Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon    —When Cannons Roar— There were 32 attacks on Israeli Jews – some deadly – in January. How does the violence affect the protests over Netanyahu’s reforms that have roiled the country?   —Keeping the Faith— Is religious-left and oxymoron?   —Caught Diddling the Fiddle— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Israel Bar Association head, and leader of the protest movement, Avi Himi is caught diddling his fiddle on a video call with a young lawyer eager for his recommendation for a seat at the bench. Oy. What happens now?   All that and the twentieth anniversary of the Columbia space shuttle disaster, young professors cruising bars for the sake of politics, and a mother-daughter dance at Suzanne Dallal! Plus, the hippest of hip hop by Talis, on the release of his first album! 

The “Demonstrating Faith” Edition

An inside view of how Israel can warm your heart and make your blood boil. It’s a show by a journalist, a professor and an NGO professional who live in and love Israel even though it drives them crazy, and who each week discuss the latest in Israeli politics, culture, and society.

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At Passover Seders all around the world, a place setting was laid before a chair left empty for one of the 133 hostages held in Gaza. We look back at the 200 days of anguish, hope, and despair that divide Simchat Torah on October 7 from this week’s holiday.

The “Missing” Edition

Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. —Going Too Farsi? (Or, the Persian Incursion)— We — with the help of the US, UK, Jordan and other capable allies — buffly rebuffed the biggest missile and drone attack on Israel ever. But what does it tell us about the past and augur for the future? —Passover, 5784— How is this Passover different from all other Passovers? Plus, a bereaved father on solidarity, flower-girls, fruit bats and more music of our times.

The “Unsmote, but Smitten Nonetheless” Edition

Marking six months since the massacres and the start of the war, Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Us, Here— Whether and how we Israelis have changed, in light of all that has happened. Are we different than we were six months and one week ago? —Us, There— Whether and how we Jews around the world have changed, in light of all that has happened. Are we different than we were six months and one week ago? —Iran’s Promised “Persian Incursion”— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Are we losing sleep over Iran’s promised “Persian Incursion”? Plus, the presence of October 7 around the Seder table.  And, more music of our times.

The “Here and There” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Families 2.0— The organization of the families of the hostages has decided to change strategies, linking its campaign to bring the hostages home to the campaign for “elections now.” Is the fight to get the hostages home entering a new phase? —Sidelocks & Sidearms— A Supreme Court injunction cuts off, cold-turkey, funding for army-aged, ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students who learn instead of serve. Couldn’t they have let the turkey get to room-temperature? —Snap Judgement— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Should a photographer who watched and snapped his shutter while people were being killed, raped and kidnapped get a prize for a picture he took? Plus a farewell to one of the country’s greatest novelists and activists. And, more music of our times.

The “Sidelocks & Sidearms?” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and newly-minted Doctor of Thinkology Gilad Halpern discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Abstention Dissension— There seems to be a very fast decline in US-Israel relations, after the Americans abstain on a UN Security Council resolution that Israel expected them to veto. Are Israel and America, like Ross and Rachel, on a break? —Standard Deviation— An expert in urban warfare says Israel is more careful to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza than any other army in history. But even if that is true, does it matter? —The Great Rupture in American Jewish Life— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Is Peter Beinart right that there is a “great rupture in American Jewish life”? If he is, should we worry? Plus a farewell to a man who spent decades rebuilding violins that survived the Holocaust, often when the musicians who played them did not.  Plus more music of our times.

The “Demonstrating Faith” Edition

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