The Israel Podcast
The Israel Podcast
Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis
A bi-weekly podcast on current political events in Israel. We'll be offering analysis, clarification and discussions of internal politics, security issues, and foreign affairs. About me: I'm an Israeli political theory Ph.D. student at the Harvard University Government Department. Interested in ideas, institutions and good old fashioned politics, security, and foreign policy. Especially in Israel. Before grad-school I worked as a policy analyst at Molad, a political think-tank and wrote a daily Middle-East update blog.
A Short Explanation Of The Current Chaos In Israeli Politics (as of 29 May, 2019, 2pm EST)
Netanyahu can't seem to get a coalition together. This is a quick explainer on why, and what might happen now.
May 29, 2019
11 min
E14 - Investigations, Elections and Politics at the Speed of Light
Political developments in Israel have been coming in hard and fast, with the last two weeks spelling major developments in PM Netanyahu's investigations as well as a crisis that will likely lead to elections in a few months. Tune in to hear all about these issues and a few others for good measure.
Mar 5, 2018
14 min
E13 - The War That Didnt Break-Out over the Weekend
Over the weekend a series of events on Israel's northern border escalated quickly, and was closer than any other time in the last few years to the breakout of a war between Israel, Syria and possibly also Hezbollah and Iran. I explain what happened and why tensions that caused this are unlikely to go away soon.
Feb 11, 2018
11 min
E12 - Who Are You Avi Gabbay The New Leader Of Israeli Labor
Today’s episode is about the new leader of the Labor party, Avi Gabbay who’s been stirring a lot of controversy and conversation since he was elected in July. So if you’re interest in the newcomer who is hoping to become Israel’s next prime minister stick around. Besides a basic acquaintance with Gabbay, I hope to leave you with two more takeaways today: An insider view of what he’s trying to do politically, for which I’ve spoken to people on his campaign, and my tempered criticism on unorthodox comments he’s been making on issues such as the settlements, the political place of Arab Israelis, and the Israeli left’s relationship with Judaism.
Jan 18, 2018
15 min
E11 - Why Scrapping The Iran Deal Is a Bad Idea
As PM Netanyahu and President Trump get ready to discuss the future of the Iran Deal, I explain what the deal did, and why scrapping it would be bad for Israel, and the US.
Sep 17, 2017
8 min
E10 - The Netanyahu Investigations Continued
I return to the Netanyahu investigations to discuss recent developments, what their political fallout might look like, and what the law has to say about Netanyahu's continued Premiership.
Aug 21, 2017
11 min
E09 - The Netantyahu Investigations
Making sense of all of the different criminal cases being discussed in relation to Netanyahu and his closest advisors.
Jul 20, 2017
14 min
E08 - The (Western) Wall Between US And Israeli Jewry
Israel’s government is facing its largest crisis in years regarding its relationship with the Jewish community in the US as a result of two government decisions on Church and State matters. In this episode, I explain what's going on and why.
Jul 6, 2017
23 min
E07 - Gaza Is Heating Up Again. Why?
Three years after the last Gaza War, and it seems like events are repeating themselves and Israel and Hamas are preparing for another showdown. How did we get here, what does it have to do with electricity, and hoe come the crisis in the Arab world affects any of this?
Jun 15, 2017
15 min
E06 - 50 Years Since 1967 With 50voices50years
this week’s episode comes to you as part of the Anti Defamation League’s project “50 voices, 50 years” marking the 50th anniversary of the Six Day war that’s happening these days. The project is a collection of 50 diverse voices featuring contributions that reflect on the implications of this anniversary, its legacy for Israel and the Middle East, its meaning for Zionism and the Jewish state’s prospects for peace. You can find the entire project at www.50voices50years.com and besides yours truly you can see what people like President Reuven Rivlin, Zipi Livni, Ambassador Michael Oren, Professor Michael Walzer, Amos Oz, Ambassador Dan Shapiro and many others had to say on this occasion.
Jun 2, 2017
4 min
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