Episodes

  • Israel's Sophie's Choice - with Haviv Rettig Gur

    Israel's Sophie's Choice - with Haviv Rettig Gur
    May 2 2024
    There are two major decisions Israel is contending with right now: I) proceed with the military operation in Rafah; or II) pause the fighting, perhaps for an extended period of time, in service of a hostage deal. Of course a hostage deal would also most likely include the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. These decisions are coming to a head right now for Israel and for Hamas. All while Secretary of State Blinken is in the Middle East. All while Riyadh is working on some kind of defense pact with the U.S. and the possibility of normalization with Israel. And all against the backdrop of Hamas and Hezbollah issuing statements of solidarity with American college kids. Fortunately, we’ve got Haviv Rettig Gur back, as we resume our regular check-ins.
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Proof of Life - with Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin

    Proof of Life - with Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin
    Apr 30 2024
    Share on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/53a4cfep After over 200 days, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin saw proof of life of their son Hersh Goldberg-Polin for the first time, who was severely wounded in the October 7th massacre and taken hostage by Hamas. Just last Wednesday, a video surfaced — which was produced by Hamas — of Hersh speaking to camera. In short, in the video, Hersh describes the he was taken hostage, he criticizes the Israeli Government, and he expresses love for his parents, Jon and Rachel and his two sisters. He addresses his severe wound from October 7th, in which his left hand — his dominant hand — was blown off. When I was in Israel,I visited with Rachel and Jon and we recorded a conversation for this podcast about the video, as well as what else they had learned from it, especially about Hersh’s severe wound — he continues to be medically fragile. Jon and Rachel discussed why they decided to approve media release and coverage of the video. Rachel and Jon also reacted to the shocking protests on US campuses — they are both from the US, as is Hersh, and they reflected on what they regarded as some encouraging news about a statement on the hostages, which was signed by 18 countries. They also addressed the possibility of Israeli elections in the midst of this ongoing hostage crisis and war. Follow “Bring Hersh Home” on Instagram: bring.hersh.home Hersh Goldberg Polin video: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hostage-hersh-goldberg-polins-family-approves-publication-of-hamas-propaganda-video/ Column by William McGurn of the WSJ: “Hamas’s American Hostages” — https://tinyurl.com/ymraw2yv
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    42 mins
  • Bonus Episode: Diary from Columbia’s ‘Liberated Zone’ - with Michael Powell

    Bonus Episode: Diary from Columbia’s ‘Liberated Zone’ - with Michael Powell
    Apr 30 2024
    Michael Powell has been covering New York City life and politics for decades, as a long-time reporter for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and now the Atlantic. He recently was on Columbia’s campus to try to better understand the encampment movement that has taken over the campus. He joins us to report what he saw and learned. Article discussed in this episode: The Unreality of Columbia’s ‘Liberated Zone’ — https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/columbia-university-protests-palestine/678159/
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    52 mins
  • An Insider's Account of Columbia's Pro-Hamas Protests - with Shai Davidai

    An Insider's Account of Columbia's Pro-Hamas Protests - with Shai Davidai
    Apr 26 2024
    Share on Twitter: tinyurl.com/5n6bswst Since 10/07, no faculty member at Columbia University (or any university for that matter) has been more outspoken about the shocking and staggering rise in antisemitism than Shai Davidai. He brings his first-hand accounts to our conversation today. Shai is Assistant Professor in the Management Division of Columbia Business School. He received his PhD from Cornell University in 2015. Prior to joining Columbia Business School, Shai spent a year as a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University and 3 years as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at The New School for Social Research. Since Columbia students established the most recent pro-Hamas encampment on the Columbia campus days ago, Israeli-born and raised Shai Davidai has been barred from campus. Having just now arrived in Israel, Shai joins us in Tel Aviv today to describe what exactly has been happening since 10/07, the early signs of antisemitism he identified at Columbia well before 10/07, and the common misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the rhetoric and incitement being used by a number of Columbia student organizations and faculty. You can follow Shai on X here: @ShaiDavidai
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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • A lot is happening in the Middle East... and nothing at all - with Nadav Eyal

    A lot is happening in the Middle East... and nothing at all - with Nadav Eyal
    Apr 22 2024
    Share on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/3wv3d77z As we try to make sense of the past two weeks, consider this: 1. IDF withdraws from most of the Gaza Strip while it now also appears increasingly likely that the IDF will conduct an operation in Rafah. 2. An historic Iranian attack of 300 ballistic missiles, UAVs and cruise missiles, and an historic coalition force that includes Israel, the US, UK, France, Saudi Arabia and Jordan that shot down almost all of the projectiles. 3. A week later, Israel attacks Iran. 4. A widely backed U.N. security council resolution recognizing a Palestinian state, which the US vetoed. So a lot is happening, but is Israel closer to achieving the war's objectives? To help us understand what’s going on, our guest today is NADAV EYAL, who returns to the podcast. He is a columnist for Yediot. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • How Israel Lost The Story - with Scott Galloway

    How Israel Lost The Story - with Scott Galloway
    Apr 17 2024
    1 hr and 29 mins
  • Special Episode: Did Iran Miscalculate? - with Nadav Eyal

    Special Episode: Did Iran Miscalculate? - with Nadav Eyal
    Apr 14 2024
    59 mins
  • What it’s like to fight for your (captive) family - with Maya Roman

    What it’s like to fight for your (captive) family - with Maya Roman
    Apr 12 2024
    There has been growing tension within Israeli society over where to prioritize a hostage deal – at what cost (in terms of how many and which Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons should be part of the deal and the length of any temporary ceasefire). At the same time, the sense of urgency behind Israel's hostage cause in capitals around the world is…drifting. Not disappearing, but drifting. A turning point seemed to be when the UN Security Council passed a resolution – 14-0 (made possible by a US decision not to veto) – that, for the first time, did not call for a ceasefire that was conditioned on the return of the hostages. It’s a sense we get from families of hostages, who are in regular contact with media, NGOs and governments around the world. It’s against that backdrop, that we sat down in person with Maya Roman, who was in New York and Washington, DC. Maya Roman is an Israeli journalist from Tel Aviv. On October 7th, Maya’s cousin, Yarden Roman-Gat, was visiting her husband’s parents in Kibbutz Beeri along with other family members. Yarden and her sister in law, Carmel, were taken hostage. Yarden’s mother-in-law (and Carmel’s mother), Kinneret, was murdered. Yarden was released as part of the hostage deal last November. Carmel is still being held. Since 10/07, Maya has not stopped organizing or advocating for the release of her family. When we hear of the hostage families movement, Maya is the kind of person who has been in the middle of it. In our conversation, Maya talks about what they have learned from Yarden since her return from captivity, and where the hostage movement may go from here, at this crucial and very raw phase. "Bring Carmel Back" on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bringcarmelback?igsh=MTBkaGlsd3JtbXI4eQ==
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    1 hr and 10 mins