Haaretz Podcast

Amos Harel, senior defense analyst for Haaretz, offers on-the-ground perspective from Tel Aviv. He walks through the U.S.-led strikes and coordination challenges. He discusses Iran’s immediate retaliatory missile strikes and regional ripple effects. He assesses the risk of proxy escalation and the political calculations inside Iran.

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, a feminist rabbi and author focused on ethics and repair, recounts her personal reckoning with the Wexner–Epstein ties. She describes taking accountability, donating fellowship funds, and urges transparency over protecting power. The conversation centers on institutional silence, the danger of shielding donors, and the need to center survivors and structural change.

Uri Kedar, CEO of Free Israel and former IDF tank commander, speaks about rising fury over Haredi draft-dodging. He describes violent confrontations, political maneuvers to preserve exemptions, and shifting public outrage across the political spectrum. He highlights pressure on the military, legal battles, and the broader struggle over integration and state policy.

Sari Bashi, human-rights lawyer and author, tells the story of her cross-border marriage and life split between Tel Aviv and Ramallah. She recounts meeting her partner under legal and social taboos. Short scenes cover dating across checkpoints, raising bilingual mixed-identity children, travel restrictions, and why she wrote her diary-style memoir Upside Down Love.

Ben Samuels, Haaretz’s Washington correspondent covering U.S.-Israel relations, unpacks the rushed Trump-Netanyahu meeting. He discusses Israel’s push to broaden Iran talks beyond nukes. He outlines Trump’s mixed signals on military action. He examines how Gaza, domestic politics and U.S. military moves shape the leaders’ calculations.

Matan Golan, Haaretz West Bank correspondent reporting on settler violence and land disputes, describes relentless harassment and attacks driving Palestinians from Area C. Short scenes include the Bedouin village of Mukhmas, repeated outpost arson and beatings, social-media boasting by settlers, limited IDF protection, and government moves expanding control over Palestinian areas.

Aida Touma-Sliman, longtime Palestinian-Israeli MK and activist for Arab citizens' rights and women, speaks about the surge in organized crime and its role in eroding Arab society. She links declining homicide investigations and political choices to escalating violence. She also discusses leaving parliament, revitalizing the Joint List, grassroots organizing, and critiques of the Israeli center-left.

Amos Harel, senior defense analyst at Haaretz known for Israeli military and security analysis, breaks down U.S. naval moves near Iran and whether strikes could topple Tehran. He discusses Trump’s shift toward pressuring Iran into nuclear limits. He also assesses Israel’s missile concerns and the challenges in Gaza reconstruction as Rafah reopens.

Linda Dayan, Haaretz correspondent who covers Israeli politics, antisemitism and the hostage movement, reports from a charged Jerusalem conference where far-right leaders framed antisemitism as a fight against radical Islam aided by the “woke” left. She describes the conference’s anti-Muslim messaging, Christian nationalist overtones, divisions in the American and European right, and the contrasting unity of the Hostage Square movement.

Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-Israeli lecturer and analyst of Iranian politics, gives a stark assessment of nationwide repression. He compares recent mass killings to historic atrocities. He explains how tactics learned in Syria were used against protesters. He discusses casualty estimates, Iran’s military posture, possible retaliatory targets, and pathways for international pressure.