Israeli Bytes

🎧 Israeli Bytes , Episode 17: “They’re Coming Home.” 🎗️ Bill and Ronit talk about the news of a ceasefire deal and the return of the hostages — the disbelief, the hope, and what comes next for Israel. 🕊️ Listen now #IsraeliBytes #Podcast #Israel #Hostages #Ceasefire #Hope

In this episode of Israeli Bytes , Bill and Ronit sit down to reflect on BALAGAN’s Food Issue — a project they call a labor of love with a touch of defiance. They discuss how food can be more than recipes: a mirror of memory, identity, and resilience. From Tel Aviv’s shifting realities to the global perception of Israeli cuisine, they explore why food matters now more than ever, and how BALAGAN is...

What does your kippah say about you? William Kolbrener and Ronit Eitan unpack Jewish identity—from Naftali Bennett’s tiny cap to doubt, liturgy, and visible Jewishness in a fearful world. Episode 15 of Israeli Bytes is now live.

Bill and Ronit unpack the backlash against draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Israelis after four Haredi soldiers were killed. From coalition arithmetic and public fury to lived experience inside the yeshiva world—and the daily ritual of doom-scrolling—they trace how one fault-line now threatens to upend Israeli politics.

Bill and Ronit discuss life in Israel after the so-called ceasefire, and the strange pressure to return to “normal” — whatever that means.

A raw, unscripted conversation between two Israeli parents—William Kolbrener in Jerusalem and Ronit Eitan in Tel Aviv—recorded during the third day of the latest wave of Iranian missile attacks. We talk fear, faith, phones, bomb shelters, and the strange choreography of routine in crisis. This is what it sounds like when you’re trying to keep your kids calm, while your building shakes. No punditry...

🎙️This episode captures the fear, absurdity, and preparation on the ground—sirens, pitchers of water, biblical references, and kids half-asleep in living rooms. A war within a war, as lived from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. With Prof William Kolbrener and Ronit Eitan

Bill and Ronit reflect on the 600-day mark of the hostage crisis—on showing up, even in silence. They speak about despair, unfinished stories, and the right to speak—even from positions of privilege.

🎙️ This week, Bill and Ronit talk #Eurovision , post-vote euphoria, and what happens when Israelis feel — briefly — embraced. What does it mean when the world cheers? And what happens the day after? 🎧 Listen now. #Eurovision2025 #Israel #WritingOnTheWall #BillAndRonit #Podcast

In this special edition of Israeli Bytes, Ronit and William respond to the release of American hostage Edan Alexander. Gratitude meets grief, and a deeper disillusionment sets in: what does it mean when release depends on a foreign passport? What happens when governments—ours, theirs—stop making sense? We talk about trust, anxiety, the limits of leadership, and the unbearable accumulation of grief...

Bill and Ronit talk through what it feels like to live inside a war—airport missile alerts, boycotts, wildfires, and everything in between. No big claims, just the small, strange facts of daily life in a place that keeps going even when it doesn’t make sense.

Memorial Day and Independence Day in Israel stand side by side, forcing a difficult emotional passage — from the deep grief of loss to the cautious joy of independence. This reflection by Prof William Kolbrener and Ronit Eitan explores how, especially this year, the sirens, the silences, and the celebrations together shape a national memory and hope.

Prof. William Kolbrener and Ronit Eitan reflect on the aftermath of the October 7th attacks one year later, discussing how the events profoundly changed them, reshaping their identities, and how it inspired the creation of Writing on the Wall .

Ronit Eitan and William Kolbrener come together for an impromptu conversation on the missile attack from Iran on Israel just hours ago, sharing stories from the miklat (shelter) and reflecting on the challenges of moving forward during the Rosh Hashana holiday and beyond.

In Episode 3 of Israeli Bytes, we speak with Vered Tohar, a professor in the Department of the Literature of the Jewish People at Bar-Ilan University. As a third-generation Holocaust survivor, Prof. Tohar reflects on her poem "Miklat," dedicated to her grandmother, and discusses the devastating events of October 7th, drawing parallels to history repeating itself. Read the poem here: https://writin...

In her discussion of her poem, ‘Jerusalem Caesarian,’ dedicated to Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the poet Geula Geurtz talks about language, identity, the creative process of writing, and the sacrifices of a mother since October 7th. Read the full poem here: https://writingonthewall.io/jerusalem-caesarean/

Dr. Yaakov Mascetti, Chair of the Comparative Literature Department at Bar-Ilan University, reflects on presence—both human and divine in his poem ‘Tell Me,’ dedicated to the memory of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old American-Israeli hostage killed in captivity in Gaza. Read the full poem on our Wall.