Haaretz Podcast

On this episode of the Haaretz Podcast, host Allison Kaplan Sommer speaks to two journalists who covered last week’s German election, which concluded with a historically strong showing by Germany’s far-right AfD party. 

German journalist Vera Weidenbach said the popularity of the AfD, which is “a direct successor of the Nazis, and, especially in the East, deeply rooted in neo-Nazi culture,” is a troubling and dangerous development, even though it did not get as many votes as its leaders had hoped. 

Haaretz’s David Issacharoff discussed the view from Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was applauding the win for the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union Party led by Friedrich Merz, “the most pro-Israel politician in Germany.” 

Although, he noted, “some progressive Jews are trying to warn of this blind support to Israel, or the possible blank check that Merz could give Netanyahu to allow him to continue the war in Gaza.”

Background reading:

The Real Winners of Germany's Elections? The Far Right – and Israel's Netanyahu Government 

Only One Political Leader Can Save Germany From the Far Right 

Subscribe to Haaretz! Go to Haaretz.com and use the code HAARETZ10 for ten percent off an annual subscription.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The death and devastation on October 7 was "the end result of antisemitism unchecked," Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said on the Haaretz Podcast. “Dehumanizing Israelis or Zionists or Jews - leads to inhuman acts.”

Greenblatt said that the traumatic events also reinforced for him the “reality that anti-Zionism is‌ a form of antisemitism.”

“The crisis is real,” he said. “The danger is here and now. And yet the challenge for all of us is not to lose our humanity in this moment,” adding that “the inhumanity of Hamas doesn't diminish the humanity of Palestinians.” 

In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer about countering antisemitism during the Gaza War and pitched partisan tension in Washington D.C., Greenblatt also addressed the controversy surrounding his forgiving reaction on social media to Elon Musk’s apparent “Sieg Heil” gesture on President Donald Trump’s inauguration day. 

Greenblatt expressed regret that he had not “framed” his tweet differently, given “the impact that it had.” 

Subscribe to Haaretz! Go to Haaretz.com and use the code HAARETZ10 for ten percent off an annual subscription.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daniel Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and a key architect of the cease-fire-for-hostages deal underway between Israel and Hamas, said on the Haaretz Podcast that the "ultimate condition" of any post-war settlement for Gaza must be the removal of Hamas from power.

Shapiro, speaking to host Allison Kaplan Sommer on the week Israel received the bodies of the murdered Bibas family, said the "terrible and heartbreaking" event revived memories of the days following October 7, when "there were many, many people in the U.S. administration who, in addition to doing the focused, hard work of trying to figure out what the right policies were and prepare for the military and the diplomatic decisions, also had to stop in the middle of the day sometimes and just weep a bit because the brutality was so profound."

Discussing President Donald Trump's plan to empty the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian residents, Shapiro advised those welcoming the plan not to get their hopes up. "I can understand the appeal of it to some Israelis who might say, 'well, yeah, it might make our problem of 2 million Palestinians disappear and make the United States own this problem so we don't have to worry about it,' he said, "but that doesn't make it any more serious. It's not going to happen."

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At a time when most Israelis, across the political spectrum, have expressed appreciation and gratitude towards the Trump White House for pushing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to implement the Gaza cease-fire and hostage release agreement, Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), says the "vast majority" of U.S. Jews strongly oppose President Donald Trump's policies.

Spitalnick, who spoke to Haaretz Podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer while on a visit to Israel for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem this weekend, said "American Jews are still overwhelmingly a liberal community who believe in democracy, inclusivity and pluralism," and as such they are alarmed by Trump's policies and radical transformation of the government.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The enthusiastic reception among the Israeli public for Donald Trump's Gaza takeover plan - that includes emptying the Strip of almost 2 million Palestinians - has offered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost that he is likely to take full advantage of.

Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn said on the Haaretz Podcast that "very sadly, the transfer idea is extremely popular within Israeli Jewish society," though the fear of international condemnation was always there. Now, the fact that the American president himself put the idea of moving Palestinians out of Gaza on the table gives Netanyahu - and other Israelis - the ability to embrace the concept of ethnic cleansing openly.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moshe Lavi, the brother-in-law of Israeli hostage Omri Miran, was one of the activists for the release of the hostages who traveled to Washington D.C. last week during the visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In conversation with Haaretz Podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, he says he was disappointed by Netanyahu's refusal to meet with the families in the U.S. capital.

Netanyahu extended his stay in Washington, enjoying his time alongside Donald Trump as the U.S. president announced a plan to take over Gaza. But back home, the country was shocked by the emaciated physical state of returning hostages Or Levy, Ohad Ben-Ami and Eli Sharabi, and their stories of severe abuse at the hands of their Hamas captors.

Miran, who is married to Lavi's sister Lishay and is father to his toddler nieces Ronni and Alma, is slated to be released only in stage two of the current framework and at the moment, Lavi says, "we are not certain that it is going to take place, or will take place soon enough, because the hostages don't have time - they need to be rescued and released as soon as possible."

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's supporters on the Israeli right may be celebrating after President Donald Trump unveiled his "Mar-a-Gaza" vision following the two leaders White House meeting. But Haaretz columnist Alon Pinkas, analyzing the meeting behind the optics, believes Netanyahu has little to celebrate.

Speaking on the Haaretz Podcast following the meeting, Pinkas told host Allison Kaplan Sommer that the firestorm over Trump's desire to "own" and "take control" of Gaza and relocate its 2 million residents, overshadowed the fact that Netanyahu clearly failed in his attempt to convince the U.S. president to back out of the cease-fire and hostage release deal with Hamas.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The lives of Palestinians in West Bank refugee camps and surrounding villages have become a "nightmare" as a result of the intensified military campaigns by the IDF against militant groups operating there, says Haaretz West Bank correspondent Hagar Shezaf on the Haaretz Podcast. 

Two days after the Gaza cease-fire went into effect, Israel began operation "Iron Wall" - an aggressive campaign targeting Palestinian militant groups. It is focused on the Jenin refugee camp, and includes air strikes and raids, the demolishing of infrastructure like water, roads, and electricity, and repeatedly forcing civilians out of their homes.

“You can't argue there are militants in these places, but at the same time, there are regular people who just live there, and their life has become a nightmare over the past two years,” particularly since October 7, says Shezaf, discussing how the war - and the cease-fire - has affected the West Bank, which she has covered for the past five years.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After months in Hamas captivity, the release of some Israeli hostages has brought moments of relief - but also difficult questions. While the public sees smiling faces and embraces, the reality behind the scenes is far more complex.

In this episode, Haaretz Podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer speaks with Professor Hagai Levine, head of the health team for the Hostages Family Forum and chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physician.

What happens to a person’s body and mind after being held hostage for over a year? Why is the Israeli government failing to provide proper long-term care for the freed hostages? And what needs to be done - urgently - to rescue those who are still trapped in Gaza?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the moment, Israelis may think they have U.S. President Donald Trump's unconditional support when it comes to the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon - but that is not the case, according to Haaretz Washington correspondent Ben Samuels.

Reviewing Trump’s first weeks in office and their impact on the Middle East, amid reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be visiting the White House in coming days, Samuels noted on the Haaretz Podcast that Trump took dramatic steps with executive orders erasing what he could of President Joe Biden’s legacy. This includes  rescinding sanctions on violent extremist settlers in the West Bank, and lifting the only hold that Biden put on heavy payload weapons to Israel. 

Also on this week's podcast, Haaretz correspondent Linda Dayan described the powerful scene at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv over the weekend, where the release of four young women, IDF spotters who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, brought tears and relief to a country on edge. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.