Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.

Since 3 am on Friday morning, Israel has been at war with Iran. We begin the program with a pause to look at how each of us sees this Israeli moment.

Rettig Gur weighs in on how this war with Iran was inevitable ever since Hamas's murderous onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and began the ongoing war in Gaza.

The IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir told Israel's political leaders in the past day that the campaign in Iran is essential to ensure "the existence of the Jewish people," according to Israel's Channel 12. "The operation in Iran is an operation to defend the existence of the Jewish people. History will not forgive us if we do not act now."

We discuss the tipping point of launching the operation and the international media's cynicism that it was begun in part as a ploy for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stay in power. A constant critic of Netanyahu, today, Rettig Gur applauds his courage in taking on Iran.

Finally, we hear Rettig Gur's thoughts on Netanyahu's hopes that the Iranian people will use this opportunity to shake off their shackles of oppression and overturn the regime.

And so this week, we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and video edited by Thomas Girsch. 

IMAGE: Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, February 7, 2025. (OFFICE OF THE IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER via AP)

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