Haaretz Podcast

Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami invested substantial time and effort into shaping a two-state solution during his political career – and ultimately came to the conclusion that it was not viable.

On the Haaretz Podcast, Ben-Ami cast a critical eye on the current push by French President Emmanuel Macron and a long list of countries including the U.K., Australia and Canada to recognize a Palestinian state at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.

He sees the move more as "a sign of despair" over the leaders' powerlessness to end the Gaza war rather than "a practical solution" that lacks a roadmap for turning the concept into reality. Calling the two-state formula on the table "utterly irrelevant," Ben-Ami expressed "surprise that statesmen such as Macron and the others were pulling it out of the attic of lost causes."

In his conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ben-Ami spoke on the podcast of the deterioration of the Gaza conflict from a "legitimate war of self-defense" one of "merciless, cruel vengeance."

He also explained why "total victory" over Hamas remains impossible. Whatever the outcome in Gaza, he noted, the war will be framed as a success and "will remain in the collective memory of the Palestinian nation that they forced Israel into a war that lasted more than two years, that Hamas pulled the two-state solution out of oblivion, emptied Israeli prisons of Palestinian prisoners, blocked the Israel-Saudi normalization and Israel's dream of regional peace."

Read more:

Shlomo Ben Ami: A Total Victory in Gaza Is a Dangerous Delusion. Just Ask Kissinger

Israel Facing Mounting International Pressure as Belgium Says Will Recognize Palestine at UN

Trump's Ban on Mahmoud Abbas Is Bad News for Palestine. But It's Dangerous for the UN

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Rabbi Yosef Blau has been the focus of both fury and admiration over the past week, called both a hero and a traitor, and garnered attention at a level that has astonished him, he said on the Haaretz Podcast. 

The pushback comes after Blau spearheaded an open letter signed by 80 Orthodox rabbis that called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “one of the most severe in recent history” and called on Israel to assume “its share of the responsibility” for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The letter also condemned settler violence in the West Bank.

As a pillar of the mainstream modern Orthodox world, Blau is an unlikely political maverick. The 86-year-old was a leader at Yeshiva University for 48 years and led the Religious Zionists of America for more than a decade. 

On the podcast, Blau – who moved from New York to Israel five months ago – describes a "shift in the world of religious Zionism” – a change he describes as transforming from “the most moderate force in the Israeli government that reflected a large variety of views on pretty much every issue outside of religion, to become more and more associated with the extreme right.” 

Addressing critics who say the letter he wrote could fuel antisemitism outside Israel, Blau says such thinking is “a mistake in judgment,” adding “I think not taking a stand increases antisemitism.”

Read more:

Over 80 Orthodox Rabbis Urge Israel to Address Gaza Humanitarian Situation, Condemn Settler Violence

Leftist? This U.S. Orthodox Rabbi Speaking Against the Israeli Government Prefers 'Realist'

Explore Haaretz's coverage of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza

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While the world has been focused on the devastation in Gaza, "the annexation of the West Bank has become reality," Hagar Shezaf, Haaretz's West Bank correspondent, said on the Haaretz Podcast.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Shezaf explained, has created a system "that is accelerating" the process of integrating the West Bank into state institutions "while keeping the empty shell of the Civil Administration that represents military rule."

Shezaf is stepping down from her beat for a year of studies after six years of covering what she describes as a "deteriorating" situation in the territories, that is generally neglected by the Israeli media.

Despite settlement expansion continuing apace, violent extremist settlers becoming increasingly bold, and the direct and indirect displacement of Palestinian civilians from their homes by the Israeli military, "the West Bank is totally uncovered by Israeli news journalists," Shezaf said.

Most recently, her reporting called attention to the uprooting of 3,100 trees by the IDF alongside a village after an attempted terror attack by one of its residents. Shezaf described it as an "outrageous" act, and the army's attempts to justify it, she said, "cannot convince me that this is not collective punishment."

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly challenged the assertion that starvation is rampant in Gaza, most recently when he slammed a UN report on famine as “blood libel.” 

On the Haaretz Podcast, Yarden Michaeli takes listeners behind the scenes of his in-depth reporting with Nir Hasson on the scale of severe acute malnutrition in Gaza. As Israel continues to bar journalists from entering the Strip, Michaeli and Hasson virtually “toured” clinics and hospitals in Gaza – including the pediatric ward of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Israel struck the hospital on Monday, killing multiple healthcare and media workers, including Moaz Abu Taha, the photographer who guided the Haaretz reporters through Nasser.

As Michaeli “toured” the wards of Nasser, he saw children who were “very thin, with weak, glazed eyes, clearly severely malnourished with markers of starvation, like changes to their hair color, missing spots of hair on their head, missing teeth and rashes on their skin.” 

The condition of children, he was told by experts, are the earliest signs of large-scale famine in a population. 

“The fact that the marks of starvation are already visible on adults in Gaza shows that this whole situation is in an advanced stage,” said Michaeli. “We're not at the beginning. We're far and deep into the process.”

Read more:

'Starvation Is Everywhere': Virtual Tours of Gaza Clinics Expose the Scale of the Horror

UN Says Over Half a Million Palestinians in Gaza Suffering From Famine; Netanyahu: 'Outright Lie'

Alex de Waal: 'Pasta Won't Help. Gaza Is on the Brink of an Exponential Surge in Starvation Deaths'

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Israel is approaching the “horrifying” position of becoming a pariah state due to the Gaza war, former MK and Middle East expert Ksenia Svetlova said on the Haaretz Podcast, expressing deep worry that it was dangerously close to following in the footsteps of her native Russia. 

Western nations' refusal to cooperate with Russia due to its aggression in Ukraine, she noted, means Moscow is now lagging behind in the fields of technology, science and beyond “by decades” –  and Israel could easily share that status soon.

“A crackdown on civil society in a way that it happened in Russia will indeed deem Israel to the same level, and will impose on it the very unwanted and frankly horrifying status of a pariah," she said.

Svetlova believes that without any “real pressure” from U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House, she is doubtful Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reject any agreement that would end the conflict and halt the current Gaza City offensive. 

Ongoing war, she noted, “is in the classic authoritarian playbook.” 

Before that conversation, Haaretz’s Linda Dayan reports on last Sunday’s massive anti-war strike and demonstrations in support of a hostage deal/cease-fire. 

Although the protest had no apparent effect on the Netanyahu government’s policies, she said, organizers “felt it was successful in that it showed that no matter what the country’s leadership says, the people are behind them, the people are united in what they want. To see a literal big percentage of the national population come out to make sure that people here and abroad know that this is what they believe – that really bolstered people.”

Read more:

Analysis by Ksenia Svetlova | Beyond Trump-Putin Optics, Zelenskyy Finds Ukraine's Opportunity in What Went Awry in Alaska

Hundreds of Thousands of Israelis Flood Tel Aviv Demanding a Hostage Deal to End Gaza War

Marching on the Gaza Border, Hostage Families Say: Gaza Takeover Plan Is a Death Sentence

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Israeli musicians are learning the hard way that speaking out against the war in Gaza comes at a price, Haaretz culture reporter Shay Ringel explained on the Haaretz Podcast.

The letter, signed by 1,200 members of the cultural and artistic community, was unusually outspoken regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling on Israeli soldiers to disobey "unlawful orders" and to refrain from "committing war crimes."

"Talking about the horrific things that are happening in Gaza – the killing of children, the expulsion of population – this is something new," Ringel explains.

Ringel recounted how at least one artist had a concert cancelled as a result of signing the letter. He retracted his signature, and his concert was restored "all within the course of two hours." Other artists took their name off the petition due to pressure by right-wing activists.

In his conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ringel noted that most of the signatories are older and more established musicians, while younger artists are "completely absent" from the petition.

Read more:

Israeli Mayors Ban Artists Who Signed 'Criminal' anti-Gaza War Petition as Some Retract Signatures

'Fake News': Israeli Singer and 'Fauda' Star Idan Amedi Slams Artists Petitioning Against Gaza War

Unthinkable Today – but in 1988, Israel's Biggest Singers United Against the Occupation

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The Israeli public is “exhausted” by the nearly two-year conflict in Gaza, and the vast majority of IDF military leaders believe it should end. 

Yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is forging ahead with his plan to invade Gaza City and expand the war because “he will do whatever he can to stay in power,” said Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. 

IDF brass, led by chief of staff Eyal Zamir, is attempting to convince Netanyahu for a more limited siege on Gaza City. Still, the message from Netanyahu has been that “he is calling the shots, and the army’s job is to follow orders and prepare to invade Gaza City,” despite the danger that would pose to Israeli hostages being held in the area. 

Whether or not a full-on operation will eventually happen primarily depends on U.S. President Donald Trump, who, Harel says, is the only one who could push Netanyahu off course, but does not appear to be doing so – for now.

“At one point or another, I think the president will be fed up, because there's no victory in sight in Gaza. The suffering continues, and he keeps facing questions from within, including from Republicans, regarding where this is going and why Americans are contributing to this suffering. I don't think that Netanyahu has all the time in the world.” 

Regarding the hostages, Harel confessed that he struggles to believe that “an Israeli prime minister would just desert them to their death and leave them to die in the tunnels. And yet the signs are there.” 

Read more from Amos Harel:

First Eyal Zamir, Then Gaza City: Defense Minister Katz Targets IDF Chief of Staff Amid Unpopular Offensive

Netanyahu Struggles to Sell His Plan to Conquer Gaza as Allies Openly Call for Sacrificing Hostages

Despite What Netanyahu Wants You to Think, an Israeli Conquest of Gaza Remains Far Off

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Israel is swimming in unprecedented diplomatic waters. Last week, Germany announced it will restrict arms exports to Israel, and a growing number of world leaders – led by France and the U.K. – are declaring their intention to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. 

“We are hearing things that we never heard from great friends of Israel,” said Nadav Tamir, the executive director of J Street Israel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. 

Tamir, a former Israeli consul-general in Boston and aide to Israel’s late president Shimon Peres, noted that these allies “were working tirelessly for the release of hostages” and continue to declare “time and time again that Israel has a full right to protect itself after the horrible massacre of October 7 and against Iran and Hezbollah. But they cannot support this war any longer, because it is so clear to them, just like it's clear to most Israelis, that this war has no purpose and is only continuing for political reasons.” 

Tamir says that recognizing a Palestinian state nor limiting arms exports is not a punishment against the Israeli people.

“Maybe they see it as punishment for Netanyahu, but as a Zionist Israeli, I see it as a big prize for us,” Tamir said. “I think that a Palestinian state is first and foremost an Israeli interest. There is no way Israel could remain the homeland of the Jewish people and a democracy if there will be no Palestinian state."

In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Tamir also discussed the controversial remarks by J Street President Jeremy Ben Ami regarding the use of the term genocide, whether Israelis should give up on the idea of President Donald Trump restraining Netanyahu, and what Tamir’s former boss Shimon Peres would think of Israel’s current predicament. 

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While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is often portrayed as a political improviser who seizes opportunities and dodges land mines as they occur to preserve his hold on power, he is in fact guided by a clear and consistent mission, Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn tells the Haaretz Podcast. 

“Netanyahu’s strategy, since the inception of his career, and even before he became a professional politician, has been to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and diminish the Palestinian national movement,” said Benn.

As the war has worn on and with Netanyahu’s latest decision to escalate the conflict in Gaza instead of working to end it, Benn says the contention that the argument that Netanyahu does not really share the ideology of his farthest-right coalition partners – National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – does not hold up. 

“I've yet to see one area of disagreement between Netanyahu and Smotrich and Ben-Gvir,” Benn said. 

While the premier may “hide behind” excuses of being pushed and pulled by outside forces, Benn believes he has a firm grip on power and knows exactly what he is doing. 

In his wide-ranging conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Benn also discusses the 20th anniversary of the Gaza disengagement – which Israel’s right blames for the events of October 7, his brewing confrontation with the IDF Chief of Staff over Gaza, and whether Netanyahu can face the voters after essentially abandoning the remaining Gaza hostages.

Read more from Aluf Benn:

Opinion | Why Did the Self-righteous Opponents of Israel's Gaza Disengagement Ignore Security Warnings Before October 7?

Opinion | Don't Give Netanyahu a Free Pass. He Knows Exactly What He Is Doing in Gaza

Opinion | Can You Fight for Israel's Democracy but Collaborate With Its Persecution of Palestinians?

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The "last thing" Rabbi Rachel Timoner says she wanted to do was block the street in front of New York's Israeli consulate as part of a protest calling on Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid in Gaza – let alone get arrested for doing so.

The Brooklyn rabbi said on the Haaretz Podcast that when she was asked to take part in the demonstration, she found it impossible to say no.

"As a leader of the Jewish community here, as a rabbi, I feel that when Israel is acting in a way that they are claiming is representing Judaism, it's part of my job to show my understanding of what Judaism stands for. We feed the hungry, and we care for the sick, and we free the captives, and we care for the human dignity of every life, of every human life."

Timoner, the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, spoke on the podcast about the unease among New York Jews since October 7, and the crisis ignited by Zohran Mamdani's victory in the city's Democratic primary.

Mamdani, who will once again face voters in the November general election, has been embroiled in controversy over his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and his shifting stance on others on the left calling to “globalize the intifada.” 

While the city of New York "does not have a foreign policy," Timoner said, it is a "big deal symbolically and in terms of identity to think about the mayor being an anti-Zionist." Timoner says Mamdani must address the question of "how will Zionist New Yorkers know that they are welcome in this city, safe in this city, and know that they are part of his vision for this city."

The fact that despite his views, Mamdani received the most primary votes of any candidate, she added, points to the fact "a lot of Jews are feeling profoundly alienated from the behavior and the speech of this Israeli government, feel that it does not represent our values at all, and that it is a shameful degradation of Judaism. I don't know that you could explain the Jewish support for Mamdani without that factor."

Read more:

'It Is Impossible to Watch and Stay Silent' | Dozens Arrested as U.S. Jews Ramp Up Protests Against Gaza Starvation

Zohran Mamdani Officially Wins Democratic Primary for New York City Mayor

Mamdani Distances Himself From 'Globalize the Intifada' Slogan in Closed-door Meeting With Business Leaders

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