The Promised Podcast

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 —Party Time!— Five new center-left parties launched last week, and there are more on the way this week. Why are lefty parties sprouting like mushrooms after a spring rain? —Going for Netanyahu in Droves?— Prime Minister Netanyahu hints that he's eager for an Islamicist party to join his coalition after the elections. Is this a turning-point in the history of Israeli politics? —In Living Color— An amateur historian and artist colorizes dozens of photos taken by a Wehrmacht officer of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, in order to show a brighter side of day-to-day life in the shadow of the Holocaust. Is that what we want? What we need? —Should Burg Receive the Gift of No Longer Being Chosen?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we discuss former Speaker-of-the-Knesset Avrum Burg's petition of the Supreme Court to remove from official documents any mention that his "nationality" is Jewish. This, in protest of the Nation-State Law. Should Burg receive the gift of no longer being Chosen? All that and the new wave drive of Tal Label!

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. —DNR for Labor?— Is pulling the plug on Israel's Labor Party the only decent thing to do? —In Seeking Peace, Might Less Be More?— Would Israelis and Palestinians be better off, if Americans stopped trying to broker grand peace accords? —What's So Wrong with Law & Liberty— A group of conservative lawyers in Israel, following the lead of America's Federalist Society, play the long-game to change Israel's courts beyond recognition. Is that a bad thing? —Political Bait and Switch?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we help the Academy for the Hebrew Language pick the "Word of the Year"! All that and the extraordinary genius of Nissim Black!

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. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment —Elections, Infections & Abjections— Is the collapse of Israel's government a good thing, in a They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Sort of way? —Vaccination Lamentation— Why are so many of Israel's anti-vaxxers leftists? New Jewess Is Gal Gadot the "New Jewess"? —"Urban Freedom"— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we discuss a new survey of "Urban Freedom" by the separation-of-church-and-state-advocacy group Yisrael Hofshit, about which Allison wrote in Haaretz. Kama Vardi, in celebration of her new album, Moonticket!

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. Listen To the Extra-Special, Special Extra Patreon Segment —Casablanca Dreamin'— Might peace between Morocco and Israel be kinda a game changer? —Netanyahu's Man in the Islamic Movement— Is Prime Minister Netanyahu's newest BFF a representative of the Islamic Movement? —Checkin' Facts— Real-time, live, fact-checking Netanyahu seems like a good idea, but is it? —Political Bait and Switch?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we ask, do politicians who bolt from one party and join another, in order to stay in the Knesset, really deserve to be mocked and scorned? All that and the music of Yagel Harush & Ensemble Shir Yedidut.

Times of Israel Ops & Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag, Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Donate to the Tel Aviv Crisis Center's crowdsource campaign Listen To the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —"Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On"— Gideon Sa'ar, an acolyte-turned-enemy of Prime Minister Netanyahu starts a new right-wing and promises to pry Netanyahu from the office he's held for eleven long years straight. Is this the beginning of the end for Bibi? —My Kidn is for Yidn— Former MK Moshe Feiglin just donated a kidney, and wanted to designate that it go to a Jew. What's wrong with that? —Ain't No Vision Like Eurovision— Help pick Israel's song in the Rotterdam Eurovision next May! —What (if Anything) Does Hanukkah Mean to Us?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we ask, what (if anything) this holiday of lights, Hanukkah, means to us? All that and Israeli tributes to John Lennon, marking 40 long years without him.

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. Listen to the extra segment on Patreon —An Irony Wrapped in a Prevarication Inside a Mendacity— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants new elections but votes against them; Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz does not want new elections but votes for them. Is Israel heading back to the polls? —Remember that Name, Fakhrizadeh— Why does the assassination of the head of Iran's nuclear weapons program seem like one thing in Jerusalem and something very different in Washington? (We are joined by special guest star, Tamara Cofman-Wittes of the socko Rational Security podcast) —Arks & Sciences— What are we to make of an archaeologist's claim that King David was little more than the mediocre chieftain of a mediocre tribe? —Celebrating Danny Sanderson's 70th Birthday— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, in honor of the 70th birthday of the great songwriter-rock-star-mensch Danny Sanderson, we play a few of our favorite songs from his astonishing, 50-year career. All that and the our own celebration of uber-mensch, rock-star Danny Sanderson's 70th birthday!

Host of TLV1's Tel Aviv Review, Gilad Halpern, Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. —Sub-Committee?— Minister of Defense and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz's sets up a to investigate corruption in the purchase of German submarines and ships, that may implicate the Prime Minister. But should ministries be used to harass political rivals? —The Spy Who Came in from the Cold— American-spy-for-Israel Jonathan Pollard is free after 35 years and moving to Israel. What sort of welcome should he get? —#IDF— The IDF sweats to seem cool on social media. But should an army be cool? —Is Eytan Stibbe an Actual Astronaut?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we discuss the hubbub around Eytan Stibbe, that promises to develop into a fuferra and, after that — who knows? — even a fracas. Eytan Stibbe is a fighter pilot turned venture capitalist in the fast-paced and glamorous world of international arms sales. In exchange for a seven-figure donation, he's slated to spend ten days on the International Space Station next October, and he's being celebrated as the second Israeli in space, after Ilan Ramon, may his memory be for a blessing. But wags say, he ain't no hero of mine. All that and the offbeat charm of Kochevet Al!

Times of Israel Ops & Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag, 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. Listen to this week's Extra Segment on Patreon —The Vaxx— When Pfizer announced last week that its vaccine looks good, PM Netanyahu got on the horn and negotiated a deal to buy a mess of vaccine at high-end boutique prices, even though six months ago, Israel entered a much cheaper deal for vaccines by Moderna. Was the PM showboating, politicking, or looking out for the health of his citizens? —The Facts— A crowdsourced campaign puts the faces and names of rapists and abusers on billboards and bus-side ads, in order to shame them. Cathartic, yes? But does it make our lives better or worse? —The Tax— When you buy stuff from overseas on the internet, you don't pay tax, but when you go into a store in Tel Aviv, you do. Does that make any sense at all? —Will the Slurpee® Succeed on Soil Sanctified by Solomon?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we talk about plans to bring 250 branches of convenience store 7-Eleven to Israel in the next two years. Will the Slurpee® succeed on soil sanctified by Solomon? Should it succeed? Also, in Israel, do they give away the free Slurpees on July 11, like they do in America (July 11 being 7-11 in America), or will it be on November 7 (November 7 being 7-11 in Israel)? So many important questions! All that and the challenging genius of Kalkar.

Times of Israel Ops & Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag, Wunderkind 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. —What Was That?— Trump will soon be the 45th ex-President of the United States. Did his turbulent four years in office change Israel in ways that will last? —New Left?— Aging lions of the old Left say the only way the Left will survive is if it leaves Zionism out of party politics. Do they have a point? —The Yair Netanyahu Show— The Twitter-pugilist son of the prime minister, Yair Netanyahu, starts a podcast interviewing right-wing populist leaders and pretenders around the world, trying to create an international coalition of My-Country-First nationalists. We listened and survived to tell the tale! All that and songs from poems by Natan Zach, the great poet who died this week, and about whom we are tumultuously ambivalent.

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. —9,499 Kilometers— Washington lies 9,499 kilometers from Jerusalem, and yet the politics of the one affects the politics of the other. What, if anything, can we learn from the mess of American politics about the mess of Israeli politics? —Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots & Trump Jews— Haaretz's Anshel Pfeffer writes that Jews in Paris, Brasilia and Jerusalem splitting into two tribes: Trump Jews & Anti-Trump Jews. Does he have a point? —"Your Rabin, Not Mine"— An Minister in Israel says Rabin's legacy means nothing to her. Is that cool? —"I've Never Felt More American and Never Felt Less American"— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we talk about how we experienced the elections, in our different ways. Hint: At least one of us never felt more American and never felt less American, than he did at 3:30 am, Israel time, after the polls closed, pressing refresh over and over again like a rat pressing a pellet bar in a skinner box. All that and the happy harmony of Moonshine!