Haaretz Podcast

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Chaim Levinson and Anshel Pfeffer to discuss the impact of Yom Kippur on Israel’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic. The team discuss the likely spike in cases after many ultra-Orthodox synagogues were open for prayers on the Judaism’s holiest day – despite a strict ban on gatherings in closed spaces. We also ask whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formulated the exit plan that was sorely lacking last time the country exited a lockdown, whether attempts to ban demonstrations are anything more than a diversionary tactic and why no one in Israel was surprised by resurfacing reports that the prime minister and his entourage take generous advantage of dry cleaning services at the White House.

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn and senior correspondent Anshel Pfeffer for a post-Rosh Hashanah, mid-lockdown episode. On the agenda: How did Israel became the first country to impose a second coronavirus lockdown? Is Naftali Bennett the leader to extricate the country from the pandemic quagmire? Will competence – for the first time in Israeli history – be the key issue in the next election? And what kind of 'October surprise' is the most unpredictable president in American history planning  for the Middle East?

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Judy Maltz and Omer Benjakob to discuss the most infuriating stories of the week, including the arrival of dozens of evangelical American Christians who were allowed into the country – despite a strict travel ban – in order work as volunteer grape harvesters on Jewish settlements in the West Bank. We also discuss an online campaign to discredit Israelis who have been protesting for weeks against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the impending second lockdown – and we dial up diplomatic correspondent Noa Landau, who is on her way to Washington for this week’s normalization signing ceremony between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz’s Anshel Pfeffer to discuss Israel’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, the political considerations behind a possible Rosh Hashanah lockdown and the latest moves toward normalizing relations between Israel and the Arab and Muslim world. We also ask: Does Naftali Bennett have the courage and support to depose his erstwhile patron and whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will wear a face mask at the UAE deal-signing ceremony at the White House?

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Senior Haaretz columnist Chemi Shalev is in the studio with host Simon Spungin this week, to discuss the Israel-UAE normalization deal, U.S. President Donald Trump’s desire to turn the agreement into arms deals and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hopes and aspirations for the coming months. We also discuss the absent Palestinians, the death of the Hatch Act and what a Biden presidency would mean for Israel.

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz’s military analyst and coronavirus correspondent, Amos Harel, for a wide-ranging discussion. We start off in Gaza, where tensions are rising between Israel and Hamas, then move on to the normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, before wrapping things up with COVID-19, popular protests and the possibility of a fourth Israeli election in under two years. Plus: What does WAP really stand for?

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz diplomatic correspondent Noa Landau and Anshel Pfeffer to discuss the deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates over the normalization of relations between the two countries – in exchange for suspending plans to annex parts of the West Bank. We ask: Who are the winners and losers in a deal that will have little practical impact? Are the Palestinians justified to feel abandoned? Has Benjamin Netanyahu now cleared his debt to President Donald Trump? And what does the deal mean for regional and domestic politics?

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Host Simon Spungin is joined by Amir Tibon, who served as Haaretz correspondent in Washington, D.C. for most of Donald Trump’s (first) term as U.S. president. We discuss the upcoming election in the United States, the possibility of another election in Israel and how both countries allowed opportunism to derail the best chance for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal since Bill Clinton went to Camp David. Also on the agenda: the North American Jewish community in the aftermath of Pittsburgh and the pandemic, and expat protests against Bibi across America.

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Days before the release of Seth Rogen’s latest movie – which he says is his most Jewish to date – the comedic actor sat down for a set-the-record straight Zoom conversation with Haaretz’s Allison Kaplan Sommer, after his controversial comments on Israel. You’ve read the article and you’ve seen the video – now listen to whole interview, exclusively on Haaretz Weekly.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz’s Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss Seth Rogen’s assertion he was lied to about Israel, a country which, he says, “makes no sense” to him.

We ask: How representative is the Canadian-American actor and comedian of Jews of his generation? Has anything changed since the internet made exactly the information Rogen feels was kept from him instantaneously available to curious adolescents? And how does Rogen differ from Peter Beinart, who recently reflected on his disillusionment with Zionism?

We also discuss the ever-spreading protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which are now taking place nightly not only across Israel, but overseas as well.

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