The Promised Podcast

Miriam and Noah talk about (1) the Prime Minister's request that the President pardon him, to put an end to our long, national downer, and (2) what to make of the movie, The Sea, which took all the important Israeli prizes this year, for its depiction of a kid living under occupation, trying to get a glimpse of the sea. For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: It's not easy being Peter Beinart. All that and a farewell to the general in charge of IDF intelligence who did not foresee the Yom Kippur War, a train ride to Bat Yam, and a celebration of America that says more still about Israel.

Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron talk about (1) our slow slouch seemingly back towards war on four fronts – Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran – why is it happening and where might it lead? and (2) what to make of three new political parties that have set themselves up, as we near the start of Knesset election campaigns. For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: How does celebrating the Pilgrim's first year in the New World look and feel when you do it in the very old world of the Holy Land? All that and Isaac and ourselves, Israelis in paradisical Hawaii, and Opera in Tel Aviv. Plus, new music for these uncertain times.

Allison and Noah talk about (1) the spike in thuggish thuggery of young Jewish thugs, throwing rocks, beating with sticks, setting fires, sparking fear among Palestinians on the West Bank, and also Jewish protestors and soldiers, and (2) the UN Security Council's decision to endorse US President Trump's 20 point plan for peace in the Middle East, offering a "pathway" to a State of Palestine. For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: US President Donald Trump writes Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog (1) that peace has come to the Middle East after 3,000 years, (2) that the Jewish People are "amazing", and (3) that we should do him a solid and pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose only crime is that he cares too damn much. As Ezra Furman once sang, "Well, what can you say to that?" All that and a tribute to a beautiful barefoot runner, iconoclastic physicist and communist malcontent, an appreciation of Allison's uber-capable daughter, and an exhibitions of army photographs. Plus, hip hop about where we are, two years after the war started.

Miriam Herschlag, Noah Efron and managing editor at eJewishPhilanthropy Judah Ari Gross talk about (1) the storm of protest and worry over the discovery that the army's chief attorney leaked a video incriminating reserve soldiers, and (2) the rising swell of Jewish spirituality and religion after October 7th and whether it is something to celebrate or fear (or both). For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: My therapist is a Zionist. What do I do? Plus, the 30 year anniversary of the week after Rabin's assassination, philanthropists building hospitals, and Miriam's day in the Shuk. And new religious pop music sweeping the charts.

Noah talks about the big questions about Israel's future with historian, journalist, public intellectual and podcaster Marc Shulman.

Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron talk about (1) the on-again-off-again fragility of the ceasefire, visiting death on both sides, and (2) whether or not Prime Minister Netanyahu's admirers have a point when they say that he steered us through the war just how he said he would, and managed to achieve things that matter. For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: This week we celebrated Yom ha-Oleh, the National Day of the Immigrant. Miriam and Noah talk about the ups and downs of making a life here, after growing up there. Plus, the life (and death) of the last living Nokem, or avenger, a tiny group that set out after the war to kill ex-Nazis in great numbers. And Miriam's mother-in-laws pow-wow with the President on her 90th birthday. And some remarkable new music.

Allison and Noah talk about what the hell they make of the neither-fish-nor-foul liminal state we find ourselves in now and what the hell the future holds for us. Then they are joined by Danielle Haas, who for ten years was Human Rights Watch's only senior employee in Israel, to talk about bias in the Human-Rights-Industrial-Complex.  For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: The government decides to rebrand the wretched conflict of the past two years as "The War of Resurrection" which, despite its Christological resonances, has got some people here seeing double. What's in a name?, we will ask. After all, that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet. Or so they say, anyway. Plus, life after the holidays and matters Witkovian!

We waited and we waited and now they are here.

Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron talk about (1) US President Donald Trump's "Twenty Point Plan," to bring home the hostages and end the war, and (2) On the second Yahrzeit of October 7, how we have changed, personally, and as a society. For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: John Oliver thinks that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a corrupt, warlike, evil scumbag. What do we make of that? Plus, music from the memorial ceremony in the park, by some of our best!

For this Yom Kippur, we return to stuff that gave us solace and understanding in the past.

Linda Gradstein, Don Futterman and Noah Efron talk about (1) The very viral essay by Yossi Klein Halevi, pressing Israelis to finally engage in the moral conversation that we have, until now, avoided, and (2) The new 5785 Jewish People Policy Institute's Annual Assessment of the Jewish People, basically a report card for the Jewish people, and why our grades are so lousy, and what we ought to do about it. For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: How did we welcome the New Year, in this seemingly, endless groundhog day of despair? Plus, the short, beautiful life of Eran Shelem, of Blessed Memory, and weddings, cruises and prayers for the New Year!

Linda and Noah talk about (1) Israel's newest invasion of Gaza City, and Prime Minister Netanyahu's chillingly Strangelovian gird-your-loins speech ahead of the invasion, about how Israelis need to learn to be "Super Spartans", and (2) The fifth year anniversary of the Abraham Accords, and what they have meant in the past and may mean in the future. For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Why did Charlie Kirk's assassination mean so much to so many of us here in Israel? Plus, the 70th anniversary of the founding of Dimona, and ultra-Orthodox women on a bus!

Miriam and Noah talk about (1) Israel's bombing of Qatar, in failed hope of killing the leaders of Hamas, with the possible result of killing the negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza, and (2) the controversial movie that aired on Israeli TV this week, after an 865 day delay, about the 1948 war, and what we ought to learn from it. For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Is my old camp counselor the guy who is maybe going to save the life of the hostages? Plus, the surprising origins of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Wall-E in the Golan Heights, and Banai kids of a new generation!

Noah wonders why the show people here in Israel most want to see—more than at any time in the country's history, and maybe in all of Jewish history—is a performance of children's songs from a 47-year-old book of kids' poems. The answer says something about who we are and how we have changed. It also maybe says something about the times we are living through now.

Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron talk about (1) Benny Gantz's proposal to form a "Government of Hostage Redemption" and why everyone hated it, and (2) The surprising return of an army unit devoted to building and rebuilding Kibbutzim and Moshavim: Is 2025 the new 1955? For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What is the special magic of Uman? Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon Plus, a Elul Selihot, go-karting at a fine restaurant, Hatikva in suburban Maryland, and liturgical music you can dance to!

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Sara Hirschhorn and Noah Efron discuss (1) when is it genocide, and does it matter if people use that word or not, and why, and (2) Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's claim that this week he (and Israel) just put the kibash, once and for all, on the two-state solution. Plus, a principal with principles, a stand-up comedian with heart, a workaround for high-ticket prices for concerts, and more music of these lousy times! For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Dozens of Orthodox rabbis from around the world call for Israel to reconsider what is is doing in Gaza. Should we be shocked?

Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss (1) the thinking behind the Prime Minister's decision (and his "Security and Diplomatic Cabinet") to extend and intensify the war in Gaza, and (2) the thinking behind the "national strike" called by some hostage families, intended to bring the country to a halt next Sunday. Plus, Comfort, Kabbalah, Kohellet, Coltraine and Codeine early on a Friday morning, artistic collaborations between Israelis and Gazans, and plant-whispering grad students. And more old music made new! Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Former Speaker of the Knesset Avram Burg calls for a million Jews to sue Israel for war crimes in an international court. How the hell did we get here?

Linda Gradstein, Gilad Halpern and Noah Efron discuss (1) the 20th anniversary of the "disengagement plan" and the evacuation of 21 Jewish towns in Gaza, and its lasting impacts, and (2) the plan cooked up in the UN by 21 countries and organizations for setting up the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel. Plus, a memorial homage to Israel's greatest graphic artist, film festivals, wine festivals and lots of Tisha B'Av. For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Artists issue a call to bring an end to war and to war crimes, making lots of people mad. How come?

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss (1) Hunger in Gaza, and (2) French, English and Canadian plans to recognize the state of Palestine in September. Plus, Tisha B'Av in the Land of Israel, lifeguards in Tel Aviv, and lamentations you can make out to. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Beinart and Stewart: Covering the whole gamut from smug to ugh.

Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss (1) The dramatic moments this week when hundreds of Druze from Israel crossed into Syria to help Druze in Suwayda under attack by Bedouin militia and the Syrian army, and hundreds of Druze from Suwayda crossed into Israel to see relatives they had not seen in a generation, and (2) A percussive essay by Ezra Klein called "Why American Jews No Longer Understand One Another." Plus, the "Admor of Hope," Miriam doing drugs, Noah seeing shows and a heartbreaking new record by a brother who lost a brother in Gaza. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What are "the Three Weeks" like in these ash-and-sackclothy times?