Haaretz Podcast
From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.
פרקים
Three months to Israel's election: Why is Netanyahu really going to Washington?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on traveling to the White House three months before the Israeli election signals his desperation to boost his sinking fortunes at the polls, Haaretz senior columnist Esther Solomon told the Haaretz Election Podcast. Despite his unpopularity with major portions of both American political parties and his turbulent relationship with President
'An extreme right-wing Israel can't just pour billions into PR and expect its U.S. image to improve'
Both Israeli leaders and the Israeli public – lulled by both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden’s backing of Israel – are utterly unprepared for the generational tsunami taking place when it comes to American support for the Jewish state, Haaretz’s opinions editor Amir Tibon told the Haaretz Podcast "Approximately 60 percent of Americans have a negative v
‘What if there aren't free and fair elections in Israel in October? What are we going to do?’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be even more unpopular than the current polling demonstrates, Haaretz columnist Joshua Leifer said on this week’s edition of the Haaretz Election Podcast. “I have begun to think the polling is not telling the whole story,” he said, in a discussion on how voters who believe Netanyahu is causing irreversible damage to Israeli democracy and want
Rep. Ro Khanna to Haaretz: ‘I’m more disturbed by Israel’s lies’ than being detained in West Bank
In his first interview with an Israeli media outlet since his confrontation with armed settlers and Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank last week, Representative Ro Khanna spoke with Haaretz Podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer in a wide-ranging conversation about the now-famous incident, the “cruelty” he witnessed in his visit to the West Bank, and how Israel’s “dispr
A digital 'forever war' on democracy: Iran and Netanyahu both sow chaos online ahead of Israeli elections
With Israeli elections set for October 27, Iran is increasingly pairing its military actions with aggressive online campaigns designed to sow chaos and conflict – alongside ongoing efforts to recruit Israelis as spies, Haaretz cyber and disinformation correspondent Omer Benjakob warned on the Haaretz Election Podcast, in a roundtable with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer and correspondent
'We need allies, not just more security cameras': Reform movement head Rick Jacobs on the growing ‘isolation’ of U.S. Jews
The far-right religious Netanyahu government is doing its best to “push away” liberal non-Orthodox American Jews from Israel, said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, leader of the U.S. Reform movement, on the Haaretz Podcast. “We’re not going away. We’re actually leaning in,” he said. “You can’t trade in non‑Orthodox Jews for evangelical Christians. We’re stuc
'Israel’s opposition must join with Arab parties to beat Netanyahu. It's the right thing to do'
Unless something dramatic changes, the upcoming Israeli election will either end in a deadlock or a bold move to “get rid of the foolish self‑imposed arbitrary constraint of not forming coalitions with Arab parties,” political strategist and Haaretz columnist Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin said on the Haaretz Podcast. With neither the pro-Netanyahu bloc nor the opposition parties coming close t
‘I promise I haven’t joined the Israel haters’: Brad Lander sits down with Haaretz
Brad Lander said on the Haaretz Podcast that his resounding victory in the race for the Democratic nomination for Congress in a New York City district reflected a desire for a "reset in the U.S. relationship with Israel in the Democratic Party voting base – including in one of the most Jewish districts in the country." Lander won by more than 30 points in New York's 10th District, covering d
Haaretz Election Podcast Kickoff: How far will Netanyahu go to stay in power?
In the inaugural episode of Haaretz’s new Election Podcast, host Allison Kaplan Sommer welcomes the first weekly panel of Haaretz analysts who will be examining and explaining developments in the intensifying countdown to the fateful elections this fall. This week, senior analyst Esther Solomon and Palestinian affairs correspondent Nagham Zbeedat assess the state of a race in which nei
'December 14 was our October 7': How the Bondi massacre destroyed the Australian safe haven for Jews
For the Australian Jewish community, the date of December 14 carries as much gut-wrenching trauma as October 7 and September 11 does for Israelis and Americans, Daniel Hochberg, co-chair of the Union for Progressive Judaism's board, told the Haaretz Podcast. On the six-month anniversary of the terrorist shooting attack on 1,000 Jews celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi Beach that killed 15 members of the
Haaretz investigation: The Israeli far-right’s West Bank land grab and why it's a ticking time bomb
In a special investigation on a "revolution" that has taken place over the past three years, Haaretz reporters Yarden Michaeli, Matan Golan and Yaniv Kubovich detailed the push to restore and drastically expand Israeli presence in the northern West Bank that was part of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza disengagement plan in 2005. On the Haaretz Podcast, Michaeli discusses how the settler
Inside Israel’s other war: fighting the quiet dismantling of democracy
As Israelis focused on the life-and-death issues around conflicts with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, the Netanyahu government has slowly but steadily progressed in its campaign to eliminate the gatekeepers of liberal democracy in order to consolidate the power of elected politicians, constitutional law expert Prof. Adam Shinar told the Haaretz Podcast. The steps it has taken were “not exa
Trump made a deal with Iran. What will Netanyahu do?
Israel is in a strategically weakened position – and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take a hard political hit if reports on the details of U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding are accurate, Haaretz columnist Joshua Leifer said on the Haaretz Podcast. Netanyahu had been “riding high,” planning to face Israel’s upcoming elections in the fall having compensated
In Mamdani's NY, Israel's far right used Israel parade to flex their muscles
When Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused to march in New York City’s Israel Day parade - the first mayor of the city to do so in over 60 years – “did not surprise” Rabbi Josh Weinberg, who participated in the parade. But the liberal Zionist Reform rabbi was surprised to discover that he was marching alongside far-right ministers like Bezalel Smotrich and members of the Kahanist Ot
Iran and Israel exchange fire, and 'Trump is fed up': A war update from Amos Harel and Sima Shine
U.S. President Donald Trump has tired of the Israel-Iran conflict, but a solution remains elusive as missile fire renewed Sunday following an Israeli attack on Beirut that provoked the Iranian regime. “I think he's had enough of us,” said Haaretz senior defense analyst Amos Harel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. “He's fed up with this region. This is taking a lot longer than he
'Nations committing genocide don’t recognize it in real time': Yuli Novak on Israel’s moral crisis
For B'Tselem executive director Yuli Novak, the firestorm around the New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof decrying sexual violence by Israelis against Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israeli prisons has had the wrong focus. Speaking on the Haaretz Podcast, Novak said the Israeli government’s "propaganda machine" and other critics focused on challenging the facts regarding the
‘There’s a lot of anger at Israel in the Gulf’: Gregg Carlstrom on Lebanon, Gaza and the cease-fire with Iran that feels like war
The Gulf countries are spending “enormous amounts of money to try to mask the economic consequences of the Iran war from their population,” Gregg Carlstrom, The Economist’s Middle East correspondent, said on the Haaretz Podcast. Carlstrom, speaking from Dubai, explained that with the Strait of Hormuz blocked by Iran, Gulf states are flying in consumer goods, food and medicine nor
How the Iran war destroyed Israel's deterrence
Both of Israel’s wars in Iran have been “strategic failures” and critically damaged the country’s deterrence, Danny Citrinowicz, a former top Iran expert in Israeli military intelligence, told the Haaretz Podcast. He cited a long list of missteps and misguided assumptions that led to the failure of the solo military operation in 2025 and the joint U.S. attack in Febru
How AIPAC and pro-Israel megadonors turned a midterm race into the most expensive primary in U.S. history
The first major primary battle in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections resulted in a significant victory for AIPAC and other pro-Israel megadonors, but Haaretz's Washington correspondent Ben Samuels warned that their celebrations could be premature. The defeat of Representative Thomas Massie – a rare Republican antagonist of U.S. President Donald Trump and harsh critic of Israel whom AIPAC "has w
'Sounding the alarm': Inside a deepening crisis as American Jewish support for Israel erodes on left and right
As Israel is fighting enemies on multiple fronts, it can't afford to lose any of its vital strategic assets. And according to Dr. Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis, a researcher at Tel Aviv's Institute for National Security Studies, it is in danger of losing one of those assets: the support of American Jews. "The loss of the special relationship between Israel and the US will force Israel to reconsider it
Back to full-on war with Iran? Amos Harel on Trump’s dilemma and Netanyahu’s desire
U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his desire not to "get stuck" in Middle East conflict and clearly wants to avoid a renewal of full-on war with Iran – but he may not have a choice, Haaretz senior analyst Amos Harel told the Haaretz Podcast. "The Iranians are not playing ball. They're not willing to make the concessions he's demanding," Harel said. "Under these circumstances, he may
'BDS is a scam': Why Israeli music icon David Broza still believes in the power of art
On a special edition of the Haaretz Podcast celebrating its 500th episode, host Allison Kaplan Sommer speaks to iconic Israeli musician David Broza – the composer of "Things Will Be Better," one of Israel’s best-known peace anthems – on performing in a time of war, chaos and despair in his country. “There’s no rationale to being Israeli,” Broza, 70, said on the
'Political football': How U.K. Jews are caught between Britain's racist far-right and the anti-Zionist far left
Jews in the United Kingdom watched voters in their country gravitate to parties on the extreme right and left in the country’s local elections – following a campaign where antisemitism was used as a political football, and controversies over the government’s relationship with Israel, pro-Palestinian protests and free speech factored into voting. On the Haaretz Podcast, Lond
Jewish life in polite Canada has become 'a horror show of hatred'
October 7 and the Gaza war radically changed the way many people around the world, including Diaspora Jews, viewed Israel. For Toronto-based journalist Jesse Brown, the turning point came not with Hamas' massacre itself, but with the domestic backlash that followed. “Canadians got angry with Jews after October 7, and the entire national discourse seemed to just turn against Jews in a w
Can Naftali Bennett defeat Netanyahu? Inside the Israeli opposition’s big gamble
War-weary Israelis have clearly tired of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, but it is still uncertain as to whether opposition forces will be able to put aside their wide ideological differences to defeat him in the October election, Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin told the Haaretz Podcast. Scheindlin, a veteran political analyst and strategist, said the recent announcement that Net
How a Haaretz investigation into stolen Ukrainian wheat triggered a diplomatic crisis
A diplomatic crisis over Israeli import of stolen grain from occupied Ukraine exploded this week following the publication of a Haaretz investigation that documents Ukrainian allegations that Russian ships were bringing the wheat and barley to Israeli ports. National Security and Cyber editor Avi Scharf and diplomatic correspondent Liza Rozovsky explain on the Haaretz Podcast how the in
'American Jews really hate Trump. But they hate Netanyahu even more'
The average American watched the Gaza war from afar as a "dramatic and gruesome humanitarian crisis that Israel was responsible for" – but the U.S.-Israel war in Iran is having a far greater impact on U.S. voters and politicians, Haaretz columnist Joshua Leifer said, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. "The perception is that this was a war that no one in America wanted," and "that Americ
Making Israel's case to ChatGPT and Grok: Hasbara meets AI in multi-million dollar PR push
Fighting antisemitism online was meant to be the focus of the Israeli government’s multimillion-dollar digital PR campaign run by President Donald Trump’s former digital guru, Brad Parscale. But instead, Haaretz disinformation and cyber correspondent Omer Benjakob said on the Haaretz Podcast, Parscale’s firm has built a network of pro-Israel websites targeting the U.S. evang
'You can't heal in a perpetual war': Israeli peace activist Yonatan Zeigen on following in his mother's footsteps
The final moments of Vivian Silver’s life were a “pivotal turning point” for her son Yonatan Zeigen, who now dedicates his life to Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, following in the footsteps of his peace activist mother, who was slain in her home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7. Speaking on the eve of Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers and terror victims,
'The Hungarians turned their anxiety into hope, that's the main lesson for Israelis'
The dramatic landslide election in Hungary toppling authoritarian populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, resonated deeply for Israel in diverse ways, explained Haaretz’s David Issacharoff, who covered the election from Budapest, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters, it meant the loss of his “closest ally” in Europe
'We'll kill you, traitor': How far-right thugs and police target Israel's antiwar protest leaders
As diplomatic talks between Iran and the United States continue in an effort to extend the temporary cease-fire due to expire on April 22, public opinion surveys show that while a majority of Israelis oppose the cease-fire, support for the Iran war is declining. Alon-Lee Green, the national co-director of Standing Together and one of the main organizers of demonstrations against the joint U.
Iran war cease-fire update with Amos Harel: 'Trump wants out and Netanyahu is extremely disappointed'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "extremely disappointed" by the terms of the temporary cease-fire hammered out between Donald Trump's White House and Iran, but has little choice but to accept it and try to spin it as a victory, said Haaretz senior defense analyst Amos Harel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. With none of Israel's declared goals of the war achieved - defeat of the regime and el
What Trump got wrong about Iran, what the IDF got wrong about Hezbollah: Amos Harel on wars with no exit strategy
As the war with Iran drags on and the conflict with Hezbollah intensifies, a growing number of Israelis are “losing faith” in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promises of a decisive victory, Haaretz senior defense analyst Amos Harel said on the Haaretz Podcast. IDF senior officers admitted this week that Israel underestimated Hezbollah’s remaining capabilities foll
How Israel 'is consolidating its control' in Gaza and the West Bank as the world focuses on Iran
With a high-profile conflict between IDF soldiers and a CNN crew, the establishment of five new Israeli settler outposts on territory meant to be under Palestinian Authority control in a single night, and skyrocketing settler violence aimed at erasing Palestinians from their land, the situation in the West Bank has “definitely worsened” during the Iran war, Haaretz West Bank correspond
'Keep it simple and stay sane': Adeena Sussman's cooking tips for a complicated wartime Passover
As Israelis continue to run to bomb shelters for protection from deadly Iranian missile attacks, the prospect of hosting Passover meals has felt overwhelming. On the Haaretz Podcast, acclaimed food writer and cookbook author Adeena Sussman offers her best advice and coping tips and shares recipes that are easy and fun to execute, even in wartime. Cooking for the holidays can be stressful, she said
'Our fate is in Trump’s hands': Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn on Israel’s ‘unprecedented’ wartime dependence on the U.S.
While at war with Iran and a civilian population under missile attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “has been working relentlessly towards the goal of making the public sphere of Israel more religious, its governance more autocratic, and the chances of replacing its leader slimmer,” Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn said on the Haaretz Podcast. The push fo
Former head of Mossad research division: 'This war motivates Iran to go nuclear'
The U.S.-Israeli goal of initiating war in order to prevent Iran from going nuclear may result in a boomerang effect, according to former senior Mossad official Sima Shine, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. After the war, “if the regime stays in power, and there are good chances that it will,” Shine said, it will be far weaker, but it will possess “high emotional revenge&rdq
Will the Iran war bring Netanyahu a triumph at the polls? | Dahlia Scheindlin on Israeli voters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is getting high marks from the Israeli public regarding his performance leading the country in its war against Iran – but for now, these sentiments are not giving his coalition a significant boost in political polling, according to Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. Scheindlin, a Haaretz columnist and political analyst, noted the w
'Soon, Trump will have had enough’: Dan Shapiro on clashing Israel-U.S. war goals in Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump “needs to find an off ramp” from the war with Iran as soon as possible, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said on the Haaretz Podcast. While Shapiro said the military results of the war – the decimation of Iranian military assets and elimination of top leaders – are “incredibly impressive,” the United States must recognize
'Silence is louder than any scream': How a film about Israelis protesting the Gaza war made it to the Oscars
Under the shadow of the Gaza war, even before the current conflict with Iran, Israeli filmmaker Hilla Medalia found it “very surprising” that her short film “Children No More: Were and Are Gone” was nominated for an Academy Award – but she was thrilled. Despite the atmosphere in Hollywood even before the U.S.-Israel military attack in Iran, with petitions to boy
Iran war update: Amos Harel on Hezbollah entering the fray, Judy Maltz on Tel Aviv’s underground bomb shelters
Reports of U.S. anger with Israel for targeting Iran’s oil fields in the intensifying conflict have been “massively exaggerated,” said Haaretz senior defense analyst Amos Harel on the Haaretz Podcast. While the American president “probably felt that Israel took this a step too far,” Harel said, “the truth of the matter is that the Israelis and the U.S. military
'They're lying to us': Why Israel's media isn't challenging Netanyahu’s narrative on the Iran war
Recalling the first day of the war with Iran is still traumatic for journalist and activist Anat Saragusti, whose apartment building in central Tel Aviv began to shake as she ran to seek shelter from Iranian missiles targeting the city following the U.S.-Israel attack that morning. "I didn't believe my eyes," she says of what awaited her when she returned. "The whole living room was cov
'This is an American war. No one went to war to save Israel': Former PM Ehud Olmert on 'punishing Iran' and Trump's hazy end-game
While the Iranian regime “by and large, needed to be punished” and “did not deserve any mercy,” according to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, it is possible that “a little bit more flexibility” in the negotiations for a nuclear agreement leading up to the U.S.-Israel assault might have meant they “would have resulted in a different way.” Olme
U.S.-Israel-Iran War update: Arash Azizi on 'scary times' in Tehran, Gregg Carlstrom on fury toward Iran in the Gulf
“It is a time of fear and worry, but also a time of hope” in Iran after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the early days of the U.S.-Israel assault on the regime in Tehran, said Iranian-American scholar and journalist Arash Azizi. “The first thing [my family in Iran] told me was that they called me to say they were alive after Tehran was hit, and there
Breaking news podcast: Inside the high-stakes U.S.-Israel attack on Iran | Haaretz defense analyst Amos Harel
In this special edition of the Haaretz Podcast, recorded during the first hours of the dramatic joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, and as Tehran began its retaliatory strikes on Israel and on U.S. targets across the Middle East, Haaretz senior analyst Amos Harel joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer for a real-time update and discussion. "The stakes are much higher than last time," Harel said, ref
'The Jewish community still thinks there's a technical fix to the Epstein scandal'
For Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, the financial support and professional opportunities afforded by her fellowship at the Wexner Foundation, which plugged her into a network of the “the most powerful Jewish professionals in the country,” were substantial. But as a feminist rabbi whose most recent book is titled “On Repentance and Repair,” she felt she could not ignore the di
'It’s a disgrace. Israelis have had enough': Amid ultra-Orthodox riots, fury over IDF draft-dodging peaks
When an ultra-Orthodox mob attacked two women soldiers in the city of Bnei Brak earlier this week, Israelis were shocked and horrified. But for Uri Keidar, CEO of Free Israel, this violent expression of ultra-Orthodox opposition to being drafted into the military did not come as a surprise. “It’s not the first violent occurrence we have seen, and unfortunately, it prob
Between Tel Aviv and Ramallah: Sari Bashi on her 'upside down' marriage and raising Jewish Palestinian kids
Even by the most extreme “Romeo and Juliet” standards, Sari Bashi’s romance and marriage to her partner, Osama, has overcome impossible odds. When the two met in 2006, she related on the Haaretz Podcast, “It was very confusing for both of us, both because of the overwhelming social taboos, and the fact that it was also literally illegal for us to meet up together.&rdq
‘Trump needs Netanyahu to not mess things up for him in Iran and Gaza’
Following the hastily arranged three-hour meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, it still remains unclear whether a military attack on Iran is in the cards, but the two leaders appear “more aligned than not” on their positions, Haaretz’s Washington D.C. correspondent Ben Samuels said on the Haaretz Podcast. “Whether or not
Entire communities fled: 'The West Bank's Area C is almost completely ethnically cleansed'
The Netanyahu government may not have officially annexed the West Bank, but the ongoing settler violence expelling Palestinian communities from their land – plus the changes in regulation imposing Israeli authority and areas meant for Palestinian self-rule – is driving momentum in that direction, Haaretz West Bank correspondent Matan Golan said on the Haaretz Podcast. Golan described t
‘Organized crime groups are subcontractors for the Netanyahu government’s destruction of Israel’s Arab society’
This week, President Isaac Herzog declared that the record-high homicide rate in Israel’s Arab sector constitutes a “national emergency.” But according to Knesset member Aida Touma-Sliman, the organized crime groups behind the violence in Israel thrive because “this is a policy conducted by the government.” “Crime groups are their subcontractor for the des
When will a U.S. attack on Iran happen? Amos Harel on Israel's war jitters
With U.S. warships in place positioned around Iran, Israelis are bracing for the regime-toppling attack that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened against Tehran and the government that cracked down so brutally on protesters last month. In response, Iranian leaders warned they would “hit the heart of Tel Aviv” in retaliation to any American offensive. However, noted Haaretz
'World War Jew': How Israel's antisemitism conference became a far-right populist rally
For the right-wing populist political leaders who gathered in Jerusalem for the Netanyahu government’s second International Conference on Combating Antisemitism this week, the formula for fighting Jew hatred is simple, according to Haaretz correspondent Linda Dayan, who attended and reported on the two-day event. Organized by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry led by far-right Likud MK Amic
'Iran’s Babi Yar': An Israeli-Iranian expert says 'Iranians are being massacred in historic numbers'
The brutal crackdown on protesters killing tens of thousands has been a "sledgehammer" to Iranians everywhere, said Dr. Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli-Iranian expert on the government led by Ayatollah Ali Khameini. "The people of Iran have just gone through their own Babi Yar massacre," Javedanfar said on the Haaretz Podcast, referring to the largest single mass-killing during the Holocaust. "The Naz
Why Palestinians in Gaza see Trump's Board of Peace as 'another form of occupation'
Palestinians in Gaza view a future of rule by U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly inaugurated Board of Peace as representing “another form of occupation” said Haaretz correspondent Nagham Zbeedat, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. Zbeedat, who covers Palestinian affairs and the Arab world, said that Trump’s vision of an American-led international stabilization force –
'Israel has committed genocide in Gaza': California Democrat Scott Wiener on his controversial U-turn
California State Senator Scott Wiener, the frontrunner for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat, insisted on the Haaretz Podcast that his change of heart regarding whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide did not represent a political flip-flop. In early January, Wiener faced an angry audience at a candidate’s forum, in which he debated his two riv
'Birthright is tone-deaf': Why many young Jews don’t want their free trip to Israel
Birthright Israel is celebrating 25 years of offering a free 10-day trip to Israel to every young Diaspora Jew with the hope of fighting assimilation. The celebrations include a $900 million fundraising campaign. But, as Haaretz Jewish World editor Judy Maltz told the Haaretz Podcast, their traditional mission and "fun in the sun" marketing campaign have become deeply problematic, given the batter
AIPAC's worst nightmare? Why Netanyahu said Israel doesn't want U.S. military aid
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dropped a bombshell in a recent interview when he declared he had told U.S. President Donald Trump that Israel no longer needed a long-term commitment from the U.S. for military aid, and that he planned to “taper off” the $3.8 billion Israel now receives to “zero” within ten years. On the Haaretz Podcast, Washington correspondent Ben
How will the Iran protests end? Arash Azizi says 'This won't be a classic revolution'
Once again, Iranians have taken to the streets. Starting in late December, the plummeting value of the national currency, along with the soaring cost of living, were the catalyst for a fresh wave of protest – and one that soon turned political. Although the government has been quick to crack down on the demonstrations, the regime has been dealt some heavy blows in the past year, and an
How 2025 rocked the Jewish world: From Gaza to Mamdani to Bondi
It was a challenging year to be a Diaspora Jew. The war in Gaza and growing hostility to Israel had an undeniable impact on Jewish life across the world in 2025. Events in Israel became a focus in local and national politics around the world – and served as a catalyst in a global surge in antisemitism. The year was punctuated by horrific and deadly attacks against Jews from Wash
From Trump's Gaza Riviera to the Iran war and Qatargate: Israel's 2025 in review
For Israel, 2025 was a year in which war turned the unimaginable into reality: from the terrifying exchange of missiles with Iran to the horrors of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to the joy and relief when U.S. President Donald Trump secured a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to bring the painful hostage ordeal to an end. This special year-end episode highlights the reporting and analysis on
‘Deradicalize Hamas, give them less dangerous weapons and turn them into police,' says French ambassador
France’s ambassador to Israel Frédéric Journès said on the Haaretz Podcast that any postwar Gaza plan must acknowledge that completely disarming and ridding the Strip of Hamas militia members is not an achievable goal. “You're not going to eliminate all of those people, so you basically need to find them a job in local police, find them a little job in societ
Boycotts and 'red lines': A famed NY Jewish institution grapples with tough post-Oct. 7 questions
Before October 7th, Trump’s second term and the election of Zohran Mamdani rocked New York’s Jewish community, Manhattan’s famed 92nd Street Y – like most mainstream Jewish institutions – played it relatively safe when it came to programs about Israel. Susan Engel, executive producer of the 92nd St. Y Talks, tells the Haaretz Podcast that the famed Manhattan cultural
‘Schindler for the animals’: How a Jewish oligarch rescued 5,000 zoo animals from the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war
Over the past two years, many filmmakers have hesitated or refrained from bringing their films to Israeli film festivals as part of cultural boycott of Israel over the Gaza war. But for Joshua Zeman, the decision to bring his powerful new documentary “Checkpoint Zoo” to the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival was “merely part and parcel of the whole experience of making a film about s
‘It’s horrific. We begged our government to prevent this’: Australian Jews are angry after the Bondi terror attack
Australian Jews are “shocked but not surprised” by the “horrific” mass shooting on Bondi Beach, which turned a Hanukkah celebration into a tragic massacre, Australian Jewish leader Lynda Ben-Menashe said on the Haaretz Podcast. In the two years since the October 7 attack in Israel, the Australian Jewish community “begged” their government officials to enfo
U.S. Jews and Israel 'are no longer exceptional': Dahlia Lithwick and Joshua Leifer on being 'Trump's chess pieces'
When it comes to liberal American Jews and President Donald Trump, the “cognitive dissonance is real,” said award-winning journalist Dahlia Lithwick on the Haaretz Podcast. While Lithwick “doesn’t dispute for a minute" the fact that the U.S. president and his envoys “did yeoman’s work” negotiating a cease-fire deal, it is not enough for her to s
Freed hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov: 'I survived months of torture in Iraq – I won't be silenced in Israel'
After Russian-Israeli academic Elizabeth Tsurkov was freed from captivity in Iraq in September following two and a half years of imprisonment and torture, she returned to a very different Israel, she said in a wide-ranging interview on the Haaretz Podcast. Israelis “have changed in very fundamental ways,” she said. “After October 7, the circle of people towards whom Israeli
'Neutrality is not a sexy choice to make': Israel Red Cross chief regrets 'unsuccessful' attempts to assist hostages
In his first interview since his release, former hostage Alon Ohel called the International Committee of the Red Cross a “disgraceful organization.” His anger reflects a general bitterness among Israelis who believe ICRC failed to ensure the Israeli hostages’ received humanitarian treatment in captivity and their silence in the face of Hamas’ refusal to grant them access.&n
Trump ‘emboldened’ Netanyahu to seek a pardon: Dahlia Scheindlin on Israel’s latest political bombshell
There was a clear “threat” delivered in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s formal letter to the President Isaac Herzog requesting a pardon in his corruption case, senior Haaretz columnist Dahlia Scheindlin said on the Haaretz Podcast. Netanyahu’s government continues to conduct a “campaign of vicious political incitement against the Israeli judiciary,&r
From Gaza to Epstein: Why Israel is losing MAGA and the evangelicals
The feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and MAGA congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene may not be exclusively about Israel, “but Israel is one of the pillars of the narrative” that fueled Greene’s decision to resign earlier this week, Haaretz’s Washington correspondent Ben Samuels told the Haaretz Podcast. Until recently, the right was viewed as an unshakeabl
‘It pays for Netanyahu to keep the Gaza and Lebanon fronts open’: Amos Harel on intensifying Israeli airstrikes during the cease-fires
Now that all of Israel’s living hostages are home and the vast majority of the bodies of deceased hostages have been returned, the “line of thinking” among many Israeli military and political leaders is “we have nothing to lose” and “we can continue our fight against Hamas,” says Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel. Members of Prime Minister Benjami
‘Germany’s far right still hates Jews. They just hate Muslims more’
Haaretz held its first-ever conference in Berlin, “Fault Lines and Futures: Israel, Gaza and Germany in Wartime and After," to explore the dynamic between Israelis, Palestinians and Germans at this charged moment; this special edition of the Haaretz Podcast features highlights of those conversations. Among the conference speakers was Hadash MK Ayman Odeh, who called on German poli
Why another, even bloodier, Israel-Iran war may be ‘just around the corner’
Iran remains a major threat to Israel and the United States – with clear ambitions to expand its influence and terror activity into the Western hemisphere, said Danny Citrinowicz, a former IDF military intelligence officer and Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. Those ambitions were recently highlighted when a U.S. official
‘Settler violence is out of control': How a 'perfect storm' of IDF-backed attacks and Israel's extremist government is terrorizing the West Bank
Olive harvest season has become a flashpoint in the West Bank in recent years as extremist Israeli settlers regularly threaten and physically harm Palestinian harvesters, but this year, “the situation on the ground is out of control,” Anton Goodman of Rabbis for Human Rights said on the Haaretz Podcast. “We have never seen anything like this,” Goodman emphasized, noti
‘I couldn't vote for Trump, but I'm glad he won’: Top Jewish podcaster Jonah Platt on Israel, Gaza and antisemitism in America
After October 7, actor, singer and writer Jonah Platt pivoted away from his entertainment career and poured all of his energy into what until then had been his “side hustle” – advocating for more “joyful” portrayals of Jews in Hollywood, and broadening his focus to include pro-Israel advocacy and fighting antisemitism. Platt joins the Haaretz Podcast where
A leak, a cover-up and the battle for Israel’s rule of law: the Sde Teiman Affair explained
The scandal rocking Israel’s military justice system has “serious ramifications” that could undermine the country both internally and in its ability to address accusations of war crimes overseas, Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer said on the Haaretz Podcast. Shamir-Borer, who served for over 20 years in the IDF Military Advocate General's Corps, and currently heads the Israel Democracy
Who’s afraid of Zohran Mamdani? How the mayoral race divided Jews in New York
The prospect of a New York City mayor who “won’t march in the Israel Day Parade, will not travel to Israel, who will divest from Israel” with a history of pro-Palestinian advocacy has brought many Jews to a place of “caution and worry” as they choose the city’s next leader, New York political reporter Jacob Kornbluh said on the Haaretz Podcast. At the same
Inside the Israeli media’s ‘shocking self-censorship’ of the horrors of Gaza
Throughout the Gaza war, the tremendous difference between international coverage and Israeli media coverage was obvious to anyone exposed to both. In a new report, media scholar Dr. Ayala Panievsky’s research quantifies precisely how pronounced that difference was. On the Haaretz Podcast, she said the silencing of dissent in Israel’s mainstream media was unprecedented. &ld
‘French Jews don’t know who their friends are anymore’: Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur on the Gaza war's impact
The turmoil around the Gaza war has transformed French Jews into “different people” than they were two years ago, pioneering rabbi Delphine Horvilleur said on the Haaretz Podcast. “I don't know any of any Jewish family in France who hasn’t had a conversation around the Shabbat table,” Horvilleur said, contemplating possible emigration and wondering what will remain of
‘We’re the ones calling the shots here’: Vance, Kushner and Witkoff rattle Israel’s leadership
The flow of high-level Trump administration officials to Israel in the wake of the Gaza cease-fire agreement has sent a clear signal to Israel’s prime minister and his government, columnist Joshua Leifer said on the Haaretz Podcast. In a single week, envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived for an extended stay, followed by the first state visit of Vice President JD Vance. Secretary of
