an advisor to the top four-star general and other senior leaders in the U.S. Army as part of strategic research groups from the Pentagon to the United States Military Academy. John currently serves as the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Madison Policy Forum, Co-Director of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the Urban Warfare Project podcast.

More from John on double standards:

https://x.com/SpencerGuard/status/1951354086282109391

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

In part two of their conversation, host Aviva Klompas and Dr. Michael Oren examine the deeper forces behind the global push to recognize a Palestinian state—and what this moment reveals about the West’s enduring relationship with the Jewish people.

As the Gaza narrative shifts from war to famine, Oren argues that charges of Israeli genocide are not rooted in policy, but in long-standing antisemitic tropes. He and Aviva explore how Western media shapes public perception, the political calculus behind recognition efforts in France and the UK, and whether we are witnessing a return to the pre-Holocaust “old normal” of antisemitism in the West.

They also discuss the limits of public diplomacy, the strategic consequences for Israel, and whether October 7 marked a historic turning point—not just for the Jewish state, but for the West itself.