Israel Update

Gadi returned from an intensive tour of the ranches in Judea and Samaria – where Jewish pioneers spearhead the struggle to prevent a Palestinian take-over of the territories. Aided by the Palestinian authority, Arabs buy land and build homes on deserted hilltops for which EU money supplies infrastructures and paves roads. If Israel does not wake up it will face a Gaza-like situation in the West Bank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The creators of the film NAZA, which accuses the IDF of AI-driven genocide, received a standing ovation whose length could rival the standing ovations of the Stalin-era Politburo. Mike and Gadi discuss the film and the way it was received in Israel and abroad. It seems that peddling blood libels against Jews has taken on an entirely different meaning in the post–October 7 world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Haaretz “bombshell” story about a warning from MBZ to Netanyahu is not just nonsense — it’s hilarious nonsense. Still The New Yorker swallowed it whole. But precisely because it’s bogus, it actually tells you a lot about the state of Israeli politics - as the country gears up for elections. It’s been a while since Mike and Gadi had this much fun in a single show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gadi sits down with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a long conversation in Hebrew. To watch with English subtitles, please visit tabletmag.com/israelupdate, or you can access the video on Spotify, YouTube, or Rumble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former IDF general Ofer Winter has launched Amcha Yisrael (“People of Israel”), a new right-wing populist party. Gadi explains why Netanyahu’s camp sees Winter as a threat. In Israel’s fragmented electoral system, small parties can end up wasting votes by drawing support away from other right-wing parties that then fail to cross the threshold for entering the Knesset. Winter insists that he belongs to the right-wing camp. But he rejected a reserved slot on the Likud list and chose to run on his own. His move could cost the right its majority and, ultimately, Netanyahu his hold on power. Mike and Gadi also discuss the stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz, where a “no war, no peace” deadlock drags on. And they revisit last week’s conversation with Dan Schueftan, who, apparently with his ears burning, called in just as they were criticizing him. Mike reminded everyone that literally the funniest thing in the world is the recording of LBJ ordering Haggar slacks from the Oval Office, which is available at the following link: https://millercenter.org/listening-to-the-presidency/lbj-orders-some-new-haggar-pants Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Middle East, argues Dan Schueftan, there are no solutions—only threats to contain, opportunities to exploit, and problems to manage. He joins Mike to explain why Gaza will require “violent maintenance,” why Turkey poses an immediate strategic challenge, and why economic pressure remains the best weapon against Iran. Plus: Israel’s resilient society, its failing political class, and the hard strategic lessons Americans still refuse to learn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Strangely, almost unbelievably, Israel’s economy is booming, even after three difficult years of war. The Tel Aviv 35 Index is up 130% since this government took office. Mike and Gadi try to explain how this has come to pass. Also on this episode: the plague of selective enforcement against the Israeli right in the showdown ahead of the coming elections, and our usual assessment of the state of the war—in the Gulf and here at home, in Gaza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Einat Wilf sometimes sounds like the right, and sometimes like the left. Which is, perhaps, the point of the new political party she founded. It’s named courage (Oz, in Hebrew). We asked her what the party’s agenda would be. We also discussed the suggested changes to the Gaza deal - which we agreed will not come to pass. Gadi’s long interview with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly confirmed this view. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the 8th time that Netanyahu is invited to the White House since Trump returned to power. The stalemate in the Gulf was probably the main subject of their one and a half hour discussion. Mike surveys the possible plans they may have agreed or disagreed on.Meanwhile, the “Settler Violence” campaign is coming to a head as Palestian terrorism escalates. Are Israelis realizing they are being manipulated by the media, at home and abroad? And here is Melanie Phillips’s brilliant piece on the “Settler Violence” canard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike lays out the four possible scenarios in which the current escalation in the Straits of Hormuz can develop. Gadi revisits the “settler violence” canard, in light of the devastating arson attack perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists against the settlement of Havat Gilad. Also in this episode: J. D. Vance and Gadi Eisenkot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike thinks there’s a clear limit to how far Trump will escalate hostilities with Iran before the midterms, and Gadi explains the recent legislation blitz and why the ultra-orthodox draft has become such a hot button issue and why it's such an effective weapon for the left. It may well carry the day for them at the ballot box. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The left-wing media is in full hysteria over the government’s refusal to accept a Supreme Court injunction that directly contradicts the letter of the law. The issue is media regulation — and, as Gadi explains, it is political, not legal. It is high time the cabinet stopped letting itself be bullied by a full-blown progressive court. Also in this episode: Is Mike’s interpretation of the MOU turning out to be more accurate than Gadi’s — and Dan Shueftan’s? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump’s MOU repeats a very American mistake, says guest Prof. Dan Schueftan: like many presidents before him he does not understand radicalism. But the Lebanon Deal may be able to rectify some of the damage. In which case, says Schueftan, it would not be the first time that Israel saves the US from its own mistakes. Also in this episode: judges declare the bribery case against Netanyahu groundless. The book Dan Referred to turned out to be A World Restored, by HK, which, incidentally, Gadi only read on kindle and had a hard copy sent to Mike a few weeks back, because Amazon won't ship it to Israel. Highly recommended. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again affirmed that Israel will maintain its security zone in Lebanon – for as long as needed, regardless of any outside pressure. Mike and Gadi explain why yielding on this issue will cost Netanyahu the elections. Batya Ungar-Sargon was our special guest on this episode. She joined us to discuss her new book The Jews and the Left. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gadi thinks it is. The US has demonstrated that it will not really fight – unless it’s easy, can be done from the air, and includes very few casualties. That is a bad signal for every rogue regime the world over. Mike thinks the MOU is just a tactical retreat, and that hostilities will resume, eventually. Both, however, agree that it’s a blow for Israel in general and for Netanyahu’s election bid in particular. Then there is also the joke about the skeleton who orders beer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TRUMP AND NETANYAHU: A LOVERS' SPAT Contrary to the media’s rendering, no great rift has opened between Trump and Netanyahu. Rest assured that the Israeli attack on Iran was fully coordinated with the Americans. Trump, though, would do well to insist that Lebanon should have no relation to the negotiations with the Islamic Republic. Also on this episode: how rouge former head of Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, conspired with Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara to undermine an elected government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ent Trump tweeted out Mike’s piece on how this war will end, which means Mike just may have been on to something. And on that view, things are not as grim as many – on the left and as well as the right – seem to think. Mike explains. Meanwhile, the Iranians are playing the Lebanon card to sow discord between the US and Israel. The episode opens, though, with one more hair-raising story in the never-ending saga of Israel’s deep state trying to take down Israel’s elected government. Mike's piece: https://www.thefp.com/p/iran-war-end-trump-peace-deal-israel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Calibrate your expectations to reality not to the media frenzy. This is the Middle East. Things are never as bad as the alarmists say and they are never as good as we would like. Mike, Gadi and guest analyst, Channel 14’s Tamir Morag, look at the pros and cons of the emerging deal, and ask how Israel should conduct itself vis-à-vis the American interests. Also in this episode: the skit about “Bibists” that created a cultural storm in Israel, and how the deep state operatives tried (and probably failed) to block Netanyahu’s candidate for Head of the Mossad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iran is bleeding out under the naval blockade, suffering more pain than most reporters allow. Mike and guest host Tamir Morag, diplomatic correspondent for Israel’s Channel 14, discuss the real options on the table. Also in this episode: what a deal should cover, why the war is reshuffling alliances, and, naturally, the case for Azerbaijan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t let the press fool you: the massive economic pressure is having a huge effect, and it will continue. Mike and Gadi discuss – and rank by likelihood – the different possible outcomes. Meanwhile high-ranking Israeli officials have been taunting Mike over and over again, about his opinions on Turkey – which are (finally!) shifting. Slightly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s that time of the cycle when everything is judged by its possible influence on the coming October 2026 elections. Mike and Gadi discuss Netanyahu’s health, the Oct. 7 not-yet-appointed Commission of Inquiry, and the new political party formed by the merging of Bennett 2026 with Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid. Also in this episode: how the war is going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are several possible developments moving forward on Iran: an improved version of a JCPOA; a resumption of hostilities; or a continuation of the current situation with economic pressure grinding down the Islamic Republic. The US can afford to wait longer than Iran can. Trump is likely to choose between those options based on how he views the impact on China. Also in this episode: Israel’s imperial Supreme Court thinks it has the authority to remove an elected minister. Read Mike's piece in Tablet here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is clear at this point who has the leverage: we—the U.S. and Israel—are winning this war. Rather than opening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump is closing it to Iranian shipping. It is unlikely that the Islamic Republic’s military dictatorship can survive this for long. Also in this episode: the China angle of the war, with our guest, the Hudson Institute’s Zineb Riboua. And finally, why Viktor Orbán’s defeat in Hungary matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike thinks the achievements of this war are important enough to declare it a victory, though by no means a knock out. Mike and Gadi discuss the pros and cons of the ceasefire, the feasibility of an agreement, and the not unlikely return to military operations two weeks from now. Also in this episode: What are the reactions in Israel, what effects will the ceasefire have on the ongoing war in Lebanon, and what is “gleeful defeatism?” – All this and more on the new episode of Israel Update. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The orchestrated campaign to create alarm about “Settler Violence” magnifies a very marginal phenomena as part of a well thought out long game. Mike and Gadi explain how it works, and what its purpose is. We also have a guest on this show: Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili. She’s an academic, but she won’t bow down to the lies about the war. Read her op-ed in the Washington Post here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/03/27/israel-iran-war-propaganda-disinformation/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s at stake is the American-led international order. If the regime in Iran remains standing, it will have shown that the US can no longer guarantee that order. The good news, Mike and Gadi think, is that Trump fully understands this. This is not to say, however, that all the challenges can easily be overcome. Plus, Israel’s deep-state is reaching new level of legal surrealism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Trump go all the way with Iran? And if not, what are his options? There are many tools, apart from direct military assault, that the US can us to continue to weaken Iran, and prevent China from regaining its Middle East assets. Also in this episode: Israel’s coming ground incursion into Lebanon, and an update on Sde Teiman: the indictments against the Force 100 soldiers, alleging abuse of a Palestinian prisoner, have been withdrawn. Gadi explains what this means. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the Iranian game plan, and is it working? What does the choice of Mojtaba Khamenei to be the heir to his father’s role as Supreme Leader say about the regime and its ability to sustain itself? Gadi and Mike discuss. Plus, the reignited war with Hezbollah offers a chance, Gadi says, to rid ourselves of the idea that all of Israel’s military success can be reversed. It's time to make South Lebanon into North Israel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are the American and Israeli war aims the same? Regime change may turn out to be an ambiguous definition. Mike and Gadi assess the different scenarios which may fall under that phrase, and consider which ones events – and Trump – may end up imposing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world is holding its breath while the US is gathering its forces in the region. Mike and Gadi are convinced Trump means business. What will emerge in Iran after a strike is, however, far from clear. Also in this episode: the Gaza board and the latest moves by Israel’s wild Supreme Court bent on toppling Netanyahu’s coalition. We call it legal surrealism. But most importantly: what did Mike’s mother ask the dentist about? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike sees three possible scenarios in which this can unfold. In all three there will be massive consequences for Israel, the US and the world order. Also on this episode: who is trying to break Trump’s faith-based coalition from within, and why? And finally: Gadi’s hilarious twitter feud with NYT’s Ronen Bergman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: the Bondi Beach shooting, the rising tide of antisemitism, and the recent conference at the Hudson Institute, about how the hatred of Jews is weaponized to undermine American national security. Also - Israel's Deep State is thrashing around in an attempt to cover up the crimes of the IDF Advocate General. Will it succeed? And this is the Icelandic comedian Gadi mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DOebgY8jXx-/   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is not clear how the theory of the Trump plan will be implemented in practice - and above all it is still unclear how Hamas will be disarmed. Has the UN Security Council Resolution made things any clearer? Are Israel's friends in Baku, Azerbaijan going to help solve this conundrum, and finally, have Israel Update's listeners managed to explain to Mike and Gadi what a conundrum is? And here are the links we promised: Zineb Riboua's piece on why the right get Mamdani wrong: https://www.hudson.org/politics-government/what-right-gets-wrong-about-zohran-mamdani-zineb-riboua And here's Mike's conversation with Caroline Glick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6y1cJqp9JM   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The plot thickens! The tale of the rape that never was, and now the suicide attempt that Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi seems to have faked, opens a window into everything that has been convulsing Israel in recent years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The scandal over the doctored tape of the rape-that-never-was in Sde Teiman is the eye of a huge storm that has to do with everything that convulsed the country in recent years. Major General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi the head of the IDF prosecution resigned in disgrace over the affair – and was reported missing while we were recording this session. It turned out that she is alive, and just “lost” her phone in the sea while attempting suicide (or staging such an attempt).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tommy Robinson, the outspoken activist against the importation of Jihad into the UK, visited Israel. His support for Israel's war won many hearts in the country. Mike was skeptical but Gadi insisted on having him on the show (in this Mikeless joint episode of Gadi's Hebrew language podcast Gatekeeper, and Israel Update).   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 who threaten to recognize a Palestinian state could not be clearer. Mike and Gadi discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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=2012s https://youtu.be/GqV9Xamrisc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Gadi lift the lid on the libelous narrative about the deliberate starving of Gazans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 provided he turns out to be useful for the permanent Never-Bibi campaign. But this may well be one lie too far.  Also on this episode: the Druze and the future of Syria.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 government. Also in this episode: is a direct clash between Israel and Turkey in Syria now inevitable? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 administrative state now inevitable? Also on this episode: a momentous shift in American policy towards Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 use mafia-style threats to reveal secrets about the Netanyahu family if the prime minister dares to fire the sitting head of Shin Bet, Ronnen Bar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Russian initiative to mediate negotiations over a new nuclear deal with Iran.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 discussing the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The deal that Israel is now forced to accept is not very different from the one the Biden administration has tried to impose. Combined with the rise of the isolationist elements of MAGA, this may signify a worrying trend. But Mike is less concerned than Gadi is. Granted, he also had significantly lower expectations. Plus: turmoil in Israel's Knesset, and a new scandal involving the man designated to preside of Israel's Supreme Court. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Accompanied by a Turkish driver and two lightly armed escorts, Mike had the opportunity to see firsthand what post-Assad Syria is like. The country was devastated. The scenes of poverty and destruction are heart wrenching. At one-point Mike's escort had to change the route to evade an attack by Israel. Meanwhile in Israel chief of staff Herzi Halevi seems intent on evading a serious enquiry in the disastrous failure of the army under his command on the fateful Shabbat of October 7. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A network of anti-Israel officials inside the Biden administration is encouraging President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken to spring on Israel a nasty January surprise. They are modeling their scheme on the ambush at the United Nations that the outgoing Obama administration sprung on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government in December 2016. Obama, you will recall, orchestrated the passing of UNSCR 2334, which aims to turn the ceasefire lines that separated Israel from Jordan before the 1967 war into an internationally recognized political boundary between Israel and a Palestinian state. This year’s January surprise aims to find Israel officially guilty of blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, thereby laying the evidentiary basis for a new UN resolution punishing Israel. Mike and Gadi have the scoop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is a clash inevitable between Israel and Turkey over Syria? Or can they find a mutually beneficial arrangement? Two heavy hitters, IU's Mike Doran and Haifa University's Dan Schueftan, face off against each other on this crucial issue for Israel's future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike has been following the Syrian question for decades and he explains why Israel has a great opportunity now, if it acts with a cool head, but may also fall into a dangerous trap if it does not. Plus: we had some hearty laughs at the end.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a number of off the record talks with high ranking sources in Israel, both Gadi and Mike are under the impression that the talks of larger goals are sincere. In that case we are probably witnessing a lull, no more, until President Trump takes office. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's domestic enemies are going into overdrive, with two new surprising investigations: one against the chief of Israel's Prison Service, and one against the chief of Israel's Police in Judea and Samaria. The problem seems to be this: they did what Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, told them to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a confrontational statement accusing his intelligence services of deliberately withholding information from him. It seems clear by now that the "leak scandal" is turning into a real internal crisis. Since Mike was visiting Tel Aviv, we recorded this one on the fly, in Gadi's home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is more than an investigation of a leak. There are reasons why law enforcement and the state attorney are so intent on keeping the suspects in custody, despite the initial refusal of the lower court to extend their detention. Now it turns out that a rope and a suicide note were found in one suspect's cell. Gadi and Mike lay out three possible explanations for what this is really about. Then there's also the court's refusal to postpone Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony in the cases against him, even though he's slightly busy running a country at war. It seems like the deep state has stepped up its effort to oust Netanyahu, before time runs out on the Biden-Harris administration.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prime Minister Netanyahu is hinting that there is something more sinister going on behind an investigation of leaks from his office: yet another politically motivated use of law enforcement. And this time it's not the police, it's Israel's secret security service – Shabak (aka Shin Bet). Though we don't yet have all the information, Gadi thinks he's heard it all before – has Shabak director Ronen Bar taken a page from James Comey's book? Mike, not yet convinced, nevertheless thinks such an interpretation is beginning to make more sense.  We also discussed Trump's new appointments and what they reveal about his administration's future policy vis-à-vis Israel.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over a year now Mike and Gadi have been wrestling with one central problem: can Israel go it alone against Iran? That awful dilemma may now be obsolete. Apart from a deep sense of relief, what are we to expect from a Trump presidency? Meanwhile Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Yoav Gallant, his minister of defense. Why did Netanyahu choose this timing, and what can the timing reveal about his possible plans for the future conduct of the war? And finally, does the new investigation of a leaked document pose a threat to the stability of Netanyahu's coalition? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A report in the Israeli press talks of "advanced" negotiations for a deal to end the war in Lebanon. But Mike and Gadi are skeptical. The way the story is sourced, the journalist who wrote it, and the American blessing written all over it, suggest that around a grain of truth a fair amount to wishful thinking by the usual suspects has grown. Nevertheless, Mike thinks we can't dismiss the possibility. We also discussed Gadi's piece in Mosaic about the false conceptions that blinded Israel to the disaster of October 7. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was it wise to limit the strike to military targets, as per the American red lines? Or did Israel just miss a once in a lifetime opportunity to take out Iran's nuclear facilities? Are we going to see further escalation or will it all wind down now in the run-up to the American elections? We found almost nothing to agree on this time, not even Yair Lapid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Predictably, the US is once again telling Israel to "take the win," and bring an end to the war in a ceasefire-for-hostages deal. But the very idea is outdated since there is no longer a central Hamas leadership able to deliver a deal. Instead Prime Minister Netanyahu's message is that Israel will deal separately with each local Hamas commander: whoever will deliver our hostages can get his life and a safe passage out of Gaza in return. How this will play out, and what it could mean for other theaters – primarily Lebanon and Iran? Mike and Gadi discuss. Mike's WSJ piece The Politico piece we discussed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iran is stepping in to fill the gaps in the Hezbollah chain of command with IRGC men. The plan seems to be a tactical withdrawal to the north in order to regroup and sync the various weapon systems into a better organized counter-strike against Israel. Meanwhile UNIFIL, the UN "peacekeeping" force, is shielding Hezbollah from the IDF, as does, in other ways, the Biden Administration. Mike and Gadi discuss.  Also on this episode: why did Gadi go to pray on Yom Kippur for the first time? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recent weeks have improved Israel's strategic position vis-à-vis Iran considerably. But the direct confrontation that had just began can have extremely serious consequences, not all of which are easy to predict. Gadi and Mike discuss what Israel and the world could win, what they could lose, and how the Biden-Harris administration could impact the outcome. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, Gadi and Mike agree, the war turned in Israel's favor. This masterstroke, coming as it did after a long string of impressive military achievements, weakened not only Hezbollah but also Iran, which has failed to respond in any meaningful way. Iran's major move, thus far, has been to threaten the United States. If the Americans would only stop restraining Israel and begin to support its efforts to weaken Iran, this turning point in the war could become a hinge point in history, the beginning of the sharp decline of Iran's Resistance Axis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We did not expect this. For the first time in this war, Mike explains, Israel achieved escalation dominance, and regained its deterrence. But on the road ahead there are still major obstacles. Tactical, strategic, and political. The largest of them is the Biden administration.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This was the world's first mass targeted assassination, where Hezbollah was made to self-select the targets. It also neutralized one of Hezbollah's cruelest strategies: embedding its military among civilians. Mike and Gadi discuss the operation and what may or may not come next. Also on this episode: Netanyahu's decision to oust minister of security Yoav Gallant has not been reversed. If Gideon Saar is to replace Gallant, it's time to introduce you to the unbelievable story that is this man's political career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel was gripped last week by two scandals: one erupted over the Hamas strategy document, leaked to the German newspaper, the Bild. What was in the document was no less sensational than the fact that the IDF seems to have concealed its existence from the Prime Minister. The second scandal had to do with leaked phone calls of former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, the man who indicted Netanyahu. The leaked calls brought back suspicions about the politization of law enforcement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The woke classification of victimhood and oppression has put Jews on the wrong side of the divide, and so put many of them on the defensive. Not Brooke Goldstein, founder and executive director of the Lawfare Project. The project was created in order to fight against Jew hatred in courts, based on a solid civil rights agenda. It is a fight many more should be taking part in. Gadi spoke with Brooke about Qatari money that flows into American universities, campus antisemitism, and the growing risk to Jews of physical violence. Yes, there are things to do in order to fight back.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the news broke out in Israel, about the execution of six hostages, it seemed like the public was split in half over Netanyahu's policy to retain the Philadelphi Corridor. That picture, Mike and Gadi argue, is distorted in more than one way: there was no deal to accept or reject; the Philadelphi Corridor is not the main point of contention; Israel is not equally split between the two position; the Gallant, Gantz and Eisenkot game plan is more complicated than it seems; and the Never-Bibi crowd just suffered a strategic defeat with the collapse of its attempt at a massive protest and a general strike.   Plus: Tucker Carlson, Daryl Cooper and the rising tide of antisemitism on the American right.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike explains why what the press is telling us about Israel's preemptive strike does not add up. Apparently, something different is going on.  Also on this episode: why getting your news from Israeli English language sources is a tricky business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced at the end of a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that Netanyahu has accepted the new US bridging proposal for a hostage deal, and now Hamas should too, the Secretary said. But Netanyahu's detractors in Israel, as well as Hamas, insist on blaming the Israeli Prime Minister for sabotaging the deal. In Israel that alleged sabotage is tied to the controversy over the Philadelphi Corridor, the border between Gaza and Egypt where the IDF has so far found about 200 smuggling tunnels. Gadi and Mike discuss the politics around the deal in Israel, the US, and among Hamas and its allies – all in the shadow of a looming regional war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel's existence depends on breaking Iran's drive for regional hegemony. This may take more than a few years, and probably several wars. The early history of Israel offers some useful lessons.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Gadi weigh the alternative scenarios as tensions mount: on the one hand Iran and Hezbollah must respond, on the other hand they fear a massive and costly Israeli retaliation. For its part, the US hopes to provide Iran and Hezbollah a pretext for restraint, by brokering a ceasefire agreement on Gaza. All the pieces are set on the chessboard. What now?  And here are the articles we referred to: Mike's The Anti-Israel Sanctions Machine: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/biden-harris-anti-israel-sanctions-machine And Gadi's For Israel’s Progressive Elites, the Real War is Against the Enemy Within https://www.jns.org/for-israels-progressive-elites-the-real-war-is-against-the-enemy-within/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Israel Update In-Depth Special with Prof. Dan Scheuftan: Gaza, says Schueftan, is the most heavily fortified place in the history of warfare. Because it is fortified not only in the physical sense with its huge underground system of tunnels, it is also fortified by "Human Rights" NGOs, by the New York Times, by international tribunals, and by the general moral failure of the West to protect its own values. It is for this reason that Israel must win this war and establish for the future, that Barbarism cannot succeed in defeating the West by using the West's institutions against it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel reservists were detained for questioning after a Hamas terrorist arrived in an Israeli hospital with physical signs of abuse. But this was not a routine arrest. Army police behaved towards IDF reservists as if this were a raid on a drug cartel – which ignited a riot in which enraged Israelis staged a break-in into two army bases. Mike and Gadi believe this drama encapsulates a much larger conflict which is brewing within Israeli society. Also, in this episode: what are the odds for the slaughter of 12 Druse children by a Hezbollah rocket spiraling into a full scale war?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Cotton attended Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech, and shared his impressions with us. Iran's proxies, Senator Cotton said, do not threaten only Israel, they "threaten the entire US led international order." We also spoke about Israel's war in Gaza, this strange moment in American politics, the Woke, and finally Jefferson and Madison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Gadi have already written Netanyahu's speech in their imagination to their own satisfaction – we'll soon see how well they've guessed. But one thing is not in doubt: Iran will be a major theme. Judging by the prime minister's recent public statements, he is going to describe Israel as standing at the forefront of the West's war against "Iran's axis of evil." This seems like a pretty obvious thing to say in the US, but in the context of the current administration's regional policy – it is anything but. Mike and Gadi explain why. Also: how will substituting Joe Biden for Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate affect Israel? Bonus: Joe Biden vs. Thomas Sowell https://x.com/GadiTaub1/status/1815265490010292440 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The failed assassination attempt on the former president will have vast consequences for the Middle East, some of which will be felt immediately. Israel, Mike argues, will have a freer hand to fight Hamas. A Trump victory however, with J.D. Vance as VP, will have far vaster effects on the region. Mike and Gadi discuss.  Meanwhile, the incitement against PM Netanyahu crosses the line into a virtual calls for his assassination. Yet Israel's law enforcement seems not to have learned from the American lesson. Plus: a rift between Netanyahu and Gallant re the Philadelphi Corridor looms behind the attempt to reach a hostage deal with Hamas.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The question is not just about the day after. It is also about the day before the day after: what should count as victory? Some have declared the return of the hostages to be the only meaning of victory and are willing to push for a deal almost at any price. But that means that in the real world, Hamas would be able to declare victory. This will not fly with the Netanyahu coalition. But even within the coalition, and importantly, between the politicians and the IDF brass, there are very different ideas of what this war can and should achieve. Gadi and Mike don't necessarily agree on the issue.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The American presidential debate was a moment of truth – or lack thereof – for the press. It also has consequences for Israel and the Middle East. Mike and Gadi discuss. This week also saw an Israeli Supreme Court decision ordering the draft of all ultra-orthodox men. The decision is threatening the stability of Netanyahu's coalition. Mike and Gadi explain why this has become such a contested issue, and how religion, nationalism and progressivism define what Left and Right mean in Israel today. Then there is also a uniquely dumb take on the news. Join us and stay updated about Israel and its war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Netanyahu's video message that called out the US on withholding arms from Israel succeeded – first the administration denied the facts, but then it opened the bureaucratic bottlenecks (see Mike's piece about this below). Few commentators, however, took note of the fact that there was a warning in that video – one which was later enhanced in Netanyahu's two major public statements this week. The war as the prime minister is now defining it, is a seven-front war with Iran. With a speech before a joint session of the two houses of congress scheduled for July 24, the administration must be worried that its Iran appeasement policy is in danger of being exposed. And all that, on the backdrop of the West's inability to fight wokeness, its autoimmune cultural disease. Mike and Gadi discuss the connection.  https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/biden-italian-strike-israel-arms-shipments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The repeated attempts of the Biden administration to arrange a color revolution in Israel in order to topple Netanyahu's government are failing – partly because the Israeli "Resistance" is unable to muster more than a few thousand chronic Never-Bibi protestors. Israelis have no patience with people threatening to "paralyze the country" when so many are sending their sons and daughters to risk their lives in Gaza. Also: Gadi and Mike disagreed on whether IDF brass insubordination is becoming a real problem in Israel's ability to win the war.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A bold rescue operation Nuseirat; Benny Gantz quits the war time coalition; a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire and a hostage deal; steep escalation between Hezbollah and Israel in the north, and – if all this is not enough – a looming crisis for the coalition over drafting of ultra-orthodox men to the IDF. Gadi and Mike untangle these strands and conclude that for now Netanyahu's coalition is not on the verge of collapse, despite the Biden administration's best efforts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden made a dramatic speech on Friday announcing an Israeli offer for a far-reaching hostage deal. Prime Minster Netanyahu's response at first made it seem like Biden was distorting Israel's position beyond recognition. It turned out that the truth behind the move was far more complicated. Mike and Gadi unpack the calculations of the different parties. Also in this episode: the North is burning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A reservist soldier recorded a video addressing Prime Minister Netanyahu, and telling him that the army is behind him, but also calling on Minister of Security Gallant to resign if he is not determined to win this war, and that if he does not, the army will not follow him. The press filled with outrage against this "sedition." An investigation was promptly launched. Meanwhile, the newly elected leader of the tiny Labor Party, General Yair Golan, called on reservists not to report to duty until the government calls for new elections.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A whirlwind week in Israeli politics: Ministers Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz delivered two ultimatums to prime minister Netanyahu, threatening to dissolve the cabinet they are both still members of. Both held independent talks with high American officials prior to the move. Did they coordinate with the Americans, or with each other? Is the government about to be dissolved? And how will international arrest warrants from The Hague, against Netanyahu and Gallant, play out in Israeli politics? Mike and Gadi suggest ways to connect the dots.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices