Tel Aviv Review

If another war breaks out between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, it could "turn Lebanon into a car park," and take down wholesale targets in Tel Aviv, says longtime journalist and author, the Lebanon expert Nicholas Blanford. He argues that one of the only hopes for avoiding war is that each side is fully aware that a new round could mean mutually assured destruction, or at least severe devastation. Yet it might only take some damned foolish thing in the desert to spark that war. This season 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.

Dr. Caroline Light of the Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Harvard University talks with host Gilad Halpern about her recent book, That Pride of Race and Character: The Roots of Jewish Benevolence in the Jim Crow South. It analyses the circumstances that led to the establishment of a sizable Jewish charity network in the American South in the post-Reconstruction period. This episode originally aired April 18, 2015.

Yohanan Plesner, the president of the Israel Democracy Institute, joins us to discuss the past accomplishments and future challenges of democracy in Israel. Ahead of the 70th Independence Day celebrations, the IDI will launch the Democracy Pavilion along the Independence Trail in Tel Aviv, with a view to celebrating its many achievements and educating local and international visitors about its importance. This episode of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, which works to bolster the values and institutions of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Prof. Carole Fink, a scholar specializing in international European history at Ohio State University in the US, tells host Gilad Halpern about how Europe's Jews fit into the numerous minority protection schemes that emerged on the continent in the interwar period, and about the road to their catastrophic breakdown. This episode originally aired March 27, 2015.

Daniel Boyarin, Professor of Talmudic Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses his forthcoming book "Judaism: The Genealogy of a Modern Notions", in which he argues that Judaism, as a full-blown concept, is a modern creation. This season 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.

Prof. Sander Gilman, who teaches history at Emory University in the United States, is an extremely prolific academic with a vast spectrum of fields of expertise. He discusses his cleverly entitled study, "Aliens vs Predators: Cosmopolitan Jews vs Jewish Nomads." This episode originally aired March 20, 2015.

Why do we believe? After writing books about the god of Islam and Jesus of Nazareth, religion scholar Reza Aslan takes on the biggest question of all: What does "God" mean, anyway? Aslan comes to the surprising answer that God looks a lot like humans. Does this make him a deep believer or an atheist? Is God everywhere or nowhere? Find out in this interview about his latest book, "God: A Human History." This season 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. Find the extra segment for this episode at: patreon.com/telavivreview

Dr. Erica Weiss, Tel Aviv University anthropologist and author of "Conscientious Objectors in Israel: Citizenship, Sacrifice, Trials of Fealty", tackles the concept of conscientious objection in Israel – a democratic society that honors the freedom of conscience while fighting for its survival. This episode originally aired March 15, 2015.

Dr Martina Weisz, a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Vidal Sassoon Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism, discusses the place of the Jews in the Spanish and Portuguese colonial project, which started immediately after the momentous expulsion of the Jews from these countries, in the late 15th century. This season 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.

Dr. Eran Shalev of the Department of General History at the University of Haifa, author of American Zion: The Old Testament as Political Text from the Revolution to the Civil War, traces the theological and ideological origins of the special relationship between Israel and America. This episode originally aired March 7th, 2015.