Vision Magazine Podcasts

What was the ancient Egyptian worldview that humanity required liberation from? Ahead of the festival of Israel's freedom, Yehuda HaKohen shares his thoughts on the Egyptian ideology & true educational purpose of the ten plagues.

Did the US intelligence community intentionally deceive Israel's leadership regarding the likelihood of being attacked on Yom Kippur of 5734 (1973)? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by former NSA Mideast intelligence analyst Bruce Brill to discuss his new book Deceit of an Ally: A Memoir of Military Anti-Semitism, NSA's Secret Jew Room and Yom Kippur Treachery.

As the Biden administration schemes to remove Netanyahu from office, the prime minister's domestic political needs have aligned with exposing the toxicity of the US-Israel relationship. Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Vision organizer Aryeh Shapiro for a discussion on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's defiant wartime posture towards the United States.

If different societies have different concepts of freedom, what does freedom mean to Israel? Ahead of the anniversary of Leḥi (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel) leader Natan Yellin-Mor's passing, Yehuda HaKohen is joined by a Vision affiliated "Anonymous Soldier" to discuss the need for political education within Israel's national-religious camp.

What does it mean to engage Yishmael from a place of power? Can a stronger Jewish identity help Israel to better communicate with the Islamic world? Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen are joined by Inon Kehati of the Home movement to discuss his new book aimed at communicating Israel's story to the Muslim world. The three also discuss the importance of defining the Jewish people's historic mission and replacing Western political framings with a political map based on the diverse Israeli tribal identities.

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 Israeli society, the current state of Israeli-Palestinian peace work, and what line needs to be crossed for individual Jews to be seen as having turned against their people.

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, who heads the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and was one of the two main architects of the judicial reform legislation, also sheds light on some of the lesser known parts of the national drama surrounding judicial reform.

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 demilitarized and that Gazan Palestinians be deradicalized, the two also debate what options exist for Gaza moving forward. Maoz Tzur outro music by Yehonatan Roth.

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 music by Yehonatan Roth.

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 some of the other actors involved and how this relates to a sudden spike in anti-Semitism.

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 present Israel's position.

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 largely irrelevant to most Israelis and Palestinians.

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 elected representatives and the Supreme Court.

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 Menace podcast blasting the US Supreme Court with critiques that could just as easily be applied to Israel's judicial oligarchy.