The Tikvah Podcast

Joshua Berman, Bible scholar and Bar-Ilan professor who wrote the Echoes of Egypt Haggadah, explores how the Exodus narrative borrows and flips Egyptian royal imagery. He traces phrases like "mighty hand and outstretched arm," compares tabernacle and Ramses' throne tent, and shows poetic parallels with Kadesh inscriptions. He also explains making archaeology accessible for the seder and why the story sustains communal memory.

Hussein Abdul-Hussain, Iraqi-born, Lebanon-raised researcher and author of The Arab Case for Israel, speaks from personal experience about Arab-Israeli relations. He recounts growing up amid Hezbollah, learning Hebrew through Israeli media, and shifting political views after the Iraq War. He argues Arab states can gain prosperity and security by engaging Israel and reframes dignity as practical national interest.

Yonah Jeremy Bob, senior military and intelligence analyst for the Jerusalem Post and author of Target Tehran, walks through decades of Mossad penetration of Iran. He discusses the 2018 archive theft, the Fakhrizadeh assassination, supply-chain infiltration at Natanz, and how human networks, tech, and covert routes like Azerbaijan made long-term operations possible.

At 1:15 in the morning on February 28, more than 200 Israeli Air Force jets took off from bases across the region, bound for Iran. They were soon joined by American B-2 and B-1 bombers and the full weight of U.S. air and naval power in the Middle East. Not long after in Tehran, the Iranian supreme leader was dead, along with dozens of the seniormost figures in his government. Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion had begun. Five days later, the Iranian missile arsenal is measurably degraded, the regime is in a succession crisis, Hizballah has entered the war from Lebanon, Kurdish forces have crossed the border from Iraq, a U.S. submarine has sunk an Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean, and the Strait of Hormuz has effectively been closed to tanker traffic. The Middle East is in a different place than it was a week ago. On March 4, Mosaic's editor Jonathan Silver convened two trusted experts to discuss the context and strategic underpinning of these events: the theory of the campaign, what comes next inside Iran, and what this moment means for American power and the American right. Those experts were Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, and the former CIA director and secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The conversation, broadcast live over Zoom for members of the Tikvah community, is this week's podcast. This week's episode of the Tikvah Podcast is generously sponsored by Julie Goldberg-Botvin in honor of the IDF and all the brave soldiers who are defending our country and the Jewish people all over the world. If you are interested in sponsoring an episode of the Tikvah Podcast, we invite you to join the Tikvah Ideas Circle. Visit tikvah.org/circle to learn more and join.

Bill Drexel, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who studies U.S.-India relations and technology in grand strategy, unpacks Modi's historic Knesset visit. He discusses the deepening Israel–India partnership, tech and defense complementarities, India's multi‑alignment diplomacy, domestic politics shaping ties, and regional dynamics involving China and Pakistan.

Yehoshua Pfeffer, founding editor of Tzarich Iyun and a Haredi public intellectual, discusses the violent Bnei Brak confrontation and its implications for Haredi relations with the state. He traces legal battles over conscription, moral changes in yeshiva culture, and how idleness and weakened rabbinic authority fuel unrest. He also notes emerging voices pushing for responsibility and communal reform.

Carlos Campo, Museum of the Bible president and higher-education leader, discusses exhibits and civic education. Meir Soloveichik, Orthodox rabbi and public intellectual, explores Jewish law, theology, and America’s civic faith. They debate whether America is covenantal, the role of the Bible in public memory, rising anti-Semitism, causes of extremist influence, and education’s role in restoring biblical heritage.

Rod Dreher, author and cultural commentator known for The Benedict Option, reflects on rising antisemitism among young conservatives after reporting in Washington. He describes Tucker Carlson’s soft platforming of Nick Fuentes, the spectrum of sympathy for Fuentes, online radicalization through memes and grievance narratives, and why churches and institutions have failed to stem this trend.

On January 26, 2026, after 844 days, the body of Ran Gvili was brought home to Israel for burial. Of the hostages taken on October 7, his remains were the last still kept in Gaza. And when you factor in the hostages taken to Gaza before October 7, Gvili's return marked the first time since 2014 that no Israeli hostage or hostage remains are being held captive, to torture and torment Israelis, in the Gaza Strip. The operation to recover him involved hundreds of soldiers, excavators, and dentists who examined hundreds bodies in a Gazan cemetery. When they found him, the soldiers gathered and sang the song Ani Ma'amin—arms around each other, voices rising together—"I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the messiah, and even though he may tarry, I will wait for him every day." It's a song that Jews sang walking to the gas chambers during the Shoah. But there's something in that song, in its very structure, that speaks to how the Israeli soldiers experienced this moment. Ani Ma'amin contains within it the hope for the eventual coming of the messiah, yes, but also the sober recognition that right now we live in pre-messianic times. Not outside of history, but within it. The soldiers singing that song were acknowledging that the relief and closure they felt was not an escapist delusion that they had suddently entered a new phase of history, or that, with the outbreak of peace, history had ended. No, while we hope one day to be at peace, we understand that this tragedy, and the hard-won deliverance that followed, occurred in history. The end of days is coming—but not yet. It was a note of hope and sobriety uttered by a war-weary army. For two years, yellow ribbons hung from every street sign and telephone pole in Israel. Empty chairs stood at tables in restaurants and homes. The hostages were present in daily Israeli consciousness in ways that are difficult to convey to those who weren't there. What can we learn about Israeli society from the psychic and social attention it paid to these hostages? Where does this commitment to bring everyone home come from? What does it cost? And what does this moment of closure—bittersweet, sobering, deeply felt—reveal about how Israelis understand their obligations to one another and their place in history? To discuss these questions, Mosaic's editor Jonathan Silver is joined by Russ Roberts, president of Shalem College in Jerusalem. An American immigrant to Israel, Roberts has lived in Jerusalem throughout the duration of this war.

In a compelling discussion, Johnnie Moore, an Evangelical leader and humanitarian advocate, teams up with Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, a scholar focused on Jewish-Christian engagement. They explore the profound solidarity evangelicals show towards Israel following recent events and the unprecedented Christian interest in the Jewish state. The guests emphasize the deep theological implications of Israel's existence, the necessity to combat misinformation, and their shared commitment to understanding the Hebrew Bible, all while addressing political threats from both sides.