Haaretz Podcast

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Haaretz Podcast

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

5 HR AGO

Alon Pinkas on challenging the idea of Netanyahu as a master strategist of the Middle East

Haaretz senior columnist and former diplomat Alon Pinkas says that for years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tacitly supported the continuation of the brutal dictatorship of Bashar Assad in Syria, and it is absurd for him to claim credit for helping to topple Assad’s rule by weakening the mainstays of Iranian power in the region. “He might as well claim credit for the invasion of Normandy or the fall of the Berlin Wall or the surrender of Japan,” said Pinkas on the Haaretz Podcast. “He had nothing to do with those things. That he decimated Hamas and decapitated or degraded Hezbollah? Absolutely, but the Israeli military did that. That’s the same military he maligned and that he foul-mouthed in the days and weeks following the October 7, 2023 calamity.” According to Pinkas, Netanyahu is suffering from “delusions of grandeur” in his attempts to convince Israelis and the wider world that he is somehow remaking the Middle East by “cherry-picking successes, ignoring failures and presenting a false narrative.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 min
5 DAYS AGO

Is Israel squandering a rare chance in Syria?

Israel, the United States, and European leaders are all missing a unique opportunity in their policy stance and behavior toward the new post-Assad regime in Syria, veteran Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom said on the Haaretz Podcast. Carlstrom, a journalist for The Economist currently based in Dubai, said that the leader of the Islamist faction that led the toppling of Bashar Assad’s regime has made it clear that he has no hostile intentions towards Israel. And yet, Israel has attacked hundreds of targets in the country, targeting weapons depots and air defense systems. Israel's decision to deploy troops on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights and seize control of a buffer zone between the two countries is, according to Carlstrom, worrying and alienating the Syrian population. "For Syrians, that looks like exploitation, not security," he explained. Also on the podcast, German journalist Vera Weidenbach discussed how the collapse of Assad’s regime has reignited debates about Syrian refugees in Europe. With asylum applications frozen in Germany, and with other countries considering similar steps, she said refugees face mounting uncertainty as “deeply polarizing” rhetoric intensifies. "You see the far-right dominating the discourse in Germany, celebrating Assad’s fall as a reason for refugees to ‘finally go home,’ creating a toxic atmosphere." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

33 min
12 DEC

The (deep) state vs. Benjamin Netanyahu: Inside the courtroom during the PM's testimony

In this episode of the Haaretz Podcast, host Allison Kaplan Sommer and Haaretz columnist Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin delve into the trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges while continuing to lead the country at wartime. From the demonstrations outside the courtroom where Netanyahu took the stand this week, to the calculated strategies inside, they unpack the layers of drama, history, and legal maneuvering on display. This trial isn’t just about one man - it’s about the integrity of Israel’s judiciary and the resilience of its democracy. With tensions running high and public opinion deeply divided, what’s at stake for Israel’s future? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 min
9 DEC

'They're no Zionists': How Syria's rebels toppled Assad and what it means for Israel

The rapid collapse of the Assad regime in Syria has left Israel concerned about the future of what has been its quietest border in an era of continual instability and war, as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group that drove Assad out and has roots in Al-Qaeda and ISIS, takes charge. "I suspect they will probably send signals to Israel directly or indirectly, that they're not interested in igniting anything there," Haaretz Podcast guest Hassan Hassan, editor-in-chief of New Lines Magazine, said. Hassan, a Syrian-born journalist and author who has studied Islamist groups, believes that their posture towards Israel would be "cut from the same cloth" as Assad's, who "never really waged war against Israel since 1973." Haaretz senior military analyst Amos Harel, also on the podcast, said that Israeli officials are wary of the group and its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. According to Harel, the Syrian rebel leader currently "at least pretends to to have become more of a moderate. He doesn't talk like an extreme jihadist anymore. But don't think I'm buying into this, and neither are the Israeli intelligence community and the Israeli leadership." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

38 min
6 DEC

Settlement revival? military entrenchment? What are Israel’s long term plans for Gaza?

The evidence is mounting that Israel is entrenching itself militarily in Gaza for the long term. At the same time, Israel’s settler movements and far-right government are making no secret of their concrete plans to revive the Jewish settlements in the Strip. On the Haaretz Podcast. Avi Scharf, national security and open source intelligence editor at Haaretz reviews the findings of his investigation into the establishment of military installations and uprooting of Gaza civilians based on satellite imagery. Haaretz staff writer Rachel Fink, also speaking on the podcast, talks about determined settler activists, led by veteran Daniella Weiss, who have partnered with their allies in the Netanyahu government to maximize the pressure on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enable them to realize their dream: resurrecting the settlements that were forcibly evacuated when Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25 min
4 DEC

Netanyahu and Trump's 'creeping authoritarianism': 'It always begins and ends with women'

In both Israel and the United States, women's rights and their autonomy are under attack from the surging power of far-right religious political forces in the current Netanyahu government and future Trump White House. In Israel, the “creeping theocracy” is out in the open and the debate is in the public square, while in the U.S. there is less of an understanding that “disassembling American constitutional democracy is part of a theological effort,” said Dahlia Lithwick, a journalist at Slate and host of the award-winning Amicus podcast. Lithwick and Tel Aviv University law professor and civil rights activist Dr. Yofi Tirosh joined Haaretz Podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer to unpack, compare and contrast the erosion of women’s rights and its impact on democracy in the two countries. They discussed how gender equality is the linchpin of civil society, why authoritarian regimes target women first, how political fatigue is undermining activism, and compared America’s conflict over abortion to Israel’s fights surrounding gender segregation. From the ramifications of Israel’s judicial overhaul to America’s Dobbs decision that stripped women of reproductive rights, the two women connected the dots on how both countries are grappling with creeping theocracy and the normalization of extremism. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

43 min
29 NOV

Netanyahu's war on the Israeli media and how it is already affecting press freedom

Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s multi-front assault on the media - spearheaded by an economic boycott of Haaretz - is a blatant attempt to intimidate Israeli journalists into self-censorship and weaken press outlets that continue to dare to report critically on the behavior and policies of the nation’s leaders, media critic and journalist Oren Persico said on the Haaretz Podcast. The sanctions imposed on Haaretz, and the new bill introduced this week aimed at defunding Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, are designed to “bully the free press” and act as a “sword that is supposed to hang over their heads and and try to intimidate them,” said Persico, a staff writer for The Seventh Eye, an independent Israeli magazine that covers the media. Anat Saragusti, press freedom director at the Union of Journalists in Israel, explained how these aggressive moves by the government are accompanied by an orchestrated smear campaign against journalists and whole outlets. The smear campaign, led by Netanyahu and his loyalists, she said, has already led to physical violence against reporters in the field and threats against journalists. “Even if some of these laws will not pass in the Knesset, and even if the sanctions will not be imposed on Haaretz, it has already had a very, very powerful effect,” she said. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

35 min
27 NOV

Could the International court’s arrest warrants break Netanyahu’s grip on power?

In this episode, Haaretz Podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer explores the fallout from the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant. Joined by Haaretz diplomatic correspondent Amir Tibon and international law expert Aeyal Gross, the discussion covers how these developments impact Israel’s global standing, the legal and moral debates around the Gaza war, and the the explosive BibiLeaks scandal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

34 min

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Channel

Haaretz.com
Creator

Haaretz
Years Active

2018 - 2024
Episodes

101
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2024 Haaretz
Show Website

Haaretz Podcast

Politics

Politics

Updated 03/11/2022

Politics

Politics

Updated twice weekly
News

News

Updated weekly
News

News

Updated daily
Judaism

Judaism

Every two weeks
News

News

Updated weekly
Judaism

Judaism

Updated weekly
Judaism

Judaism

Updated weekly