For Heaven's Sake

With the ultra-Orthodox once again positioned as kingmakers in Israeli coalition negotiations, is this a missed opportunity for reform?

Many Israelis believed the relationship between the state and the ultra-Orthodox community was headed for a fundamental reset. Instead, coalition negotiations may once again hinge on the very parties many voters hoped to sideline. Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine why the Haredim remain indispensable political players, what their return could mean for military service and public policy, and whether Israel's leaders are making compromises of necessity or surrendering an opportunity for change. Together, they ask what kind of future can emerge when none of the available political choices feels satisfying.

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Every path to Israel’s next government requires a deal someone swore they’d never make. Which compromises are worth it? 

With final results in, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi read the numbers (27 seats for Likud, 67 against Netanyahu) and examine every way forward: a unity government, a minority government backed by Haredi or Arab parties, or new elections.

 They debate the political culture Netanyahu leaves behind, what a fair deal with the ultra-Orthodox would demand, and whether asking Arab partners for new declarations is legitimate or humiliating.  

Through their analysis, they explore whether embracing imperfect, painful compromises can prevent national disintegration and preserve the democratic future of the Jewish people in an era of acute vulnerability. 

From the show: 

Donniel Hartman, “Dayenu: The lesson of this election,” Times of Israel, November 1, 2026 

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Netanyahu’s coalition lost its majority. His challengers didn’t win one. Where does Israel go from here? 

Recorded live on election night, 30 minutes after the polls closed, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi react to exit polls that leave Israel deadlocked: Likud still the largest party, Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc ahead but short of 61 seats, and Arab parties at a record high. They debate Donniel’s “Torah of Dayenu” against Yossi’s insistence on accountability, weigh whether a minority government or a new partnership with Arab parties could break the stalemate, and ask how a deeply divided, deeply devoted country moves forward.

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Why is the most fateful election in Israel's history being met with an unprecedented absence of public passion and ideological fervor in the Israeli public square?

In the last episode before the election, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi explore why a moment of profound national anxiety is being preceded by a deceptive, almost eerie calm on the streets and who it stands to benefit. They examine the

 moral stain of extremist settler violence in the West Bank and the urgent need to confront it, Donald Trump's endorsement of Benjamin Netanyahu and its potential to revive fears of war with Iran, and how Gadi Eisenkot's calm, steady disposition may prevail in a country too emotionally exhausted to embrace radical visions.

Ultimately, they consider how a fractured democracy can overcome sectarian paralysis and reclaim the democratic promise of a unified Jewish homeland.

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Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at  arkmedia.org. 

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Join us for the ordination ceremony of the first graduates of Rabbanut North America!

Israel Votes: World Jewry – The Invisible Stakeholders 

Millions of Jews can't vote in Israel's election, yet so many feel their future is on the ballot. 

With 12 days to go, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi compare the election Israelis are voting in with the one Jews abroad are watching. They explore what Israelis and diaspora Jews each fear and hope for. From settler violence to a commission of inquiry, and the very different reasons both groups say, "just not Netanyahu," they ask whether Israel still understands that world Jewry is part of its own viability. 

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Thank you for listening to For Heaven's Sake.

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Watch the video version of our podcast on our YouTube channel.  

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Dan Senor and Ark Media CEO Ilan Benatar announce Ark+, our expanded membership; The Fold, our new private community; and the network's newest show, Chosen People Problems.

In the episode:

0:00 Announcement
1:41 Introducing Ark+
2:29 Meet Chosen People Problems
5:05 A first look at The Fold

Join Ark+ and The Fold.
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When does October 7 stop feeling like the present? 

Three years to the day after the Hamas attack, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi face an uncomfortable truth: for Israelis, October 7 is not a memory but a lens. Starting from last week's foiled attempt to crash a passenger plane bound for Tel Aviv, they debate what it means to live a hair's breadth from catastrophe. 

They ask why the shock of 1973 sparked movements for change while this one has bred fatalism, how that fatalism is shaping Israel's election, and why Israel and the rest of the world now seem to be living in different time zones.

From the episode:

"Israel must defend itself — without defending the indefensible," Donniel Hartman, Times of Israel, October 5, 2026

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Why did Israel, one of the most sophisticated military and intelligence powers in the world, repeatedly ignore explicit, urgent warnings about an impending national catastrophe?

As the anniversary of October 7 approaches, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi explore the profound institutional failure, psychological denial, and national trauma surrounding the unheeded intelligence warnings before the traumatic attack.

They examine the Israeli military's long-standing belief that Gaza was an uncapturable trap, how societal exhaustion after the Second Intifada fueled a collective refusal to address the Palestinian issue, and the political hubris that treated high-tech border barriers as a substitute for strategic vision.

They challenge global Jewish discourse to embrace intellectual honesty when confronting the complex realities of modern Jewish sovereignty and to initiate long-term political solutions rather than wait for the next inevitable crisis.

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This episode sponsored by Kim Shafer and Isaac Finkle.

Watch the video version of our podcast on our YouTube channel. 

Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

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Register here for the Hartman Leadership Conference in San Francisco.

Can a society battered by years of political polarization and existential war survive an election cycle where no political faction can achieve instant victory?

As critical polling deadlines approach, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi confront the sobering reality of Israel's impending political stalemate. They discuss the psychological barriers preventing major political blocs from entering national
unity arrangements, the host-specific red lines separating unpalatable political partners from genuine existential threats to Israeli democracy, and the feasibility of a short-term minority government designed to pass foundational reforms before calling a new vote. 

By examining the deep philosophical tension between grievance-based politics and aspirational governance, they offer an insightful assessment of how political compromise functions as the vital oxygen of Israeli coalition life.

Watch the video version of our podcast on our YouTube channel. 

Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit
shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST.

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