Haaretz Podcast

In this week's episode, we hear from an evangelical Christian and Israeli citizen, Joel Rosenberg, on his unusual meetings with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, the king of Jordan and president of Egypt, all documented in a new book he just published. Why did these Arab leaders invite him to their palaces, and how can Joe Biden get a big diplomatic win in the Middle East? Listen to the full conversation, starting at time code 10:20...

Host Simon Spungin is joined by human rights lawyer and LGBTQ+ activist Eitay Mack for a deep dive into the Israeli gay community’s #metoo moment, conversion therapy and the price the LGBTQ+ community in Israel is paying for its alliance with companies that sell technology used to repress gays elsewhere. Support groups: The Aguda - The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel; Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Violence broke out again last week at the Western Wall, as female activists gathered to pray at the holy Jewish site and were met with an ultra-Orthodox mob. Why is the battle over women's prayer there making headlines in Israel again, and how is it related to the ultra-Orthodox parties being out of power for the first time in a decade? Jewish World correspondent Judy Maltz discusses the latest developments with host Amir Tibon. Also on this week's episode, Haaretz's U.S...

Prof. Michel Wieviorka, from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris, and France 24 journalist, Shirli Sitbon join host Simon Spungin to discuss the rise and rise of Éric Zemmour – the leading noncandidate who is already disrupting next year’s French presidential election with his hashtag provocations, his anti-immigrant rhetoric, and his outrageous rewriting of French history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode, guest Danny Citrinowicz, a leading Israeli expert on Iran, talks about the expected renewal of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and world powers. He warns that for the Biden administration there is only one realistic option on the table – and Israel will have to adjust to it, even if it doesn't want to...

Haaretz’s Ruth Schuster joins host Simon Spungin to discuss Israel, the COP26 conference and pie-in-the-sky climate tech; the lost Church of the Apostles and Crusader camps; and the scientific truth about benefits of intermittent fasting – for mice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Within the space of a few days, Turkey announced that it had arrested a supposed spy ring operated by Israel's Mossad, and informed the ambassadors of the U.S., France and Germany that they should expect a deportation order from Ankara. What is all the noise about? We discuss the latest developments with Louis Fishman, an expert on Turkish politics who divides his time between Istanbul and Tel Aviv.  Starting at the 11:30 mark, we hear from Martin Indyk, a former U.S...

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Stockholm-based journalist David Stavrou to discuss the International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism hosted by the Swedish city of Malmo; and by Judy Maltz, to discuss the multi-candidate race to become the next chair of the Jewish Agency. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode, we discuss intriguing findings from the Pandora Papers leak regarding Israel – from offshore companies in tax havens that finance settlement purchases, to the business empire of Israel's richest politician. Uri Blau, a member of the investigative journalistic consortium that uncovered the documents, joins host Amir Tibon for a fascinating conversation (starting at time code 11:30)...

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Anshel Pfeffer and Uzi Dann to discuss the Saudi Arabian takeover of a English Premier League football team, whether or not to attend the World Cup in Qatar next year and why Israeli soccer stadia are still bastions of racism and xenophobia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.