Inside Israel with Joel Chasnoff

Believe it or not, there’s more to Joel than being a podcast host, stand-up comedian, MC, NJBA award-winning author, and father of four. Having had a Jewish upbringing in Chicago, a few life-changing teachers at Solomon Schechter, and making the “best stupid decision” of his life to draft in the IDF as a lone soldier, Joel reflects on why, if he had to do it all over again, he would.  In this...

In this bonus episode, Joel explains the ins and outs of Israel's hostage deal with Hamas. The deal calls for 33 Israeli hostages to be released during Phase One; the first three - Romi, Emily, and Doron - returned to Israel this past Sunday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, Israeli tennis star Lina Glushko was prohibited from wearing a yellow hostage pin during her qualifying match at the Australian Open. —a stark reminder of the world's discomfort with acknowledging the harsh reality of 101 hostages held in underground dungeons by Jihadist terrorists. In this episode of Inside Israel , I explore the implications of this decision: what does it mean to live...

In today’s episode of Inside Israel , I’m joined by his friend and fellow comedian Benji Lovitt to discuss our love-hate relationship with El-Al, Israel’s national airline. From indifferent customer service and faux-canceled flights to the all-too-familiar sight of kids running wild in the aisles, El-Al’s slogan, “Kmo lihiyot babayit” (“Like Being at Home!”), feels all too fitting. Over the past y...

What are Israelis talking about right now?  The Houthis, for starters. How are they still managing to strike us? And why are we still taking it, instead of hitting back hard and kicking their ass?  And then there’s Iran. Could this finally be the moment for a preemptive strike, one in which we dismantle their nuclear program once and for all? But mostly, the conversations – at least in t...

When IDF soldiers deploy to Gaza, where do they sleep?  What do they eat?  And yes, where do they handle the more basic human need, like, as my mother would say, “Going number one and number two”? On today’s episode of Inside Israel we speak with IDF Master Sergeant Jacob. He’s a Lone Soldier from Los Angeles who just returned from a tour of duty in the Gaza Strip. Since October 7th, hun...

Want to know a secret?  I’ve got a tiny crush on Amanda Borschel-Dan. (Shhh!) You know who I’m talking about: Amanda’s host of the Times of Israel’s The Daily Briefing podcast. She’s wicked smart, seriously funny, and that accent…I mean, what’s not to like?  And don’t worry, this crush of mine – it’s nothing serious. Dorit (my wife) knows, and doesn’t care.  Still: I think all of us...

Lebanon.   It is a quagmire. A mess. And despite this – or maybe because of it – we keep going back.   In today’s episode of Inside Israel , I explain Lebanon to you. We’ll start in June 1982, with Operation Peace to the Galilee – a war that brought anything but peace. I’ll tell you why Israel ended up staying in Lebanon for 18 more years, until a sudden pullout in 2000, and why we’ve re...

You’ve heard him on hundreds of podcasts, and you’ve read his bestselling books.  In today’s episode of Inside Israel , we meet the man behind the legend.  What is Yossi’s favorite Israeli song?  What book changed his life?  What does Yossi mean by “the cover charge of living in Israel”?  Meet the Yossi Klein Halevi you didn’t know you didn’t know. And hear why, no matter...

Last week, Captain Yogev Pazy z’’l was killed in Gaza.  Like all of the 378 IDF soldiers who have fallen in Gaza to date, Yogev is more than just a statistic. He was a fun-loving kid with aspirations and dreams. And someone who, as a teenager, made an impact on a Jewish community 10,000 miles from his home.  On today’s episode of Inside Israel , we speak with Tobi and Scott Perlen of Nor...

On “Inside Israel,” I always strive to tell you the truth – even when it hurts.  In this week’s episode, we’ll talk about the emotional and physical toll that the ongoing war is taking on Israelis. While resilience has long been a defining trait, many Israelis now feel spent. With more than 375 soldiers having been killed in Lebanon and Gaza, and our hostages still not home, we’re losing our...

Thousands of years ago, the Jewish people gave the world the most important story ever told: the Bible.  So why is it that today, we Jews suck at storytelling?  On today’s episode of Inside Israel, we’ll talk about the power of stories. We’ll do that through the lens of last week's US presidential election, in which Kamala Harris suffered a tough defeat against Donald Trump. Believe it o...

In this week’s episode of Inside Israel , we address listener questions on the U.S. election and how Israelis and Americans living in Israel view the two presidential candidates, as well as the current status of negotiations for the release of the more than 100 Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.   We then explore three off-the-radar news stories that Israelis are talking about: the da...

In this week’s episode of Inside Israel , titled “Skeleton,” we try something different: instead of saving them for the end, I address listener questions at the beginning – everything from how Israelis think about anti-Semitism in the US, to how pro-Israel Jews in America might think about the upcoming Presidential election and whether Israelis celebrate Halloween.    In the news segment...

In this week’s episode of Inside Israel, we delve into the recent elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a significant victory for Israel. It was an unexpected success, what we refer to in Hebrew as a “ fooks ,” or happy accident. I’ll explore this moment through three lenses: how it provides psychological closure for Israelis, opens a window of opportunity for a potential hostage deal, and lea...

In today’s episode of Inside Israel we meet the gal behind the mic of the world’s most popular English-language Israel news podcast: Amanda Borschel-Dan, host of the Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing .  We’ll learn how she fell in love  with Israel in the first place and why one of the world’s foremost Torah scholars is partly responsible for Amanda ultimately moving here.  I also sp...

In this episode of Inside Israel , titled "Joel's Dilemma," I reflect on the conflicting emotions I have as the host of this podcast, about the story I convey to you about Israel and my life here.  On one hand, I’ve always wanted to showcase the beauty, magic, and uniqueness of living in Israel. That’s why I wrote Israel 201 and launched this podcast exactly one year ago.  But on the oth...

In this special 50th episode of Inside Israel, I focus on the breaking news of Israel’s elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. While I originally planned this episode as a reflection on the past year of the podcast, the significance of this event was too big to ignore. To help you better understand how Israelis are reacting to the news of Nasrallah’s death and Israel’s current war with...

For the past eleven months, I’ve been predicting that, eventually, Israel will go to war with Hezbollah.   Well, guess what: the war has come!   In this episode of Inside Israel , I dive into the latest developments in the conflict I’ve been talking about. This “war” is unfolding in unexpected ways—from covert missions against Hezbollah leadership to a barrage of missiles that have left...

Comedian and Israel 201 coauthor Benji Lovitt is currently suffering through one of the most frustrating Israeli experiences of all: hunting for a new rental apartment in Tel Aviv. As Benji describes it, there’s no order to the system – landlords renege on their agreements to rent to you should they find a better deal, and renters are often left to repair any loose wires or paint chipping walls th...

I created this podcast because I wanted to share the magic and beauty of what I call “Israeliness” – the unique way that Israelis interact with each other and think about the country they love.  But what happens when I stop feeling the magic…and when Israelis no longer feel the positive connection with Israel as we did before.  On today’s episode of Inside Israel , I’ll explore the hard...

Earlier this week, the IDF extracted the bodies of hostage Hersh Polin z’’l and five others from a tunnel in Gaza.   In this episode of Inside Israel , titled "No More Yellow Shirts," we examine the implications of this devastating news, and the renewed conversations it has sparked about the true nature of organizations like Hamas and Students for Justice in Palestine.   We also explore...

"In Israel, a woman can fly F-15s in the Air Force, be the CEO of a high-tech unicorn, and even become Prime Minister – but she can’t file for divorce.”  So says Susan Weiss, Executive Director and founder of the Center for Women’s Justice in Jerusalem.  In this episode of Inside Israel, I talk with Susan about how and why Israel’s laws of marriage and divorce are biased against women as...

Since October, the phrase Yachad Nena’tzeach —“Together We Will Win”—has become the rallying cry of Israeli society.   But how realistic is this mantra?   With 115 hostages still in Gaza, over 300 soldiers killed in action, more than 60,000 Israelis displaced from their homes, and the constant threat of Iranian and Hezbollah attacks, do we even have the right to speak about “victory”? &n...

Ra’anana resident Yoav Cohen is a husband and father of three, and he works at one of the most successful Israeli high-tech companies in the world.  Yoav is also a Master Sergeant in the IDF’s Magav Unit (Border Police). In late October 2023, he and his platoon deployed to Israel’s northern border for what would ultimately be a hundred days of military reserve duty.  On this week’s episo...