The Promised Podcast

Allison, Don & Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Heart & Home We discuss the tragic events at the Bedouin Village of Umm Al-Hiran, leaving two dead and dozens dispossessed of their homes. "Reports of our Death are Greatly Exaggerated" (With apologies to Mark Twain) We mull over the surprisingly growing popularity of Israel's center left, and what it might mean if PM Netanyahu is forced to resign under accusations of corruption. Crass Combat Couture We ask about t-shirts printed up for fun by IDF soldiers displaying all sorts of sexist and bigoted images. Are these silk-screened sleazeries just harmless fun, or are they little cotton agents of patriarchy and racism? All songs by Malca Baya (for a summer interlude in the dead of winter) Im At Ba-Inyan Chai Lo Be-Lahatz Kama Ham Stav

Allison, Don & Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Cubans, Champaign and Bringing Bibi Down We ask whether or not we should take to the streets to demand the resignation of PM Netanyahu, as evidence of influence peddling accumulates. Should We Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Lieberman? We mull over the strange fact that the strongest advocate of the Two-State Solution in the governing coalition is former hard-line Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman; but does he mean what we mean when he says "Two State Solution"? It is Good to Drink for our Country! We discuss a recent exposure of low-level debauchery in Israeli youth movements, and why generally wholesome youth groups are, in fact, thriving here. All songs by Meir Banai (with sadness in our hearts, on his much too-soon passing): U'veneihem Ahava Ketzarah Be-Shem Ha-Ahavah Lecha Eli

Allison, Don & Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Killer-Hero-Scapegoat? We discuss the furor over the manslaughter conviction of Sgt. Elor Azaria, for shooting in the head a subdued stabber in Hebron. TEDs We mull over a new effort by settlers to present themselves in a more sophisticated way, using TED-ish talks. Yiddishkeit, that Trojan Horse! We ask whether or not the claim by an important intellectual, journalist and leftist political analyst that Israel's left cannot win its political battles because it has conceded it's cultural battles to the right, has anything to it. All songs by The Ultras: Boker Tov Ein li et ha-ometz Ba-leilot levad Ba li

Allison Kaplan Sommer sits down for a conversation with decorated journalist Dahlia Lithwick about Trumpism, American Jewry's relationship to Israel, and Axe body spray.

Allison, Don & Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. The Unsettling Cost of Unsettling We discuss the Government's decision to spend 130 million shekels to resettle 42 settler families from an illegal outpost. If he wasn't good, he wouldn't be rich, right? We mull over the recent entry of businessmen into Israeli politics (especially on the left) and their claim that only they can drain the swamp in Jerusalem. Social Change? There's an App for that Now We ask whether or not a new app designed by an NGO to improve public transportation is a good way to bring about political change. All songs by Yossi Elephant: Susan Yam Ha'ahava Rechov 60 Helem Kerakh

Allison, Don & Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. And as a Parting Gift: UN Security Council Resolution 2334 We discuss UN Security Council Resolution 2334, calling Israeli settlements illegal, and America's failure to scuttle it, and the righteous apoplexy of Israel's official response. The Donalds (Futterman and Trump) Agree: Jerusalem is the Eternal Capital of the Jewish People We recount Don's shocking assertion that he agrees with US President-Elect Donald Trump: the American Embassy should be moved to Jerusalem – are we in some sort of political bizzaro world? We Dreamt We were Farmers We mull over the government's decision to prop up agriculture with tax payer shekels, and why we should grow stuff at home that is cheaper to import. All songs by Regel Sabres!: Amud Shidra Chalul Cochav Ba-Shemesh shel Natanya

Allison, Don & Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. 675 Kilometers North We mull over the human tragedy of Aleppo, and what Israelis are saying (or not saying) and doing (or not doing) about it. You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your ambassador! We ask how we should regard David Friedman, President-Elect Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to Israel, who supports the occupation, opposes a two-state solution, and has called leftists "worse than Kapos," the poor saps forced to give a hand to the Nazis Hem-Line Politics We discuss the brouhaha, hullaballo and rumpus over Knesset guards denying entrance to Parliamentary aides whose dresses were judged too short; is this decorum or just a reduction ad absurdum of the patriarchy? All songs by Shtar, Beit Shemesh's favorite religious hip-hop sons, including Ori Murray (MC), Brad Rubinstein (guitar), Dan "Zaki" Isaac (vocals), Avi Sommers (bass) and Tzvi Solomons (percussion): Lights Gone Again Restoring My Soul (Modeh) Infinity

Allison, Noah & 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. Lousy Leftists Lack Loyalty We mull over a new poll finding that almost one in two Israeli Jews think that leftists are not loyal to Israel. Tenured Traitors, or Professors of Perfidy We discuss the Minister of Education's appointment of an ethicist to write rules governing when and how professors talk politics in their college classrooms; is this censorship or civility? Double-Crossing Double X, or The Unbearable Lightness of Cyber-Sexism and On-Line Assholery We ask what explains the spleen and bile, vilely aimed at women, especially politicians, on the Hebrew Internet. All songs by Eliad: Ma She-Yesh Matok Kshemarli Linshom, with Shimon Buskila

Allison, Noah & Tel Aviv Review Host Gilad Halpern discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Cities of Sanctity, Cities of Sin We discuss President Reuven Rivlin's suggestion that each city, town or neighbourhood decide for themselves how much attention to pay to religion; Is it time to let Tel Aviv be Tel Aviv and Bnai Brak be Bnai Brak? Righteous Jews We mull over the scuffle between the Knesset and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum over whether to start lionizing "Righteous Jews" who saved folks during the Holocaust alongside "Righteous Gentiles." Aging Alone We ask why so many Israeli old folks are lonely, and what we ought to do about it. All songs by Mika Sade, off her new record, Birds and Guitars: Little Things Birthday Birds and Guitars Wonderful Gifts

Allison, Don and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Israel is Burning We discuss the befuddled responses of politicians and our own to the 630 fires that blazed throughout Israel last week, some of which may have been set by arsonists wishing Israel harm. Our Identity Crisis We ponder the most talked about post-mortem of the American election, which attributes the fall of the Democrats to "identity liberalism"; in Israel, the right seems to be employing identity politics and it ain't working out so badly for them. You, You, You Oughta Know: Awkward Adventures in Post-Modern Culture We fret about Shefita, a popular Arab chanteuse and diva, who is a character created by a Jewish singer named Rotem Shefy; Is this homage? Cultural appropriation? 21st century blackface? Interdenominational drag? And is it okay or icky? All songs by Shefita & Rotem Shefy: Pink, performed by Shefita Lithium, performed by Shefita You Oughta Know, performed by Shefita Adif She-Lo, by Rotem Shefy