For Heaven's Sake

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.

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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.

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Can a provocative film transform into an unshakeable weapon in the global battle over Israel's moral legitimacy? 

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the intense cultural and political fallout surrounding "Naza," the award-winning Venice Film Festival documentary that accuses Israel of systematically embracing disproportionate
civilian deaths in Gaza. From the surreal spectacle of the film's record-breaking 25-minute standing ovation in Europe to sweeping indictments and unverifiable soldier testimony, they confront how the film alienates Israeli society rather than fosters genuine moral self-reflection during the High Holiday season of teshuvah. In the process, they discuss how the total erasure of Hamas's battlefield presence distorts Western understanding of asymmetric urban warfare. 

Mentioned in the show: 

"The ICJ's Pernicious Plan to Redefine Genocide," by Orde F. Kittrie and Andrés B. Muñoz-Mosquera, September 13, 2026, WSJ Opinion 

“Full speech: Ed Miliband says entire occupation unlawful, slams ‘settler terrorists’ and Israeli government that indulges them,” by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, September 8, 2026, Times of Israel 

How can a society deeply divided by electoral deadlock find the collective moral courage to choose democratic renewal over perpetual crisis? 

In this Rosh Hashanah episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi set aside the reactive mode of recent years to name their realistic hopes for Israel: the return of truth to public life, a moral reckoning with settler violence in the West
Bank, and the quiet shifts stirring in the Haredi and Arab sectors. Grounded in the High Holiday belief that what once was isn't necessarily what must be, this is a hopeful yet clear-eyed look at the year ahead. Shana Tova. 

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
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Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more. 

Why does Israeli political life appear hopelessly frozen at the top even as tectonic shifts stir beneath the surface? 

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine the looming Israeli elections, the persistent mathematical stalemate between major political blocs, and the tired defensive tactics driving Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign. They investigate the fragmentation of the right wing following Ofer Winter’s entry into the race, the demise of small vanity parties failing to clear the threshold, and the emerging revolutions within both the Haredi and Arab-Israeli sectors. 

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YouTube channel.  

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

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shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST. 

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake.
Click here to learn more. 

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Register for The Road to the Israeli Elections on September 8. 

What do four political earthquakes in a single week – as the Knesset is on the brink of dissolving – reveal about the election that will define Israel's future? 

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi open Israel's election season by mapping the upheaval: the sudden formation of new parties, Gadi Eisenkot's rise to rival Likud as Naftali Bennett fades, a blitz of contentious legislation, and a government openly declaring it will defy the Supreme Court. Together they ask what Israelis actually want and whether this moment marks the true end of the Netanyahu era. A clear-eyed guide to the opening shot of the most consequential election in years. 

This episode originally aired on July 8, 2026. 

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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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College students, apply now for the 2026 Edward Fein Winter Student Seminar! 

Can the Jewish people hold on to moral tradition in the era of Jewish power? 

In this special episode—recorded live in the courtyard of the Shalom Hartman Institute's Jerusalem campus on July 14, 2026, at the Institute's Wellspring Summit for Educators—Yossi Klein Halevi joins Sara Labaton, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America for a candid conversation on Jewish anti-Zionism, the Israel–American Jewish divide, and the crisis of Jewish memory. Together, they reflect on power, victimhood, and what we owe the next generation of Jewish learners.  

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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What happens to our humanity when fear takes hold? 

In this special summer episode, recorded live in the Beit Midrash of the Shalom Hartman Institute's Jerusalem campus during our Community Leadership Program, Donniel Hartman delivers a solo lecture on the journey from “mensch” to “warrior." He dissects the Jewish tradition's ambivalent view of human nature, the methodology of mitzvah as training for decency, and the IDF Code of Ethics now under pressure after October 7. A thought-provoking meditation on vulnerability, moral instincts, and whether a people with power can remain a people of conscience. 

For the source sheet that accompanies this lecture: https://shalomhartman.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Hartman_D_Humaness-from-Mensch-to-Warrior_CLP-2_Plenary_Jul-2-2026-1.pdf 

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. 

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more. 

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: 

Watch select sessions from our summer learning in Jerusalem. 

How do the Jewish people reclaim our story when our very right to self-defense is under global assault?

In this special episode, recorded live at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Community Leadership Program in June, Yossi Klein Halevi sits down with author and former White House speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz for the annual Michelle Gary z”l Memorial Lecture. Together, they dissect the 80-year arc of post-Holocaust Jewish recovery, how the framing of "oppressor vs. oppressed" distorts the complex reality of Middle Eastern history, and the moral dilemmas inherent in wielding hard national power in a post-October 7 world.

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.

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

How does a Jewish state navigate its future when the most fiercely contested issue at the ballot box is the definition of Judaism itself?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the profound ways religion is shaping Israel's upcoming elections. They explore the Likud's historical transformation into enablers of the ultra-Orthodox, the messianic fervor driving the settlement movement, and the opposition's attempt to reclaim a broad, inclusive Jewish identity.

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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.

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Learn more about our Wellspring programming for young Jews and the professionals who serve them.