Tel Aviv Diary Podcast

Marc Schulman
  • 5.0 (2)
  • News
  • Biweekly

Twice weekly, Marc Schulman shares sharp, pragmatic insights into Israeli affairs and global tech—drawing on decades as a Newsweek columnist and Apple developer. Veteran journalist and historian Marc Schulman offers sharp, unfiltered insight into current events in Israel. An American-born commentator who has lived in Israel on and off since 1975, Marc wrote a long-running weekly column on Israel for Newsweek and brings decades of deep engagement with Israeli politics, society, and history. His perspective is iconoclastic, pragmatic, and often challenges conventional narratives. Each episode combines personal observations with sharp political analysis, covering everything from the weekly rallies at Hostage Square to the intricate negotiations surrounding ceasefire deals. Marc doesn't shy away from difficult topics—whether it's critiquing government policies, analyzing the military draft controversy, or exploring the broader implications of regional conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. Beyond Middle Eastern affairs, the podcast ventures into global politics, economics, and emerging technology, examining how international developments impact daily life in Israel. From trade policy critiques to AI's revolutionary impact on truth and reality, Marc brings a historian's perspective to contemporary events. Tel Aviv Diary is essential listening for anyone seeking an authentic, ground-level view of Israeli society during wartime—complete with the frustrations, hopes, and hard truths that come with living through historic events as they unfold. Raw, honest, and deeply personal, each episode captures the weight of the moment while grappling with questions that extend far beyond Israel's borders. marcschulman.substack.com

  1. 3h ago

    The Speaker’s Chair and the Iran Window, with Ehud Haik

    Ehud Haik, a longtime friend from the world of intelligence and a recovering lawyer, joins me on Thursday evening, the day President Herzog finished consultations and Gadi Eisenkot received the most recommendations. Ehud’s prediction is a minority government of 41, with Lieberman voting yes from outside and the Arab parties supporting it until the budget deadline in March or April. Neither of us sees a realistic alternative. Haim Ramon has said he wouldn’t sell this government life insurance, though the Arab parties now have every reason to keep it alive. Ehud reads the result as a clear rejection of the Netanyahu bloc, which fell 11 seats. We disagree about why Herzog is pushing for a unity government. We agree that once the Knesset is sworn in on November 10, the speakership becomes the most important job in the country. A speaker from Eisenkot’s party could advance a state commission of inquiry into October 7 and a draft law for the Haredim, even before a government is formed. On Iran, Ehud says Netanyahu wanted to strike the day before the election and the chief of staff refused, citing a legal change Eisenkot made as chief of staff that made the army answer to the government as a whole. He sees Trump’s window for an attack closing by early December. We also argue about whether another October 7 is possible, and look at what the Democratic wave in America means for Israel. Ehud’s view is that moderate Democrats won the big victories, and that this gives Israel an opening to repair the relationship. Ehud’s hopes for an Eisenkot government are to confront the Haredi challenge to democracy, push the far right back to the margins, and bring Arab citizens further into political life. He also wants Iran’s regime dealt with, by Israel alone if it has to be. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

    The Speaker’s Chair and the Iran Window, with Ehud Haik

  2. 3d ago

    From Yom Kippur to October 7: Yossi Klein Halevi on a Nation in Shock

    Marc Schulman and Yossi Klein Halevi first met more than 50 years ago at a demonstration in Washington, where both were arrested. Less than a week after Israel’s election, Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and author of “Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor,” joins Marc to try to make sense of the results. Halevi argues that Israelis drew two conflicting lessons from October 7. One was to hold the government that failed accountable. The other was to put security first, and that one pushed the electorate to the right. He describes Netanyahu as a wounded player who survived without winning, and he warns that a new war with Iran could keep him in office. The conversation turns to the book Halevi is now writing. He began it as a story of how the Jewish people overcame the Holocaust, and after October 7 he concluded that we had not. He predicts October 7 will shape Israel more deeply than the Yom Kippur War did. Marc and Yossi then disagree about a minority government that depends on the Arab parties. Marc lays out his case for term limits and a state commission of inquiry. Halevi warns that liberal Israelis’ greatest temptation is simply to leave while those on the right turn to violence. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

    From Yom Kippur to October 7: Yossi Klein Halevi on a Nation in Shock

  3. Oct 30

    Fear won the vote, and Netanyahu still lost his majority

    Netanyahu’s coalition walked into this election with 68 seats and walked out with 53. The opposition holds the majority. Yet the night felt like a defeat, because the Likud voters who swore to pollsters they were done with him voted for him anyway. Marc looks at why: a late fear campaign built on mushroom clouds over Tel Aviv, a base that gets its news almost entirely from Channel 14, and a party loyalty that works more like identity than politics. Gadi Eisenkot was embraced in development towns and the Carmel Market, and it still wasn’t enough. The other surprise was Arab-Israeli turnout, which came close to Jewish turnout and produced 19 seats. Ra’am now has eight. Marc lays out the hard choice facing Eisenkot and his partners: bring Ra’am into government with outside support from the Joint List, cut a deal with the Haredim on the draft, or risk Netanyahu prying loose a defector. He also covers what the new Knesset could pass after it is sworn in on November 10, from replacing Speaker Amir Ohana to a state commission of inquiry, and where Avigdor Lieberman fits. Plus: Trump’s talk of a three-day strike on Iran, and what Tuesday’s midterms could mean for Israel. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

    Fear won the vote, and Netanyahu still lost his majority

  4. Oct 25

    Two days to the vote: Iran, sanctions and the families’ demand

    In a solo episode recorded the Sunday after his daughter’s wedding, Marc Schulman looks at a week that turned from quiet to crowded with news, two days before Israel votes. Marc explains why he spent the past weeks worried that Netanyahu would start a war with Iran to change the course of the election, and why reports suggest Trump stopped him. He discusses the deal said to lie behind Trump’s endorsement, including reported promises to keep Ben Gvir out of the next government, form a national unity government and step down after a year, and why he wouldn’t bet on any of them. He covers the Hamas attack on a checkpoint outside Hebron that killed two soldiers and the demolitions that followed, and asks whether such demolitions actually deter anyone. He also addresses Netanyahu’s remarkable statement that Israel must prepare for sweeping sanctions on its banks, possibly by turning to crypto, and the Bank of Israel’s sharp rebuttal. Marc describes the rally of bereaved and hostage families, which he estimates drew about 100,000 people, demanding a state commission of inquiry into October 7th, and explains why Netanyahu has fought so hard to block one. He looks at turnout, the Israelis flying home to vote, and Netanyahu’s “me or a Palestinian state” message, which echoes his 1996 campaign against Shimon Peres. Looking past the election, he weighs the chances of renewed war with Iran after the US midterms, Israel’s Arrow interceptor production, and why regime change is the wrong goal to declare publicly. He ends with the midterms themselves, a likely Democratic House, a possible Democratic Senate, and what Democrats should do with their gains. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

    Two days to the vote: Iran, sanctions and the families’ demand

  5. Oct 16

    Can Israel Imagine a Future Beyond War? With Emmanuelle Elbaz-Phelps

    After October 7 and years of war, can Israelis envision a different future—and who is offering a credible path toward it? Journalist Emmanuelle Elbaz-Phelps, Israel correspondent for Le Point and host of the INSS podcast Meshadrim Bitachon, joins Marc Schulman for a candid conversation about the deeper questions behind Israel’s daily headlines. They discuss how trauma has reshaped Israeli society, the absence of a compelling vision for peace and security, racism toward Arab citizens, and the Israeli-Palestinian realities often missing from media coverage. Elbaz-Phelps also reflects on reporting in Hebrew and French, maintaining journalistic independence, and challenging audiences with facts they may prefer to overlook. From the power of extremists to the pressures of social media, this episode examines what stands in the way of change—and where there may still be grounds for hope. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

    Can Israel Imagine a Future Beyond War? With Emmanuelle Elbaz-Phelps

  6. Oct 13

    From the Cockpit to the Knesset: Nimrod Sheffer on Fixing a Broken State

    Maj. Gen. (res.) Nimrod Sheffer spent 37 years in uniform — fighter pilot, squadron commander, head of Air Force operations, Chief of Air Staff — then four years as head of the IDF Planning Directorate under Gantz and Eizenkot, then three years as CEO and President of Israel Aerospace Industries. He could have retired to his grandchildren. Instead he is number 11 on the Democrats’ list, two weeks out from the election. He explains what moved him: the judicial overhaul of January 2023, and then the conclusion he reached after October 7 that the dismantling of Israel’s public systems was not incompetence but policy. He describes what a new government would actually do on day one, and reveals that plans, draft legislation, cabinet decisions and budgets have been written for every ministry over the past two and a half years, agreed in advance with the leaderships of the likely coalition parties. The missing fifth element, he says, is people. We go through the files one by one. Syria, which he calls the easy one, built back from the 1974 framework. Lebanon, where disarming Hezbollah is not merely desirable but mandatory. Gaza, where his answer is to accept the Trump plan and start moving, and where he notes that Hamas now has more operatives than it had before the war. And Iran, where his assessment is blunt: the war set out to end the nuclear program, destroy the missile arsenal and stop the export of terror, and on all three counts we are not where we said we would be. Israel’s position relative to Iran, he argues, is worse than before the war, not better. We also talk about the 30,000 teachers Israel is short, about the racism he traces back to the day the country stopped fighting for its own principles after Rabin’s murder, and about why no camp that writes off twenty percent of its citizens can call itself democratic. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

    From the Cockpit to the Knesset: Nimrod Sheffer on Fixing a Broken State

  7. Oct 9

    The blockade, the midterms and Iran’s permanent revolution with Dr. Meir Javedanfar

    Dr. Meir Javedanfar was born in Tehran and left at 14, a year after his bar mitzvah. He has written about Iran since 2005 and has taught contemporary Iranian studies at Reichman University since 2011. In this episode he tells Marc Schulman he expects the Islamic Republic to start another round of fighting with the United States. His reasoning starts with resources. The US naval blockade has stopped Iran’s oil exports and cut off about 80 percent of the imports that used to arrive through Gulf ports. Oil prices haven’t moved despite the closure of Bab al-Mandab, and the Gulf states haven’t asked the Americans to leave. Javedanfar compares the faction now in charge in Tehran to Trotsky’s advocates of permanent revolution. He says that faction sees raising the war’s cost before the US midterms as its only lever. He describes the regime’s hardliners as an economic class more than a religious one. People who would otherwise ride the bus now run sanctions-busting oil brokerages in the UAE, with drivers and multimillion-dollar budgets. They know they lose everything if the regime falls. In his view, Islam has become a veneer. Marc and Meir also cover why Israel’s readiness to kill Iranian commanders deters Tehran more than American strikes on infrastructure. They discuss why the UAE is the likeliest target after Mohammed bin Zayed hosted Netanyahu, and why Erdogan wants the regime to survive. Javedanfar points to a wave of resignations by Iranian teachers and nurses, which has not yet reached the security forces. The conversation ends with a dream Marc asks for: the regime’s fall. Javedanfar expects chaos and score-settling over mass graves at first, and a water crisis no new government could fix quickly. He still thinks Iran’s chances would be far better without this regime. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

    The blockade, the midterms and Iran’s permanent revolution with Dr. Meir Javedanfar

  8. Oct 6

    Remember October 7th Three Years Later

    October 6th used to belong to the Yom Kippur War. This year it falls between the government’s official October 7th memorial, held on the Hebrew date, and the ceremonies the families will hold tomorrow in Yarkon Park and at Kibbutz Re’im. On this in-between day, Marc Schulman reads from the October 7th chapter of his new book, “Between Hope and Fear: Israel from Oslo to October 7th.” The readings follow the morning hour by hour. Sergeant Roni Eshel reports the breach from the Nahal Oz surveillance room. Civilian security squads hold off hundreds of attackers at Be’eri and Nir Oz. Aner Shapira throws grenades back out of a roadside shelter near Re’im. Paramedic Amit Mann treats the wounded in Be’eri’s dental clinic until the end. The chapter then asks the question that still haunts Israel: where was the army? Marc then reads from his assessment of what he calls Israel’s three-and-a-half-front war, including the policy of treating Hamas as a counterweight to the Palestinian Authority. Speaking in his own voice, Marc asks why, three years on, there is still no commission of inquiry of any kind. He connects that failure to Meron, to the submarine affair, and to the FlyDubai incident. He considers the two narratives October 7th left behind and argues that both are true. He explains why Israel should aim to be Athens rather than Sparta, and why he is backing Gadi Eisenkot in the coming election. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

    Remember October 7th Three Years Later
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Twice weekly, Marc Schulman shares sharp, pragmatic insights into Israeli affairs and global tech—drawing on decades as a Newsweek columnist and Apple developer. Veteran journalist and historian Marc Schulman offers sharp, unfiltered insight into current events in Israel. An American-born commentator who has lived in Israel on and off since 1975, Marc wrote a long-running weekly column on Israel for Newsweek and brings decades of deep engagement with Israeli politics, society, and history. His perspective is iconoclastic, pragmatic, and often challenges conventional narratives. Each episode combines personal observations with sharp political analysis, covering everything from the weekly rallies at Hostage Square to the intricate negotiations surrounding ceasefire deals. Marc doesn't shy away from difficult topics—whether it's critiquing government policies, analyzing the military draft controversy, or exploring the broader implications of regional conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. Beyond Middle Eastern affairs, the podcast ventures into global politics, economics, and emerging technology, examining how international developments impact daily life in Israel. From trade policy critiques to AI's revolutionary impact on truth and reality, Marc brings a historian's perspective to contemporary events. Tel Aviv Diary is essential listening for anyone seeking an authentic, ground-level view of Israeli society during wartime—complete with the frustrations, hopes, and hard truths that come with living through historic events as they unfold. Raw, honest, and deeply personal, each episode captures the weight of the moment while grappling with questions that extend far beyond Israel's borders. marcschulman.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Marc Schulman
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    140
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Marc Schulman
  • Show Website
    Tel Aviv Diary Podcast

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