State of Tel Aviv, Israel Podcast

Approximately 1.3-million of Israel’s 9-million citizens are ultra orthodox, or, haredim. They have large families and the men overwhelmingly choose to study religious texts full time rather than work. The state provides them with living and other stipends that perpetuate entrenched cycles of poverty, which the haredim seem to embrace. Problem is, the tax-paying, general population is not growing as quickly, meaning that such state largesse is not sustainable. A severe economic crisis is imminent but haredi political and rabbinic leaders and their communities seem oblivious. Their calling, they think, is a higher one; to protect the Jewish people through their piety. Most Israelis disagree. As does haredi educator Menachem Bombach. He is determined to demonstrate to haredim that it is not only necessary that they work to support their families but that there is great honor in doing so. His network of schools teaching haredi boys core subjects like English and Math, is revolutionary among haredim and making waves. Big waves. Bombach hopes that the waves are soon a tsunami, transforming Israeli society for the better. We speak at length in today’s episode with the brilliant and inspiring Rabbi Menachem Bombach.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

After 7 years as Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Post newspaper, Yakov Katz put out his final edition at the end of March. And before that, he served for two years as a senior aide to then Minister Naftali Bennett. Katz discusses his “awakening” and experience after seeing the backrooms of Israeli politics at the top, and the moment when PM Bennett called to tell him that he finally saw the “real” Benjamin Netanyahu. He shares his insights into the challenges of dragging legacy media into the digital age, the extreme nature of political discourse in Israel and the quite dangerous precipice on which the country perches, at the moment. It’s a freewheeling chat and Katz’s irrepressible energy is infectious. He speaks very quickly… be prepared to listen! 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

I sat down with top Israeli journalist Attila Somfalvi last week to catch up on his big picture thoughts. Where are we headed in Israel with all this political dysfunction, security urgencies? Social division? This guy never flags, but he was very candid in saying, off the top, that after 20 years of covering politics in Israel he is worried and anxious. He is also, however, optimistic, because even though the more liberal slice of Israeli society is smaller in number, as he explains it, the much larger and less liberal population – which tends to be religious – cannot survive, literally, without the former. And so, there is this unusual paradox – for a democracy, anyways – where the smaller demographic may have more significant sway. Why? Because they carry the state financially and in terms of security. They quite literally do the heavy lifting. The ultra-orthodox community may say that their religious devotion is what saves Israel but when the rubber hits the road they know it’s the IDF. In this context, Attila analyzes Netanyahu’s downward spiral as Benny Gantz ascends, quietly. There’s no hare in this race…..just two battle-hardened tortoises. But, in the end, Israelis trust no one more than a field-tested General. Blue-eyed Benny fits the bill. One of Israel’s leading journalists, Attila Somfalvi is everywhere:  Ynet TV anchor and political analyst; host of Barrricade – an independently produced political podcast, popular event speaker and great writer – as you will see in the pages of State of Tel Aviv.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

Today we get into the weeds of what goes down on a typical night of protest in the State of Tel Aviv, and Beyond. Our host, Vivian Bercovici, takes us with her with sound, street interviews and narrative – to the streets where 150,000 protest every Saturday night in the heart of Israel. Tel Aviv. Vivian speaks with quiet religious protesters who hold signs every week saying – “we’re brothers” – a bromide that most demonstrators do not embrace. And we hear a lot from one of them. She takes us with her to a police station in south Tel Aviv late that night where eight protesters who have been arrested are being detained and speaks to one of the activists who oversees that they are represented by legal counsel and supported in every way possible. And we finish up the following morning in a Tel Aviv courtroom, where the state intends to detain one man in custody. But he is set free because the judge finds there is no legal basis supporting the state’s position. In the meantime, the man, Omer, has spent a night in a prison cell with four Palestinian men in Israel illegally. This episode brings you the facts. No editorializing. April 15-16 on the streets in the State of Tel Aviv, and Beyond. 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

Tonight, at sundown, Israel makes the jarring transition from a day of mourning the 24,213 soldiers who have fallen in action and 4,255 civilians killed in terror attacks. It is a deeply sombre day. Every single person in this country has lost someone close. War and loss are not abstract concepts from a previous century. They are raw and very real. As the mourning ends the celebrations begin. The miracle of Jewish nationhood is a fact that no one takes for granted, especially not this year. STLV speaks with two very feisty guys – Dov Zigler and Prof. Neil Rogachevsky – authors of an important and timely book: “Israel’s Declaration of Independence: The History and Political Theory of the Nation’s Founding Moment”, which focuses on the three weeks leading up to the moment when David Ben Gurion declared Israel to be an independent state. The back-story: political machinations; competing factions; the threat of a multi front war with no weapon supply – all these dramatic elements are brought to life by these skillful writers and raconteurs. This is historical story telling at its best and it’s wild to think that in the midst of all the crises coming at him that Ben Gurion only had a few hours to focus on this founding document; the meaning of which we parse and argue about to this day. And, especially this year, as the state of Israel grapples domestically with its basic national values.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscribe 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

Last night and today, Israel marks Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Throughout the country, there are small ceremonies where survivors, or their children, speak of their experiences. People gather in neighborhood parks, at schools. There are also grand state ceremonies, reinforcing the importance of this singular mass murder to the Israeli identity and nation.In this episode, I speak with Dr. Gali Mir Tibon, a former educator cum historian and writer who has written extensively on the unique and little known exceptionalism of how the Holocaust unfolded so differently in Romania from all other European countries. The story of the 750,000 Romanian Jews – half of whom survived the war – has been overshadowed by the focus on what transpired in Poland, Hungary, present-day Ukraine and in the network of work and murder camps throughout the Third Reich. One of the likely explanations for this is that there were no direct train transports of Jews from Romania to the camps. They were intended to have been sent to Belzec for mass murder but were spared by an astonishing sequence of events.Gali Mir Tibon shares some fascinating stories, previously untold, of circumstance, luck and heroism. And I weave in relevant anecdotes from my own experience of growing up with my father, also a survivor from Romania. With the opening of historical archives, and the distance of time, we are just beginning to understand the scope of what happened in those horrific years.In remembrance of all those who perished and those who survived.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

Avi Issacharoff has a lot to say these days. The co-creator of the Netflix hit series Fauda has been focused in recent years on his hugely successful career in television drama. On May 19, he debuts a new docu-drama on Showtime – a four part series about the notorious terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in 2008 in a joint CIA-Mossad operation in Damascus. And then there’s the here and now.  Like so many Israelis, in recent months Avi has become deeply involved in the protest movement against the proposed legal reforms of the country’s hard – some say extreme – right wing government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And Avi has harsh words for the PM himself. He speaks openly about what he considers to be the racism of certain political leaders, looking down upon Mizrachi Jews - like him - with contempt. He minces no words, including Netanyahu and his Ashkenaz colleagues in a searing indictment. They posture as being the saviours of the Mizrachim, he charges, yet who are they to represent me? Man oh man, is he ever angry about that. And so much more. Mild-mannered by nature, Avi’s got that middle eastern “charif” quality – a hot streak - too and is not at all shy about expressing his strong views. This is a fascinating, no-holds-barred conversation, where the depth of the artist is on full display - as is his passion for life and Israel.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

If you missed Episode 7, you can find it below.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

Fleur Hassan-Nahum, loyal Likud member and Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem explains how she reconciles her identity as a liberal democratic Israeli with the current focus of her party – and the coalition government – on what many consider to be legislatives reforms that will destroy Israel’s independent judiciary – and liberal democracy. A self-described consensus builder and pragmatist, she quite openly discusses the shortcomings of the rollout of the proposed reforms but is adamant that they are necessary. It is a position that I can neither understand nor accept; but our exchange is a polite reflection of what takes place constantly, these days, all over Israel.  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

On Sunday March 26, 2023, at 9 pm, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his Minister of Defence, General Yoav Gallant, for daring to warn the nation that we are in a dire security predicament. Gallant urged the Prime Minister to pause the controversial judicial “reform” legislation that most Israelis believe will be the death knell of liberal democracy in the country. Netanyahu’s impulsive dismissal of Gallant sparked massive protests throughout Israel within minutes. Whatsapp mobilized the nation.  Everything came to a standstill. The last 24 hours in Israel have been as dramatic as any in its 75 year history. The country is paralyzed by protests. The main international airport, factories, ports, shops, universities, everything is shut down. A national strike has been called and is supported by Israelis across the political spectrum. This is about preserving democracy and preventing the dictatorial regime that Netanyahu and his coalition partners are determined to impose. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets last night and the protests have yet to subside. Israel may well be on the brink of civil war. Vivian Bercovici was on the streets of Tel Aviv until 2 am today and helps us understand what is really going down. General Noam Tibon (res.) joins her to discuss what has transpired….they met on Sunday, midday, when things were looking somewhat positive. And then…..KABOOM! 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