State of Tel Aviv, Israel Podcast

We depart from our usual Sunday review with Ya’akov Katz and bring you this short and intense immersion in the weekly rallies in support of hostages and their families. These events take place all over Israel every Saturday night. I used to attend them in Tel Aviv. But I have relocated to a kibbutz in the south and instead went to the local gathering. It is worlds away from Tel Aviv. The rally takes place at a key intersection in southern Israel, which was swarmed by Hamas locusts, buzzing around on their motorcycles and in pickup trucks. They slaughtered babies, children, the elderly, families. They dragged terrified people from their beds. They stalked those who attended the Nova Music Festival. Route 232 – which winds its way through the area of Israel closest to the Gaza border – was lined with burned cars and bodies. The weekly rallies occur at the intersection of Routes 232 and 34. Many of those attending these rallies are locals who lived through the carnage, lost loved ones, await the release of family and friends still being held hostage.We have also posted, below, some photographs from the rally.Tomorrow – we drop a bonus podcast with Israeli journalist and scholar, Nadav Eyal, doing the usual focus on what’s going on in the bigger picture – although we focus heavily on the hostages. This is widely perceived to be a moment of opportunity to re-align power in the middle east. And that must include the hostages.Thanks for being here.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Lt Col Jonathan Conricus and I dig into the overwhelmingness of life in Israel these days. We're both pretty seasoned and hardened, but things here just seem to continue to ramp up, not down. As Conricus says in our discussion, he emerged from 25 days of no news or connection to the outside world following his observance of Yom Kippur and was amazed by the enormity and pace of activity. There is a lot going on. We spend the first bit of the podcast today discussing the sharp rise in domestic terror attacks by Israeli Arabs, something that tends not to receive much attention internationally. This disturbing trend is also complemented by terrorism within Israel committed by residents of the West Bank who enter Israel illegally. And then there's the regular stuff. We discuss Iran in detail. As we wait for the Israeli retaliation. Conricus has done significant work analyzing potential targets in Iran, political considerations, and more. See the link in the podcast notes below for the work he has done on identifying potential targets in Iran. This work is done in his capacity as a senior fellow at FDD, a Washington-based think tank. We are now hunkering down for yet another holiday on the Jewish calendar—this is a very busy time of year. Let's hope it's peaceful.Podcast Notes: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.stateoftelaviv.comAs 9.5-million Israelis wait… and wait… the assumption is that Israeli and American government and military officials are working ‘round the clock to assess and decide which targets to hit. In the Islamic Republic of Iran. In retaliation for the launching of close to 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1. When will Israel strike? How hard? Each …

Editor’s Fix: In the podcast I refer to 97 hostages. Some media refer to 97. That number includes those captured on October 7. When 101 is used… it includes four hostages held by Hamas since 2014.It is significant that the one year mark of what was perhaps modern Israel’s darkest day falls between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. This ten-day period, known as the Days of Awe, is a time when Jewish people are meant to reflect on the past year. To take stock of their inner life, unsparingly. And if they have wronged someone they are expected to seek forgiveness, but only if they do so with humility. Unreservedly. Whether one “believes” or not, this coincidental timing is profound.On Monday, October 7, I woke up very early. at 6:30 am, just one minute later than the beginning of the horrific attack of that Black Sabbath, one year ago. We had dreaded this day for so long. And here it was. I set out in late morning for the site of the Nova Music Festival. To get there I drive along Road 232, which was an alley of death one year ago. At the site, I spoke with bereaved family members, among them Shlomo and Rita Krief. They lost their 17-year-old son, Shahaf, at nearby Zikim Beach, one year ago. As often happens in Israel, so many strangers came together to comfort Shlomo and Rita, who were inconsolable.It was a spontaneous gathering and I learned so much and felt so deeply. This vignette is a sampling of how immeasurably October 7 impacted this country and, I expect, will remain with us for decades. Perhaps centuries. The way in which families have been treated by the current government has stoked anger and bitterness, regrettably. In so saying I am acting as the conduit for the bereaved. It is something that I heard and was repeated all over Israel last Monday. This is not an issue of partisan politics. Not right or left. This is about abandonment. Not fulfilling one's duty. That is how so many feel today.And that was very evident in the backstory - which we tell - and the main event commemorating October 7. The Bereaved Families Memorial Ceremony. It was held on Monday night at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. Survivors, bereaved, artists, singers. Two thousand people convened for this ceremony that was organized by the brother of a hostage who had been killed in error by the IDF. It was an extraordinary event, televised live in Israel. Not a single government representative or official was included or invited. We tell you why.In this podcast, I take you on the journey I went on last Monday. It has overpowered me all week. And it is so appropriate to share on this day, just before Kol Nidre, Erev Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. You will hear direct, raw testimony. Mournful but hopeful song. Real. Raw. In the moment.If you want to understand the mood in Israel today, I urge you to watch the ceremony in full. Or dip into the clips we have provided, below. Podcast Notes:* Bereaved Families Memorial Ceremony at Hayarkon Park, Tel Aviv, Monday, October 7, 2024:* Clip from full ceremony of an interview with Yuval Tabelsi giving testimony about her experience at the Nova Festival one year earlier and how she is coping with the loss of her husband. As there are no English subtitles I have provided a quick translation, following: The clip opens with Yuval at the dumpsite near the Nova Festival where all the incinerated cars have been taken. She says it is her first time there and she is looking for their car. She very much wants to find the car - something that was theirs at their last moments together. She speaks about how well-suited and happy they were together and moves into a recounting of their final moments. They were trapped at an intersection. He told her to fold in on herself and hide as much as possible. He shouted “Shema Yisrael,” and said he hoped they come through this. She says she believes that Mor understood he would die there. She heard only gunshots, saw her husband dead. And she and her friends smeared Mor’s blood on themselves so that if the terrorists come by the car they will think that they are dead. They heard horrible sounds; including a woman being raped. In her life, she says, she has never heard such screams for help. She said - “Mor - I don’t know where you are now. But if I am going to die - at least not like this.” Every time she visits Mor’s grave, she says……she sings to him Ivri Lider’s song, “I Had a Chance to Love.” :* Clip of Israeli music legend, Ivri Lider, singing "I Had a Chance to Love", inspired by Yuval's love story, so tragically cut short. Ivri is joined on stage towards the end of the performance by Yuval. The Hebrew lyrics are subtitled in English; and* Clip of remarks at the October 7 ceremony of Rafi Ben Chitrit, father of a fallen soldier. Remarks are subtitled in English.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Exactly one year ago, journalist Amir Tibon waited in his safe room with his wife and two young daughters. For help. For the army. Someone. Hamas terrorists rampaged through his kibbutz, yelling “Allahu Akhbar” ceaselessly. They fired their machine guns constantly. They burned homes and threw grenades into rooms where they knew civilians took shelter. They murdered wantonly. And they took hostages. They tried, several times, to shoot open the door to the Tibon house. For some reason they were unable to open it. Amir and I discuss that black sabbath, his family’s life today, returning to live on the kibbutz and the continued captivity of his neighbor and friend, Tzachi Idan.We then speak with Adam Ma’anit and Heidi Bachram, a couple living in Brighton, U.K. They are both prominent activists for the hostages and combatting antisemitism. Adam is also Tsachi Idan’s cousin. They share with State of Tel Aviv their battle to bring Tsachi home and the indescribable Jew hatred that they have encountered, unabated, in the U.K. and online. You can hear the anguish in Adam’s voice, as he speaks of his cousin, who watched his eldest daughter murdered before his eyes, helpless to do anything to save her. Tsachi was then force marched, barefoot, covered in his firstborn’s blood, to the Hell of Hamas tunnels.Following the introduction, I speak with Amir Tibon and at approximately 23:00 the interview with Adam and Heidi begins.Am Yisrael Chai.Podcast NoteState of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.stateoftelaviv.comAfter almost two months in Canada and the U.S. it’s great to be back in Israel. I awoke Sunday morning to news of a new operation in the Gaza Strip and hoped that it meant we were rescuing hostages. Alas, it’s more about preventing Hamas fighters from regrouping. More like whack-a-mole. You battle in one area, move onto the next, and they return to the …

Everything in Israel seems like a Hollywood action movie that never ends. It has been a wild two weeks. Exploding pagers. Walkie talkies. Daily assassinations of high level Hezballah commanders and leaders. And it all culminated in the assassination of Hezballah leader, Hassan Nasrallah on September 27. Israel continues with targeted operations in Beirut and south Lebanon. Iranian Supreme leader Khamenei fulminates. On “X”, anyways. Seems that’s all he’s been doing, posting rants and threats about the Zionist menace. Vows of revenge. The Houthis are popping off missiles at Israel. And the world waits. Will Iran attack? Will Israel attack Iran directly? Where is western leadership? We get into those questions and more. And we even muse about a curious tweet by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law….that lays out a thoughtful analysis of the situation…..albeit heavy on the political spin. And Kushner is not known for sharing his geopolitical thoughts publicly. And post editing, just read of a strike on a villa near Damascus that may have killed Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s brother, who was meeting with senior IRGC officials. This is unconfirmed by an authoritative source. But the X account that posted their information is reliable. Just another Sunday with Viv and Ya’akov.See links for additional information on the podcast, below.Podcast NotesSee links below the photograph of Prime Minister Netanyahu delivering his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, September 27 to the transcript of his remarks as well as the video of his speech.Below is the full text of a post made on "X" on Saturday, September 29. Jared Kushner / @jaredkushnerSeptember 27th is the most important day in the Middle East since the Abraham Accords breakthrough. I have spent countless hours studying Hezbollah and there is not an expert on earth who thought that what Israel has done to decapitate and degrade them was possible. This is significant because Iran is now fully exposed. The reason why their nuclear facilities have not been destroyed, despite weak air defense systems, is because Hezbollah has been a loaded gun pointed at Israel. Iran spent the last forty years building this capability as its deterrent. President Trump would often say, “Iran has never won a war but never lost a negotiation.” The Islamic Republic’s regime is much tougher when risking Hamas, Hezbollah, Syrian and Houthi lives than when risking their own. Their foolish efforts to assassinate President Trump and hack his campaign reek of desperation and are hardening a large coalition against them. Iranian leadership is stuck in the old Middle East, while their neighbors in the GCC are sprinting toward the future by investing in their populations and infrastructure. They are becoming dynamic magnets for talent and investment while Iran falls further behind. As the Iranian proxies and threats dissipate, regional security and prosperity will rise for Christians, Muslims and Jews alike. Israel now finds itself with the threat from Gaza mostly neutralized and the opportunity to neutralize Hezbollah in the north. It’s unfortunate how we got here but maybe there can be a silver lining in the end. Anyone who has been calling for a ceasefire in the North is wrong. There is no going back for Israel. They cannot afford now to not finish the job and completely dismantle the arsenal that has been aimed at them. They will never get another chance. After the brilliant, rapid-fire tactical successes of the pagers, radios, and targeting of leadership, Hezbollah’s massive weapon cache is unguarded and unmanned. Most of Hezbollah fighters are hiding in their tunnels. Anyone still around was not important enough to carry a pager or be invited to a leadership meeting. Iran is reeling, as well, insecure and unsure how deeply its own intelligence has been penetrated. Failing to take full advantage of this opportunity to neutralize the threat is irresponsible. I have been hearing some amazing stories about how Israel has been collecting intelligence over the past 10 months with some brilliant technology and crowdsourcing initiatives. But today, with the confirmed killing of Nasrallah and at least 16 top commanders eliminated in just nine days, was the first day I started thinking about a Middle East without Iran’s fully loaded arsenal aimed at Israel. So many more positive outcomes are possible. This is a moment to stand behind the peace-seeking nation of Israel and the large portion of the Lebanese who have been plagued by Hezbollah and who want to return to the times when their country was thriving, and Beirut a cosmopolitan city. The main issue between Lebanon and Israel is Iran; otherwise there is a lot of benefit for the people of both countries from working together. The right move now for America would be to tell Israel to finish the job. It’s long overdue. And it’s not only Israel’s fight. More than 40 years ago, Hezbollah killed 241 US military personnel, including 220 Marines. That remains the single deadliest day for the U.S. Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima. Later that same day, Hezbollah killed 58 French paratroopers. And now, over the past six weeks or so, Israel has eliminated as many terrorists on the US list of wanted terrorists as the US has done in the last 20 years. Including Ibrahim Aqil, the leader of Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization who masterminded the 1983 killing of those MarinesState of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

In the podcast introduction, I mistakenly refer to Mr. Neuer’s testimony before a Congressional Committee as having taken place on January 24, 2024. The correct date is January 30, 2024Hillel Neuer may well be a familiar name to State of Tel Aviv listeners. As Executive Director of UN Watch for twenty plus years, Neuer has been an unwavering force holding the United Nations human rights organizations accountable. Accountable for their constant haranguing of Israel – which the UN holds to a different and impossible standard – and the pandering of UN bodies to countries and terror organizations which egregiously violate human rights. I had an in depth conversation with Hillel earlier this summer about how UN Watch exposed the head of the UNRWA teacher’s union for openly supporting Hamas. And how the head of UNRWA – Philippe Lazzarini – just bowed to the will and ways of these bad actors. It is a fascinating look into the important work undertaken by Neuer which, for the most part, is a lot of old school research, slogging and thinking. A masterful – and theatrical orator – Neuer is at his best when lashing UNRWA and others before various officials around the world. We start off today’s podcast with some of the comments he made today to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, before looking back at some of his extraordinary accomplishments since October 7. And he is just revving up.Podcast notes:* Transcript of written remarks delivered by UN Watch Executive Director, Hillel Neuer, before the UN Human Rights Council’s 57th session on September 26, 2024 may be read here.* Video of Hillel Neuer addressing the United States Congress House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Joint Hearing of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability and the Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, January 30, 2024. The video can be viewed here. In the accompanying transcript of Mr. Neuer’s remarks there are multiple hyperlinks to the detailed material UN Watch has gathered to support these claims of URWA collusion with Hamas on October 7, before and since.* News clip from ILTV reporting on the “kidnap” of the body of Yonatan Samerano by UNRWA workers and throwing his body  onto an UNRWA truck on October 7, 2023. ILTV news story is from February 22, 2024 and can be viewed here.* The link to the UN Watch website can be accessed here. We encourage you to peruse the site, which is a trove of information regarding all manner of human rights issues.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

What else? The pager caper. We talked walkie talkies. And what it all means in the longer run. Is it a serious blow to Hezballah or a warning shot? In the meantime, in spite of massive Israeli air force attacks on rocket and missile launch sites in Lebanon, Hezballah is managing to shoot off hundreds of rockets. They are pounding northern Israel, particularly in the area between Haifa and Nazareth, hoping to hit a large air force base in the vicinity. Instead, they have had numerous direct hits on civilian homes and other buildings. As does everyone, we wonder if there is a strategic plan for war on the northern front, which is not yet apparent. We marvel at the brass-knuckled maneuverings of PM Netanyahu – keeping his political “colleagues” and foes on guard. And, as always, we close with the hostages, who are coming up to a year in captivity. One year.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Kidnapped brutally from her parent’s home on Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 39-year-old Carmel Gat survived 11 months in a Hamas tunnel dungeon. Starving. Filthy. Abused. Humiliated. Living in barbaric conditions. Somehow, she survived, along with five other young Israeli hostages. They were murdered at the end of August with a bullet to the back of the head. Just like that.Carmel’s cousins, Shay and Gil Dickmann, have advocated ceaselessly for the negotiation of a deal for the release of all hostages. This family has been devastated. Carmel’s mother, Kinneret, was murdered on that dark day. Her sister-in-law, Yarden, was kidnapped. She was released in November, when Carmel was on the list to walk to freedom. But Hamas reneged and the deal collapsed.Many in the west are critical of people like Shay and Gil Dickmann for “strengthening the enemy” and “playing into the hands of Hamas.” By protesting, goes the argument, they weaken the state of Israel and make us all more vulnerable. Clearly, they see things differently. And I thought it would be very helpful for their voices and passion and compelling logic to be heard by as many as possible.Ask yourself as you listen to them… what you would do in their situation.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe