Haaretz Podcast

Each year, the Institute for National Security Studies publishes a list of Israel's most urgent security threats. In the past, it has pointed to threats from neighboring states and terror groups. But this year, the well-respected think-tank chose to highlight a different kind of threat: losing America. 

Major General (ret.) Tamir Hayman, the institute’s managing director and previously the head of Israel's military intelligence, joined the podcast to explain why a break with the United States is more dangerous to Israel at this moment than any regional challenge.

In a conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer he warned that the judicial overhaul being pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition represents a “long-term threat" to the special relationship between Israel and the United States. “A relationship based on values is stronger – and we need the United States," he added. 

In the conversation, Hayman also shares his assessment of the recent attacks in Iran, and discusses the recent escalation on the Palestinian front. 

Also on the podcast, Haaretz Hebrew Deputy Editor Noa Landau shares her thoughts on the Israeli protest movement against the judicial overhaul, and the 'moment of truth' it just faced. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legal scholar Alan Dershowitz has been a friend and adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for decades. But when it comes to Netanyahu’s plan to significantly weaken the Israeli Supreme Court, Dershowitz has a sharp warning for the prime minister. The move would be a “terrible mistake” and Netanyahu is “wrong” to push it through, Dershowitz tells hosts Amir Tibon and Allison Kaplan Sommer on Haaretz Weekly.

Dershowitz warns that an ‘override clause’ giving the government the power to cancel Supreme Court decisions on human rights would be extremely harmful to Israel, and that giving politicians ultimate control over judicial appointments is just as bad, even if some Israelis point to the United States as a source of inspiration (“why copy from us something that’s been a disaster over here?”).

Later on the podcast, starting at time code 18:25, we hear from Dr. Shikma Bressler – a physicist and one of the leaders of the protest movement against Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul. Bressler, who was also involved in the demonstrations that brought down Netanyahu’s previous government, explains why this time, just protesting in the streets won’t be enough. “We have to be a lot more creative, and much more aggressive,” she says.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israel's Jewish fundamentalists hold an unprecedented level of power in Benjamin Netanyahu's current government. What does that mean for Israeli democracy, for the U.S.-Israel relationship and for the broader Middle East? Our guest Dr. Tomer Persico, an expert on Jewish religion and identity, joins the podcast to explain the rise of the Religious Zionism party and how it wants to reshape Israel forever. 

Persico also speaks about what the Israeli far-right shares with U.S. Christian Evangelicals, and why this year's Passover holiday could end in bloodshed. Listen to his full conversation with host Amir Tibon, and read more on Netanyahu's new government on Haaretz.com. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Israeli Supreme Court has a “huge amount of power while the foundation of that power is paper thin,” says Benjamin Wittes, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and editor-in-chief of the Lawfare Blog, in an interview with Haaretz Weekly host Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

This problematic combination, Wittes says, is why the Supreme Court is now “particularly vulnerable. It's as if you’ve built this giant and extremely powerful weapon, but built it on a pillar of sand.” 

In a deep dive, Wittes explains and analyzes each of the controversial reforms planned by the Netanyahu government, their implications for the U.S.-Israel relationship and the likelihood that, if they pass, Israel’s arguments for resisting international tribunals will be weakened. 

Some elements of the judicial reform, Wittes warns, are “corrupt” and “very dangerous.” And speaking personally as a legal scholar and expert who has “engaged deeply” with Israel in the past, he says that if the reforms are implemented, it would “fundamentally change my regard for the integrity of the Israeli legal system.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Less than a week into his new government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had his first confrontation with one of his coalition partners when National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir insisted on going to the Temple Mount, the most provocative act possible for a senior Israeli government official. 

Netanyahu tried to delay the visit in the interest of calming the diplomatic waters ahead of his planned diplomatic trip to the United Arab Emirates. Ben Gvir ignored his concerns and went anyway; the UAE followed up by convening the UN Security Council to denounce Israel.

Haaretz columnist and Netanyahu biographer Anshel Pfeffer joins the podcast to discuss the dynamics between a weak Netanyahu and his assertive coalition partners and what we can expect from them in the future. Listen to his full conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

Note: this episode was recorded before the announcement of Justice Minister Yariv Levin's plans to weaken the Israeli Supreme Court. For a discussion of the threats to Israel's legal system, listen to this previous episode with legal scholar Yaniv Roznai.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“We live in a terrifying time, facing realities that we couldn’t have dreamt about in our worst nightmares,” says the executive director of Israel’s largest human rights organization, Noa Sattath, speaking with host Allison Kaplan Sommer on Haaretz Weekly. 

The incoming government is threatening human and civil rights on so many different fronts, the head of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel says. She warns of assaults on the rights of Palestinians, refugees and asylum seekers, the LGBT community, and a general crackdown on freedom of speech and protest. 

Yet despite the daunting situation, Sattath is confident in the ability of civil society to rally and blunt the worst of what she sees as the potential harm to Israeli democracy on the horizon. “On the one hand, I am overwhelmed by the damage that I worry this government will cause for generations. But on the other, I know we have a lot of power and the ability to block and mitigate everything that we can – and that will also have an impact over generations.”

Listen to the full conversation, and read more about Israel's far-right government on Haaretz.com. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Benjamin Netanyahu's new government, based on the support of Israel's far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, presents a real threat to the rights of Israeli women, warns Dr. Yofi Tirosh on this episode of Haaretz Weekly. 

Increasing the powers of religious courts that discriminate against women, increasing gender segregation in the public sphere, and resisting initiatives combating violence against women in the name of preserving male authority in the home - these are only some of the hallmarks of the incoming coalition's agenda. 

“We have major forces in the coalition who not only feel that women's issues and gender equality issues aren’t high on their to-do list, but feel that the Israeli culture should be redesigned such that women step back from leadership positions in politics, science, economics and the media, and should resort to their true nature - their domestic roles,” says Tirosh, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University and a human rights activist.

In her conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, which took place hours before Netanyahu formally announced he has succeeded in forming a government, Tirosh reviews the various areas in which she believes the new male-dominated government will likely lead to “a dire regression” when it comes to the status of women.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israel's incoming government led by Benjamin Netanyahu is gearing up to mortally wound Israeli democracy, warns Prof. Yaniv Roznai, a leading Israeli legal expert who is sounding the alarm over the 'override clause' - a piece of legislation that would dramatically alter the balance of power between Israel's politicians and the country's Supreme Court. 

Roznai, an Associate Professor and Vice-Dean at Reichman University's Harry Radzyner Law School, joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer on Haaretz Weekly to explain exactly what the override clause is and why he believes it is so dangerous for Israel. 

The measure, he says, would weaken the power of Israeli courts to protect the basic rights of the country’s citizens and hand the ruling coalition excessive power, in a country that already lacks sufficient checks and balances. 

What is happening now, he says, “kind of reminds me of Brexit. A day after Brexit was passed, people in the UK were Googling 'What is the EU?' I don’t want to reach that point. It is too risky.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What exactly happened in the Israeli election? Where is the country heading as Benjamin Netanyahu returns to power with the most right-wing government in Israeli history? And do long-term voting trends offer any hope for the center-left?

At the recent J Street annual conference in Washington, Haaretz Weekly podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer moderated a panel titled “A Deep Dive Into Israeli Politics.” The panelists analyzed and explored these questions, pointing to the profound challenges – and possible opportunities – the new political landscape holds.

The panel was recorded to share with Haaretz podcast listeners. 

On the panel:

• Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin, a public opinion expert and strategic consultant, fellow at the Century Foundation, columnist for Haaretz and co-host of the Elections Overdose podcast who has been a consultant for nine national campaigns in Israel. 
• Gadi Baltiansky, director general of the Geneva Initiative, an NGO that promotes the need to reach a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians through educational, diplomatic and political tools. He served as press secretary for former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and was a member of the Israeli official negotiation teams with Syria and the Palestinians.
• Sally Abed, a member of the national leadership at Standing Together, a grassroots social movement comprising Jews and Palestinians that promotes social, economic and climate justice.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Terror attacks in Jerusalem and southern Israel; Palestinians killed in IDF raids across the occupied territories; tensions between Israel's military leadership and the country's incoming government; and an unstable, weakened Palestinian Authority on the verge of losing control. When these are the top headlines in Israel and the Palestinian territories over the past week and a half, it's clear that a dangerous security escalation is cooking. 

Haaretz's national security analyst Amos Harel joins the podcast to discuss the worrying trends on the ground, and how Israel's far-right, which is about to take power as part of Benjamin Netanyahu's new coalition, could make things even worse. He also talks about Netanyahu's combative rhetoric on Iran and whether or not to take it seriously, and what the Biden administration should expect from the 'unleashed' prime minister. Listen to his full conversation with host Amir Tibon. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.