The Promised Podcast

Forty years passed before the first song was written in Israel about the Holocaust. For a long generation, Holocaust survivors, and their kids, were mostly quiet about the events that, more than any other, shaped their lives. Then that all changed.

Sally Abed, Noah Efron and  Tel Aviv Review  host Gilad Halpern discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Noodge— Should the government tax us into acting right? —Pedagogies of Prejudice & Prejudices of Pedagogy— Can you teach co-existence? Decen...

Times of Israel Ops & Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —If It Please the Court— Is it time for Israeli courts to stop allowing improperly gotten evidence? A newly proposed law w...

Times of Israel Ops & Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Growing Pains— Israel's new government says, let "the market" decide who grows what where. Is it time to let the "In...

Times of Israel Ops & Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Keeping Tabs— An Israeli company leases super spy software to allies who use it to surveil journalists and activists...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Face the Nation-State— Israel's Supreme Court votes 10 to 1 to let the controversial "Nation-State Law" stay on the books. Could both the 10 and the 1 be rig...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. —Unsettling— Settlers peaceably evacuate a wildcat West-Bank outpost in a compromise that may lead, someday, to their return. What does the compromise say about Israel's new government? —All President and Accoun...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron, and Times of Israel Ops & Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164847   —Mistakes Were Made, Uncle Sam— Can Israel's new government "reset" relatio...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/52877485   —My Way or Norway?— The "Norwegian Law" lets ministers resign from the Knesset and get replaced by party cronies....

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Sally Abed and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on https://www.patreon.com/posts/52610627   —"A Coalition Exposition"— Eight documents tell us tons about what Israel's new government plans to do, and plans not to do,...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/promisedpodcast   —"Who Are You, Naftali Bennett?"— Is Israel's incipient prime minister, Naftali Bennett, the hard-line ideo...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —"I Have Been Able to Form a Government!"— Just before the deadline passes, Israel has maybe the oddest government in the country's history, including a...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Sally Abed and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Still Crazy, After All These Tears— A cease fire has taken affect, dust has settled, dead have been buried, and rubble has begun to be cleared. But what, if any...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —The Problem of Power— Trevor Noah and John Oliver say that death counts alone are enough to see that Israel is wrong, and fighting an "unfair fight." W...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman, Sally Abed and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —"F*cked Up, Horrible Chickens"— Rockets and missiles from the south and mob violence most everywhere else: Why did Israel just dissolve into bloods...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida, Sally Abed (for a bit) and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —(Qui Est-Ce Que) J'Accuse?— Forty-five people are crushed to death by a crowd at an all-night revelry at Mount Meron. Who or wh...

Sally Abed, Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Our Bennett-factor— The liberal, center-left newspaper Haaretz endorses Naftali Bennett, a privatize-anything-that-moves and annex-anything-God-promised-to-us-in-...

Don Futterman, Noah Efron and Times of Israel Ops & Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —"Unity is the Thing We Seek"— Opposition leader Yair Lapid says he wants a right-left-and-center "National Unity Governmen...

In celebration of Yom Ha-Atzma'ut, Israeli Independence Day, stories about what the day means to us, from our family to yours! Plus, classic songs from the old Israeli songbook, performed by a new generation.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and Times of Israel Ops & Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —What Now?— The President just asked the Prime Minister (who is standing trial for corruption) to form Israel's next gov...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Way Out— Israel's political stalemate can maybe be solved by a law disqualifying PM Netanyahu (and anyone else standing trial for felonies) from heading a new...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman, Sally Abed and Noah Efron talk about Israel's elections this week: What should we make of the surprising success and kingmaker role of the Islamicist Ra'am party? The Kahanists in the Knesset? The better-than-anyone-predicted showing of Benny Gantz and the Blue & White party? The relative failure of the right-winger who wanted to replace Netanyahu, Gideon Sa'a...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —A Pre-Election Reflection— This election campaign was maybe the weirdest in Israel's history. What the hell just happened? —Red Ties, Blue Ties— N...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Lion in Winter— The number of Israelis who think Benjamin Netanyahu is most fit to be Prime Minister has tumbled over the past few weeks. Why and what's it m...

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Right Thinking Men— Gideon is on the outs with Bibi, Naftali says he won't hang with Yair, Avigdor says Arye, Moshe & Yaakov can f*ck off, Bibi says Be...