Haaretz.com
‘French Jews don’t know who their friends are anymore’: Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur on the Gaza war...
- Title
- ‘French Jews don’t know who their friends are anymore’: Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur on the Gaza war...
- Runtime
- 36:23
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- The turmoil around the Gaza war has transformed French Jews into “different people” than they were two years ago, pioneering rabbi Delphine Horvilleur said on the Haaretz Podcast.
“I don't know any of any Jewish family in France who hasn’t had a conversation around the Shabbat table,” Horvilleur said, contemplating possible emigration and wondering what will remain of Jews in France a decade from now.
In her discussion with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Horvilleur talks about inspiring the hit HBO show "Reformed" (https://www.haaretz.com/life/television/2025-04-14/ty-article-magazine/.premium/creator-of-reformed-on-how-judaism-inspired-comedy-in-a-show-about-a-famed-french-rabbi/00000196-3337-dc5b-af96-7bb7ab3e0000) and the books she's penned herself: "Living with Our Dead (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-05-19/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/the-french-female-rabbi-who-looks-death-in-the-eye/00000188-34d0-d7fd-adec-f...
- Title
- ‘We’re the ones calling the shots here’: Vance, Kushner and Witkoff rattle Israel’s leadership
- Runtime
- 27:40
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- The flow of high-level Trump administration officials to Israel in the wake of the Gaza cease-fire agreement has sent a clear signal to Israel’s prime minister and his government, columnist Joshua Leifer said on the Haaretz Podcast.
In a single week, envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived for an extended stay, followed by the first state visit of Vice President JD Vance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed on Thursday evening.
For Leifer, “the bottom-line message to the world that the Trump administration is sending with these visits is ‘We don't trust Netanyahu to follow through on what he's agreed to,’ and they have a good reason to think that. At every opportunity, Netanyahu has made it clear that he is unhappy with the Gaza deal.”
Trump’s close supervision of Israel during the war – and afterwards, Leifer added, has been so unrelenting and it feels as if “in some sense, Israel has been put ...
- Title
- ‘We’re going to fight’: Can Israel’s film industry survive boycotts and the Netanyahu government?
- Runtime
- 28:09
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- From the international success of “Fauda” to Academy Award nominations and prestigious festival awards, the Israeli film and television industry was at a high point before the October 7 attacks.
Throughout the two-year Gaza war, the industry has struggled as international funding and festival invitations dried up, and Hollywood A-listers circulated petitions to boycott any association with the Israeli industry. Domestically, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been hostile, especially when infuriated by films they view as too sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
Assaf Amir, chairman of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television, joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to talk about the threat by Culture Minister Miki Zohar’s extreme reaction to the fact that the film winning this year’s Academy for Israel’s Best Picture was “The Sea” – about a Palestinian boy’s journey from the West Bank to Tel Aviv – which is now poised for sub...
- Title
- 'Hamas isn’t going anywhere': Amos Harel on the hard realities facing Trump and Netanyahu in post...
- Runtime
- 34:38
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- The miraculous release of Israel’s remaining 20 living hostages in Gaza may have been “the best news we’ve had for the last two years,” Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel said on the Haaretz Podcast. Yet a great deal remains to be resolved before anything resembling security is in place for Palestinians in Gaza or for Israelis.
Inside Gaza, Harel noted, “Hamas is already making its intentions clear – to remain by any means necessary. They're not going anywhere. They do not intend to dismantle their weapons.” He points to their recent violent execution of suspected Israeli collaborators and aggressive attacks on clans and factions who challenge their authority.
With host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Harel (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da36-d938-a17f-fe3e0cfe0000) breaks down the various complications regarding a postwar Gaza: Hamas’ failure to return a significant number of the bodies of the deceased hostages...
- Title
- How the Gaza war changed a generation of young Jews around the world, in their own words
- Runtime
- 29:38
- Date posted
- 12 months ago
- Description
- The Gaza war may be finally coming to an end, but it has made a long-term impact on Israel and the way the world views the Jewish state – including Diaspora Jews – especially those who spent the war on turbulent university campuses.
Judy Maltz, Haaretz's Jewish World Editor, surveyed the effect of the two-year conflict on a group of young Jews from around the world, seeking to understand how their evolving views on Israel, antisemitism and Jewish identity changed since October 7.
She found that a “vast majority of them” were “very, very troubled and distressed” after the October 7 attacks and were initially fully supportive of the Israeli incursion into Gaza. But two years into the war, “I did not find even one who could say wholeheartedly that they supported its continuation.”
For some of the students, their changing sentiments propelled them into activism supporting protests to end the war. Others were...
- Title
- How Trump forced the Gaza deal through: Behind the scenes with Anshel Pfeffer
- Runtime
- 29:12
- Date posted
- 12 months ago
- Description
- The lesson of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest diplomatic gambit is that in Middle East deal-making, “the devil is in the details, but the most important thing is political willpower,” said Anshel Pfeffer, The Economist’s Israel correspondent and former Haaretz columnist, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.
Trump, he noted, “has supplied that political willpower in bucket loads.”
Hours after Israel and Hamas agreed on a deal to end the war in Gaza and release the hostages, Pfeffer (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da25-d249-ab7f-fbe5a2c40000) spoke with host Allison Kaplan Sommer about the long road to the deal, the obstacles that lie ahead and the joyful yet nervous mood among Israelis as they anticipate the long-awaited return of all the hostages.
Pfeffer, a biographer of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also discussed how he expects Israel’s leader to shape the narrative of the cease-fir...
- Title
- 'I see you a Nakba, and raise you a Holocaust': Mo Husseini and Julie Cohen on their 'optimistic'...
- Runtime
- 39:08
- Date posted
- 12 months ago
- Description
- "It is hard to overstate the almost tribal, pathological inability of folks who are pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli to acknowledge the humanity of the other," said filmmaker and Palestinian American activist Mo Husseini on the Haaretz Podcast.
"People are operating on the assumption that everyone on the other side is an inhumane, hateful asshole who wants to kill all of us."
Husseini said that's the reason he chose to join Jewish American award-winning documentary filmmaker Julie Cohen to create "The Path Forward," which spotlights pairs of Israeli and Palestinian activists who joined forces (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-11/ty-article-magazine/.premium/how-october-7-jolted-these-palestinian-israeli-peace-activists-into-action/0000018e-c7a7-dc93-adce-eff74d5a0000) after October 7.
Cohen (https://www.haaretz.com/life/film/2022-06-07/ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-directors-of-rbg-found-another-jewish-heroin...
- Title
- 'Israelis have acclimated to a reality that should be unbearable': Joshua Leifer on two years of war
- Runtime
- 26:15
- Date posted
- 12 months ago
- Description
- The two years that have passed since October 7, 2023 have transformed Israel and its people, its leaders, its status on the world stage and its relationship with Diaspora Jewry.
On the Haaretz Podcast, Joshua Leifer (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da32-d42c-afff-dff23e3e0000) , the newest Haaretz columnist, spoke with host Allison Kaplan Sommer the many dimensions of change the war has wrought - including the changes in his own life and thinking.
In their conversation, Leifer noted that while Israelis on the far right can indulge in "a perverse and spectacular kind of denial" regarding the death and suffering in Gaza every day, the situation is more complex and contradictory for the Israeli mainstream and people on the left.
"We know that what Israel is doing in Gaza is terrible," Leifer said. And yet, even at times when the war is visibly and audibly present, "we go to the beach, we go to family, we carry on. I...
- Title
- Special episode: What you need to know about Trump's new Israel-Gaza peace plan | with Amir Tibon
- Runtime
- 12:57
- Date posted
- 12 months ago
- Description
- In this special Haaretz Podcast episode, Haaretz columnist Amir Tibon offers his analysis of the comprehensive 20-point peace plan unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump in a White House press conference on Monday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood beside him.
“What we saw was a plan with big headlines, but a lack of details,” Tibon said in his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer. “We don't know yet if there is actually the political will to carry it forward.”
While Netanyahu has officially endorsed and even praised the plan, Tibon added, it will be difficult for the Israeli leader to convince the hard-right wing of his coalition to accept many of the terms – particularly a full withdrawal from the Strip by the IDF. A political crisis over the deal could lead to the collapse of the government and force a new general election.
Hamas has yet to fully weigh in on the plan that requires t...
- Title
- Have American Jews pushed Israel toward extremism or moderation?
- Runtime
- 32:15
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- On a special edition of the Haaretz Podcast – as Israel faces the Jewish High Holidays mired in war and political division, host Allison Kaplan Sommer speaks to Prof. Adam Ferziger about soul-searching and atonement with a focus on the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel and the Diaspora.
Ferziger, who is also an ordained rabbi, believes the process of observing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2024-10-10/ty-article/.premium/origin-of-yom-kippur-a-murder/0000017f-e0d0-d804-ad7f-f1fa7f5e0000) “is all about humility.”
“Rosh Hashanah comes before Yom Kippur, because in order to be able to go before God and do some sort of atonement, I have to first acknowledge my place in the world,” he said. Following October 7 and over the past two years of war (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2025-09-21/ty-article/.highlight/this-jewish-new-year-israelis-must-break-out-of-their-collective-madness-on-gaza/...
- Title
- German ambassador: 'It's not a coincidence that so many Israelis are considering moving abroad'
- Runtime
- 44:11
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- In a special guest episode of the Haaretz Podcast, German ambassador Steffen Seibert sits down with Guy Rolnik and Anat Georgy, co-hosts of “The Markers” – the Hebrew-language podcast of Haaretz’s sister publication, The Marker.
In the interview, Seibert (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-04-24/ty-article/.premium/german-ambassador-steffen-seibert-we-have-doubts-about-israels-resumption-of-the-war/00000196-684f-de67-a5df-f95f19000000) addressed the increasingly complicated relationship between the two countries since the Gaza war and said he was “not optimistic” about Israel’s future if its government continues in its current direction.
“My country is very clearly against the extension and escalation of the war," Seibert said.
At the same time, he expressed both affection and sympathy for the “exhausted” citizens of the Jewish state and concerns about growing antisemitism across Europe.
- Title
- 'Deeply harmful and dangerous': Trump undermines Jewish Studies at U.S. colleges
- Runtime
- 33:18
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- New York University professor Lila Corwin Berman has a warning for her colleagues. Corwin Berman, along with two fellow academics, recently penned a provocative piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education headlined "Jewish Studies Scholars, Beware: Trump's Deal Will Corrupt You."
On the Haaretz Podcast, Corwin Berman explains how, in her view, the agreements (https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2025-05-19/ty-article/.premium/remove-anti-israel-teachers-wjcs-lauder-backs-trump-funding-cuts-to-elite-universities/00000196-e8d7-dd38-a5fe-fdd7fa290000) that the Trump White House has hammered out with Ivy League universities, making their federal grant money dependent on investing in Judaic Studies and developing cooperation with Israeli universities, will result in turning them into "court Jews."
What the White House is doing, she said "is not about free academic scholarship or inquiry, but is really about serving a particular kind of master. And I thin...
- Title
- 'Enough war, bloodshed, and destruction': Israel, Gaza and what comes next
- Runtime
- 41:12
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- This special episode of the Haaretz Podcast features voices from the September 14 conference held in Toronto jointly sponsored by the New Israel Fund of Canada and JSpace Canada.
The event brought together current and former Israeli and Canadian politicians, journalists, academics with Israeli and Palestinian peace advocates to assess the current troubling conflict in Gaza. Speakers also explore a roadmap for peace, Palestinian sovereignty, the crisis of democracy and growing authoritarianism in Israel and around the world.
Among those included in the podcast: MKs Ayman Odeh and Naama Lazimi; former Justice Minister Dan Meridor; and Julie Dabrusin, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
In her remarks, Democrats MK Lazimi said the “profound humanitarian disaster” playing out in Gaza is “not only a Palestinian tragedy; it is also a moral stain and a security risk for Israel.”
...
- Title
- Haaretz Conference In Toronto
- Runtime
- 8:12:09
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- October 7, the Gaza war and an expansive zone of regional conflict have far-reaching implications for Israel, the Middle East, and the broader international order. What kind of Israel will emerge from this extended crisis? Who will rebuild Gaza, and how?
What role do Israel's allies, including Canada, have during and after the war? How are the shockwaves from October 7, the hostage crisis and the ongoing conflict affecting Diaspora Jews' identity, safety, and their relationship with Israel? How do allies committed to liberal democracy relate to the hard-right Netanyahu government? Who are the Palestinian partners for building a common future?
The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- 'Playing with fire': How Israel’s attack on Hamas in Qatar has likely exploded hopes of ending th...
- Runtime
- 22:37
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The Israeli decision to bomb Doha, targeting Hamas leadership as they met to consider a cease-fire proposal, made little sense if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is truly concerned with the fate of Israel’s hostages, said Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.
While it may “work against our basic instincts of assuming that the government is looking out for our collective good,” Harel (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da36-d938-a17f-fe3e0cfe0000) concluded with an air of regret: “That's not the situation we're in. My sense is that Netanyahu gave up on them long ago, and what he's doing right now is about his political survival, nothing else.”
While U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his “unhappiness (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-09-11/ty-article/report-trump-says-doha-strike-wasnt-wise-in-heated-exchange-with-netanyahu/00000199-3744-dfa4-a9dd-37c5681d0000) ”...
- Title
- ‘The Trump White House has outsourced all policy on Gaza to Israel’
- Runtime
- 28:36
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- As Israel’s Gaza City offensive intensifies, the lack of a “fully articulated policy” on the part of Donald Trump’s White House means that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can move ahead with a “blank check” from the U.S., said Haaretz Washington correspondent Ben Samuels, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.
The message from Trump officials to Israel is “do what you need to do, just get it over with fast,” while in public statements, they have shifted to align with Israel’s “all-or-nothing” approach to a hostage deal.
“Trump is not giving Israel a red light,” Samuels (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da25-d718-a5ff-faa551710000) said. “To Israel, that means a green light.”
On the podcast, Samuels analyzed the dramatic shifts in both the Republican and Democratic parties regarding Israel ahead of the 2026 midterms, predicting that the upcoming election will “be the one where Israel ...
- Title
- 'Gaza started as a legitimate war of self-defense. It became merciless, cruel vengeance': This Is...
- Runtime
- 24:59
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami invested substantial time and effort into shaping a two-state solution during his political career – and ultimately came to the conclusion that it was not viable.
On the Haaretz Podcast, Ben-Ami (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da5b-d718-a5ff-fadf3dba0000) cast a critical eye on the current push by French President Emmanuel Macron and a long list of countries including the U.K., Australia and Canada to recognize a Palestinian state at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
He sees the move more as "a sign of despair" over the leaders' powerlessness to end the Gaza war rather than "a practical solution" that lacks a roadmap for turning the concept into reality. Calling the two-state formula on the table "utterly irrelevant," Ben-Ami expressed "surprise that statesmen such as Macron and the others were pulling it out of the attic of lost causes."
In his conversation ...
- Title
- 'Astonishing backlash': Hear the Orthodox rabbi who spoke out against Gaza's famine and settler v...
- Runtime
- 34:28
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Rabbi Yosef Blau has been the focus of both fury and admiration over the past week, called both a hero and a traitor, and garnered attention at a level that has astonished him, he said on the Haaretz Podcast.
The pushback comes after Blau spearheaded an open letter signed by 80 Orthodox rabbis (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-20/ty-article/.premium/over-80-orthodox-rabbis-urge-israel-to-address-gaza-hunger-crisis-wb-settler-violence/00000198-c37a-dcce-a5bf-cb7b29070000) that called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “one of the most severe in recent history” and called on Israel to assume “its share of the responsibility” for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The letter also condemned settler violence in the West Bank.
As a pillar of the mainstream modern Orthodox world, Blau is an unlikely political maverick. The 86-year-old was a leader at Yeshiva University for 48 years and led the Religious Zionists of America for more tha...
- Title
- Western leaders may be pushing for a Palestinian state, but in the West Bank, 'annexation is the ...
- Runtime
- 28:45
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- While the world has been focused on the devastation in Gaza, "the annexation of the West Bank has become reality," Hagar Shezaf (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da2b-d494-a17f-de2b52c30000) , Haaretz's West Bank correspondent, said on the Haaretz Podcast.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-20/ty-article/.premium/israel-approves-settlement-plan-dividing-west-bank-smotrich-erasing-palestinian-state/00000198-c746-dc9d-abd9-dfde56ea0000) , Shezaf explained, has created a system "that is accelerating" the process of integrating the West Bank into state institutions "while keeping the empty shell of the Civil Administration that represents military rule."
Shezaf is stepping down from her beat for a year of studies after six years of covering what she describes as a "deteriorating" situation in the territories, that is generally neglected by the Israeli media.
Despit...
- Title
- Inside Gaza's hospitals: 'The children were very thin. Weak. Glazed eyes. It was devastating'
- Runtime
- 32:46
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly challenged the assertion that starvation is rampant in Gaza, most recently when he slammed a UN report on famine as “blood libel.”
On the Haaretz Podcast, Yarden Michaeli takes listeners behind the scenes of his in-depth reporting with Nir Hasson on the scale of severe acute malnutrition in Gaza. As Israel continues to bar journalists from entering the Strip, Michaeli and Hasson virtually “toured” clinics and hospitals in Gaza – including the pediatric ward of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Israel struck the hospital on Monday, killing multiple healthcare and media workers, including Moaz Abu Taha, the photographer who guided the Haaretz reporters through Nasser.
As Michaeli “toured” the wards of Nasser, he saw children who were “very thin, with weak, glazed eyes, clearly severely malnourished with markers of starvation, like changes to their hair color, missing spots of hair o...
- Title
- ‘Netanyahu will never leave Gaza. War is part of the classic authoritarian playbook’
- Runtime
- 31:02
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Israel is approaching the “horrifying” position of becoming a pariah state due to the Gaza war, former MK and Middle East expert Ksenia Svetlova said on the Haaretz Podcast, expressing deep worry that it was dangerously close to following in the footsteps of her native Russia.
Western nations' refusal to cooperate with Russia due to its aggression in Ukraine, she noted, means Moscow is now lagging behind in the fields of technology, science and beyond “by decades” – and Israel could easily share that status soon.
“A crackdown on civil society in a way that it happened in Russia will indeed deem Israel to the same level, and will impose on it the very unwanted and frankly horrifying status of a pariah," she said.
Svetlova believes that without any “real pressure” from U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House, she is doubtful Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reject any agreement that would end the...
- Title
- 'Israeli musicians must choose if they want to be boycotted at home or boycotted abroad'
- Runtime
- 22:44
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Israeli musicians are learning the hard way that speaking out against the war in Gaza comes at a price, Haaretz culture reporter Shay Ringel explained on the Haaretz Podcast.
The letter, signed by 1,200 members of the cultural and artistic community, was unusually outspoken regarding the humanitarian crisis (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-15/ty-article/.premium/un-13-000-gaza-children-treated-for-malnutrition-in-july-almost-all-aid-trucks-looted/00000198-aa4e-d1fc-a3d8-feee38640000) in Gaza, calling on Israeli soldiers to disobey "unlawful orders" and to refrain from "committing war crimes."
"Talking about the horrific things that are happening in Gaza – the killing of children, the expulsion (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-07-15/ty-article/.premium/concentration-camp-illegal-orders-and-war-crimes-israels-madmen-have-a-grim-new-plan/00000198-0dac-d5b0-ab9f-6ded7b240000) of population – this is something new," Ringe...
- Title
- 'A very dangerous gamble': Netanyahu's open clash with IDF leaders over invading Gaza City
- Runtime
- 32:36
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The Israeli public is “exhausted” by the nearly two-year conflict in Gaza, and the vast majority of IDF military leaders believe it should end.
Yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is forging ahead with his plan to invade Gaza City (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-13/ty-article-magazine/.premium/guerrilla-fighters-and-1-2-residents-what-awaits-israeli-soldiers-occupying-gaza-city/00000198-a2da-d539-a5b8-ffdb40f20000) and expand the war because “he will do whatever he can to stay in power,” said Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.
IDF brass, led by chief of staff Eyal Zamir (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-13/ty-article/.premium/israeli-defense-minister-idf-chief-clash-on-officer-promotions-amid-gaza-takeover-dispute/00000198-a231-d1fc-a3d8-f6bdf4500000) , is attempting to convince Netanyahu for a more limited siege on Gaza City. Still, the message from Netanyahu has ...
- Title
- Recognizing Palestine? 'It may be a punishment for Netanyahu, but it's a big prize for Israel'
- Runtime
- 22:23
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Israel is swimming in unprecedented diplomatic waters. Last week, Germany announced it will restrict arms exports to Israel, and a growing number of world leaders – led by France and the U.K. – are declaring their intention to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
“We are hearing things that we never heard from great friends of Israel,” said Nadav Tamir, the executive director of J Street Israel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.
Tamir, a former Israeli consul-general in Boston and aide to Israel’s late president Shimon Peres, noted that these allies “were working tirelessly for the release of hostages” and continue to declare “time and time again that Israel has a full right to protect itself after the horrible massacre of October 7 and against Iran and Hezbollah. But they cannot support this war any longer, because it is so clear to them, just like it's clear to most Israelis, that this war has no purpose and is only ...
- Title
- Behind Netanyahu's dangerous Gaza takeover: A conversation with Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn
- Runtime
- 32:00
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is often portrayed as a political improviser who seizes opportunities and dodges land mines as they occur to preserve his hold on power, he is in fact guided by a clear and consistent mission, Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn tells the Haaretz Podcast.
“Netanyahu’s strategy, since the inception of his career, and even before he became a professional politician, has been to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and diminish the Palestinian national movement,” said Benn.
As the war has worn on and with Netanyahu’s latest decision to escalate the conflict in Gaza instead of working to end it, Benn says the contention that the argument that Netanyahu does not really share the ideology of his farthest-right coalition partners – National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – does not hold up.
“I've yet to see one area of disa...
- Title
- Why ‘deep pain’ over Israel and Gaza is boosting Jewish support for an anti-Zionist candidate for...
- Runtime
- 23:32
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The "last thing" Rabbi Rachel Timoner says she wanted to do was block the street in front of New York's Israeli consulate as part of a protest calling on Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid in Gaza – let alone get arrested for doing so.
The Brooklyn rabbi said on the Haaretz Podcast that when she was asked to take part in the demonstration, she found it impossible to say no.
"As a leader of the Jewish community here, as a rabbi, I feel that when Israel is acting in a way that they are claiming is representing Judaism, it's part of my job to show my understanding of what Judaism stands for. We feed the hungry, and we care for the sick, and we free the captives, and we care for the human dignity of every life, of every human life."
Timoner, the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim (https://www.haaretz.com/life/2018-04-17/ty-article/the-notorious-b-i-g-once-worked-at-a-brooklyn-synagogue/0000017f-e92c-d62c-a1...
- Title
- 'Israel doesn't want journalists on the ground': CNN’s Jeremy Diamond on the fight to enter Gaza
- Runtime
- 34:19
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The foreign press corps in Israel has been battling – unsuccessfully – since the Gaza war began in October 2023 to be permitted access to the Strip in order to report on the conflict and the humanitarian situation there from the ground.
Appearing on the Haaretz Podcast, CNN’s Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond breaks down the status of the legal and public fight (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-07-09/ty-article/.premium/no-foreign-journalists-in-gaza-israeli-government-blocks-high-court-delays-decision/00000197-eddf-d508-a997-efffa3240000) by international journalists to enter Gaza, noting that “never before in Israel's history has the Israeli government blocked access to Gaza for this amount of time. We reached that milestone months and months ago, and we have been calling on the Israeli government to allow us into Gaza to be able to do our jobs.”
The issue has taken on a new urgency, he added, as starvation in Gaza w...
- Title
- 'Starvation is being livestreamed. Every minute we lose a life in Gaza': Palestinian testimonies ...
- Runtime
- 29:25
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The latest crisis of mass starvation and death in Gaza seems to have finally cut through the layers of denial and media self-censorship in Israel – and in both Arab and mixed cities, demonstrations against the horrifying humanitarian situation are drawing tens of thousands of protesters.
This week, the Haaretz Podcast includes two firsthand accounts of survival from Gaza: 32-year-old Hana and 24-year-old Abdel Halim.
Speaking on the podcast, Haaretz journalist Nagham Zbeedat told host Allison Kaplan Sommer that the situation in Gaza has “gone from bad to unbearable” and it has become “fight to simply remain a human being in Gaza, through all of the starvation, bombing and endless loss.”
She also reports on the new wave of protests led by Palestinian citizens of Israel, who have overcome fear of government retribution and taken to the streets en masse to protest the war and government policies that have led to th...
- Title
- Netanyahu will 'do anything to stay in power’: If early elections are called, could he win?
- Runtime
- 33:02
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decisively lost his Knesset majority following the exit of the two major ultra-Orthodox parties that were pillars of his coalition, which now holds only 49 seats in the 120-member parliament.
But celebration is premature for those hoping for swift elections that could lead to the end of his rule, warns Haaretz columnist and political strategist Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin on the Haaretz Podcast.
The ultra-Orthodox may have left the government (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-07-16/ty-article/.premium/ultra-orthodox-party-shas-quits-government-wont-vote-to-dismantle-netanyahu-coalition/00000198-13d0-da26-abba-d7d14dcf0000) in a “very demonstrative way, but if they don't actually join a vote that would bring down the government and launch early elections, it doesn't really matter,” Scheindlin said.
As the Knesset enters its summer recess with a minority in power, only reconv...
- Title
- Behind Trump’s crusade to 'save Bibi' from his criminal trial
- Runtime
- 27:48
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- If it weren’t for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing criminal trial and the multiple investigations into payments made by Qatar to his closest aides, the Gaza war could have been over, Bar Peleg, who has been covering Netanyahu’s legal woes, said on the Haaretz Podcast.
In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Peleg laid out the details of the multiple investigations, including BibiLeaks (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-tag/bibileaks-00000193-186d-d50e-a3db-5f7ddef20000) and Qatargate (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-tag/qatargate-00000195-f0ff-dfc7-a5dd-f5ffd77e0000) , against the Israeli premier in light of the calls by President Donald Trump that his trial be “cancelled.” (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-26/ty-article/.premium/save-bibi-from-the-witch-hint-trump-urges-israel-to-cancel-netanyahus-graft-trial/00000197-a949-d32c-a5df-fb6bea3e0000) Trump has also suggested that Netanyahu should be given a pardon, and U.S. A...
- Title
- Dropping bombs and dialogue? Israel-Syria peace talks right now are ‘absolutely mind-boggling’
- Runtime
- 27:00
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The Israeli military strike on southern Syria this week is “concerning” in view of the “unexpected opportunity” for a potential peace agreement with the new government there, Israel’s former deputy security adviser Chuck Freilich said on the Haaretz Podcast.
On Tuesday, the IDF struck Syrian army forces (https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2025-07-15/ty-article/.premium/israel-strikes-in-southern-syria-as-cease-fire-between-druze-and-bedouin-announced/00000198-0d9a-d43e-adbc-7dfa6f960000) that had entered the city of Sweida to prevent harm to Druze communities and ensure the demilitarization of the area. The action was strongly denounced by the Syrian government.
While Freilich (https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da25-dea8-a77f-de6774e10000) said he understands that it was “part of the post-October 7 policy of not allowing potential threats to evolve on any of Israel's borders,” he believed the limited nature of...
- Title
- Israel vs Iran What Could Happen Next Haaretz briefing. June 18, 2025
- Runtime
- 49:29
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- In a live emergency briefing on June 18, Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn and English Editor-in-Chief Esther Solomon analyze the rapidly escalating confrontation between Israel and Iran, following Israel’s unprecedented strikes and Tehran’s retaliation.
In this Haaretz subscriber-only event, we examine whether the region is on the brink of a broader war, the strategic calculations on both sides, and the behind-the-scenes involvement of the United States and other powers. And assess Prime Minister Netanyahu’s political motivations, Iran’s shifting regional alliances, and the potential implications for Israel’s security and democracy.
The discussion offers a timely and unfiltered look at a dangerous moment for the Middle East – and includes live questions from the audience.
The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- Pelicans over Israel
- Runtime
- 0:42
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Credit: Jane Davydov
The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- LIVE: Haaretz Conference, Israel After October 7th: Allied or Alone?
- Runtime
- 7:23:31
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The aftermath of the 7th October and the war in the southern and northern regions have far-reaching implications for Israel, the Middle East, and the broader international order.
Since 7th October, the UK has assumed a pivotal role, emerging as one of the primary global powers engaged in resolving the crisis and shaping a post-war landscape.
In light of these developments and the new government in the UK, the conference will engage our community, allies, and thought leaders in reflecting on the situation in Israel, Palestine, and the wider region.
- Title
- Eye-witness: Haaretz reporters on covering October 7 and the Gaza war | October 14, 2024 | Watch Now
- Runtime
- 1:10:13
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Haaretz journalists Linda Dayan, Sheren Falah Saab and Bar Peleg speak with subscribers about the personal and professional challenges of living through and reporting on the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel, the ongoing Gaza war, and the intensifying regional conflict.
How do you cover a massacre while it is taking place, and what happens when you come under fire? How does a reporter, or editor, cover death and destruction at a kibbutz where your family is trying to survive? How do you report on Gazans and their suffering from across the border, amid tightening pressure on freedom of expression at home?
This event, moderated by Haaretz English editor-in-chief Esther Solomon on October 14, 2024, provides a rare look behind the headlines.
The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- שידור חי מהוועידה הביטחונית מדינית של הארץ
- Runtime
- 7:16:21
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- אירועי השבעה באוקטובר והמלחמה הקשה שבאה בעקבותיהם חשפו שורה של כשלים חמורים – מדיניים וצבאיים. האירועים התרחשו במהלך כהונת ממשלת ימין קיצוני שראשיה מסרבים לקחת אחריות על כישלונם.
אבל האירועים הקשים חשפו גם את החולשה של השמאל, שלצד רעיונות מדיניים מעוררי תקווה, לא מספק פתרון ביטחוני שישכנע את כלל אזרחי ישראל. בכך הוא מצטרף לקושי של השמאל ברחבי העולם הדמוקרטי, שמתקשה לתת מענה לפחדים ביטחוניים של האזרחים בשורה של נושאים.
לצד המציאות הביטחונית הקשה, מחדל ה-7 באוקטובר והתגובה הישראלית יצרו מציאות חדשה באזור. הלחץ הבינלאומי שמופעל על י...
- Title
- משדר מיוחד - תקשורת בזמן מלחמה
- Runtime
- 21:35
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- גילי כהן, כתבת מדינית, תאגיד השידור הישראלי
מוחמד מג'אדלה, פרשן חדשות 12 וראש חטיבת החדשות ברדיו נאס
יניב קובוביץ, עיתונאי הארץ
מנחה: חיים לוינסון, עיתונאי הארץ
The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- זה לא משחק - דרור קרן, שחקן ויוצר בשיחה עם שני ליטמן
- Runtime
- 13:03
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- מלחמת הקמפוסיםמאיה פלטק, נשיאת מועצת סטודנטים באוניברסיטת קולומביה בראיון מוקלט עם לי ירון, הארץ
- Runtime
- 10:06
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- ח"כ גדי איזנקוט, הרמטכ"ל ה- 21 בשיחה עם אמיר אורן, עיתונאי הארץ
- Runtime
- 20:07
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- מלחמה ושלום - האם המלחמה יכולה להסתיים בהסכם אזורי היסטורי שישנה את פני המזרח התיכון?
- Runtime
- 46:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- אלוף (בדימוס) עמי אילון, מפקד חיל הים וראש השב"כ לשעבר
ד"ר שירה עפרון, ראש המחקר, Israel Policy Forum, עמיתה מבקרת בכירה, RAND Corporation
ליאן פולק-דוד, יועצת אסטרטגית, חברת פורום דבורה. לשעבר יועצת במל"ל ובמשרד ראש הממשלה
ד"ר רולא הרדל, המנכ"לית הפלסטינית של "ארץ לכולם" ועמיתת מחקר במכון הרטמן
סאמר סינג'ילאווי, ההנהגה החלופית בפת"ח
מנחה: רוית הכט, עיתונאית הארץ
The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- מיקי גיצין, מנכ"ל הקרן החדשה לישראל בשיחה עם ענת קם, עיתונאית הארץ
- Runtime
- 14:32
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- ד"ר מנסור עבאס, יו"ר רע"מ בשיחה עם ג'קי חורי, עיתונאי הארץ
- Runtime
- 19:38
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- ח"כ ניצב בדימוס יואב סגלוביץ, לשעבר סגן השר לביטחון פנים, יש עתיד בשיחה עם דיאא חאג' יחיא, הארץ
- Runtime
- 20:46
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- ח"כ איימן עודה, יו"ר רשימת חד"ש-תע"ל בשיחה עם הילו גלזר, עיתונאי הארץ
- Runtime
- 17:50
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- פרופ' תמר הוסטובסקי ברנדס, הקריה האקדמית אונו והמכון למחשבה ישראלית
- Runtime
- 14:12
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- שטפן זייברט, שגריר הרפובליקה הפדרלית של גרמניה בישראל בשיחה עם נעה לנדאו
- Runtime
- 15:22
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- פרדריק ז'ורנס שגריר צרפת בישראל בשיחה עם נעה לנדאו, סגנית העורך הראשי, הארץ
- Runtime
- 15:16
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- מאבדים את הביטחון - הימין רוצה מלחמה, אבל מה האלטרנטיבה הביטחונית של השמאל-מרכז בישראל?
- Runtime
- 45:35
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- אלוף במיל' נמרוד שפר, כיהן כראש אגף תכנון וראש מטה חיל האוויר
פרופ' יגיל לוי, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה
ח"כ הרב גלעד קריב
ד"ר עידית שפרן גיטלמן, חוקרת בכירה במכון למחקרי ביטחון לאומי
ד"ר רונית לוין-שנור, אוניברסיטת תל אביב, תנועת האינטרס הישראלי
מנחה: ג'וש בריינר, עיתונאי הארץ
The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper
website: https://www.haaretz.com/
- Title
- עירן הלפרין, יו"ר ומייסד מרכז אקורד, המחלקה לפסיכולוגיה, האוניברסיטה העברית
- Runtime
- 10:52
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The following video is a part of Haaretz news coverage. For the newspaper website: https://www.haaretz.com/
