Israel Update

The Trump plan – what’s in it? What are the implications of the Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity issued at Sharm El Sheikh? And what should we make of his Knesset speech? Plus, why did Israelis boo Netanyahu at Hostages Square? Mike and Gadi discuss.

Netanyahu gave a show at the UN, rebuking the weakness of Western leaders and defending Israel’s conduct of the war with facts. Gadi and Mike analyze the speech in detail. Meanwhile antisemitism is rearing its ugly head on the right, led by the ubiquitous Tucker Carlson. How widespread is it?

The debate about Charlie Kirk's legacy is actually a struggle over the future of the Republican Party - and not least over US-Israeli relations. Video:https://youtu.be/LZ8xduB0hPo

It is highly unlikely that the Israeli strike in Qatar was not coordinated with the White House. Are the Americans and Israelis employing a good cop / bad cop strategy? What does the Israeli operation mean for the balance of power in the region? Mike and Gadi discuss the implications of the strike. And they are by no means small.

Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara is the de facto domestic ruler in Israel’s crazy system of government. And she is undermining both democracy and the rule of law, as a case of arson outside the Prime Minister’s residence has shown. 

The Trump Administration has Israel's back. What is most notable about its day-after plan for Gaza is that the Palestinian Authority is not a part of it. Meanwhile, the administration also refuses to grant visas to the US to the PA leadership, so long as the PA maintains its pay-for-slay program, which grants financial aid to terrorists and their families. The message to leaders around the world w...

 Yes, we will update you on Gaza, but we too are getting tired of it. So we turn our attention to the distorted mirror that passes for news-media in Israel and outside it. Haaretz, the NYT, mainstream anti-Israeli propaganda, etc. Also: who gets Pulitzers and for what?   Link to the Haaretz podcast with Gen. Yaakov Amidror (interview begins 33:20):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6vBwE61dYQ&t=2012...

Mike and Gadi lift the lid on the libelous narrative about the deliberate starving of Gazans.

The Israeli press is leading the “famine” campaign. Mike and Gadi discuss its reasons for lying. Also, on this episode – the crisis with the Druze population on both sides of the Israeli-Syrian border opens a window to the shifts in regional geopolitics. Mike reminds Israel not to act rashly, lest it ends up helping Iran return to Syria.

Mike and Gadi assess the strong message that the intimacy between Netanyahu and Trump sends to the world and to the region, as well as to domestic friends and rivals, in both Israel and the States. Then there's the deal, and the war that's dragging on in Gaza. Also in this episode: Gadi's essay on Tablet about the myth of "settler violence."

Israel’s domestic politics may have reached a turning point. But that may soon be overshadowed by even bigger geopolitical changes which may unfold during Netanyahu’s visit to the White House early next week. Mike and Gadi speculate, unburdened by what has been.

Mike and Gadi think they ought to congratulate themselves for getting it right. Or mostly right. The question now is, is this the dawn of a new regional order, or is this just an improvement of the old?

Mike and Gadi try to read the tea leaves and ask whether a showdown with Iran is now inevitable. Plus: Israel is paying for its juristocracy with the lives of IDF soldiers. 

We have a special guest for you this time: the man who planned the current operation in Gaza – Brigadier general (res.) Erez Winner, former Chief of Operational Planning, Southern Theater (Gaza).  We spoke about the plan that can deliver victory in 2-3 months, and why it hadn’t done that yet.

As Israel is moving into Gaza there is growing concern about Trump’s plans for the Middle East. Mike and Gadi discuss the administration’s policy vis-à-vis Teheran, Riyad, Ankara and Jerusalem.

We've been asked to say a few words about who we are, here's where you'll learn about one of us. That, plus Gadi's speech on Netanyahu's role in the global war over woke ideas.

The rogue Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has now announced he will retire on June 16 – a date of his own choosing. Ignoring the cabinet's decision to dismiss him, he took the fight to the Supreme Court where an affidavit by Prime Minister Netanyahu exposed his transparent lies. But the legacy media prefers to turn a blind eye, demonstrating once again that it would make a hero out of any villain provide...

Ronen Bar, the insubordinate head of Shin Bet, steps up the investigation into alleged ties between members of the prime minister's staff and Qatar. Mike and Gadi think this is all nonsense, transparently designed to prevent the prime minister from removing Bar, as the cabinet unanimously voted to do. This does not mean the trumped-up charges will not become politically dangerous to Netanyahu's go...

Gadi and Mike lay out the order of battle of the brewing crisis Israel is heading into in the wake of the cabinet's decision to terminate the tenure of the failed head of Shin Bet (Shabak), Ronnen Bar. The Supreme Court has already moved to freeze the cabinet's decision, but it is not clear whether the cabinet will obey the legally dubious order. Is a clash between the elected government and the a...

There is much that is patently false about the rhetoric regarding the savagery in Syria. But it should not distract Israel from the real game: the geopolitical problem is the Iranian attempt to use the Alawite minority in order to regain a foothold in Syria. And one cannot begin to make sense of the chaos without taking account of this development.  Also in this episode: former heads of Shin Bet u...

We're back! And there's a lot to talk about. Like the recently submitted conclusions of IDF and the Shin Bet inquiries of the October 7 disaster. To the extent that the press releases represent the actual content, both are shamelessly political, and both attempt to excuse, cover up and shift the blame – to Netanyahu, of course. The press is therefore eager to cooperate.  Also on this episode: the...

Trump's plan for the future of Gaza caught the world by surprise. It seems to have caught prime minister Netanyahu by surprise too. To what extent is it feasible, and if it is - would it be good for Israel?

Gadi spoke with British author Melanie Phillips about her new book The Builder's Stone: How Jews and Christians Built the West—and Why Only They Can Save It.

While Israel is reeling from the drama of the hostage deal, Judge Yitzhak Amit appoints himself President of the Supreme Court. Minister of Justice Levin refuses to accept the brazen move. But all this pales – at least on this episode – in the face of a fierce, Israeli style, shouting match over the future of Gaza. And then there is, of course, Trump disrupting the accepted terms we use for discus...

Chief of IDF staff General Herzi Halevi resigned after a career that will be forever remembered as an abject failure. Gadi explains why so many – himself included – are breathing a sigh of relief, but Mike warns against judging Halevi motivation solely through a political lens. Meanwhile, Trump's first days in office still send mixed signals to Israel and the Middle East.