Tel Aviv Review

Prof. Jan Grabowski, a Polish-Canadian historian, discusses Jewish-Polish relations during the Nazi occupation, as well as the politics of memory in contemporary Poland and how he has been personally affected by it. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

David N Myers and Benjamin Ravid, professors of Jewish history at UCLA and Brandeis University, respectively, discuss the life and work of Simon Rawidowicz, a seminal, albeit somewhat forgotten, 20th-century Jewish intellectual, upon the publication of an edited volume of his selected writings.

Why would citizens vote freely for political leaders plotting or even promising to attack their democracy? Why do certain policies, parties or people take priority over democratic norms at the ballot box? And can democracy count on voters to save it? Professor Milan Svolik of Yale University addresses these questions through rigorous research, but no easy solutions. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Since when do xenophobic nationalist political actors in Europe devote themselves to gender equality, protection of women and human rights? Véronique Mottier of Jesus College, University of Cambridge, shows how populist parties in Switzerland, France, Italy and the Netherlands join the struggle to protect women's rights – when it advances their aim of excluding non-white migrants from the nation. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Facebook may not be the source of all evils – but at least many of them. In his book Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy, Siva Vaidhyanathan argues that while Facebook has some charms, it holds special responsibility for major social and political ills today. Alongside Will Hitchcock, Siva hosts the podcast Democracy in Danger, where together, they, along with leading thinkers from around the world, put illiberal trends in context and explore ways to turn them around. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Prof. Daniella Talmon-Heller of the Department of Middle East Studies at Ben Gurion University, discusses her new book Sacred Place and Sacred Time in the Medieval Islamic Middle East: A Historical Perspective. How and why did practices of pilgrimage and temporal rituals evolve in the first few centuries of Islam's existence?

How did America's political culture move from civil disagreement to visceral rage? In American Affective Polarization in Comparative Perspective, Noam Gidron, James Adams and Will Horne argue that intense, emotional partisanship is distinct from routine ideological differences, and possibly more dangerous. And America isn't the only country torn apart by politics. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Is love of country a blessing or a menace? Can a citizen of the world embrace universal values but also love one's country, and does it matter if old fashioned patriotism fades into the past? In Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes, Professor Steven B. Smith defends – and rebuilds – American patriotism as an antidote to America's upheavals. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Michael Sfard, one of Israel's leading human rights lawyers, chronicles the evolution of the legal pillars of Israel's military occupation of Palestinians, including deportation, settlements, torture policies and more. But in his book "The Wall and the Gate," Sfard also tells of the lives and legal struggles of people who fight the policy with its very own tools: in Israeli courts. For each emerging body of law assisting occupation, there is a relentless human rights lawyer campaigning against it, undaunted by lengthy, thankless legal battles, hostile public reactions and scarce victories. This episode of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Why is Israel hacking away at its own democratic institutions and values? The assault on the judiciary, primacy of the majority at the expense of minorities, loyalty as a litmus test, corruption and illiberalism – are these Israel's destiny? Hebrew University political scientist Gayil Talshir, editor of the book "Governability or Democracy" examines the roots, causes and manifestations of democratic erosion in Israel today. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.