Haaretz Podcast

The lesson of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest diplomatic gambit is that in Middle East deal-making, “the devil is in the details, but the most important thing is political willpower,” said Anshel Pfeffer, The Economist’s Israel correspondent and former Haaretz columnist, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. 

Trump, he noted, “has supplied that political willpower in bucket loads.” 

Hours after Israel and Hamas agreed on a deal to end the war in Gaza and release the hostages, Pfeffer spoke with host Allison Kaplan Sommer about the long road to the deal, the obstacles that lie ahead and the joyful yet nervous mood among Israelis as they anticipate the long-awaited return of all the hostages. 

Pfeffer, a biographer of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also discussed how he expects Israel’s leader to shape the narrative of the cease-fire to serve his political goals ahead of next year’s general election.

“We know how hard Donald Trump had to press him to accept this plan, but he is a very pragmatic person," Pfeffer said. "The moment something is forced upon him, he immediately makes it look as if it was his idea all along.”

Read more:

Analysis by Anshel Pfeffer | Netanyahu's Last Stand: How Rewriting the Gaza War Will Decide the Israeli Leader's Political Destiny

Israel, Hamas Reach Gaza Cease-fire Deal; Trump: Hostages Will Be Released Monday

'A Day of Joy': Hundreds of Israelis Stream to Hostage Square to Celebrate Israel-Hamas Deal With Families

'We'll Go Back Home, Rebuild Our Lives': Gaza's Palestinians Celebrate Deal to End Israel-Hamas War

Turkey, Egypt and Qatar Will Help Israel and U.S. Recover Bodies of Hostages From Gaza

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"It is hard to overstate the almost tribal, pathological inability of folks who are pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli to acknowledge the humanity of the other," said filmmaker and Palestinian American activist Mo Husseini on the Haaretz Podcast.

"People are operating on the assumption that everyone on the other side is an inhumane, hateful asshole who wants to kill all of us."

Husseini said that's the reason he chose to join Jewish American award-winning documentary filmmaker Julie Cohen to create "The Path Forward," which spotlights pairs of Israeli and Palestinian activists who joined forces after October 7. 

Cohen, also speaking on the podcast, said she conceived the film as offering an alternative to what she saw as the sole emphasis on violence and hostility when it came to interactions between Israelis and Palestinians.

Whenever there is coverage of dialogue, she said, it is framed as "Oh my God, there's an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian, and they're talking to each other. This is nuts, this is insane, this is the craziest thing we've ever seen!" But actually, says Cohen, "it's happening all the time. You're just not seeing it."

The film was made in the first year of the war. As the second anniversary of October 7 approaches, Cohen admits that when she re-watches it now, the activists' hope can be "painful to watch in the context of … what is now a genocide in Gaza."

Still, Cohen and Husseini said if they had to make a film today, they would strike the same hopeful chord.

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The two years that have passed since October 7, 2023 have transformed Israel and its people, its leaders, its status on the world stage and its relationship with Diaspora Jewry.

On the Haaretz Podcast, Joshua Leifer, the newest Haaretz columnist, spoke with host Allison Kaplan Sommer the many dimensions of change the war has wrought - including the changes in his own life and thinking.

In their conversation, Leifer noted that while Israelis on the far right can indulge in "a perverse and spectacular kind of denial" regarding the death and suffering in Gaza every day, the situation is more complex and contradictory for the Israeli mainstream and people on the left.

"We know that what Israel is doing in Gaza is terrible," Leifer said. And yet, even at times when the war is visibly and audibly present, "we go to the beach, we go to family, we carry on. I think we're only at the beginning of being able to understand what that does to ‌a society, and what that does to people over time, as they acclimate to a reality that should be unbearable but isn't."

Regarding his decision to move to Israel at a time when he opposed so much of what its government is doing, Leifer said: "If you want to change a place, I think you have to be there... I didn't want to just be stuck in the meta discourse over Zionism and progressivism. I wanted to try to intervene - if possible - in the reality."

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In this special Haaretz Podcast episode, Haaretz columnist Amir Tibon offers his analysis of the comprehensive 20-point peace plan unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump in a White House press conference on Monday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood beside him. 

“What we saw was a plan with big headlines, but a lack of details,” Tibon said in his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer. “We don't know yet if there is actually the political will to carry it forward.”

While Netanyahu has officially endorsed and even praised the plan, Tibon added, it will be difficult for the Israeli leader to convince the hard-right wing of his coalition to accept many of the terms – particularly a full withdrawal from the Strip by the IDF. A political crisis over the deal could lead to the collapse of the government and force a new general election. 

Hamas has yet to fully weigh in on the plan that requires the massive concession of disarming and ceding power in Gaza to “Palestinians technocrats.” 

After two years of the war in Gaza, Tibon said, Trump clearly “hopes he can get a Nobel Peace Prize for ending the war and opening an opportunity for wider peace in the Middle East.”

But the U.S. president “still doesn't understand that actually ending the war will require more pressure. The idea that he will simply impose all of these terms on Hamas, I think, is unrealistic. I would love to be wrong on this, but I don't see it happening so quickly.”

Read more:

Trump's 'New Gaza' Plan Revealed: Hostage Deal, Hamas Disarmament and 'Gaza Deradicalized'

Far-right Minister Smotrich Slams Netanyahu's Assent to Trump's Plan: 'Missed Chance to Break Free From Shackles of Oslo'

Hamas to Review Trump's 'New Gaza' Cease-fire Plan 'In Good Faith,' Foreign Diplomat Tells Haaretz

Amir Tibon: The 'Magic Number' That Could Convince Hamas to Accept the Trump Plan

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On a special edition of the Haaretz Podcast – as Israel faces the Jewish High Holidays mired in war and political division, host Allison Kaplan Sommer speaks to Prof. Adam Ferziger about soul-searching and atonement with a focus on the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel and the Diaspora.

Ferziger, who is also an ordained rabbi, believes the process of observing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur “is all about humility.”

“Rosh Hashanah comes before Yom Kippur, because in order to be able to go before God and do some sort of atonement, I have to first acknowledge my place in the world,” he said. Following October 7 and over the past two years of war, “so many of the players involved, unfortunately, feel that they know all the right answers, and there is a real lack of humility on many sides.” 

Faith and belief in God, he said, should not “be a cause for saying ‘I am more powerful and better, and I know the truth more than you do.’”

In his new book, "Agents of Change: American Jews and the Transformation of Israeli Judaism," the Bar-Ilan University professor chronicles the rise of what he calls “moderate Orthodox Judaism” in Israel, the pioneering immigrant Diaspora Jews behind a more liberal and tolerant religious outlook – even as, politically, their presence in Israel strengthened the right and the settler movement. 

“Many are right-wing by most standards when it comes to politics, but that does not necessarily go along with their attitude towards Jews who differ from them, or on sexual identity, or the role of women in leadership – and many other subjects.”

While it can be “very hard to pull those things apart,” Ferziger sees this dichotomy as an opportunity for “conversation between people in Israel who are moderate in a lot of areas and the broader community in America,” even when there are deep political disagreements.  

Read more:

Israel's Religious Left Finds New Purpose Amid Gaza War

What Future Is There for a Young, Leftist, Secular Family in the Israel of 2026?

Opinion | What I Wish Rabbis Would Say About Israel, Gaza and the Palestinians in Their High Holy Day Sermons

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In a special guest episode of the Haaretz Podcast, German ambassador Steffen Seibert sits down with Guy Rolnik and Anat Georgy, co-hosts of “The Markers” – the Hebrew-language podcast of Haaretz’s sister publication, The Marker. 

In the interview, Seibert addressed the increasingly complicated relationship between the two countries since the Gaza war and said he was “not optimistic” about Israel’s future if its government continues in its current direction.

“My country is very clearly against the extension and escalation of the war," Seibert said.

At the same time, he expressed both affection and sympathy for the “exhausted” citizens of the Jewish state and concerns about growing antisemitism across Europe. 

“It's a difficult time to be an Israeli. The idea that when you go abroad as a tourist, you have to worry about your personal safety, and you have to worry if it's okay to speak Hebrew in the street – this is horrible, and it is a challenge to all of us Europeans to make sure that that doesn't become the new reality forever.”

Rolnik and Georgy also engaged in an in-depth exchange with Seibert on the nature of German democracy and what Israel might learn from it as it wrestles with the judicial reform crisis and when free speech crosses the line and becomes incitement. 

Ultimately, he said, despite Germany’s “serious disagreements” regarding both Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank, “the fact remains that we consider ourselves forever friends of Israel and supporters of the right of Israel to be here, to be safe and to have this Jewish and democratic state. This is not a fashion in German politics. This is one of the pillars of our political identity.”

Read more:

EU Proposes Sanctions on Israel: Suspending Trade Benefits, Targeting Far-right Ministers

Germany Will Not Join Western Allies in Recognizing Palestine, Chancellor Merz Says

'Some Artists Blur Their Identity,' as the World Turns a Deaf Ear to Israeli Musicians

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New York University professor Lila Corwin Berman has a warning for her colleagues. Corwin Berman, along with two fellow academics, recently penned a provocative piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education headlined "Jewish Studies Scholars, Beware: Trump's Deal Will Corrupt You."

On the Haaretz Podcast, Corwin Berman explains how, in her view, the agreements that the Trump White House has hammered out with Ivy League universities, making their federal grant money dependent on investing in Judaic Studies and developing cooperation with Israeli universities, will result in turning them into "court Jews."

What the White House is doing, she said "is not about free academic scholarship or inquiry, but is really about serving a particular kind of master. And I think that that is deeply, deeply dangerous for universities for Jewish Studies and for American Jews."

Corwin Berman and host Allison Kaplan Sommer also discussed the atmosphere on campuses under the shadow of the Gaza War, and what Hannah Einbinder's remarks at the Emmy Awards says about the young generation of American Jews.

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This special episode of the Haaretz Podcast features voices from the September 14 conference held in Toronto jointly sponsored by the New Israel Fund of Canada and JSpace Canada.

The event brought together current and former Israeli and Canadian politicians, journalists, academics with Israeli and Palestinian peace advocates to assess the current troubling conflict in Gaza. Speakers also explore a roadmap for peace, Palestinian sovereignty, the crisis of democracy and growing authoritarianism in Israel and around the world. 

Among those included in the podcast: MKs Ayman Odeh and Naama Lazimi; former Justice Minister Dan Meridor; and Julie Dabrusin, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

In her remarks, Democrats MK Lazimi said the “profound humanitarian disaster” playing out in Gaza is “not only a Palestinian tragedy; it is also a moral stain and a security risk for Israel.” 

Calling for an end to the bloodshed in Gaza, Lazimi said that the only "alternative to terror and war are secure peace agreements.” 

Meridor paired his harsh critique of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s autocratic direction with a call to fight the government’s assault on the Supreme Court and other gatekeepers of democracy. 

All Israelis and those who care about the Jewish state, he said, “should ask himself, as I try to do every day, not only what's going to be the future, but what do I do today to stop it.” 

Read more:

Watch the full conference from Toronto on YouTube

Haaretz conference in New York explores Israel's fractured democracy during Gaza war

IDF says ground incursion into Gaza City has begun; Defense Chief: Gaza is burning

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The Israeli decision to bomb Doha, targeting Hamas leadership as they met to consider a cease-fire proposal, made little sense if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is truly concerned with the fate of Israel’s hostages, said Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. 

While it may “work against our basic instincts of assuming that the government is looking out for our collective good,” Harel concluded with an air of regret: “That's not the situation we're in. My sense is that Netanyahu gave up on them long ago, and what he's doing right now is about his political survival, nothing else.” 

While U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his “unhappiness” with the bold Israeli move to attack the country housing the largest American military base in the region, he has yet to chastise Netanyahu publicly the way he has chastised other foreign leaders, Harel said in his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

“Unlike his relationships with every other world leader except [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, we haven't seen Trump ever confronting Netanyahu directly, demanding answers or changes in positions,” Harel said. “It is early to tell, but this may be a watershed moment. Trump is losing patience, and he may be close to the edge.” 

Harel warned that “if indeed we did kill somebody important in Doha, there could be retaliation. I hope it doesn't get to anybody torturing or killing hostages. In the end, live hostages are an asset to Hamas, but there's a danger there. We're playing with fire.”

Read more:

IDF Strikes Hamas Leaders in Doha; White House: Strike Won't Advance Israeli Goals

Analysis from Amos Harel | Netanyahu Is Taking Ever-greater Risks to Keep the Gaza War Going

Analysis from Amos Harel | With Doha Strike, Israel Signals a Strategic Shift and an Indifference to Consequences

Who Died? Did Trump Know? What About the Hostages? Five Key Questions on Israel's Strike in Doha

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As Israel’s Gaza City offensive intensifies, the lack of a “fully articulated policy” on the part of Donald Trump’s White House means that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can move ahead with a “blank check” from the U.S., said Haaretz Washington correspondent Ben Samuels, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.

The message from Trump officials to Israel is “do what you need to do, just get it over with fast,” while in public statements, they have shifted to align with Israel’s “all-or-nothing” approach to a hostage deal.

“Trump is not giving Israel a red light,” Samuels said. “To Israel, that means a green light.” 

On the podcast, Samuels analyzed the dramatic shifts in both the Republican and Democratic parties regarding Israel ahead of the 2026 midterms, predicting that the upcoming election will “be the one where Israel becomes a top-tier front-of-mind issue that could really divide voters and could really sway races one way or another” in both of the parties. 

With the GOP in particular, he noted, “a growing number of mainstream Republicans, along with the isolationist MAGA wing are openly asking, ‘Why are our dollars going to funding a foreign war rather than making the lives better for Americans at home?’”

Democrats, he added, “are just not going to take what Israel's saying at face value anymore.” All of this contributes, he said, to the “inflection point” at which American Jews find themselves nearly two years into the Gaza war. 

“I think we are going to look at this as a foundational shift in how this generation and the next views the U.S.-Israel relationship, as well as the relationship of American Jews to Israel.”

Read more:

'They Tend to Die': Trump Says Israel, Hamas May Sign Gaza Cease-fire Deal 'Very Soon,' and Repeated That Some of the Living Hostages May Have Died

Trump Says Israel Has Lost Its 'Total Control' of Congress, Is Losing PR War Over Gaza

The Dam Has Broken. For Mainstream Democrats, Israel Is Now a Pariah

The Next Generation of Republicans Is Turning Away From Israel

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