Everybody Assumes

What defines Israel nowadays? Despite political gridlock, what is going right? What does that political paralysis indicate more broadly about Israel's fundamental divides? Plus, how do you manage the constant push-and-pull of speed and accuracy in an era of internet journalism, all while reporting in one of the most complicated areas in the world? In this podcast with "The Times of Israel" founding editor David Horovitz, we dive deep into these issues and many more. 

David Horovitz is currently the founding editor of "The Times of Israel," a primarily English-language news source centered around Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish World. Before starting "The Times of Israel," Horovitz was the editor-in-chief of "The Jerusalem Post," and previously held senior positions at "The Jerusalem Report." He is the author of two books on the Second Intifada, "Still Life with Bombers: Israel in the Age of Terrorism" and "A Little Too Close to God: The Thrills and Panic of a Life in Israel," and co-author of a biography on Yitzhak Rabin titled, "Shalom, Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin." 

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This is the Matti Friedman article that was mentioned:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/opinion/israel-election-netanyahu.html

Most insightful people to follow on social media: Horovitz only uses it for breaking news updates. 

Book(s) that have most shaped your thinking: "Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster" - Jon Krakauer 

"Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster" - Adam Higginbotham; 

Works by Graham Greene and John le Carré

Whether you only read President Trump's tweets or listen exclusively to Democratic presidential candidates public statements, it is clear that China is not only a crucial national security challenge for the U.S., but it is quickly becoming a huge domestic political issue. In this episode, Susan Thornton and I unpack the hype inside and outside of Washington around China and discuss how it grew economically and strategically in the past 50+ years. We dive deep into how the Trump administration deals with China, and Thornton's own experience in that. For anyone interested in China, this is a great episode! 

Susan Thornton was a career diplomat, serving almost 30 years at the State Department, and retiring as the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, basically meaning she ran everything Asia-related at the State Department. In addition to leadership roles in Washington, Thornton helped negotiate the U.S.-China Cyber agreement in 2015, and was involved in backchannel talks between the Trump administration and North Korea. She is currently a Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and Senior Fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center, and also runs a family farm in Maine. 

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Recent Article by Thornton that much of the conversation is based on: https://www.afsa.org/american-diplomacy-china-dead

Favorite Podcast: "Hidden Forces"

Most insightful person to follow on social media: I don’t follow anyone closely, but I follow people from all sides of the spectrum and then use an aggregator to filter for the most useful stuff. But I mostly read for facts, not opinions and especially not twitter, which I despise.

A book that has most shaped her thinking: "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Want to know where things get done in politics these days? Look at the states. In this new podcast with Maryland Delegate Vaughn Stewart (D-19), we start with the role of a state delegate in the functioning of government, and continue to how he's able to implement a seemingly national progressive agenda at the state level. We end off on what Stewart thinks the Democrats are doing wrong and how it can be fixed, and what two bouts with cancer taught him. This makes for a really good episode!

Vaughn Stewart is one of three state Delegates from Maryland's 19th district. He was formally an associate at the law firm WilmerHale, Policy Director for Rep. Jamie Raskin's 2016 congressional campaign, and a graduate of NYU Law School.

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Favorite Podcast: "S-Town"

Most Insightful person to follow on Social Media: Prof. Mark Paul -- @MarkVinPaul

Book(s) that have most shaped his thinking: "The Grapes of Wrath"--John Steinbeck & "This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate"--Naomi Klein

What is it like being thrust into the national spotlight at 17? What is the state of the gun control debate? How can progress be made on this issue?

I ask all these highly relevant questions to Cameron Kasky, one of the founding members of March for Our Lives. What makes this interview special and different from some of the others, is Kasky's teenage authenticity when talking about the challenges that he felt leading March for Our Lives (MFOL), and simply what being a teenager thrown in the national spotlight while in shock is like. At the same time, Kasky talks about becoming far more interested in starting conversations that could heal the American social fabric, not on his fellow activist's pithy slogans (he eventually split from MFOL). The conversation is one that is both fascinating and fun.

Cameron Kasky is a co-founder of March for Our Lives, a teen-led gun violence prevention organization, and currently a mental health advocate and activist for other movements (Kasky has split from MFOL). He is a member of the Columbia University class of 2023.

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Favorite Podcast: "The Joe Rogan Experience"

Most insightful people to follow on social media: The Krassenstein Brothers

Books that have most shaped your thinking: "The Toy Collector" - James Gunn and "Devil in the White City" - Erik Larson

70 plus years in, Israel remains in conflict with the majority of its Arab neighbors. Why? In the long term, can Arabs -- whether they be Palestinians, Saudis, or Emirates -- make a long-term peace with Israel that accepts Israel back into its original neighborhood, as the original Zionist thinkers wanted? How does Bibi Netanyahu's worldview shape Israel's future with the Palestinians, American Jews, and even Asia?

In this week's episode, Dr. Einat Wilf and I discuss delve into this question and many more, including the future of the US-Israel relationship, and what serving in the Knesset is like.

Dr. Einat Wilf was a member of the Israeli Knesset from 2010 to 2013, first in the Labor Party and then the (now-defunct) Independence Party, and served on the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Before that, she was the Foreign Policy advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres, where Wilf assisted in the 2007-08 negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Wilf is the author of "Winning the War of Words, and is co-author of the forthcoming "The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace."

Most insightful person to follow on Social Media: Shimrit Meir

Book that has most shaped their thinking: Aba Eban's books

What exactly is going on in Israel these days?

They just had an election, but are having another one just a few months later? What about the situation on the ground with the Palestinians, and Jared Kushner's peace plan? And what can be made about the growing divide between American and Israeli Jewry. In this episode, Prof. Scott Lasensky and I discuss these issues and many more regarding the future of Israel, the Palestinians, and the region more broadly, while also looking at the US-Israel relationship and the schisms between Israeli and American Jews today. In all, this is a really good episode.

Scott Lasensky is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland and a Non-Resident Fellow and Researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, Israel's top defense and foreign policy think tank. Before that, he was the Senior Advisor to the US Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, and before that, Lasensky was the Senior Policy Advisor to the US Ambassador to the United Nations, under both Amb. Susan Rice and Samantha Power. He is also the co-author of "The Peace Puzzle: America's Quest for Arab-Israeli Peace, 1989–2011."

When one of the most prominent conservatives in media and Washington politics now describes himself as an "anti-authoritarian Democrat," something must have changed. It was Donald Trump. Once a member of the Conservative establishment, Kristol was one of the most outspoken advocates for the Iraq War in 2003 and advised Senator John McCain, but now Kristol has been ostracized by those same Republicans. In this episode, we discuss how this happened, his history in politics, post-cold war foreign policy, and much more.

Bill Kristol is the founder of the now-defunct Weekly Standard, and is a founding member of the organization Defending Democracy Together, and the affiliated Republicans for the Rule of Law and The Bulwark. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, was chief of staff to vice president Dan Quayle in the George H.W. Bush administration, led the pro-Iraq War movement, advised then-presidential candidate John McCain, and lately is known as the most prominent NeverTrump Republican.

The Carlos Lozada review of NeverTrumpers' books: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2018/12/14/feature/anti-trump-conservatives-want-to-reverse-the-gops-destruction-but-they-helped-light-the-fuse/?utm_term=.cdaca8b3e166

Favorite Podcast: "The Bulwark with Charlie Sykes," "Lawfare,"

Most insightful people to follow on Social Media: Christian Vanderbrouk, Charlie Sykes

Book that has most shaped your thinking: "Democracy in America" - Alexis de Tocqueville

Washington is more hectic than ever, with seemingly historic events happening weekly, if not daily. How does an Israeli look at all of this? Or the current state of the U.S. relationship amid rising challenges on both the Left and Right? Trump's effect on the situation in general? Jumping over to Israel, what is day-to-day life like in the West Bank? Or Gaza?

For this episode, I talk to Amir Tibon, who is currently the Haaretz Washington correspondent and co-author of the book, "The Last Palestinian: The Rise and Reign of Mahmoud Abbas." He is originally from the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, one of the closest Israeli villages to Gaza.

Favorite Podcast: "The Axe Files," and the "Haaretz Weekly"

Most Insightful Person to Follow on Social Media: Noam Tibon (Amir's dad)

A book that has most shaped your thinking: The Bible (Torah)

Race and America -- could anything be more complicated, cruel, and contentious. Throughout American History, beginning with the first Africans brought forcibly to America in 1619, there has been the enslavement and then apartheid placed on Blacks in America, and then a revolution of equality in the 1960's.

What has happened since then? Does the White Supremacist ideology that guided the racism of past decades and centuries to exist, just in a different manifestation? What actually is racism today, and how is it apparent? What is Donald Trump's role in this?

In this episode, Jelani Cobb of the New Yorker and I go through these questions, and many, many more.

Dr. Jelani Cobb is a staff writer at the New Yorker, and the Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism at Columbia, writing on issues from Policing In Black communities to how Russia exploits America's complex history with civil rights and injustice.

I hope you take a listen!

Show Notes:

This is the documentary Dr. Cobb was featured in: https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-policing-police/

Event that Jelani Cobb moderated with Stacy Abrams: https://www.brookings.edu/events/stacey-abrams-race-and-political-power-in-the-united-states/

Jelani Cobb's recent column on the shooting in New Zealand: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-new-zealand-shooting-and-the-great-man-theory-of-misery

Favorite Podcast: "The Daily," "Radiolab," and "This American Life"

Most insightful follow on Social Media: The Pew Research Center

A book that has most shaped your thinking: "Letters to a Young Contrarian" by Christopher Hitchens

Those who openly hate Jews are having a dangerous revival -- just look at Charlottesville and Pittsburgh -- while those in positions of political power are perpetuating classic antisemitic tropes (President Trump and Rep. Omar, to name a few). Why now; what lies behind this growing trend? How similar and/or different is it from previous manifestations of antisemitism? How do you differentiate between antisemitism on the political Right and Left?

In this episode, Prof. Deborah Lipstadt and I discuss these issues and many more. Prof. Lipstadt is the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies in the Tam Institute of Jewish Studies at Emory, and author of many famous books, including "The Eichmann Trial," and "Denying the Holocaust." Most recently, she wrote Antisemitism: Here and Now, a book I would highly recommend, not only for its deep insights on antisemitism, but the smooth flow that makes it sometimes feel like a thrilling novel. It is on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Antisemitism-Here-Deborah-Lipstadt/dp/0805243372.

Show Notes:

Prof. Lipstadt's article in the Times of Israel on the weaponization on antisemitism: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jewish-myopia-in-a-perfect-storm-of-anti-semitism/

The Dr. Erica Brown article mentioned: https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/purim-and-the-first-antisemite-a-study-guide-for-deborah-lipstadts-antisemitism-then-and-now/

Favorite Podcast: “The Daily,” and “How I Built This”

Most insightful people to follow on Social Media: Jeffery Goldberg, Bret Stephens, Yair Rosenberg

Books that have most shaped your thinking: "Survival in Auschwitz," and "Still Alive" by Ruth Kluger