Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher.  The Soviet Union was deeply against religion, and deeply against Judaism in particular, so that the full embrace of Jewish religious observance, or the study of Hebrew, or the slightest approval of Zionism were often […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher.  In 1958, the American author Leon Uris published Exodus, the novel about Israel’s founding that became an international phenomenon. Its hero, though an Israeli kibbutznik, was portrayed as a blond, blue-eyed man of culture and […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher.  Among European diplomats and public figures in the 1990s, it was universally believed that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians was the central key to understanding the Middle East. It was their view that […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher.  “Water,” said Israel’s second prime minister, Levi Eshkol, “is to the country like blood to a human being.” From the time of the Hebrew Bible and through the ages, Jews have prayed for water in […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher.  In wake of President Biden’s inauguration, experienced foreign-policy hands argued over what could be learned about his administration’s approach to Israel and the Middle East from his early statements and appointments. They faced an unresolved […]