The Promised Podcast

Allison, Don, Eilon and Noah discuss: Why Israel’s adoption of arguably the most liberal abortion policy in the world has been silently accepted by the rabbis. What PM Netanyahu means when he demands that Palestinian accept Israel as a Jewish State. Why the African refugee issue is a political Rashomon. All that and music by Rona Kenan.   Playlist: Rona Kenan Pale Blue Eyes (with Shlomi Shaban)Lihyot NachonBetoch Agam Kafu Rona Kenan and Tamar Eisenmann  

Allison, Don, Eilon and Noah discuss: all that’s gone down since then PM Ariel Sharon proposed unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, ten years ago this week the rise of chickenshit show-politics how Israeli workers are watched, eavesdropped, tracked, monitored and surveilled up the wazoo   All that and the trippy music of Hila Ruach and Kalbey Ruach.

Allison, Don and Noah discuss: the light sentence given the officer who bashed the face of a peace activist with the butt of his gun the tragic struggle over a three-year old Ethiopian boy between two families who love him whether the consensus that Jewish boys should be circumcised in Israel is eroding All that and the weird and wonderful music of Lorna B. (aka Adi Ulmansky).

Eilon, Noah and The Times of Israel’s Miriam Herschlag discuss (1) the proposed Red Sea-Dead Sea pipeline, and whether along with water, peace may flow through the pipe; (2) why and how US college kids are challenging Hillel to allow more criticism of Israel on campuses; (3) whether Reality TV needs to be tamed through legislation.  All this and Geva Alon, alone again naturally!

Eilon, Noah and The Times of Israel’s Miriam Herschlag discuss (1) the sad passing of Nelson Mandela, and Israel’s ambivalent relationship to him, (2) former MK Avraham Burg’s spilling the beans that Israel has nukes, (3) the brouhaha over vegan activist, Gary Yourofsky. All this and grunge by Left, in honor of their new album.

Allison, Eilon and Noah discuss (1) the new head of the Labor Party – “Buzghi” Herzog – and his plans to give peace a chance, (2) the facebookization of the Knesset, and (3) the (figurative and, sadly, literal) death of the old cultural guard. All this and cool songs by Efrat Ben Zur with lyrics by Emily Dickenson! Efrat Ben Zur - BeeEfrat Ben Zur - A ThoughtEfrat Ben Zur - StormEfrat Ben Zur - Till the End 

To celebrate the confluence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, Allison, Eilon, Don and Noah devote the show to the meetings of American and Israeli cultures. They discuss (1) Why the Conservative Movement is ailing in America, and how it’s doing in Israel, (2) Them Crazy-Ass American Settlers in the West Bank, and what really makes them tick, and (3) The anxieties and joys of immigrants from America raising Israeli kids. Plus, the music of Americans who rock the Israeli music scene.

Allison, Eilon and Noah discuss the Supreme Court’s dressing down of the government, the hot mic in the UN that divulged the world’s worst secret - yes, it's about Israel's being unfairly singled out - and Israelis' inking habits, or the new, surprising tattoo culture.

Allison, Eilon, Don and Noah discuss (1) the evaporation (or evisceration) of environmental parties in the last elections – where have all the flower-lovers gone?, (2) the yawning digital divide in Israel, whether this google-gap ought to concern us, and (3) the primaries in the Labor Party, and why the once beloved Shelly Yacimovich is now embattled.  Plus, the alt/folk music of Botimzog.

Allison, Eilon, Don and Noah discuss (1) the dramatic exoneration of MK Avigdor Lieberman of charges of “breach of trust” on the part of a three judge panel, a verdict that brought to a swift end a languorously slow (17 year) investigation and trial; (2) the IDFs decision to buy boots from American factories, which amounted to a death sentence for a local factory and firings for its hundred employees, and (3) the spate of recent legislation reducing the power of rabbis, and amounting to what one journalist called a “slow-moving legislative revolution is taking place that may dramatically change how Israelis live their lives

Allison, Eilon, Don and Noah discuss The Palestinian prisoner release and whether it helps or hinders the peace process Education Minister Shay Piron’s decision to start teaching first-graders about the Holocaust and carry on right through high school: Should we teach Treblinka to tots?. The gang also chats with Knesset Member Dov Khenin about what’s up in new the legislative session, and especially the so-called “Better Governance Bill” that may change the face of Israeli politics forever, if it’s passed. Plus, the insanely great music of “Ha-Hatzer ha-Ahorit,” with lyrics by legendary songwriter Yankele Rotblit.

Allison, Don, Eilon and Noah discuss: this week’s local elections, why fewer and fewer folks come out to vote in them, and what we’re voting about when we bother to vote at all, and our changing attitudes towards citizens who opt out, moving to Berlin or Brooklyn, and how the shifts reflect a decline in the old, hardline Zionist ideology that once held sway here, but no longer seems to. All this and new reads, looks and listens you might want to check out in your idle hours. Plus, three mashups by arguably the coolest (and, ironically, the hottest) DJ in Tel Aviv: Maya Jakobson.