The Promised Podcast

Summary: Ilene, Don and Noah discuss: 'What's the blockade about?' What is Israel's embattled blockade on Gaza supposed to do, and what does it do in reality? Has Israel lost Europe, now and forever? What to make of Europe's increasingly muscular anti-Zionist populationHas Amos Oz found a new tune for the Israeli left? How to understand Amos Oz' remarkable interview on German radio, in which he compared Hamas to a neighbor across the street with snipers, gunning for your children. Playlist: All songs by Malox: Polkas for PunksPopcornSorvant HoroNeli Kola

The way the war ends How can and should this war be brought to a close? Might Israeli demands for 'demilitarization' as a condition for ending the operation become an excuse for prolonging it? Can there be too much solidarity? Does the moving solidarity we've seen among Israeli Jews since the war began harden our hearts even as it softens them? Does it further exclude and alienate Palestinian Israelis? Beyond the double standard Is Israel held to an impossible (double) standard in world opinion? Why is this the case and should Israelis just accept it and move on, or fight it tooth and nail? Playlist: All songs by Shai Nobleman, for the pick-me-up we all need: Yesh AhavaPowerpop SymphonyReally Have To GoJulian Ve-Ani

Ilene, Noah and Elion discuss: Is asymmetry the new black? Israel is fighting the mother of all asymmetrical wars. Is Israel’s military superiority also its greatest weakness? Is Hamas’ weakness also its greatest strength? Empathy for the 'devil' Showing empathy for the suffering of the other side in these times of war should not be equated to Hamas-sympathizing. Second thoughts on uprooting the family tree? Watching funeral after funeral of young IDF soldiers causes us to reconsider the decision to uproot ourselves and our families and move to Israel. Playlist: The powerful peace music of Hadag Nachash Od Ach Ehad War Shirat Ha-Stiker Lo Frayerim

With some of the cast in shelters, and most living the high-life in the capitals of Western debauchery, we present a collection of “vatacountry” segments, in which each of us describe something that surprised and amazed us, delighted and amused us, in our day-to-day lives in Israel. As if to say, “Times were better once, and they’ll be better again soon.” Dancing the Ethiopian shoulder shake on Sigd Don discusses the Ethiopian holiday of Sigd; Elon tells us about his very erudite taxi driver; and Noah reviews Shimon Peres' biography of David Ben-Gurion. Songs of Innocence and Experience Elon talks about the sporty Strawberry family; Miriam reviews the film 'Invisible'; and Noah introduces us to a very precocious couple of musicians. Family Album: Arabian Babblers and fake ski slopes Emily talks about her experiences on the Israel Trail; Noah tells us about the time he tried to go skiing on Mt. Gilboa with his son. A journey right back to our roots Don takes us into total darkness; Elon reminisces over Yaffa Yarkoni; Noah gets deep and meaningful over Vaclav Havel; and Don visits the Dead Sea Scrolls. Playlist: Danny Sanderson – Ha-Galshan Gazoz – Likhvod Ha-Kayitz Tomer Ve-Ha-Bsora (Tomer and the Gospel) – Ha-Pa'am Machina – El Derekh La-Yam Yaffa Yarkoni – Bab El Wad

Ilene, Noah and special guest, The Times of Israel's Miriam Herschlag, ask: 'We have met the enemy and he is us' When a pack of Jewish teens lynches a Palestinian kid, is it time for soul-searching? Is there still a moral high-ground and do we occupy it? Life interrupted: Can we plot peace from our bomb shelters? The irony of Haaretz's Conference on Peace being interrupted by sirens escaped no one. But when the rockets are heard, must the peaceniks be silent? Is social justice always subordinate to security? Exactly three years after they started, did Israel's social protests of 2011, which culminated in a demonstration of almost half a million people, actually achieve anything? Playlist: All songs from the album 'Af Al Pil' – Yiddish poetry sung by cool young indie stars, including Shahar Barabash, Rona Keinan, Omer Klein and Alon Lotringer: Ani Ve-Atzmi HaYaar Ba-Stav HaParpar ve-ha-Zahal Etel

Is it time for Lapid and Livni to quit Netanyahu’s government? Tzipi Livni, and to a lesser extent Yair Lapid, joined Netanyahu's government to run the 'Peace Show.' Now there is no Show, should they answer the Leader of the Opposition's call to resign? Letters to a kid contemplating conscientious objection What do we tell a 17-year-old considering whether he should serve in the IDF? Given the tough consequences of objection, is it different when it comes to our own children? Will 'Uber' taxis take us for a ride? Social taxi app 'Uber' is coming to Israel. Taxi drivers in Europe have been striking in protest against the arrival of Uber in their countries, but will it be a boon or bust for Israel? Playlist: All songs courtesy of Ben Blackwell's Hebrew-Israelite hip-hop: Od VeOdWe Bout It Amitit Sky Rains Fire

Is it time to revive Israel's vicious political debate? The solidarity engendered in Israeli society by the West Bank kidnappings is genuinely moving, but is it preventing us from holding our leaders to account? Is the great summer exodus a search for 'normality'? More and more Israelis are fleeing the country for trips abroad. What are they trying to escape? Do they want to see what life is like in 'normal' countries? Free and fearless Amazons: The chest as a weapon of protest The new 'sextremist' feminist group Femen has hit Israel with its bare-breasted Amazon protestors. Will they win Israeli hearts and minds? Playlist: The tuba-based surf music of Boom Pam: Surfing Tuba Light Up Hatul ve-Hatula Wedding song

This episode of the Promised Podcast doesn't deal with the recent West Bank teen kidnappings straight-up; it's already been instrumentalized by too many, based on too few facts. We adhere to Ludwig Wittgenstein's dictum: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent." Allison, Don & Noah discuss: Have we lost patience with settlers? Is mainstream Israel losing patience with settlers, as found in a recent poll conducted by an institution that supports the settlements? Is Netanyahu's stonewalling beginning to crumble? How long can Prime Minster Netanyahu go on being the Peace Process' "obstructionist-in-chief?' Has he lost his grip? Why swooning over the Stones just isn't cool Is our joy over the Stones, Neil Young, Lady Gaga and other A-List acts coming to Israel just a little pathetic? Music: All songs by Baladino, singing in the dying language of Ladino, from their new album “Dos Amantes”: La Kumida La Manyana Si Veriash A La Rana A Sinyora Novia Kuando El Rey Nimrod

Allison, Don & Noah discuss: Rubi Rivlin: A man of contradictions What to make of Israel’s newly elected President, Rubi Rivlin, a mensch (good guy) who also opposes a two-state solution? Oy, the dissonance! A pro-Palestinian settler leader? The startling NY Times op-ed by a settler leader who insists that Israel must hatch a “bold plan to improve every aspect of day-to-day life for Palestinians”: What gives? Is this the end of prisoner swaps? A cabinet decision to prohibit future pardons of murderers, ruling out Gilad Shalit-style prisoner exchanges. Music: All songs by Assaf Amdursky & Karni Postel, from their lovely new live album: Rabim HaYamim Ma'ayan Mashehu SheAni Lo Yachol Rakevet LaTsafon

Hamas-Fatah reconciliation: Just suck it up? How the hell should we react to the reunification of Hamas and Fatah in the Palestinian Authority? The right to remain unremembered Do Israelis need “the right to be forgotten” on the internet? Where did evolution go? Why did it take 66 years for evolution to make it into Israeli schools? Music: All songs by the awe-inspiring Balkan Beat Box Move It War Again Balcasio Part of the Glory