The Promised Podcast

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Sally Abed and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Still Crazy, After All These Tears— A cease fire has taken affect, dust has settled, dead have been buried, and rubble has begun to be cleared. But what, if anything, has changed? —Who's Afraid of Fifth Elections?— So maybe 5th elections are a good idea! —Dissenting Court or Courting Dissent?— Did the Supreme Court just save Israeli democracy (or destroy it)? —You Okay?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we check in with one another and ask how we are doing, personally, as the violence recedes, as the corona virus seems to be forgotten, and the movie theaters are reopening. All that and the grunge garage band rock of The Grasshoppers (Ha-Hargolim)!

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —The Problem of Power— Trevor Noah and John Oliver say that death counts alone are enough to see that Israel is wrong, and fighting an "unfair fight." What do you do with a claim like that? —Paradigm Lost?— Before the fighting, Right, Left, and Center politicians negotiated a coalition to replace Netanyahu, with the support of an Islamist party. Once the fighting broke out, the coalition fell apart before it ever took hold. Does this prove what many say, that an Arab-Jewish political alliance cannot survive an Arab-Jewish war? —Subterfuge— Is it kosher for the IDF Spokesman to lie to reporters, if it helps the IDF do its job? —Thrown Out for Throwing Rocks— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we talk about a petition demanding to sack a high-school principal caught on film throwing a rock in a riot. The man – Sagi Rosenbaum is his name – says he sees he made a terrible mistake – is that enough to let him keep his job? All that and the powerful rap of 22-year old Jerusalemite Adi Agai!

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman, Sally Abed and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —"F*cked Up, Horrible Chickens"— Rockets and missiles from the south and mob violence most everywhere else: Why did Israel just dissolve into bloodshed? —"If I Forget Thee, O' Jerusalem Day"— How do you celebrate the "reunification" of Jerusalem (and how don't you)? —Will Social Media Be the Death of Me?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we talk about the roles played by Twitter, Facebook, Tiktok and Instoosh in our Hobbesian war-of-all-against-all moment. All that and the music of Trace Kotik, in celebration of his brand-new debut record, Everything Has Been Done by Now, So Now, Everything is Possible…!

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida, Sally Abed (for a bit) and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —(Qui Est-Ce Que) J'Accuse?— Forty-five people are crushed to death by a crowd at an all-night revelry at Mount Meron. Who or what is to blame? —All in the Family— Is "family-uber-alles" the only thing that cuts across lines of religion, language, ethnicity, sexual orientation and all other things that divide one Israeli from the next? —Ethnic What?— On last week's podcast, Sally called Israeli policy in Jaffa "ethnic cleansing." This week she tell more about what she means, and why she thinks the label fits. —They Made You Do What?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we talk about the labyrinthine procedures one needs to follow these days traveling back and forth between Israel and the US, after Allison and Noah just ran that gauntlet. All that and the music of Stephane Legar, in honor of his new single, Na'im Meod!

Sally Abed, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Our Bennett-factor— The liberal, center-left newspaper Haaretz endorses Naftali Bennett, a privatize-anything-that-moves and annex-anything-God-promised-to-us-in-the-Bible right wing ideologue, as our next prime minister. What gives? —Jaffa, Lit— Jaffa explodes in violence and protest. What and who are to blame? —Hebrew & Me— Maybe the most intimate question we know: What does Hebrew mean to us? —The Demonstrations and Violence in Jaffa: A First-Hand Look— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we hear from Sally, who was arrested at one of the Jaffa demonstrations last week, what the demonstrations was like, what the arrest was like, and whether doing hard time really hardens a woman, like in the movies. Also, how bad is prison hooch, really? All that and the great debut EP of the one-and-only Romi Mor!

Don Futterman, Noah Efron and Times of Israel Ops & Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —"Unity is the Thing We Seek"— Opposition leader Yair Lapid says he wants a right-left-and-center "National Unity Government." The fact that it won't be able to do anything about the occupation is a feature, he says, not a bug. Does he have a point? —How Do You Solve a Problem Like Ben Gvir?— Kahanist MK Itamar Ben Gvir represents an outlook that most Israelis find loathsome. Is it better to fight him, or just ignore him? —Hip Like Us— Does what we Israelis wear tell us something about who we are? —Mask-Free and Prosper— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we talk about this strange pandemical moment, after the mask mandate was rescinded this week, when things seem to be opening up both higgledy and piggledy, which moment feels both like a resurrection – We hath risen! — and also maybe like a prologue to a setback down the road. It's weird, so we talk about it. All that and the great first record of Minus Efes!

In celebration of Yom Ha-Atzma'ut, Israeli Independence Day, stories about what the day means to us, from our family to yours! Plus, classic songs from the old Israeli songbook, performed by a new generation.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and Times of Israel Ops & Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —What Now?— The President just asked the Prime Minister (who is standing trial for corruption) to form Israel's next government. Should he have? What the hell happens next? —Make My Standard a Double!— Is it hypocritical of PM Netanyahu and his supporters to form a coalition with the support of the Islamist Ra'am Party? —My President?— By June, Israel will have to elect a new president. Who should she be? —Trying to Make Sense of It— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we talk about the parole of Rushdi Hamdan Abu Mukh, after serving 35 years of a sentence for the 1984 murder of 19-year old IDF corporal Moshe Tamam. Videos show Abu Mukh being cheered and hoisted on shoulders when he returned to his hometown of Baka al Garbia, causing Tamam's family to call for Abu Mukh to be stripped of his Israeli citizenship. What should we make of this sad, sad thing? All that and Bilgo!

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Way Out— Israel's political stalemate can maybe be solved by a law disqualifying PM Netanyahu (and anyone else standing trial for felonies) from heading a new government. But is it kosher to pass a law meant to end one specific person's political career? —Robot Soldiers— New autonomous weapons patrolling the border with Gaza keeps militants from crossing into Israel without endangering the lives of Israeli soldiers. Is that great news or awful news, or maybe somehow both? —What is a Museum of the Jewish People a Museum Of?— $100 million and hundreds of thousands of hours went into reimagining the Diaspora Museum as "Anu: The Museum of the Jewish People." What's the new place have to tell us about Jews? —Living in a Bubble?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, after the city-by-city election results show that Tel Aviv elected a completely secular, left-wing coalition and that Jerusalem elected a completely religious, mostly ultra-Orthodox right-wing coalition, we wonder if we're living in a bubble that keeps us from understanding what people think and feel 45 minutes up the road from us. All that and Groove Salad (being Boaz Giller and Liat Haber)!

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman, Sally Abed and Noah Efron talk about Israel's elections this week: What should we make of the surprising success and kingmaker role of the Islamicist Ra'am party? The Kahanists in the Knesset? The better-than-anyone-predicted showing of Benny Gantz and the Blue & White party? The relative failure of the right-winger who wanted to replace Netanyahu, Gideon Sa'ar and Naftali Bennett? The relative success of the Labor Party and liberal-left Meretz? The stalwart centrist Yair Lapid? What's it all say about the state of our collective soul? What's it all augur for the future? —You Voted for Whom?!— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we – in a fit of self-disclosure – spill about who we voted for, and why. All that and two of Israel's greatest young opera singers, Shani Oshri & Noam Lowenstein, singing roots music in Ladino (see their beautiful online show next Monday)!