Boundless Insights - with Aviva Klompas

Boundless Israel, Inc.
  • 4.8 (131)
  • News Commentary
  • Semiweekly

When it comes to Israel, antisemitism, and American Jewry, the conversations are seemingly endless—there are so many perspectives and so many difficult questions that it can be hard to know where to start.That’s why we created Boundless Insights—to bring you thoughtful, in-depth, and engaging discussions to help make sense of the issues.Our goal is to become your trusted source for insights that are not just informative, but also empowering – giving you the confidence to start conversations of your own.

  1. 2d ago

    Negotiating a Government — with Yossi Klein Halevi

    We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org Israel's election has produced no clear winner and no obvious path to forming a government. Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc has lost its Knesset majority, but the opposition faces its own challenge: it cannot govern without the support of Arab parties, a prospect its leaders have so far rejected. Author and journalist Yossi Klein Halevi joins Boundless Insights to make sense of the results, the challenges facing Gadi Eisenkot, and the surge in Arab voter turnout that has reshaped the political landscape. The conversation also explores the growing divide between Israeli and American Jews in how they understand Jewish safety and Israel's future. Drawing on his writing about the competing imperatives of Jewish history — "Don't be brutal" and "Don't be naive" — Halevi examines how different experiences shape the priorities of the world's two largest Jewish communities. With Israel facing profound security challenges and growing strains in its relationships with the United States and Europe, the discussion moves beyond coalition politics to a larger question: What kind of future should Israelis be working toward? Guest Bio Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. His 2013 book, Like Dreamers, won the Jewish Book Council's Everett Book of the Year Award and his latest book, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor, is a New York Times bestseller. Yossi writes for leading op-ed pages in the US, including the Times and the Wall Street Journal, and is a former contributing editor to the New Republic. Mentioned in This Episode Pesach Jews vs Purim Jews: The Agony of our Dilemma by Yossi Klein Halevi

    Negotiating a Government — with Yossi Klein Halevi

  2. Nov 4

    A Democratic Victory in a Divided America – with Joe Walsh

    We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org What did the 2026 midterm elections reveal about the future of American politics? Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh joins Boundless Insights to unpack the election results, Donald Trump's hold on the Republican Party, and the debate over the Democratic Party's direction. They also examine the growing visibility of antisemitism on both sides of the political spectrum, the controversies surrounding Senate candidates Graham Platner and Abdul El-Sayed, and what the results mean for the 2028 presidential race. Drawing on his own political transformation from Tea Party congressman to outspoken Trump critic, Walsh reflects on America's deepening divisions and whether voters are ready to move beyond the politics of outrage. Guest Bio: Joe Walsh is a former Republican congressman from Illinois who was elected during the Tea Party wave of 2010. A former conservative talk-radio host, he challenged Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2020 and later became an outspoken Trump critic. He is the host of The Social Contract with Joe Walsh podcast and founder of the Hope, Not Fear Project, which works to bridge America's political divides through honest, respectful conversations. Walsh is also a frequent political commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and other national networks.

    A Democratic Victory in a Divided America – with Joe Walsh

  3. Oct 28

    Israel Voted. Now What? - with Dr. Michael Oren

    We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org Four years after Israel's last election, Israelis have returned to the polls in a country transformed by war, political upheaval, and profound changes across the Middle East. But what have voters decided, and who will lead the country next? Dr. Michael Oren, historian, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, joins Boundless Insights to unpack the election results, the winners and losers, and the complicated process of forming Israel's next government. They discuss what the results reveal about Israeli society, what they mean for Benjamin Netanyahu's political future, and how the election could reshape Israel's relationships with Washington and its neighbors across the Middle East. With the U.S. midterm elections just days away, the stakes extend well beyond Israel's borders. Guest Bio: Dr. Michael Oren served in the IDF as a Lone Soldier in the paratroopers. He was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and later served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Diplomacy. He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Six Days of War, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israel Divide, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Ambassador Oren published 2048: The Rejuvenated State in 2023 and is the founder of Israel Advocacy Group. Mentioned in this Episode Israel’s Tragic Choice by Micah Goodman From Micah Goodman - "Do Israelis really not care what the world thinks about them? No. They care a lot. But what concerns them even more is what their enemies think. Israel’s problem is that it must cultivate two reputations, one for the West and one for the Middle East. These two reputations clash. Israelis want the Western world to love them, but their enemies in the Middle East to fear them."

    Israel Voted. Now What? - with Dr. Michael Oren

  4. Oct 21

    What Happened to American Power? – Live with Dr. Michael Oren

    We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org What happens when antisemitic ideas begin to shape how people understand American power, Israel, and the country’s interests abroad? Recorded live at the University of Texas at Austin, Aviva is joined by historian, bestselling author, and former Israeli ambassador to the United States Dr. Michael Oren for a conversation about antisemitism through the lens of national security. They examine how America’s understanding of terrorism and military power has changed in the years since 9/11, why the Palestinian cause has become intertwined with broader ideological battles over colonialism and the West, and the growing debate over whether Israel remains a strategic asset to the United States. They also grapple with where legitimate criticism of the U.S.-Israel alliance ends and older antisemitic ideas about Jewish power and influence begin. Our thanks to the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin, the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission, and Texas Hillel for hosting this live conversation at the Topfer Center for Jewish Life. Guest Bio: Dr. Michael Oren served in the IDF as a Lone Soldier in the paratroopers. He was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and later served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Diplomacy. He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Six Days of War, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israel Divide, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Ambassador Oren published 2048: The Rejuvenated State in 2023 and is the founder of Israel Advocacy Group.

    What Happened to American Power? – Live with Dr. Michael Oren

  5. Oct 14

    Is There a Future for Jews in Canada? – with Warren Kinsella

    We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org. Canada has long presented itself as a model of multiculturalism, tolerance, and minority inclusion. But for many Canadian Jews, that image is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile with their lived reality. Jews make up roughly one percent of Canada’s population, yet they have become the target of a vastly disproportionate share of religious hate crimes. So what happened to Canada? Warren Kinsella joins Aviva to examine how antisemitism became so pervasive in a country that prides itself on protecting minorities. And they confront the question many Canadian Jews are increasingly asking: Is there still a future for Jews in Canada? Guest Bio: Warren Kinsella is a lawyer, political strategist, and bestselling author with decades of experience at the highest levels of Canadian politics. A former chief of staff in the Chrétien government and veteran of multiple federal and provincial election campaigns, he has also worked as a journalist, communications consultant, and legal expert. He is the author of ten books, including his latest, The Hidden Hand, which examines the global propaganda campaign against Israel and the West More from Warren Kinsella The Hidden Hand The Information War and the Rise of Antisemitic Propaganda The Campaign Documentary Trailer Jew-haters push vile propaganda in wake of Flydubai hijacking

    Is There a Future for Jews in Canada? – with Warren Kinsella

  6. Oct 7

    Mission in Captivity – with Dr. Shoshan Haran

    We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org. Three years after being taken hostage on October 7, Dr. Shoshan Haran recounts the fifty days she spent as a hostage in Gaza with her daughter and young grandchildren. Abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri after her husband and sister were murdered, Shoshan found herself responsible for helping her family survive captivity while protecting children too young to comprehend what was happening around them. She gave herself a mission: bring everyone home alive. Drawing on her memoir, Mission in Captivity: One Woman’s Struggle to Survive and Save Her Family in Gaza,  Shoshan joins Aviva to share her story of survival and reflect on whether, three years later, she can still imagine a future of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Guest Bio: Dr. Shoshan Haran is a Fulbright scholar and the founder and president of Fair Planet, a global nonprofit that helps smallholder farmers in Africa improve food security and escape poverty. On October 7, 2023, Shoshan was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri and held hostage in Gaza for 50 days along with members of her family. Her husband, Avshalom, was murdered in the attack. Since her release, Shoshan has become an advocate for international action to prevent civilian abduction from being used as a weapon of war. She is the author of the bestselling memoir Mission in Captivity: One Woman’s Struggle to Survive and Save Her Family in Gaza, which received the 2026 Bernstein Prize for Non-Fiction Literature.

    Mission in Captivity – with Dr. Shoshan Haran

  7. Sep 30

    Lessons from a Mossad Psychologist - with Glenn Cohen

    We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org. What allows a person to survive the seemingly unendurable? Glenn Cohen has spent much of his career trying to understand how human beings respond under extreme pressure. A former Israeli Air Force helicopter pilot and chief psychologist of the Mossad, he helped select and prepare elite personnel for high-risk missions, including the possibility of capture. After October 7, that expertise was suddenly needed on an unprecedented scale. Cohen was called back into service, helped develop Israel’s protocols for receiving returning hostages, and led the team responsible for debriefing the 168 hostages who came home alive. In this conversation, Cohen takes Aviva inside the psychology of captivity and survival. He explains what happens when people are stripped of control, how individuals can preserve agency under extreme conditions, and why enduring terrible trauma does not necessarily mean being permanently broken by it. He also reflects on the delicate process of bringing hostages home, the lessons Israel learned from earlier generations of returning POWs, and what the hostages themselves taught him about the limits — and surprising strength — of human resilience. As Cohen puts it: “We are capable of going to hell and coming back.” Guest Bio: Glenn Cohen is a former Mossad Chief Operational Psychologist, Israeli Air Force pilot, and IDF hostage negotiator. Following October 7, he returned to emergency reserve duty and was appointed the first mental-health professional to meet freed hostages upon their return to Israel. He helped develop Israel’s protocol for receiving returning hostages and led the team of psychologists that debriefed the 168 hostages released by October 2025. Today, he coaches executives and trains organizations on resilience and peak performance. His upcoming book on Post Traumatic Growth has been acquired by Simon and Schuster and Glenn is a sought-after international speaker. More information is available on his site Glenn-cohen.com.

    Lessons from a Mossad Psychologist - with Glenn Cohen

  8. Sep 23

    Israel’s Reckoning at the Ballot Box – with Dr. Michael Oren

    We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org. On October 27, Israelis will head to the polls for the first national election since the October 7 attacks, after three years that have profoundly reshaped the country. Three years of war have altered the country’s sense of security, tested its institutions, and forced Israelis to confront fundamental questions about the leadership and policies that brought them to this moment. Yet the political system Israelis are returning to remains remarkably familiar. Benjamin Netanyahu is still at its center. His opponents are still struggling to assemble a coalition capable of replacing him. And a deeply divided electorate must now decide what comes after one of the most consequential periods in Israel’s history. Dr. Michael Oren, historian, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, and former member of the Knesset, joins Aviva to look beyond the campaign and consider what this election reveals about Israel three years after October 7 — how the country has changed, what hasn’t, and what Israelis are choosing when they cast their ballots. Guest Bio: Michael Oren served in the IDF as a Lone Soldier in the paratroopers. He was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and later served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Diplomacy. He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Six Days of War, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israel Divide, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Ambassador Oren published 2048: The Rejuvenated State in 2023 and is the founder of Israel Advocacy Group.

    Israel’s Reckoning at the Ballot Box – with Dr. Michael Oren
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About

When it comes to Israel, antisemitism, and American Jewry, the conversations are seemingly endless—there are so many perspectives and so many difficult questions that it can be hard to know where to start.That’s why we created Boundless Insights—to bring you thoughtful, in-depth, and engaging discussions to help make sense of the issues.Our goal is to become your trusted source for insights that are not just informative, but also empowering – giving you the confidence to start conversations of your own.

Information

  • Creator
    Boundless Israel, Inc.
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    188
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Boundless Insights - with Aviva Klompas - 868329
  • Show Website
    Boundless Insights - with Aviva Klompas

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