Vision Magazine Podcasts

Is Washington's aggressive push for partition inadvertently strengthening Binyamin Netanyahu & increasing the Israeli public's desire for freedom? Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen discuss how the Biden administration's efforts to push Israel back to a two-state paradigm have actually backfired against American interests in the Semitic region. The two also discuss socio-political transformations in Isr...

Now that westernization has lost its grip on society, is Israel returning to the ethos of the Zionist era or advancing to a new stage of national development? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Rav Gavriel Reiss to discuss the meaning and potential ramifications of the mentality shift that's taken place within Israeli society since the Hamas attacks of Simḥat Torah.

The story of Israel's judicial reform battles from the perspective of one of the initiative's main architects. Member of Knesset Simḥa Rothman (Religious Zionism) joins Yehuda HaKohen for a discussion on the Supreme Court's recent move to strike down the government's cancelation of the "reasonableness" clause that has historically been used by the court to overturn Knesset legislation. Rothman, wh...

Has the current Gaza War created better conditions for Israel to move towards military self-sufficiency and free ourselves from the United States? Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen are joined by "Prisoner of Zion" Jonathan Pollard to discuss Israel's looming battle over identity and the extent to which the people of Israel have begun to recognize the dangerous nature of the US-Israel relationship.

Washington is demanding that Jerusalem present a plan for Gaza following the war against Hamas. But would unveiling such a plan be helpful right now? Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen record a special Ḥanukah episode to discuss whether or not Israel should submit to US demands for a "day after" the war plan. In response to Jerusalem's stated requirements that Hamas be removed from power, that Gaza be d...

What does it really mean to be a Maccabi today? Following a special announcement, Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen talk about some of the deeper themes surrounding Ḥanukah and how they continuously repeat themselves throughout Israel's history.  The two also discuss the dangerous psychological ramifications of Israelis celebrating the 1947 UN partition plan on the 29th of November. Maoz Tzur outro mus...

How does the current conflict between Israel & Hamas in Gaza concern Hezbollah, Iran, the US empire, Saudi Arabia, China, Russia & the hostages? As Israel's army pivots from areal strikes to a ground assault on northern Gaza, Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen are joined by former United States diplomat and CIA case officer Ariel Avidar to analyze Israel's conduct of the war, what might be motivating so...

Israel & Israel advocacy organizations have adopted messages that unwittingly strengthen anti-Israel narratives. As Israel sends soldiers into Gaza to fight Hamas, Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen discuss the challenges and benefits of understanding the narrative of the Other during war. The two also discuss the failure of the hasbara industry's efforts to properly frame the conflict and effectively p...

Can the crises surrounding the current war with Hamas help Israel grow beyond Western ideological paradigms & realize our true potential on the world stage? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Rav Gavriel Reiss - a founder of the movement who created a farm in southern Judea to actualize Vision ideals. The two discuss how this war exposed Western civilization's narrow conception of humanity as being large...

The only way to stop further conflicts with Hamas is for Israel to acknowledge the mistake of leaving Gaza & formulate a visionary strategy for return. As Israel reels from the horrific Hamas attacks of Simḥat Torah & finds itself fighting a new war on multiple fronts, Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen are joined by Shai Hershel to discuss the situation.

How should we understand the recent attacks on Yom Kippur services by Tel Aviv protestors? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Shanna Fuld of Tribe TLV to discuss the disruptions and their implications for Israeli society.

Do current tensions in Israeli society indicate a need to separate into a new Israeli state & a Judean state? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Nitzan Amit of the Israeli Separation Movement that seeks to copy the Biblical model of dividing the country into a new Israeli state (Yosef) and a Judean state (Yehuda).

Can Gen Z Jews - detached from the traumatic experiences of previous generations - engage in more nuanced conversations about Israel? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by McKenna Bates, director of Israel engagement at the Towson University Hillel, to discuss the challenges of teaching a multilayered understanding of Israeli society to a generation accustomed to quick bites of information on social media.

How much space can Israel's westernized ruling class make for the growing majority of Israelis who champion a different vision for the country? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Paul Gross - an organizer in the protest movement against Israeli judicial reforms - to discuss the different perspectives driving supporters and opponents of the government’s legislation to balance power between the people’s el...

Israel isn't the only country where the Americans orchestrate anti-government protests but it might be the only country where the US-backed faction is called 'the left' (despite being the bourgeoisie). Yehuda HaKohen shares his thoughts on the re-intensification of Israel's judicial reform debate and plays a deleted conversation with Aryeh Shapiro from the 100th episode & a clip from a recent Red...

What can we say we've learned about Jewish liberation from 100 episodes of The Next Stage? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Vision movement organizers Lizzy Oziel, Aryeh Shapiro & Shai Hershel for the 100th episode of The Next Stage podcast to discuss the need for a post-Zionist Jewish liberation movement and to outline some of its objectives.

Should the word 'Zionist' be used to refer to all of history's many Jewish liberation movements or should the term be more narrowly limited to the actual Zionist movement? Does it really make a difference? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by conservative neo-Zionist media personality Adam Scott Bellos for a multi-layered discussion on whether or not the Jewish people have advanced beyond the Zionist era a...

It's important that the Jewish people engage our Torah through the ideological lens of Israel's cherished prophets & sages. In a special pre-Shavuot bonus episode of The Next Stage, Yehuda HaKohen addresses several misconceptions regarding Israel's Torah that have resulted from the many layers of colonization that the Jewish people experienced in exile.

What is the Torah that Israel received on Shavuot & what must Jews do in order to properly receive it? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Rav David Samson to discuss what it means for the Jewish people to prepare to receive the Torah.

Is there a model for a Jewish state that could work for Palestinians? Can Jews and Muslims become partners in achieving our respective missions? Yehuda HaKohen shares a recording of a Clash and Mash podcast episode in which he's interviewed by diaspora Palestinian activist Anas Salah.

Can the current societal tensions tearing Israeli society apart help inspire a much needed conversation about the future of the country? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by [neo-?]Zionist political researcher Samuel Hyde to discuss the protests against judicial reform, the future status of the West Bank, the need for a national postcolonial conversation and rival visions for Israeli society as the state p...

Can the State of Israel create new governmental structures that allow its various socio-political tribes to live together? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Ariel Beery, who's been participating in recent protests against Israeli judicial reforms and puts forward the narrative that's been driving the protests. The two also discuss Beery's recent piece on the need to restructure Israel's political instit...

If concerns surrounding judicial reforms are about human rights & civil liberties, why are the weakest sectors of society supporting the reforms while Israel's elites & security agencies oppose them? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by attorney Tehila Gimpel for a deep dive into the backstory of Israel's Basic Laws as a quasi-constitution, on Aharon Barak's "constitutional revolution" of the 1990s, on the...

Where does Israel's historic arch foe come from? What are its foundational beliefs? Who can best be identified as Amalek in modern times when examined through the lens of Jewish historiography? The original Amalek was the grandson of Esav. Our sages identify Esav as the progenitor of Western civilization (not necessarily biologically but certainly in terms of values and behavior). Amalek should th...

What might the Jewish attack on Huwara reveal about the trajectory of Israeli-Palestinian relations? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Jerusalem educator Shammai Siskind for a discussion on how the recent Jewish attack on the Palestinian village of Huwara should be understood beyond the headlines.