Tel Aviv Review

Can a country confront its past without putting its founding ideals into question? The renowned and controversial historian of the Holocaust Omer Bartov has spent decades studying genocide, war, and the ways societies understand their own histories. In his new book Israel: What Went Wrong , he turns that expertise—and his own experience growing up in Israel in a Zionist family—to one of the most u...

What happens when a political philosopher stops asking, "What would the perfect society look like?" and starts asking, "How did we get here?" Dr Raef Zreik takes a close look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of political theory—and argues that one of the most important tasks of philosophy is self-clarification: figuring out exactly what we mean when we disagree, what assumption...

What did South African anti-apartheid activists once think about Israel and Zionism? The answer is more complicated than most seem to think. Dr. Asher Lubotzky, research fellow at the University of Houston's Department of Political Science, takes us through the extraordinary—and often surprising—relationship between the South African anti-apartheid movement and Israel, from the birth of both count...

What does soccer have to do with Zionism? More than you might think. Today, competitive sports feel like an obvious part of Israeli culture. But when Zionism was taking shape in the early 20th century, sports were anything but obvious. Many Zionists actually preferred gymnastics, believing it would build a healthier, more disciplined—and more ideal—Jew. So how did competitive sports win out? In th...

What separates an activist who changes the world… from one who simply makes noise? Israeli-American lawyer, philanthropist, and disability rights advocate Jay Ruderman argues that lasting change isn't about shouting the loudest. It's about knowing when to provoke, when to persuade, and how to build unlikely alliances. Drawing on decades of experience—from transforming disability representation in...

Can films reveal what a nation really believes about itself? For decades, Dutch cinema told one story about its Jews. Then, slowly, that story began to change. This week, Dr. Eyal Boers, head of Film and Television at Ariel University, takes us on a fascinating journey through more than a century of Dutch cinema, showing how films have reflected—and shaped—the Netherlands' evolving relationship wi...

Upon the publication of  Autocorrect , his latest collection of short stories, Etgar Keret joins us to discuss his favorite literary form, the impact of AI on storytelling and the power of literature post-Oct 7. The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.

The major turning points in Iran's nuclear program were not the JCPOA or the latest wars, but the Shah's defiance of Henry Kissinger and the Iran-Iraq War, says Dr. Sina Azodi, Assistant Professor of Middle East Politics at George Washington University and author of  Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran and the Nuclear Question .

How does a Western-educated king survive — and thrive — in the political chaos of the Middle East for more than 25 years? Aaron Magid, a journalist formerly based in Jordan, discusses his book  The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan , exploring the fascinating story of Jordan's King Abdullah II: a monarch shaped by American culture, dependent on American support, yet ruling one of the region's...

Olga Gershenson, professor of Jewish and Near East Studies and Film Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, explains how a generation raised on VHS, torrents, and global cinema reinvented horror in Israel—turning familiar tropes into sharp, funny, and deeply local cultural critique. From "Hebraizing" zombies to exposing the absurdities of military life, Israeli horror is anything but...

Oz Frankel, professor of American history at the New School for Social Research in New York, discusses his book  Coca Cola, Black Panthers and Phantom Jers: Israel in the American Orbit 1967-1973 .

A thought-provoking episode exploring how early Zionist thinkers engaged deeply with Arabic language and Islamic culture, challenging conventional views of identity and "Orientalism" in the Middle East. Dr Mostafa Hussein, Assistant Professor of Jewish-Muslim Relations at the University of Michigan, discusses his book Hebrew Orientalism: Jewish Engagement with Arabo-Islamic Culture in Late Ottoman...

Did you know that a Yiddish newspaper once had a larger circulation than The New York Times ? At the turn of the 20th century, the Yiddish press in America wasn't just a news industry — it was the beating heart of immigrant Jewish life. Newspapers didn't just report the news; they offered advice, shaped politics, and helped newcomers navigate a bewildering new society. In this week's episode, hist...

Amir Naaman and Dr Ran Heilbrunn, Israeli writers based in Germany, discuss their new collection of essays  Inversion: Gay Life after the Homosexual . What are the next steps for queer theory after the impressive gains made by gay rights activism over the last few decades?

For Michael Sfard, one of Israel's most prominent human rights lawyers and author of the forthcoming book Occupation from Within: How Israel's Oppression of the Palestinians Turned Inwards , the government's anti-democratic proposals, collectively known as the "judicial overhaul", are a culmination of the decades-long occupation of the Palestinians. The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig...

How will the much-touted special relationship be affected by President Trump's overhaul of many aspects of American governance? Alon Pinkas, former Israeli diplomat and author of the forthcoming book An Unnatural Alliance, reflects on his time as Consul-General in New York in the early 2000s - how has Israeli diplomacy in the US evolved since? Join us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/telavivr...

Dr. Murat Yildiz, a historian of the Middle East at Skidmore College, discusses his book, The Ottoman World of Sports: Refashioning Bodies, Men and Communities in Late Imperial Istanbul . (Forthcoming, University of Texas Press).

Robert Malley, a former US negotiator and president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, and currently Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Yale University's Jackson School for Global Affairs, discusses his book (co-authored with Hussein Agha) Tomorrow is Yesterday: Life, Death and the Pursuit of Peace in Israel/Palestine . The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish Histor...

Dr Balazs Berkovits, a Hungarian-born sociologist and philosopher, and Dr. Sara Hirschhorn, an American-Israeli historian, discuss the complexity – and adverse effects – of attributing the "whiteness" category to Jews. This series is made possible by the Elizabeth and Tony Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism at the University of Haifa.

Steven E. Zipperstein, the director of the Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA, discusses his book,  Zionism, Palestinian Nationalism and the Law: 1939-1948 .

Dr Dikla Yogev and Dr Shlomi Balaban, two Israeli academics based in Canada, reflect on Oct. 7 and its aftermath in their professional and personal circles. This series is made possible by the Elizabeth and Tony Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism at the University of Haifa.

Rabbi Dr Michael Marmur, Professor of Jewish Theology at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, discusses his book  Living the Letters: An Alphabet of Emerging Jewish Thought .

Izabella Tabarovsky and Prof. Khinvraj Jangid, fellows at the Elizabeth and Tony Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism at the University of Haifa, discuss the landscape of antisemitism in two non-Western environments: the Post-Soviet and the Indian. This series is made possible by the  Elizabeth and Tony Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism at the University of H...

Amos Goldberg, Professor of Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a renowned historian of the Holocaust, explains why he believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and weighs in on the role of historians and public intellectuals in addressing it. The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.

Lior Sternfeld, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Penn State University, discusses his book, "Iran: Life itself. History, politics, culture and trauma," a Hebrew-language primer for Israelis curious about their country's arch-enemy. Hear the full episode on Patreon