Haaretz Podcast

Days after America marked one year to the January 6 attack on Congress and the attempt to subvert American democracy, author and political analyst John Judis joins the podcast to offer a disturbing view of these events and their place in U.S. history. Judis, famous for predicting an "emerging Democratic majority" ahead of Obama's rise to power, now warns of a possible Trump comeback. Listen to his full conversation with host Amir Tibon starting at time code 13:35.

Also on this episode: Israel's COVID infection rate broke all-time records this week as the omicron variant washed over the country. We discuss this evolving situation with Prof. Diane Levin from Clalit, Israel's largest health care provider.

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Can Israel conduct a military strike to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program? What will it take for the country’s leadership to reach such a decision? And what are the chances that the ensuing conflict with Tehran will include the United States? Former Israeli deputy national security adviser, Chuck Freilich, joins the podcast to discuss his recent article on the subject, and explains why a military strike is doable but should remain Israel’s absolute last resort. 

Also on this week’s episode, we discuss the recent escalation in Gaza: over the weekend, two rockets were launched from the coastal enclave toward Tel Aviv; Israel blamed Hamas for the incident and hit targets in Gaza, while Hamas claimed it was an accident caused by stormy weather.

Dr. Shira Efron of the RAND Corporation and Israel Policy Forum joins host Amir Tibon to discuss the economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza, and its impacts on regional security. 

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In Israeli history, 2021 will be remembered as the end of an era. After 12 years, Benjamin Netanyahu lost power – something many Israelis found unimaginable.

But this big development was only one event in a tempestuous year. There were multiple waves of COVID-19 , a vaccine campaign and a world-leading push for a booster shot. U.S. President Joe Biden entered the White House with a very different attitude toward Iran than his predecessor.

In May, Israel experienced a traumatic 11 days that sent Israelis to the bomb shelters and upended the relationship between the country's Arabs and Jews. This was followed by a major unexpected development: Mansour Abbas, the head of the United Arab List party, joined the new post-Netanyahu government and became a key player.

Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn and senior national security analyst Amos Harel join host Allison Kaplan Sommer on the podעcast to analyze the most dramatic stories of the year – and speculate on what’s in store for 2022, from COVID to the stability of Naftali Bennett's government. 

Plus, Haaretz reporters share their favorite stories of the year - from Capitol Hill to the ruins of ancient Yavneh, and also, Israel's worst falafel. 

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William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Organizations, joins the podcast to talk about what it means for Diaspora Jews to be barred from Israel for nearly two years. He sits down with host Allison Kaplan Sommer on the day Israel officially declared the United States a “red” country in its ongoing battle against COVID and the omicron variant, barring travel between the two countries. Later in the episode, Haaretz Opinion Editor Esther Solomon explains why it is imperative that Jews and Israel speak out over growing incitement against Muslims in Bosnia by the Serbs.

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Journalist, activist, poet and Haaretz’s new Europe correspondent, Rajaa Natour, tells host Simon Spungin why Netflix’s collection of “Palestinian Stories” is not a watershed moment for Palestinian cinema or the Palestinian struggle, but a cowardly attempt to cash in on the never-ending narrative of victimhood.

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Israeli historian Adam Raz joins the podcast to discuss his explosive report on declassified documents from 1948, showing how Israel's early leadership grappled with the moral and political questions arising from a series of massacres against Palestinians. What did the government know in real time, how were the soldiers responsible treated, and why did David Ben-Gurion try to bury the subject? The conversation starts at time code 17:45.

Earlier on this episode, we hear from Prof. Gisela Dachs on the new government in Germany, sworn in just last week, and what to expect from it regarding Israel and the Middle East. Will new chancellor and Social Democrats leader Olaf Scholz continue Angela Merkel's strong commitment to Israel's security, and what do young Germans think about the issue? Listen to her discussion with host Amir Tibon and Haaretz's visiting fellow from Germany, Konstantin Nowotny. 

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Judy Maltz and Adrian Hennigan to discuss: Immigration in the shadow of the Coronavirus pandemic; the never-ending race to become head of the Jewish Agency; and why an Israeli video-on-demand service has just added Sally Rooney’s hit TV show ‘Normal People’ to its catalog – despite calls to boycott the BDS-supporting author.

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All across the Middle East, Christian communities are in decline. In Gaza, once an early Christian city, there are only 800 Christians left. In Iraq, Christians whose lands were taken over by the Islamic State were forced to convert – or die.

Author Janine di Giovanni joins Haaretz Weekly to discuss her book “The Vanishing: Faith, Loss, and the Twilight of Christianity in the Land of the Prophets," which documents this process. We ask her: Why are Christians leaving the region, what impact did Pope Francis' visit to Iraq have on the local community there, and what is Christianity's future in the land where it first appeared. The conversation starts at time code 13:30.

Earlier on this week's episode, senior Haaretz journalist Noa Landau joins host Amir Tibon to discuss Israel's controversial decision to spy on its own citizens in response to the omicron variant's arrival. Why did left-wing politicians who previously opposed this policy now decide to allow it, and what eventually made the government change course?  Listen to the full conversation, and make sure to also read Noa's recent op-ed on the subject.

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In this week's episode, we hear from two of Israel's top COVID experts about vaccines, the new omicron variant and medications against the virus. Our guest in the studio, Dr. Oren Kobiler of Tel Aviv University, explains how the new variant arrived, and says that while we should take it seriously,  there is "no need to panic." We ask him if vaccines will hold the line against this mutation, and seek his views on shutting Israel's border to tourists. 

In the second part of the episode, we bring you a 10-minute segment from an exclusive Haaretz briefing with Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the top public health official in the Israeli Health Ministry. She tells us why she just vaccinated two of her children, and explains that vaccinating 5 to 11 year-olds isn't about controlling the pandemic, "it's about protecting the kids." The full briefing can be watched here.  

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Alan Leveritt, the publisher and owner of the Arkansas Times, who finds himself inadvertently on the frontlines of the battle against Israeli-sponsored legislation against the BDS movement. PLUS: Gideon Levy on his dinner with Benjamin Netanyahu and the furious responses it provoked among the Israeli left.

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