The Honest Report

The judicial overhaul being proposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has united countless Israelis in at least one way: their strong opinions on the matter. To its supporters, the legislation represents a critical need to stand in the way of an activist and unelected judiciary. To its opponents, it is an unforgivable assault on democracy.

But is there room for compromise between the two sides, and what is taking place behind the scenes that may be missed by the international news media? In this week's podcast, we are joined by one of Israel's most foremost public intellectuals and a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Yossi Klein Halevi. He is a prominent opponent of the legislation but has also sought to close the gap between Israelis to ensure that disagreement can remain civil and with Israel's best interests always in mind.

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Thirty years ago, on September 13, 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed a Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, which were more commonly known as part of the Oslo Accords, called because they were secretly negotiated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. What are the significance of these accords three decades later, and do they help provide any hope for any future peace between Israel and the Palestinians? And what exactly caused the Oslo Accords, once seen as a promising roadmap towards negotiations, to fail?

To help share the in-depth details behind Oslo, we are joined by Maurice Hirsch. He previously served as Director of the Military Prosecution for Judea and Samaria. He is currently the Director of PA Accountability and Reform Initiative at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

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Israel is widely known as the Start-up nation, producing a disproportionate number of high-tech companies, and a general ambiance of ingenuity. But what exactly is Israel's secret sauce? What makes Israeli society do things differently? Many answers have been offered, including the country's small and vulnerable area, its paucity of natural resources, its focus on education, and even its military draft. But do those answers do justice to the truth?

To help us unpack Israel's secret, we are joined by Yaniv Rivlin. Yaniv is a high-tech entrepreneur who co-founded Bird, the company behind Tel Aviv's ubiquitous electric scooters, which have helped change the face of the city.

Yaniv's new book, Live Like a Startup, helps shed light on Israel's culture of innovation, and he joins us this week as our guest.

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In 2011, after a large earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, killing tens of thousands of people, Israeli teams were on the ground, providing critical relief and rescue operations. 

That earthquake, which also created a large nuclear meltdown and the discharge of radioactive water in Fukushima, was one of the largest disasters in recent memory, but it still didn't stop Israelis from coming to the other side of the world to offer aid.

Yotam Polizer was there, leading the efforts of IsraAID, an Israeli humanitarian aid group that has become one of the most widely recognized Israeli organizations around the world, having operated in Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Philippines, and elsewhere.

Today, Yotam is IsraAID's CEO, and he joins us to discuss

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Following the 2020 Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic relations between Israel and two new Arab partners, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, there has been speculation about which country may be next for Israel to establish relations, namely Saudi Arabia.

But there's still more potential for Israel to establish ties with a much larger Muslim-majority country: Pakistan, home to nearly 250 million people.

That's according to Mohammed Rizwan, a Pakistani-Canadian journalist and political commentator, who recently co-authored an opinion column in the National Post with activist Raheel Raza, where he called on Pakistan to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish State.

Rizwan joins us on this week's podcast to discuss why Pakistani-Israeli diplomatic ties may not be as far-fetched as it seems.

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It happens like clockwork: whenever tensions rise in the Middle East, as they did during the spring of 2021 between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza-based Islamist terrorist group, incidents of antisemitism spike around the world.

But that doesn't mean antisemitism ceases to exist other times, or even that it remains dormant. Indeed, across the world, from North America, and particularly in Europe, though statistics vary, Jews are targeted disproportionately to their population. In some European cities, Jews are often encouraged to hide symbols of their Jewish identity.

In Germany, one person has decided that's unacceptable. Tobias Reckeweg, a non-Jewish educator in Western Germany specializing in German history and mathematics, has become an unlikely ally to the Jewish community: in recent years, he has begun donning a Star of David, a widely-recognizable Jewish symbol, in an act of solidarity.

In this week's podcast, we sit down with Tobias to discuss his small act of showing support for the Jewish community, the response from Jews and the wider public alike, and his take on what prompted him to take up the cause of advocating for Europe's Jews.

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Over the course of about four weeks beginning in August 2005, Israel underwent a profoundly traumatic experience: the Disengagement from Gaza. Critics at the time said it was tearing Israel apart. Supporters said it was difficult, but Israel had no choice.

Before long, the vacuum left by Israel in Gaza was filled by Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group which continues to run the coastal enclave with an iron fist. But was Hamas' takeover inevitable, or could it have been avoided?

And now, 18 years later, what is the legacy of the Disengagement on Israel, and how do its supporters and detractors evaluate the withdrawal from Gaza?

To help us unpack the historic decision and its aftermath, we are joined by Amotz Asa-El. He is the Jerusalem Post's senior commentator and former executive editor, is currently a fellow at the Hartman Institute and a senior editor at the Jerusalem Report.

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When exactly did the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbours begin? Some detractors say that following the Six Day War, when Israel gained eastern Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria (sometimes called the West Bank), among other areas, the conflict truly kicked off, but others say Israel's establishment in 1948 was the genesis.

Still, the seeds of the conflict were planted before that, in 1936. That's according to journalist and political analyst Oren Kessler. Kessler's new book, Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict, posits that 1936 was the year which was critical in establishing a conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbours.

Kessler has previously served as the Arab affairs correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, an editor, translator and writer for the English edition of Haaretz and a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society think tank in London, and he joins us as our guest on this week's podcast.

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Arabs represent more than 20 percent of Israel's total population, and members of Israel's Arab minority have been represented across Israeli society, including politics, the judiciary, business, and the arts.

But despite enjoying equal rights under Israeli law, Israeli Arabs today face lower incomes and higher levels of violence in their community, leading some critics to falsely accuse the Jewish State of discriminating against its Arab population.

But the future of Israeli Arabs has never been brighter, thanks in part to people like Dr. Dalia Fadila. Dr Fadila is the founder of Q Schools,  an institution for promoting quality education in the Arab society in Israel. She was previously president of the Engineering and Technology College and vice president of Al Qasemi teacher education college. In 2022, she received the Medal of Honour from Israel's president.

Dr. Fadila joins us as a guest to discuss Q Schools, and how her efforts are helping to pave the way for a more prosperous future for Israel's Arab population.

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While international commentators and journalists around the world rhetorically ask what it will take for peace to take place between Israel and the Palestinians, arguing that complex issues such as Jewish settlements are the main obstacle to peace, a much simpler factor is at play: the Palestinian Authority’s payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families.

This complex system, nicknamed “Pay for Slay,” is a program where the Palestinian Authority spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually – nearly one-twelfth of its entire budget –  in support payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families.

This regimen not only actively encourages Palestinians to take up violence against Israelis, but provides the financial support to assist them in doing so.

To help us delve deeper into this insidious program, we are joined by Sander Gerber. Sander Gerber is a fellow and board member at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Welcome to The Honest Report podcast.