Haaretz Podcast

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.  “The professional journalists, people who Israelis spend their entire lives trusting to tell them the truth, rallied around the military in many ways – any criticism of what our soldiers were doing was just out of bounds. It wasn't part of the conversation.” In past coverage of war and conflict, she stressed, “there was no such silencing of any criticism and alternative voices,” attributing the difference to the tremendous amount of pressure by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on media outlets in recent years. "The Netanyahu camp declared war on the media a decade ago. And when the war in Gaza broke, the mainstream media was already very much undermined, intimidated and exhausted.”  In her conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Panievsky, author of “The New Censorship: How the War on the Media is Taking Us Down,” also discussed how the phenomenon of self-censorship is plaguing journalism worldwide. In many countries, she said, authoritarian leaders “claim to speak on behalf of democracy” while “doing everything to undermine journalism and its role in society. … This is something very, very confusing, and difficult to tackle. Join Haaretz and meet our journalists at the Other Israel Film Festival, running from November 6-13 in New York City. Use the code haaretz25 at checkout for 20 percent off admission. View the event schedule and buy tickets here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 society and de-radicalize them to the greatest extent possible,” he contended. This is possible, he said, because over the course of the war, Israel “got rid of the leadership." Journès, who has been France’s envoy to Israel since July 2023, sat down for a wide-ranging interview with host Allison Kaplan Sommer and Haaretz diplomatic correspondent Liza Rozovsky, discussing Gaza, Lebanon, Iran and antisemitism in France. The ambassador also explains why he believes the four countries strengthened by the past two years of war are Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt.  Pressed on the podcast as to whether he explicitly supports renewing strikes on Iran aimed at its ballistic missile program, which Israel reportedly desires, Journès replied, “I'm not saying that. I will see what will happen.” Read more: Opinion by Frédéric Journès | Declaring a Palestinian State Is a Blow to Terror Opinion by Frédéric Journès | Israel, Help Us Protect Our Seas and Oceans U.S. Leaning Toward Setting Up Palestinian-run Regime for Gaza Before International Forces Saudi, French and U.S. Officials Discuss Hezbollah Disarmament With Lebanese Army Chief France Demands Heightened Security Measures at French Consulate in Jerusalem After Israeli MKs Harass StafferSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 center has undergone “a soul-searching since October 7 around our own Jewish identity and around who we are as a Jewish institution. And I think we've had to double down on our values and what it means to present different views, sometimes critical of Israel – because it's important to hear what someone else who thinks differently” has to say. Her audiences – in-person and the millions who watch her events online – she believes, greatly “appreciate” the fact that she can bring together people who “really disagree strongly” yet can “have a conversation and be civil.”  At the same time, she said, the Y – founded as a center for Jewish life and culture in 1874 – experienced a boycott and staff walkouts after October 7 – maintains “red lines.” They will not platform those who have expressed “homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic” views or “if we feel that someone believes that Israel should be destroyed.” On the podcast, Engel also discusses the big-name cultural, political and Hollywood figures who have taken to the 92nd St. Y stage, including a recent appearance by Rob Reiner, who died tragically earlier this month, the art of creating an intimate space for interviews when millions are watching, and her experience as a judge at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.  Read more: How October 7 Is Impacting Jewish Cultural Life in America ADL Accuses Mamdani Transition Members of Engaging in 'Antisemitic, anti-Zionist' Activities Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival coverage: From NYC to Jerusalem, This Radical Artist Asks 'After the Revolution, Who's Going to Pick Up the Garbage?'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 something that's been politicized that shouldn’t be politicized.” Zeman’s film tells the dramatic story of the 2022 rescue of nearly 5,000 animals from the Feldman Ecopark zoo in Ukraine located on the Russian border outside the city of Kharkiv – on the front lines of the war – lovingly built and maintained by an animal-loving Orthodox Jewish oligarch, Oleksandr Feldman. “There has been a lot of backlash against Ukraine here in the States, even though the film is just about people rescuing animals, so the film was already complicated for me in terms of getting distribution,” Zeman said on the Haaretz Podcast.  “Checkpoint Zoo” chronicles the efforts of Feldman, a handful of zoo workers who did not flee Kharkiv during the war and four idealistic volunteers as they risked their lives under fire from drones and bombs to remove lions, tigers, monkeys, ostriches and other animals out of from harm’s way in a modern-day Noah’s Ark.  “War by definition is brutality created to strip away your humanity. But in rescuing these animals, these volunteers not only refound their humanity, but found this unbelievable well of courage.” Zeman sees Feldman – who allowed his luxurious mansion to be taken over by the rescued animals  – as “a Schindler-esque character.”  After Feldman’s businesses in Kharkiv were destroyed by the war, he was forced to “basically sell everything to care for these animals,” Zeman recounted. “Whenever we talked about the animals, he immediately cried. He's a big crier – he is a fascinating character who espouses a lot of values from the Torah.” Read more: Meet Oleksander Feldman, the Lonely Ukrainian Jew Fighting His Country’s New Fondness for Nazis 'It Is a Fascist Project': The Ukrainian Filmmaker Who Withdrew From a Prestigious Amsterdam Film Festival Because of the Israel Boycott Read all of Haaretz's film coverage Russian Strikes Destroy Centers of Jewish Life in Kharkiv as Community Members Flee The Tragic End of the Ukrainian Community in GazaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 enforce laws against incitement and hate speech, which has led to an unprecedented spike in antisemitic violence. But, she said, the government’s response has been “lip service” but “no real consequences.” “Our prime minister has said that he was distressed and shocked,” said Ben-Menashe, the head of Australia’s National Council of Jewish Women. “The Jewish community has been distressed for the past two years at the lack of action from the government, and also at the growing lack of safety that we have felt. And so we weren't shocked that this happened.” Also on the podcast, Haaretz senior defense analyst Amos Harel reports on the numerous warnings passed by Israeli intelligence agencies to the Australian government, warning of the growing terrorist threats in their country.  Harel also commented on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s reaction to the Bondi Beach attack – namely blaming Australia’s leaders for their failure to prevent it.  Harel said it was “hard to resist noticing [the] paradox regarding the fact that Israeli ministers were so quick to blame the Australian government for its failures and note their responsibility for what has happened, while they're insisting that Netanyahu holds no blame whatsoever for what happened two years ago” on October 7. Read more: Analysis by Amos Harel | After the Deadly Attack at Bondi Beach, Israel Warns: Sydney Won't Be the Last Target The First Deadly Attack Against Jews in Australia Follows Two Years of Unprecedented Antisemitism Albanese Rejects Netanyahu Linking Palestinian State to Deadly Bondi Beach Attack The Victims of the Bondi Beach Hanukkah Celebration Shooting From March 2025: 'It Will Only Get Worse': Why These Australian Jews Are Leaving Down UnderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 soften her perception of the level of danger that Trump represents.  With democracy and rule of law being challenged, “You have to ask yourself, am I transactional enough to say that I will subordinate all of that to parochial interests?” she said in her conversation with Haaretz columnist Joshua Leifer and podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer.  “If you say you can pick and choose which authoritarian you want to align yourself with, cross your fingers and hope you know this time, being a court Jew is going to work out – history suggests otherwise.” In their in-depth discussion, Lithwick and Leifer also consider the trends in U.S. politics on the right and left, which are upending the long-held assumptions of American Jewish life and the urgent need to confront the new “transactional” reality and abandon “magical thinking.” “American Jewish organizations sold the idea to American Jews that they were more powerful than they were. And I think Israel sold to American Jews – and also Israelis – that Israel is more powerful than it is,” Leifer said.  For U.S. Jews to effectively fight for their interests, including the battle against antisemitism, he said, they must leave behind “the old rhetoric and strategies – because no one cares anymore.” Read more from Haaretz columnist Joshua Leifer: In Blood-soaked Israel-Palestine, the Dangerous Status Quo of Before October 7 Has Returned It's Clear What Defendant Netanyahu Gets Out of a Pardon. But What's in It for Trump? The Ultra-hawkish Right and anti-Zionist Left Have Drowned the American Jewish Majority Why Netanyahu Is Sharing Leftist Conspiracy Theories About a Mossad Sex Cabal Israel's Right Wing Bet the Country's Future on American Christian Nationalists. That Has BackfiredSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Israelis feel compassion shrunk very significantly.” As she returns to public life as a researcher and commentator on Middle East affairs, while undergoing physical rehabilitation from injuries she suffered as the prisoner of Kata’ib Hezbollah, she has already been attacked by the Israeli right for social media posts in support of human rights and critical of Israel’s policies in Gaza.  Despite being held in captivity, she said, her political views “have not substantially changed: I still see Arabs as human beings, which is an unpopular opinion, it seems.”  In her conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Tsurkov discusses the politics of Iraq – the country where she was kidnapped and held – following their recent elections, calling it a “failed oil state” driven by the behavior of Iranian-backed militias with “no clear path for reform and change.”  She also analyzes the impact of the new regime in Syria, praising the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump towards the year-old government.  She also credits the president with her release. “Trump is the reason I'm free. This is not an interpretation, this is a fact. I know exactly how I came to be released: It was because of threats that were made on his behalf.” Read more: Right-wing Pundit Amit Segal: Tsurkov 'Should Do Some Soul-searching About the Price Her Stupid Adventures Cost Israel' 'Strung Up and Tortured': Elizabeth Tsurkov Recounts Over Two Years of Captivity in Iraq 'Things Weren't Easy': After Iraq Captivity, Elizabeth Tsurkov Tells Netanyahu She Was Tortured What Is Kata'ib Hezbollah? Opinion | Through My Friend Elizabeth Tsurkov, I Learned That Syrians and Israelis Desire the Same Thing Elizabeth Tsurkov's past writing for HaaretzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.  On the Haaretz Podcast, the head of ICRC’s Israel sub-delegation, Yuval Arie Nevo, admitted in an interview that the hostility on the part of the Israeli public was “totally understandable” given the group’s persistent but ultimately “unsuccessful” efforts to gain access to the hostages to assess their condition and offer medical and humanitarian assistance.  While acknowledging the failures, “we are very proud of our work,” said Nevo, referring to the implementation of the transfer of the hostages from Hamas to Israel under the cease-fire agreement in October, coordinated with the release and exchange of Palestinian prisoners – and ICRC’s role in returning the remains of slain hostages as well.  The “reputation crisis” the ICRC is suffering in Israel, he said, is due in large part to the constraints of the organization’s commitment to “impartiality” and the use of “bilateral confidential dialogue,” or refraining from taking sides in public statements. Without such a policy, he argued, ICRC would not be able to effectively conduct humanitarian operations and return prisoners and hostages anywhere in the world. Still, “I know it is a source of great frustration in the Israeli public,” he said. “Neutrality is not a sexy choice to make.” Read more: Sexual Assault, Starvation, Stitches Without Anesthesia: Alon Ohel Details Hamas Captivity Opinion | For the Hostages in Gaza, the Red Cross Is Neutral. But We Are Not Bystanders Far-right MKs Cite Classified Report on Red Cross Visits to Israeli Prisons, Refuse to Share It With Arab Lawmaker Israeli Defense Ministry Renews Its Ban on Red Cross Visits to Palestinian Security Prisoners Before High Court Israel Allows Hamas to Join Red Cross in IDF-held Gaza Areas to Recover Hostage BodiesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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,” Scheindlin noted. “And what he's basically saying in the request is: ‘You see how bad I can make things. This is what will happen and continue to happen if you don't end this.’ It’s a very severe statement.’’ On Sunday, Netanyahu formally submitted a pardon request to the Israeli president. He has been on trial for three separate criminal cases – charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust – since 2020 and is currently being cross-examined by prosecutors in court.  On the podcast, Scheindlin discusses the impact a pardon would have on a future election and the U.S.-led efforts to pursue the goals laid out in the Gaza cease-fire agreement, as well as what she believes Israel’s opposition needs to do to seize this moment ahead of next October’s election in order to formulate a “winning strategy” to defeat Netanyahu.  Read more from Dahlia Scheindlin: The Visionary Palestinian Peace Plan for Israel and Gaza That You've Never Heard Of Nobody Wants This? Netanyahu Is Gaslighting Israelis Over October 7 Investigation What Israel's Opposition Should Learn From Mamdani Read more on Netanyahu's pardon request: What You Need to Know About Netanyahu's Bid for a Presidential Pardon in His Corruption Trial 43 Percent of Israelis Oppose Pardoning Netanyahu in Corruption Trials, Polls Show It's Clear What Defendant Netanyahu Gets Out of a Pardon. But What's in It for Trump?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 unshakeable mainstay of American support for Israel. Schisms within the Republican Party have ruptured over Israel’s compatibility with MAGA-style isolationism, critiques of Israel’s wartime conduct and commentator Tucker Carlson’s embrace of Nick Fuentes. Greene’s departure, which also comes amid a swirl of conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein and the Mossad, is a red flag regarding the “deep realignment” taking place in the GOP and among evangelical Christians, Samuels said – and Israeli leaders are worried.  Omer Benjakob, Haaretz’s cyber and disinformation correspondent, joined the podcast to discuss his recent investigation into a major multi-platform online campaign by the Israeli government that seeks to rehabilitate its image among the American Christian right.  Benjakob said the multimillion-dollar campaign  seems to be “less about pro- or anti- Israel arguments and more about trying to quell a growing wave of antisemitism.” He noted that the “rapid decline of this ‘unshakable bond’ points to a dependency on a population that progressive voices have warned Israel for years against getting in bed with.” Read more: Losing the Republican Base, Israel Pours Millions to Target Evangelicals and Churchgoers Between Mamdani and Marjorie Taylor Greene, Netanyahu's Allies in Washington Have Cause to Be Alarmed Why Netanyahu Is Sharing Leftist Conspiracy Theories About a Mossad Sex Cabal Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Resigns From Office, After Trump's Support Withdrawal Last Week Israel's Right Wing Bet the Country's Future on American Christian Nationalists. That Has BackfiredSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, he believes, are clearly “looking for an excuse” to return to full-fledged war.  Speaking on the Haaretz Podcast, Harel discussed the challenges of ensuring security on Israel’s southern and northern borders and rebuilding and rehabilitating Gaza, given the “vague” nature of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for an international stabilization force and a ruling Board of Peace. In the meantime, Hamas remains fully armed and in control of nearly half of Gaza. The Americans “have some vague ideas about how to solve things, but nothing ever moves ahead,” Harel observed. “Will there be an international force? Will any country in the world risk the lives of its soldiers and put them in harm's way trying to restrain Hamas? These are big challenges for the Americans.” On the podcast, Harel also discussed the fragile cease-fire with Hezbollah on its northern border and the firestorm in Israel's military and political arenas over accountability for the October 7 attacks. Read more: Analysis by Amos Harel | Latest Lebanon Escalation Is an Israeli Initiative That Serves Netanyahu's Interests – and Has Trump's Blessing Israel Kills Hezbollah Military Chief in Beirut Airstrike, IDF Confirms Lebanese Sources Worry That Israeli Escalation Will Weaken Gov't, Thwart Hezbollah Disarmament Analysis by Amos Harel | As It Prepares for Multifront Wars of Attrition, the IDF Faces a Manpower Crunch and Spiraling Costs U.S. to Pull Troops Out of Command Center in Israel, Try to Relocate Gazans to Israeli-held AreasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 politicians to follow other European leaders in recognizing a Palestinian state and acknowledge that “there are two peoples in our shared homeland, both with the right to self-determination.” John Philipp Albrecht, president of the Heinrich Boell Foundation – a co-sponsor of the Haaretz conference – took the stage to denounce the attempts of the Netanyahu government's “attacks and intimidation” against European NGOs that promote democracy and Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, noting that “alienating friends and partners of Israel is a strange strategy to strengthen Israel's security.” Also speaking was Prof. Meron Mendel, director of the Anne Frank Center in Frankfurt, who warned against the way in which German and other European far-right anti-immigration parties misleadingly present themselves as defenders of Israel and opponents of antisemitism, as they enjoy the embrace of Israel’s current right-wing coalition.  These extremist politicians do not “love Jews,” said Mendel. “They hate Jews, but they hate Muslims more.” So they say, “we are for Israel” to  “justify discriminating against Muslims for a ‘good cause’ – the cause of fighting antisemitism.” This episode also features Berliner festival director Matthias Pees and Dr. Ofer Waldman, who heads the Heinrich Boell Foundation’s Tel Aviv office. Watch a recording of the full conference here. Read more: Haaretz Conference in Berlin: What Lies Ahead for Israel and Germany After the Gaza War Germany's Antisemitism Czar Braces for Backlash Over Move to Rein in pro-Palestinian Protests Angela Merkel's Visit to My Gaza-border Kibbutz: A Lesson in Leadership That Israel Lacks Two Israeli DJs in Berlin Renounced Their Israeliness. It Didn't Stop the Boycott Calls The Far-right German Party AfD Says It Has Nothing Against Jews. This Book Proves OtherwiseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 revealed an advanced plan by Iran to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, using a base of operations in Venezuela. The official said the plot was foiled earlier this year.  “Venezuela is the hub” of Iran’s activity in the region, Citrinowicz said, adding that Tehran is developing relationships with other South American countries with a sizable Shi’ite Muslim population and “controlled by the left” in the hope of uniting against a common enemy: the United States and its allies. “Iran can find a mutual language with every country that opposes the West,” he said.   In his conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Citriowicz also discussed Iran’s renewal of its nuclear capabilities, as reported by the New York Times, and the potential Israeli response to the prospect that they appear to be increasing their missile capabilities to the point where they can rain thousands more explosives on Israel than they did in June’s 12-day war.  “We’re in a very risky and unstable situation, and I don't think we’ve seen the last of the clashes between Israel and Iran.” Read more: What the Next Israel-Iran Missile War Will Look Like The Israeli Influence Operation Aiming to Install Reza Pahlavi as Shah of Iran Israeli FM: Iran Tried to Attack Multiple Israeli Embassies and Diplomats, Not Only Envoy in Mexico Paradox of Success: Israelis Fail to See That the Next Iran War Will Be Worse Opinion by Danny Citrinowicz | How a Historic Israel-Iran Non-aggression Pact Could Change the Middle EastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, noting that in the past, “We've seen settler attacks, and we've seen unnecessary army aggression and restrictions, but we've never seen such a peak moment of violence affecting so many communities.” Goodman described the situation as a “perfect storm” with “extremists at the heart of the Israeli government, who have sent clear policy recommendations to the police” to refrain from arresting violent settlers so that “the rule of law is totally diminished.” He also outlined the ways in which mainstream Religious Zionist institutions and their leaders are complicit – such as when the prominent rabbi Yaakov Medan encouraged his yeshiva students to spend the High Holidays at outposts that are illegal even under Israeli law. Also on the podcast, Leila Stillman-Utterback recounts her experience as an 18-year-old Jewish American volunteer who was recently arrested at an olive harvest and then deported and banned from Israel for 10 years. While Israel has deported non-Jewish solidarity volunteers for years, Stillman-Utterback’s case is believed to be the first time Israel has deported a Diaspora Jew from the West Bank.  Speaking from the United States, Stillman-Utterback said a court challenge to banning her entry to Israel is underway.  Maintaining her connection to Israel, she said, is “incredibly important to me, even though I am extremely frustrated with the actions of the Israeli government, both in terms of the impunity for settler violence and their actions in Gaza.” Read more: Erased: Israeli Settlers' Brutal War on Palestinian Communities in the West Bank IDF Reports Surge in West Bank Settler Attacks Against Palestinians, Says Police and Shin Bet Looking Away Amid Political Pressure 'We May Have Reached the Point Where Settlers Try to Kill Jews' Analysis | There Will Be No Middle East Peace if Trump Turns a Blind Eye to Wild Settler Violence in the West Bank Op-ed by Anton Goodman: How Israel's Violent West Bank Settlers Place Minors in the Line of FireSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 he discusses his own top-ranked Jewish podcast aimed at what he calls the “middle majority” of American Jews – engaging in pro-Israel advocacy while not hiding his misgivings and ambivalence about both U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This, he tells podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, has drawn both admiration and attacks from across the political spectrum in the Jewish community and beyond.   Platt notes that the criticism he gets from the Jewish left “mimics the hate that I get from non-Jews on the left, which is that I'm a nepo baby genocidal baby killer” while the attacks from the MAGA Jewish right “feels more like getting it from my own team.” On the podcast, Platt also shares his views on conflicts within Jewish families over the Gaza war – including his own – and why he believes so many young New York Jews voted for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Read more: Paramount Studios Reportedly Keeps Internal Blacklist of Antisemitic Industry Figures Pledge to Boycott Israeli Film Institutions Grows to Over 4,000 Signatories Since Monday Israeli Artists React to Filmmakers' Boycott: 'We Aren't Doing Enough' Uncanceled Nation: The Artists Who Perform in Israel, Despite Everything Debra Messing, Liev Schreiber Among 1,200 Hollywood Figures Opposing Israeli Film BoycottSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Institute’s Center for National Security and Democracy, said he was “personally and professionally shocked” by the admission of now-former Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. She was arrested and is now in detention after she admitted to leaking video documentation from July 2024 of IDF soldiers physically and sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention camp. Tomer-Yerushalmi is likely facing charges of participating in a cover-up of the leak, which involved misleading both the State Prosecutor’s office and the Supreme Court.  On the podcast, Shamir-Borer, with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, lays out the dramatic events behind what’s being called the Sde Teiman Affair – and how the affair that “shocked him on so many levels” unfolded in his former military unit. The affair, he fears, will both boost the power of those in the Netanyahu government working “trying to undermine the independence and professionalism of the justice system,” as well as “undermine the credibility of the IDF justice system overseas with serious repercussions for Israel and for those in its military service.” Read more:  Haaretz Explains | Two Leaks, Two Tales: Why the Prisoner Abuse Video Leak and the Bild Hamas Document Are Different How the IDF Legal Chief Drama Overshadows the Abuse of Palestinian Prisoners IDF Probe Into Sde Teiman Video Leak May Disrupt Abuse Investigation, Legal Sources Say Ex-IDF Top Lawyer Sticks to Story in Initial Police Interrogation on Leaked Abuse Video Israel Released Palestinian Detainee Allegedly Seen in Leaked Abuse Video Back to Gaza We Served on Israel's Sde Teiman Base. Here's What We Did to Gazans Detained ThereSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 time, he stressed, despite the “fear campaign” that Jewish leaders and rabbis pursued against the 34-year-old Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a large number of Jewish New Yorkers were casting their ballots for the man poised to make history as the city’s first Muslim mayor.  Leading up to Election Day, Kornbluh noted “a changing mood among Jewish voters who say they disagree with Mamdani” and were “worried” about his positions on Israel – but “since they hate [Independent candidate] Andrew Cuomo, since they are Democrats, and since they want to participate in this election, they will hold their nose and vote for Mamdani.” University administrator Dov Scheindlin, who is voting for Mamdani, also spoke with host Allison Kaplan Sommer on the podcast and explained the reasons for his choice despite disagreeing with the candidate on issues related to Israel.  “On a personal level, I feel Mamdani’s demonstrated a tremendous commitment to the Jews of New York City,” Scheindlin said, attributing the candidate’s stated position as a reflection of his “sympathy with the Palestinians and a sense that the cause of Palestinian self-determination has been inhibited by the unfettered support for Israel the United States has offered.” Join Haaretz and meet our journalists at the Other Israel Film Festival, running from November 6-13 in New York City. Use the code haaretz25 at checkout for 20 percent off admission. View the event schedule and buy tickets here. Read more: Rabbi Angela Buchdahl Slams Zohran Mamdani's Past Remarks as Antisemitic, 'Demonizing' Israelis NYC Candidates Court Final Endorsements as Hasidic Leaders Criticize 'Scare Campaign' Against Mamdani Cuomo Faces Backlash in New York Mayoral Race After 'Racist' Attack on Rival Mamdani Opinion | I Oppose Mamdani's Stance on Israel. This Is Why I Am Voting for HimSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Jews in France a decade from now.  In her discussion with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Horvilleur talks about inspiring the hit HBO show "Reformed" and the books she's penned herself: "Living with Our Dead" and "How Isn't It Going? Conversations After October 7."  The rabbi also addressed the hate mail and death threats she received after writing a column in a French Jewish magazine last spring that was critical of far-right members of the Israeli government who justified denying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza as legitimate acts of war. She noted the “really harsh” threats she received were smaller in number than the amount of support.  “Even today, I walk in the streets of Paris, and Jews stop me and say, ‘thank you for speaking out, because we believe exactly what you said, but we cannot say it anymore.’ Somehow the crisis and the war and the pain and the trauma created an inability to talk. "And for me, the real threat today lies in not being able to say what we think, to talk and re-engage in the Jewish conversation” in which, Horvilleur said, it is possible to be “both supportive of and critical of” Israel.  Join Haaretz and meet our journalists at the Other Israel Film Festival, running from November 6-13 in New York City. Use the code haaretz25 at checkout for 20 percent off admission. View the event schedule and buy tickets here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 State Marco Rubio followed on Thursday evening.  For Leifer, “the bottom-line message to the world that the Trump administration is sending with these visits is ‘We don't trust Netanyahu to follow through on what he's agreed to,’ and they have a good reason to think that. At every opportunity, Netanyahu has made it clear that he is unhappy with the Gaza deal.” Trump’s close supervision of Israel during the war – and afterwards, Leifer added, has been so unrelenting and it feels as if “in some sense, Israel has been put under a U.S. mandate.” In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Leifer also discussed the way in which Trump “has completely scrambled American Jewish politics.” On one hand, he said, “American Jewish liberals loathe him and experience him and his followers as racist, sexist, homophobic and antisemitic” while “on the other hand, it's true that he managed to do what Joe Biden couldn’t: end the war and bring the hostages home.”  Read more: Hamas Disarmament and Turkey's Role: Vance's Israel Visit Aims to Address Key Postwar Gaza Questions Vance Spotlights Hamas Violence on Israel Visit, but Netanyahu Is on a Short Leash From Bear-hug to Bibi-sitting: Marco Rubio Flies Into a Tense Moment in U.S.-Israel Relations Analysis | With One Eye on Reconstruction, U.S. Won't Let Fragile Gaza Cease-fire Go Up in SmokeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the international success of “Fauda” to Academy Award nominations and prestigious festival awards, the Israeli film and television industry was at a high point before the October 7 attacks. Throughout the two-year Gaza war, the industry has struggled as international funding and festival invitations dried up, and Hollywood A-listers circulated petitions to boycott any association with the Israeli industry. Domestically, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been hostile, especially when infuriated by films they view as too sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Assaf Amir, chairman of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television, joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to talk about the threat by Culture Minister Miki Zohar’s extreme reaction to the fact that the film winning this year’s Academy for Israel’s Best Picture was “The Sea” – about a Palestinian boy’s journey from the West Bank to Tel Aviv – which is now poised for submission in the Best Foreign Language film category at the Oscars.  As a result, Zohar said he will defund the Academy prize and set up an alternative government award ceremony to choose a different Best Picture. Amir said on the podcast that he was unimpressed by the threat.  “We'll see who submits their films to his prize and who he chooses to decide which of the films should win,” Amir said.  As for the Hollywood boycotts, Amir said he would point to Israel’s Best Picture this year and ask the professionals signing the petitions where they stand on it.  “Will they watch this Arabic-language film that was made by an Israeli and a Palestinian about a Palestinian boy from the West Bank trying to go to Tel Aviv – or would they boycott it? I think that's the question they should ask themselves, and I'm wondering what the answer is – because I would definitely urge them to watch this film.” Read more: Israel's Best Film Award Goes to 'The Sea,' Chosen to Represent Country at the Oscars Government Says It Will Cut Israel Film Academy Funding After Film 'Depicting Israel Negatively' Wins 'If We Stop Deteriorating': Head of Israel's Film Academy Still Sees a Bright Future, Despite Political Pressures 1,300 International Actors and Filmmakers Pledge to Avoid Israeli Film Institutions 'Implicated in Gaza Genocide' Debra Messing, Liev Schreiber Among 1,200 Hollywood Figures Opposing Israeli Film Boycott Opinion | As an Israeli Filmmaker, Thank You to Everyone Who Is Boycotting My WorksSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.