The Promised Podcast

Allison, Noah, and the Tel Aviv Review’s Gilad Halpern discuss three topics of incomparable importance (which this week all touch on issues of emotion) and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Dour, sour, and out of power: The Left's Grinch problem We discuss whether the Israeli left is hobbled by its own anhedonia and general 'Grinchiness.' Should we, in such serious and fraught times, assume a more light-hearted attitude? Invisible wounds A viral video of a former IDF soldier testifying before the Knesset about his debilitating PTSD has shed light on the fact that this kind of trauma is more prevalent in Israel than previously thought. What should we do about it? Anti-social networks We discuss the assertions of an Israeli applied anthropologist that Israeli kids' excessive use of screens and social networks is turning them into sociopaths and solipsists. Might this have political implications? All songs by Zaaluk, whose EP is available for download right now: En Casa De Mi PadreFuerame A BanarUna HoraZaaluk’s drummer Roy Brosh’s drum cover of Dhafer Youssef’s "Farha"

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. Best Western? We discuss the historic cabinet decision that designates part of the Western Wall as pluralist and egalitarian. Is it a great victory for the home team or sort of a sell-out? The hexed, vexed & perplexed textbook The hubbub over a new edition of an Israeli civics textbook threatens to develop into a furor. Do we really need a unified civics textbook in a disunified civil society? "We're here!, Vey iz mir!, Get used to it!" How are we to regard the protester at the LGBTQ conference who opposed letting pro-Israel voices be heard? We may disagree with such Jewish BDSers, but don't we share at least some common cause? All songs by Ella vs Mountain (Ella Doron), because sometimes you need a little pure pop for now people: Charmed LifeI like youBigger than lifeSigns

Gilad Halpern (host of the Tel Aviv Review), pollster and political consultant Dahlia Scheindlin, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Lucre, filthy & clean We discuss the "NGO Transparency Bill" and whether money donated by foreign governments is any different from money donated by foreign individuals. Trust in an age of terror We discuss the alarming deterioration of trust between Jewish and Arab Israelis, demonstrated by the results of the latest INSS poll. Love of Labor lost Eitan Haber, one of Yitzhak Rabin's closest advisers, wrote this week that Rabin's party just has too much baggage to continue. Is it time to stick a fork in the Labor Party? All songs by Hagar Raveh in honor of her new album, Yeled Kof, that just dropped this week: VeHaEtzev LeOlamShivahLeEchoz BeLitaotChatul BaGeshem

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. Tales of moles and weasels We discuss some recent revelations of right wing moles infiltrating human rights organizations. What, if anything, should be done about it? Street justice? We discuss the rage over a statement by Sweden’s Foreign Minister that Israel condones the "extra-judicial killing" of terrorists. "I pledge excretion to the flag" We discuss the decision to try a performance artist who defecated on the flag – is this another dead canary in the mine of Israeli democracy? All songs by Nili Fink: Toss AwayRiot CityDying AloneMasa Asphalt

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. Condemn, and this time with feeling! Some right-wing Israeli politicians are demanding that Palestinian Israeli leaders condemn Palestinian violence quickly, contritely, and convincingly. Do Palestinian Israelis have a special obligation to condemn Palestinian violence? The Oligarch Faculty of Judaic Studies We discuss a shocking exposé finding that Israeli hospitals, museums, universities, and zoos will let rich philanthropists do pretty much whatever they want in exchange for a donation. Occupation is a feminist issue! We discuss the decision of America’s National Women’s Studies Association to boycott Israel because their struggles "intersect" with the struggles of Palestinians. What are we to make of the politics of "intersectionality"? All songs by Aviva Dese: ShorashimTheir EyesUnfarasMurder

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. People of not-this-book! We discuss the brouhaha over the Israeli Ministry of Education’s decision to not include a book in the high school curriculum because of the book’s "racy" themes. Trigger warning: May contain optimism We found a rare, leftist end-of-2015 wrap-up that finds reason for hope – what’s up with that? Maybe this year hasn't been as bad as most of us are telling ourselves? Gay for the Likud! The newest MK, Amir Ohana, calls himself “Jewish, Israeli, Mizrahi, gay, Likudnik, a security hawk, a liberal, and a man of the free market,” but can you really embrace Gay politics from the right? All songs by Dafna ve-ha-Oogiot: Khaver AraviMiskenaMillionMasakh

Allison, Noah, and Oxford Prof. Sara Hirschhorn are live (on tape) from Limmud in Birmingham, England! They discuss three topics of incomparable importance, answering questions from the audience, and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Are reports of Israel’s demise exaggerated? What explains a recent spate of articles by bummed out Zionists suggesting that Israel’s days are numbered? The other American revolution We ask why so many of the Jewish terrorists in Israel carry American passports. What part does their American heritage play in their murderous zealotry? Thug Jews Is there anything to the claims of gadfly former Knesset Speaker Avrum Burg that, because Jews had no power in the past, Israelis today are on a power-bender and out of control? All songs with an UK theme, in honor of recording from Limmud, England: Arisa - Po Zeh Lo IropahKol Ha-Hatichim Etzli - LondonInbal Perlmutter - Zehirut Me-Ha-MervachEran Tzur - Tachlit Ba-Tachtit Technical production by Graham Harold Carpenter & Alex Benish

Allison, Noah, and host of The Tel Aviv Review, Gilad Halpern, discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Breaking the Left? We discuss the furor over Breaking the Silence, a watchdog NGO that publishes reports of IDF misconduct. Why do they inspire such rage in so many people? Dying to be in Israel We discuss a stunning new report that reveals shocking figures about how often immigrants to Israel - especially from the Ethiopian and Russian communities - kill themselves. What drives them to the brink? “You want reality, B*tches?!?” We discuss a brilliant, charismatic, angry, radical feminist Mizrahi activist on the “Big Brother” reality show. Who’s co-opting whom? All songs by Kol ha-Hatikhim Etzli: Tzla'otPosaHa-Fakulta Le-Mada MeduyakOy, Elohim Yishmor

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. Pity the poor Afula! We discuss demonstrations by residents of Afula, a town in the north of Israel, against a tender for hundreds of new apartments that was won by Arab Israelis. Am I not Ayman? We discuss MK and leader of the (mostly-)Arab “Joint List,” Ayman Odeh’s tour of America. What does it say about the new sort of politics he represents? Cool to a warming world? We discuss Israel’s lackluster participation in the Paris climate conference – has “light-unto-the-nations-ism” died? All songs by the bona fide, no-doubt-about-it, genius Ryskinder: Stam PahaditiYashen Be-AmidahThis Zero Is MarriedCan’t Shake It

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. Politics of purism Former MK and political commentator Yossi Sarid tragically died this week. We discuss the legacy of the longtime leader of the “peace camp.” Was he part of why the Left is now in a shambles? The 'Mizrahification' of peace We discuss Amir Peretz’s bid to take over the Zionist Union, his new peace plan, and his claim that only a Mizrahi candidate like himself has the chops to win an election and negotiate a peace deal. A third way? We discuss a new movie about an effort of settlers and Palestinians to forge a "third way" to peace, inspired by Rav Menachem Froman. Director Harvey Stein joins the conversation! All songs by Ashkera Metim:Kesef U-MenayotMeatzben Et Ha-KayitzYahmiAnachnu Ha-Shampanya