Haaretz Podcast

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Amos Harel and Noa Landau to discuss Israel’s ongoing battle against the Coronavirus, which is being hampered by – among other things – ultra-Orthodox reluctance to abide by the lockdown regulations and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to confront the same Haredi leaders who could keep him out of prison. Also on the agenda: Why won’t the government declassify protocols of the meetings at which the pandemic was discussed? Is Israel heading for an early showdown with the Biden administration over Iran? And who decides who’s antisemitic?

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In the fourth episode of Haaretz’s Election Overdose podcast, Anshel Pfeffer and Dahlia Scheindlin try to work out what’s happening in the Arab-Israeli constituency, together with this week’s guest, Mohammed Darawshe, leader of the new Ma’an Party.

Former Knesset speaker and Jewish Agency chairman Avraham ‘Avrum’ Burg joins host Simon Spungin to explain his request to be have ‘Jewish’ deleted from his Israeli identity card and why the Nation-State Law was a “quantum leap” in Israel’s march toward an illiberal democracy. PLUS: Amir Tibon on President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration and “Very Fine People,” a Haaretz.com project presenting an oral history of Jewish America during the Trump presidency.

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New hopeless parties are appearing like mushrooms, old centrist parties are collapsing, and the chances are that the fourth election in a row won’t solve anything. On the third episode of Haaretz’s Election Overdose podcast, Anshel Pfeffer and Dahlia Scheindlin ask whether the system is broken or will everything go back to normal once Netanyahu is gone. Special guest Tzipi Livni thinks the problem is that Israeli politicians are simply too afraid to talk about matters of substance anymore.

After the unprecedented violence in Washington that took five lives darkens the US president’s legacy, Netanyahu’s close alliance with Trump turns from asset to liability. Listen to Dan Shapiro and Ben Samuels 

Former US ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro and Haaretz US correspondent Ben Samuels join Allison Kaplan Sommer to assess the damage following the violence uprising by Trump supporters in Washington, DC and  what it means for the US-Israel relationship, and to discuss the policies of the future Biden White House when it comes to Iran and the Palestinians.  

 

We ask: Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continuing loyalty to Trump harm Israel’s ability to build relationships with the Biden administration? How badly have the scenes of violence in the Capitol damaged American credibility overseas? Are the US and Israel headed for an unavoidable showdown over the restoration of the Iran nuclear deal? Should Israel really be worrying so much about the “Obama people” in Biden’s foreign policy team?  

We also discuss the reawakening of anxiety in the American Jewish community regarding their security after the events of last Wednesday - and why the victory of Jon Ossoff in his Senate race in Georgia marked a milestone in American Jewish history. 

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-horrified-u-s-jewish-lawmakers-groups-slam-trump-for-d-c-violence-1.9429986 

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/.premium-the-far-right-will-be-one-of-biden-s-biggest-problems-here-s-how-he-can-fight-back-1.9431992

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-ossoff-s-expected-georgia-win-will-make-jewish-history-1.9428335

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On this week’s episode of Haaretz’s Election Overdose Podcast, hosts Anshel Pfeffer and Dahlia Scheindlin discuss with Dr Gayil Talshir of the Hebrew University the changing ideological currents in Israeli politics and whether being anti-Netanyahu is a strategy or a vision. Have questions for Anshel and Dahlia? Follow them on twitter and leave your comments there @AnshelPfeffer @dahliasc. Read more from Anshel and Dahlia on Haaretz.com.

It turns out you can never have too much of a good thing as Israel embarks on its fourth election in two years. This time you won’t have to face it alone, as Anshel Pfeffer and Dahlia Scheindlin, along with guests, guide you through Israel’s electoral thickets, the issues, the personalities, the polls and a history of elections in campaign jingles. This week, along with The New York Times’ David Halbfinger, they try to work out how Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz were dragged in to an early election neither of them wanted, what were the true aspirations of the weed legalization party, and what if anything will be different this time

Haaretz.com Editor-in-Chief Avi Scharf and Senior Columnist Anshel Pfeffer join Allison Kaplan Sommer to say goodbye and good riddance to 2020 - and ring in 2021 a year that will be bringing Israel into an unprecedented fourth round of elections.  

We discuss: How Netanyahu will have to face elections in which, for the first time,  his challenge comes from the right, in a new party led by Likud refugees. We ask whether by the time Israelis go to the polls on March 23, Netanyahu will be blamed for government failure to manage the coronavirus pandemic or if he’ll be seen as the conquering hero who got Israelis vaccinated quickly and efficiently. 

We also talk about how tracking planes has led to Haaretz scoops, and look back on the most memorable moments - and stories of 2020, the year that no one is sorry to leave behind.  

Recommended related reading:

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-the-israeli-left-should-take-a-time-out-in-the-upcoming-election-1.9399894

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-gantz-s-political-party-was-last-year-s-largest-now-it-s-the-walking-dead-1.9390642

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-israel-businessman-uae-spy-planes-iran-saudi-arabia-1.769671

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-azeri-defense-ministry-plane-landed-twice-in-israel-this-month-1.5436544

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-and-the-coronavirus-how-we-are-reporting-the-news-and-staying-safe-1.8698987

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Allison Kaplan Sommer is joined by Meirav Arlosoroff and Omer Benjakob on the first day Israelis receive their COVID vaccinations to discuss pandemic policy and the dangerous cyberattacks threatening the security of Israel and the United States. 

We ask whether Netanyahu’s prime time vaccination Saturday night was a PR stunt or whether he should be applauded as the first world leader to publicly get the coronavirus shot, as we assess his successes and failures when it comes to leading Israel through the pandemic. 

We also discuss the assault by Iranian and Arab hackers against Israeli companies and national security infrastructure in light of the devastating Russian cyber aggression in the United States. 

Recommended related reading:

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-can-israel-actually-meet-netanyahu-s-ambitious-covid-19-vaccine-target-1.9360597

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-why-local-lockdowns-failed-to-curb-covid-19-in-israel-1.9370034

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/iran-israel-response-pay2key-who-behind-cyberattack-israeli-firms-1.9381287 

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/tech-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-it-s-not-about-money-destructive-cyberattack-proves-israel-lacks-one-key-thing-1.9357223 

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Host Allison Kaplan Sommer is joined by Amira Hass and Dahlia Scheindlin to talk about the Trump-brokered normalization agreement between Israel and Morocco, the spread of COVID-19 in the West Bank and Gaza, and the latest bombshell in Israeli politics.We ask: How do the Palestinians - and their leaders - feel about Israel’s ongoing series of agreements with Morocco and other Arab states? Has the coronavirus improved or worsened the Israeli military’s treatment of Palestinians?We talk about whether the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu’s new challenge on the political right is removing the Palestinian issue from Israeli political discourse completely. Also discussed: whether the Palestinian Authority will ever hold elections, and if the incoming Biden administration can even contemplate engaging with Israeli-Palestinian peace with both sides in political disarray.

Recommended related reading:

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-morocco-normalize-relations-trump-western-sahara-king-mohammed-vi-1.9363779 

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-if-freed-palestinian-teen-at-risk-for-covid-19-will-be-detained-without-trial-1.9353555 

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-netanyahu-can-t-count-on-the-gulf-peace-deals-for-political-salvation-1.9159484 

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-palestinian-authority-set-to-receive-four-million-doses-of-russian-covid-19-vaccine-1.9367648   

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