18 Questions, 40 Mystics

We don't have a new episode this week, but we invite you to revisit our 18Forty Podcast conversation with Yossi Klein Halevi, originally aired on Dec. 26, 2023.  In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast , we talk to Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, about what it means to be a Zionist and a Jew post-October 7. Since Simchas Torah, we’ve spent lots of time airing ou...

Israel should prioritize its Jewish citizens, Yishai Fleisher says, because that's what a nation-state does. Yishai is the international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron, a flashpoint in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and a councilman for the Efrat community. His words reach audiences across the world via CNN , Piers Morgan's Uncensored , the New York Times , his own YouTube and pod...

Gaza can be leveled down or built up, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner says, and she wants Trump's plan to do the latter. An Israeli international lawyer and activist who has represented hundreds of terror victims in legal actions against terror organizations and their supporters, Nitsana is the head of Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center, which combats terrorism, promotes civil rights, and actively pursues pro...

Israel is opening a Pandora's box by releasing Palestinian prisoners and terrorists, Shani Taragin says — but she still has not given up hope. A prominent religious leader and educator in Israel, Rabbanit Shani Taragin is impassioned by the State of Israel's future as the homeland for the Jewish People, despite what she sees as its pitfalls. She is sought out for her convictions, faith, and inspir...

Hamas is already beginning to rebuild, Chuck Freilich says, because Israel lacks a post-war vision for Gaza. An Israeli national security expert, Chuck is a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies and has taught at elite American universities like Harvard, NYU, and Columbia. He has spent extensive time in Israel's national security establishment. The author of three books on I...

Take our annual survey . Until the Israeli government sets a plan for Gaza after the war, Rula Daood says, they are choosing to end up with Hamas.  A speech pathologist by trade, Rula Daood is now the national co-director of Standing Together, a progressive grassroots movement of Israeli Jews and Palestinians fighting for "full equality for everyone in this land."  A Christian Palestinian who is a...

Antisemitism and assimilation are threatening the Jewish People, says Natan Sharansky, but to both Israel offers a solution. Born in the Soviet Union and imprisoned by the authorities when trying to immigrate to Israel, Sharansky experienced brutal interrogations, forced feedings, and torture — sparking international campaigns to fight for his freedom in 1986.  Today, Natan is Chairman for the Ins...

We don't have a new episode this week, but we invite you to revisit David Bashevkin's conversation with Shayna Goldberg about the unique features of Israel’s Religious Zionist community, originally aired Nov. 26, 2024. This episode is sponsored by Eden Beit Shemesh. Contact Rina Weinberg at  info@edenbeitshemesh.com for more details. In this episode of the  18Forty Podcast , we talk to Shayna Gold...

We don't have a new episode this week, but we invite you to revisit David Bashevkin's conversation with Jonathan Gribetz teaching about Israel in the Ivy League, originally aired Jan. 12, 2024. In this episode of the  18Forty Podcast , we talk to Jonathan Gribetz, a Princeton professor and scholar of Near Eastern and Judaic studies, about the history of Israel and Palestine. At a time in which we...

There is a time to wage wars, Rabbi Michael Melchior says, and there is a time to make peace. An internationally renowned Jewish leader, thinker, and activist, he has long dedicated his life to fighting for human rights and peace—whether for Soviet Jews in the 1960s or Palestinians and Israelis in 2024.  In the past, he was a representative of the Meimad Knesset Party, International Director of th...

With over 100 hostages still trapped in Gaza, Daniel Gordis says, that is Israel's greatest failure to date—even if it's unclear that any deals would have gotten them back. An acclaimed writer and author, Daniel Gordis is a Koret Distinguished Fellow at the Israeli liberal arts institution Shalem College and writes for his 41,000 subscribers on his Substack, Israel From the Inside .  From Israel:...

Violence is never the answer for Khitam Abu Bader. That's why she tries to fight for peace. Khitam is helping to build Ma'oz Darom South by promoting regional development in the Negev, collaborating with local leaders, and empowering communities. She has extensive experience in leadership and youth development, previously directing the Raidat Leadership Program for Women at Desert Stars and the Ar...

Israel has pretty much destroyed its enemies, Moshe Koppel says. That's (partly) why he believes Israel has won the war in Gaza. Founding chairman of the Kohelet Policy Forum—called “the most successful initiative of the right in the past decade" by Haaretz —Moshe is a political thinker and computer scientist deeply involved in Israel's political affairs. He and his think tank propelled the Knesse...

The true enemy in Israel's current war, Einat Wilf says, is what she calls "Palestinianism." Once part of the Israeli left, Einat Wilf is a popular political thinker on Israel, Zionism, and foreign policy. Her 2020 co-authored book, "The War of Return," outlines what she believes lies at the core of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict: the Palestinian people's "Right of Return" is what makes this con...

We return next week with a new episode of 18 Questions, 40 Israeli Thinkers. In the meantime, enjoy an earlier interview with Sivan Rahav-Meir. Israel's fight against Hamas, Sivan Rahav-Meir says, is preventing another Oct. 7—and another Sept. 11. The Israeli religious journalist — voted Israel’s most popular media personality — grew up secular and part of the Israel left’s “Peace Now” movement, b...

If you asked Yaakov Katz, the world should be lining the streets to applaud the IDF's military campaign in Gaza. The decades-long journalist and political thinker is emphatic that the IDF fights in the most humane and moral way possible. A senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and former editor in chief of the  Jerusalem Post , Katz has his pulse on many sectors of Israeli society to...

Uri Zaki supported Israel's war against Hamas from the getgo—but the killing of six hostages and Sinwar's assassination were a turning point. Now, he thinks it needs to end. Uri Zaki is a left-wing political thinker and activist. He founded the New Israel Fund’s The Front for the Protection of Democracy and was previously the chairperson of the Meretz (Israel’s left-wing party) executive board and...

As a Haredi woman of the Israeli left, Nechumi Yaffe lives between a few different worlds—and she feels at home in Israel's new "Religious Left" movement. A professor of public policy at Tel Aviv University, Nechumi is a political and social psychologist focused on the Haredi communities in America and Israel (of which she is a part). She is a leading expert guiding the Israeli government on Hared...

Israel's multi-front war changes by the day—but Lahav Harkov thinks Israel is winning. A long-time journalist covering Israel's domestic and international affairs, Lahav speaks with an insider's investigation and knowledge about Israel's issues today: military strategy, hostage negotiations, international relations, and more. Previously the Senior Contributing Editor, Diplomatic Reporter and Kness...

Israel is facing several existential crises—at least three, by Netta Barak-Corren's account. The legal scholar and law professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is intimately concerned with Israel's future and current threats. During the judicial reform, Netta authored a 45-page document (later translated into English) breaking down the problems and proper courses of action as she saw them,...

How do Israeli thinkers feel after October 7? Israelis have lived in a new reality over the last year—one haunted by the horrors of the day Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 251 others, and dragged the country into an existential war. To feel October 7 one year later, we bring voices and perspectives from the Israeli thinkers we interviewed thus far to connect to their pain and...

Rivka Ravitz may be a long-time Haredi political thinker, but that doesn't mean she thinks politics is always the answer. Since her father-in-law first employed her in the Knesset at age 18, Rivka has spend decades working in Israeli politics. She was chief of staff to President Reuven Rivlin and a senior fellow at the Jewish Public Policy Institute; now she is chief of staff to the mayor of Bet S...

Israel should not be a religious state, Rabbi David Stav says, and then its citizens could more freely welcome religion into their lives. The Chief Rabbi of Shoham, an Israeli town with a large secular populace, Rabbi Stav has long dedicated his life to bridging the social divides between religious and secular life. After the Rabin assassination, he and other rabbis founded Tzohar—an organization...

Until Hamas is gone, Haviv Rettig Gur says, Gaza will be unable to recover after the war. The  Times of Israel journalist and political analyst has emerged as a leading voice for the Israeli public and the Jewish world for deeper understandings of the war's developments. Haviv has covered Israeli politics — domestic and foreign — for nearly two decades and speaks internationally about Zionism, the...

What began on Oct. 7, Yossi Klein Halevi says, is not the Israel-Hamas War but the Israel-Iran War. A senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, the journalist and author has been intimately invested in Israel since he was a boy. Two of his books in particular— Like Dreamers and  Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor —capture the tensions he embraces in Israel, and his own dedication to the Zioni...