On today’s show:

Host Simon Spungin is joined by veteran intelligence and strategic affairs correspondent Yossi Melman, who recently rejoined Haaretz after a six-year hiatus.

In a wide-ranging discussion, we talk about the daily interference from the military censor that Israeli journalists have to put up with, the authorities’ attempts to silence critical reporting by claiming it could endanger national security and why the Mossad – one of the most clandestine organizations in the world – would welcome documentary-makers with open arms.

We also discuss the Iranian threat to Israel – including Benjamin Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett’s politically motives threats – and China’s stealthy but largely overlooked efforts to infiltrate sensitive Israeli infrastructure projects.

Read Yossi Melman’s most recent articles:

Head of Iran’s Quds Force in Yemen Who's Behind Saudi Oil Attack ‘Identified’

Why Would Israel Reportedly Have Missiles That Reach Beyond Iran?

Are Israel's Most Sensitive Military Operations Top Secret? Apparently Not

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Israel’s failure to treat allegations of sexual child abuse seriously – exemplified by its handling of the Malka Leifer case – is taking a heavy toll on relations with Australia’s Jewish community and bilateral relations with Canberra.

Five years after she was arrested in the West Bank, and 11 years after she fled to Israel, the former principal of a prestigious ultra-Orthodox school for girls in Melbourne is still fighting her extradition back to Australia, where she faces 74 charges of sexually assaulting students during her time at the Adass Israel school.

Her argument that she is psychologically unfit to stand trial has been helped – allegedly – by interference from Israel’s deputy health minister, who is now facing corruption charges, and the country’s shambolic court system.

Joining host Simon Spungin are Dina Kraft, who has been following the Leifer case for Haaretz, and Noa Landau, on the diplomatic ramifications of Israel’s apparent foot-dragging.

The Branch podcast live.

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz's Palestinian affairs commentator, Amira Hass, who just returned from a week in the West Bank city of Hebron, where she saw how Israel is implementing its decades-long plan to eradicate Palestinian nationhood and identity.

We also discuss Israel's creeping annexation of the Jordan Valley, the tense relationship between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority and - for comic relief - the chances of President Donald Trump's peace plan bearing fruit.

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Recommended related articles from Haaretz.com:

For Hebron Settlers, New Neighborhood Announced by Israel Is Only the Beginning / Amira Hass

Israel threatens Hebron municipality: Consent to new Jewish neighborhood, or lose property rights / Hagar Shezaf

 

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Anshel Pfeffer and Esther Solomon to discuss the anti-Semitism allegations that have been levelled against the Labour Party and its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, ahead of the December 12 general election.

Are both sides guilty of conflating anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism?

Was Britain’s chief rabbi right to warn of the dangers of a Corbyn-led government?

Is the incumbent prime minister, Conservative leader Boris Johnson, any better for the United Kingdom’s minorities?

And would Israel have anything to fear if Corbyn is the next occupant of 10 Downing Street?

Recommended related reading from Haaretz.com

The Real Reason Corbyn's 'Anti-racist' Labour Just Can’t Deal With anti-Semitism

'Anyone but Corbyn': For Britain's Jews, Fear of a Labour Government Is Now Overwhelming

The Contract on Corbyn

Boris Johnson Won't Protect the Jews, Either

There's No Comparison Between Johnson's Crudeness and Corbyn's Conspiratorial anti-Semitism

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Joining host Simon Spungin for Episode 50 is Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn, who looks back on a tempestuous week in Israeli politics, following the attorney general's decision to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, breach of trust and fraud.

We ask: Is the end for Netanyahu? Can he survive an internal challenge to his leadership of Likud? Who are the frontrunners to replace him? And could he possibly win the seemingly inevitable third election and be tasked with forming a government?

Also, we find a silver lining: the current caretaker government is so disorganized that legislation allowing for the sacred status quo in religious-secular relations to be broken could make its way through the Knesset.

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Anshel Pfeffer and Uzi Dann, ahead of the exhibition soccer match between Argentina and Uruguay in Tel Aviv this week. We ask: Why is Israel hosting a game between two foreign countries? Why were there protests in Buenos Aires and Barcelona against the game? And is soccer the new arena for countries seeking to exercise soft power, gain influence and ‘sportswash’ their crimes?

We also discuss the 2022 World Cup, which is due to be held in Qatar – and whether sports-loving progressives face a dilemma when countries with questionable human rights records host major tournaments.

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Host Simon Spungin speaks to Haaretz military analyst Amos Harel about the latest flare-up in tensions between Israel and Islamic Jihad, following the assassinations in Gaza and, apparently, Damascus, of two of its top commanders.

We try to understand what exactly happened, why now and what next – given the increasing likelihood of a fresh election in Israel.

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Host Simon Spungin talks to Esther Solomon, Haaretz.com’s opinion editor, and Chaim Levinson, the paper’s political correspondent, about two elections: the general election in the United Kingdom, where Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn can’t shake allegations of anti-Semitism; and the potential of a third election in Israel, where none of the candidates have thus far managed to forge a coalition.

We also touch on Israeli attitudes toward anti-Semitism, whether labelling anti-Israel criticism as “anti-Semitism” is aiding the apologists and, inevitably, the latest developments in the coalition horse trading.

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In Part 1 of today’s Haaretz Weekly, host Simon Spungin talks to Anshel Pfeffer about last week’s Judaism, Israel and Diaspora conference in Jerusalem. We also hear from some of the participants in the conference, including Isaac Herzog, Natan Sharansky and Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur, on the main issues on the agenda, from anti-Semitism to Aliyah.

In Part 2, David Makovsky – the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow in The Washington Institute's Program on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Relationship and director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations – tells us about “Decision Points,” a new podcast which aims to provide fresh insights into critical moments in the U.S.-Israel relationship from prominent historians and policymakers.

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Host Simon Spungin talks with award-winning freelance journalist Wilson Fache, who has just returned from Iraq and Syria, about the assassination of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Will Baghdadi's death change anything on the ground for the Kurdish minorities in Turkey, Syria and Iraq? Will Da'esh respond to its leader's death with a round of violent attacks? And what can we read into the fact that Baghdadi was killed in the Idlib Province of Syria – just a few miles from the border with Turkey?

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