Ace reporter Linda Gradstein, Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss three 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   —Spending, Rending, Upending— Opponents say the two-year budget Netanyahu’s government just passed is “a looting of the public coffers.” Do they have a point? —Demonstration Stagnation?— Are the protests petering out? —Gimme Gimme Shuk Treatment— Does the shuk really need a boutique and a swinging hot spot? —Our Incredible Shuk Stories— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: We love the shuk! All that and the centennial of the “Battalion of the Defenders of the Language,” a Noa Kirel update and the charming music of Maor Shooshan.

The “God Gave My People the Torah at Sinai… and All I Got Was this Lousy Podcast” 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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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   —Now, Rafah— What are we to make of Israel’s rolling incursion into Rafah? Oy. —On Film— There’s a new hour-long movie about the rape and sexual assault of Israeli women on October 7 and since. Oy. —A Huge Win Despite the Loss— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Eden Golan’s amazing adventure at the Eurovision song contest. All this and more music of these troubled times.

The “Calamities, Past and Not” Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, 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   —Days of Awe— What do Yom Ha-Zikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Ha-Atzmaut (Independence Day) mean in this annus horribilis? How can we celebrate, now? —School Daze— What should we make of the enraged protests raging on university campuses? Kids these days, am I right? —Al Jazeera on the Chopping Block— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Israel blocks Al Jazeera for 45 days, on the grounds that the network is neither fair nor balanced. Dumb move? Plus, a look back fifty years, a vegetable vending machine, and more music of these troubled times.

The “Days Like These” Edition

To mark Yom Ha-Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Noah describes the decades-long path Israelis followed to come to terms with the Holocaust, culminating in a record in 1988, fully 43 years after the camps were freed. (Out of concern for the environment, this episode is reused and recycled, though not reduced.)

The “Ashes & Dust” Edition

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 “God Gave My People the Torah at Sinai… and All I Got Was this Lousy Podcast” Edition

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