A medley of favorite old stories and discussions about Passover by the people of the Promised Podcast. (After all, we read the same goddam Haggadah every year, and I don’t hear anyone complaining about that!)

The “Promised Podcast Pesach-Palooza!” 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, 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   —Gantz and Gallant Game the Endgame— Two of five of the members of Israel’s “War Cabinet” tell Prime Minister Netanyahu that he has to figure out what comes next in Gaza. Or else! —Unwarranted— The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court seeks warrants for the arrest of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant, the first time warrants have been sought for democratically-elected politicians. So will the world start arresting Israeli politicians when they travel abroad? —A Huge Win Despite the Loss— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: When sorority sisters turn on sorority sisters, you know sh*t’s gotten real! All that and a memorial appreciation of Yael Dayan and a good bye to the old TLV1 studios. Plus more music in the sad spirit of our times.

The “Passing Judgments” Edition

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 “Promised Podcast Pesach-Palooza!” Edition

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