Tel Aviv Review

Oz Frankel, professor of American history at the New School for Social Research in New York, discusses his book Coca Cola, Black Panthers and Phantom Jers: Israel in the American Orbit 1967-1973.

A thought-provoking episode exploring how early Zionist thinkers engaged deeply with Arabic language and Islamic culture, challenging conventional views of identity and "Orientalism" in the Middle East. Dr Mostafa Hussein, Assistant Professor of Jewish-Muslim Relations at the University of Michigan, discusses his book Hebrew Orientalism: Jewish Engagement with Arabo-Islamic Culture in Late Ottoman Palestine.

Did you know that a Yiddish newspaper once had a larger circulation than The New York Times? At the turn of the 20th century, the Yiddish press in America wasn't just a news industry — it was the beating heart of immigrant Jewish life. Newspapers didn't just report the news; they offered advice, shaped politics, and helped newcomers navigate a bewildering new society. In this week's episode, historian Ayelet Brinn joins us to discuss her award-winning book A Revolution in Type: Gender and the Making of the American Yiddish Press. Among the fascinating stories we explore: • Why men sometimes wrote under female pseudonyms just to get published • How "women's columns" became unexpected spaces for radical political ideas • The strange linguistic world of early Yiddish journalism — where the same word might be spelled differently in the same article • And how immigrant newspapers became guides to everyday life, with readers even showing up at editorial offices for personal advice. What emerges is a portrait of a vibrant media ecosystem where journalism, politics, gender, and immigrant identity collided in surprising ways. If you were a newly arrived immigrant a century ago, would you trust a newspaper to guide you through daily life?

Amir Naaman and Dr Ran Heilbrunn, Israeli writers based in Germany, discuss their new collection of essays Inversion: Gay Life after the Homosexual. What are the next steps for queer theory after the impressive gains made by gay rights activism over the last few decades?

For Michael Sfard, one of Israel's most prominent human rights lawyers and author of the forthcoming book Occupation from Within: How Israel's Oppression of the Palestinians Turned Inwards, the government's anti-democratic proposals, collectively known as the "judicial overhaul", are a culmination of the decades-long occupation of the Palestinians. The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.

How will the much-touted special relationship be affected by President Trump's overhaul of many aspects of American governance? Alon Pinkas, former Israeli diplomat and author of the forthcoming book An Unnatural Alliance, reflects on his time as Consul-General in New York in the early 2000s - how has Israeli diplomacy in the US evolved since? Join us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/telavivreview

Dr. Murat Yildiz, a historian of the Middle East at Skidmore College, discusses his book, The Ottoman World of Sports: Refashioning Bodies, Men and Communities in Late Imperial Istanbul. (Forthcoming, University of Texas Press).

Robert Malley, a former US negotiator and president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, and currently Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Yale University's Jackson School for Global Affairs, discusses his book (co-authored with Hussein Agha) Tomorrow is Yesterday: Life, Death and the Pursuit of Peace in Israel/Palestine. The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.

Dr Balazs Berkovits, a Hungarian-born sociologist and philosopher, and Dr. Sara Hirschhorn, an American-Israeli historian, discuss the complexity – and adverse effects – of attributing the "whiteness" category to Jews. This series is made possible by the Elizabeth and Tony Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism at the University of Haifa.

Steven E. Zipperstein, the director of the Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA, discusses his book, Zionism, Palestinian Nationalism and the Law: 1939-1948.