Believe it or not, there’s more to Joel than being a podcast host, stand-up comedian, MC, NJBA award-winning author, and father of four. Having had a Jewish upbringing in Chicago, a few life-changing teachers at Solomon Schechter, and making the “best stupid decision” of his life to draft in the IDF as a lone soldier, Joel reflects on why, if he had to do it all over again, he would. 

In this episode of Inside Israel, Joel takes the passenger’s seat as Inside Israel podcast coordinator, Yael Gargir, peels away the titles and gets to the core of who Joel is as a person. Sit back as we unpack the multi-talent figure responsible for making thousands of people smile. 

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Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff

Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2024 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, Israeli tennis star Lina Glushko was prohibited from wearing a yellow hostage pin during her qualifying match at the Australian Open.

—a stark reminder of the world's discomfort with acknowledging the harsh reality of 101 hostages held in underground dungeons by Jihadist terrorists.

In this episode of Inside Israel, I explore the implications of this decision: what does it mean to live in a world that refuses to acknowledge that 101 women, children, and men are being held in underground dungeons by Jihadist terrorists?

I'll also discuss the heartbreaking toll of more than 400 IDF soldiers lost in Gaza and the message that several hundred Israeli parents are now delivering to the government about the ongoing war. 

Finally, I’ll reflect on my return to Israel after three months on tour in North America, offering a personal perspective on re-entering the heart of the news after being far from it.

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Support Inside Israel: Contribute

To learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast

Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.com

Joel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/shows

Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff

Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode of Inside Israel, I’m joined by his friend and fellow comedian Benji Lovitt to discuss our love-hate relationship with El-Al, Israel’s national airline.

From indifferent customer service and faux-canceled flights to the all-too-familiar sight of kids running wild in the aisles, El-Al’s slogan, “Kmo lihiyot babayit” (“Like Being at Home!”), feels all too fitting. Over the past year, the airline has worsened its reputation by engaging in price gouging, exploiting the fact that other airlines have stopped flying in and out of Israel.

Despite these nightmare scenarios, Benji and I can’t help but find humor in the chaos and, in a strange way, a sense of community. Tune in as we share our outrageous stories and try to make sense of what’s next for Israel’s infamous airline.

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Support Inside Israel: Contribute

 learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast

Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.com

Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff

Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are Israelis talking about right now? 

The Houthis, for starters. How are they still managing to strike us? And why are we still taking it, instead of hitting back hard and kicking their ass? 

And then there’s Iran. Could this finally be the moment for a preemptive strike, one in which we dismantle their nuclear program once and for all?

But mostly, the conversations – at least in the circles I’m in – are about the games our politicians continue to play. Instead of focusing on what truly matters – ending the war in Gaza and bringing home the 101 hostages – they’re busy with self-serving theatrics: visiting the Temple Mount, staging press conferences to defend their wives against a so-called “left-wing media,” pushing judicial reform, and doing whatever it takes to save their own political skins.

In today’s episode of Inside Israel, I’ll break down these political maneuvers, explain what’s driving them, and explore why they persist despite growing public outrage.

Poll after poll shows we’re paying attention – and we’re pissed.

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Support Inside Israel: Contribute

To learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast

Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.com

Joel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/shows

Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff

Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When IDF soldiers deploy to Gaza, where do they sleep? 

What do they eat? 

And yes, where do they handle the more basic human need, like, as my mother would say, “Going number one and number two”?

On today’s episode of Inside Israel we speak with IDF Master Sergeant Jacob. He’s a Lone Soldier from Los Angeles who just returned from a tour of duty in the Gaza Strip.

Since October 7th, hundreds of thousands of young Israelis have served in Gaza, but little is known about the gritty, day-to-day reality of life there. 

Today, with the help of Jacob, we get an inside look at the raw, unfiltered truth of a soldier's experience in Gaza.

When he’s not serving in the IDF, Jacob runs Modern Maccabi (https://www.modernmaccabi.com), a startup whose mission is to instill young Jews in the Diaspora with confidence and motivation to create change in their communities for today and the next generation.

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To learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast

Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.com

Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff

Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to know a secret? 

I’ve got a tiny crush on Amanda Borschel-Dan. (Shhh!)

You know who I’m talking about: Amanda’s host of the Times of Israel’s The Daily Briefing podcast. She’s wicked smart, seriously funny, and that accent…I mean, what’s not to like? 

And don’t worry, this crush of mine – it’s nothing serious. Dorit (my wife) knows, and doesn’t care. 

Still: I think all of us would like to know Amanda a bit better. And in today’s today’s episode of Inside Israel, that’s exactly what we do, as I sit down with Amanda and ask her the really big questions, like: 

Why is Amanda obsessed with the Hebrew word for bird poop? 

How did she get into journalism and podcasting in the first place? 

And just where did she get that crazy part-Israeli, part-Canadian, part-American-Midwest accent? 

Amanda also shares her journey from being a semi-anonymous journalist to becoming the most trusted voice in Israel-related news. Plus, she gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the hard work and dedication it takes to produce just one episode of Daily Briefing.

And in the "Hebrew is Magic" segment, Amanda introduces us to one of the most melodious words in the Hebrew language—only to reveal that its true meaning is a bit... well, dirty!

This is a replay of an episode that originally dropped three months two months ago. It’s back by popular demand.

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Support Inside Israel: Contribute

To learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast

Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.com

Joel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/shows

Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff

Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lebanon.

It is a quagmire. A mess. And despite this – or maybe because of it – we keep going back.

In today’s episode of Inside Israel, I explain Lebanon to you. We’ll start in June 1982, with Operation Peace to the Galilee – a war that brought anything but peace. I’ll tell you why Israel ended up staying in Lebanon for 18 more years, until a sudden pullout in 2000, and why we’ve returned two more times since then. 

Along the way, I’ll share stories from my own experiences as a combat soldier in the South Lebanon Security Zone in the late 1990s.

I’ll also tell you why Lebanon has sometimes been referred to by Israelis as “Israel’s little Vietnam,” as well as what Israel might learn from our mistakes in Lebanon in the past, so that we don’t repeat those same mistakes in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon in the years ahead.

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Support Inside Israel: Contribute

To learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast

Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.com

Joel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/shows

Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff

Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You’ve heard him on hundreds of podcasts, and you’ve read his bestselling books. 

In today’s episode of Inside Israel, we meet the man behind the legend. 

What is Yossi’s favorite Israeli song? 

What book changed his life? 

What does Yossi mean by “the cover charge of living in Israel”? 

Meet the Yossi Klein Halevi you didn’t know you didn’t know. And hear why, no matter how challenging it is to live in Israel today, Yossi’s not going anywhere…and never will.

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To learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast

Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.com

Joel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/shows

Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff

Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, Captain Yogev Pazy z’’l was killed in Gaza. 

Like all of the 378 IDF soldiers who have fallen in Gaza to date, Yogev is more than just a statistic. He was a fun-loving kid with aspirations and dreams. And someone who, as a teenager, made an impact on a Jewish community 10,000 miles from his home. 

On today’s episode of Inside Israel, we speak with Tobi and Scott Perlen of Northbrook, Illinois. In 2020-21, the Perlens and their three children hosted Yogev in their home for six months, during his stint in the shin-shinim program, in which he served as a volunteer emissary in the Chicago Jewish community. 

Tobi and Scott will tell us about the Yogev they knew and came to love, including favorite memories of their time Yogev. They’ll also tell us about the moment they heard the terrible news that Yogev z’’l had fallen – and how and why their lives will be impacted by him forever. 

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Support Inside Israel: Contribute

To learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast

Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.com

Joel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/shows

Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff

Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.