The Promised Podcast

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Move Over, Winston— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to congress, again. What did he say to the senators and congresspeople, and what didn’t he say? —Kamala Harris and the Jewish Question— Kamala Harris anagrams to “A rakish alarm.” Who is Kamala Harris, and if she becomes president, what will it mean for, well, us? —You’re Voting for Who?!— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: When Israeli-Americans say they’re voting for Trump because he’s good for Israel, what do they mean? Plus, consecrating a Torah scroll for Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and trans-folk in Tel Aviv City Hall, and more music of these days.

Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —The Valley of the Shadow of Deif— Can you do a cost-benefit analysis of assassinating a man personally responsible for thousands of Israeli deaths? —Unboxing Gaza?— What’s it like for Israelis to watch videos of Palestinian resilience? —“Dos” and “Don’t-So-Much-Dos”— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Why did a short video about the “Dos” and “Don’t-So-Much-Dos” of workplace relations between secular and ultra-Orthodox colleagues tick off so many of us here in Israel? Plus, the profound humanity of the people fighting to release the hostages, and music from Netta Barzilai’s first album, which is like a warm hug from an old friend.

Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —God Will Avenge His Blood?— The IDF has allowed, for the first time ever, military gravestones to add “הי״ד” — “God will avenge his blood” — after the name of a slain soldier. Vengeance carved in stone? —Heroes of Israel— There’s a new line of “Heroes of Israel” action figures: IDF soldiers for kids to play with. What exactly do they teach our kids? —It’s Been Long Enough to Make a Baby— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Nine months of war (long enough to make a baby). Miriam and Noah talk about how they’re doing now. Plus, a tribute to two people we remember from iconic photographs, and a new exhibit imagines a very different Zionism than the one we got. Plus more new tunes of our times.

In a very special, tribute-to-America episode, the sax-and-fiddle player (Alon Tal), the lead-singer-and-keyboardist (Bill Slott), and the bass-player (Noah Efron) of the fondly-remembered band, “Liquid Plumr” discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Bill in Them Hills— What can we learn from Bill who spent three months in the West Bank trying to keep local Palestinians from being harassed by local Israelis? Sometimes, you just need to be there. —The U.S. and Us— How have America and Americans influenced Israeli culture and politics? —Are Two Better Than One?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: What is it like to have two countries? Plus, music by three great Israeli singers, each born-in-the-U.S.A.

Linda Gradstein, Allison Kaplan Somer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Exemption Preemption— A bombshell unanimous Supreme Court decision says that, until the Knesset passes a law that says otherwise, Haredi men of army age need to enlist, and those that don’t cannot get government stipends. Are we about to find Yeshiva boys in foxholes? —New Day in Gaza?— A new report is making the rounds in Jerusalem about how to end the war and coax Gazans to accept Israel, which, new report, may or may not be nuts. —AIPAC vs. Bowman— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: AIPAC vs. the Squad’s Jamaal Bowman. Decision, AIPAC? Plus, Hebrew Book Week 100 years on, and more music of our times.

Linda Gradstein, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Special on Patreon —The Other War— The war with Hezbollah up north seems to be getting hotter and more deadly with each passing day. Will missiles rain down on Tel Aviv? And when can the nearly 100,000 evacuees from their homes near the Lebanese Border expect to go back home? —Spring of Despair— New polls show despair and pessimism of a sort Israelis have never known before. What do we do when more than 2/3 of Israelis are not optimistic about our future? —When Nothing Feels Right— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Summer’s here and the time is right for what exactly? Plus, Bnei Brak at 100, and more music of our times.

Linda Gradstein, Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Home— Four hostages were rescued from the depths of Gaza. We need a new word for absolute joy mixed with absolute worry mixed with absolute sadness. —Gantz, But Not Forgotten— Benny Gantz announces that he is leaving the government and its tiny “War Cabinet,” which brought relief, anxiety and ambivalence. With Gantz gone, where will the government go? —Shavuot In Israel— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Shavuot in Israel, after eight months of war. Plus, the LGBTQ “Vigil of Pride and Hope” in Tel Aviv, celebrating Shavuot, and more music of our times.

Linda Gradstein, Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Prisoner's Dilemma— A new Israeli proposal to bring home hostages puts the brakes on the war and signs some sort of pact with the Saudis. So why are religious-Zionists, most of all, opposing it? —Same Same (But Different)— New Supreme Court petitions might force the army to conscript Haredim. Has the war changed things enough that we can now solve the oldest, hardest problem of Israeli politics? —Taking a Break By Going Abroad— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: After eight months of war, what’s it like for an Israeli to get on a plane to somewhere, anywhere, else? What’s it like to come back? Plus, an appreciation of David Levy, being Israeli in Japan, and a new old museum in Tel Aviv. And more music of our times.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Golan Heights?— We just witnessed the huge victory of IDF Reserve Major-General and former deputy chief-of-staff Yair Golan in the primary for Labor leadership (he got more than 95%). Will a new war-hero general at the head of the Labor Party bring back Rabin-era glory? —History Lesson— A viral lachrymose TV sketch comedy troupe portrays Jewish history as one damn-pogrom-after-another, up to and including October 7. Is Jewish history, up to and including now, just a trail of tears? —What It’s Been Like to Be on an Ivy-League Campus This Past Year— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: The executive director of Cornell’s Hillel, Rabbi Ari Weiss, tells us about what it has been like to be on an Ivy-League campus this past year, for students and Hillel directors alike. Plus, losing our words, and more music of these troubled times.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Gantz and Gallant Game the Endgame— Two of five of the members of Israel’s “War Cabinet” tell Prime Minister Netanyahu that he has to figure out what comes next in Gaza. Or else! —Unwarranted— The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court seeks warrants for the arrest of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant, the first time warrants have been sought for democratically-elected politicians. So will the world start arresting Israeli politicians when they travel abroad? —A Huge Win Despite the Loss— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: When sorority sisters turn on sorority sisters, you know sh*t’s gotten real! All that and a memorial appreciation of Yael Dayan and a good bye to the old TLV1 studios. Plus more music in the sad spirit of our times.

Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Now, Rafah— What are we to make of Israel’s rolling incursion into Rafah? Oy. —On Film— There’s a new hour-long movie about the rape and sexual assault of Israeli women on October 7 and since. Oy. —A Huge Win Despite the Loss— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Eden Golan’s amazing adventure at the Eurovision song contest. All this and more music of these troubled times.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Days of Awe— What do Yom Ha-Zikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Ha-Atzmaut (Independence Day) mean in this annus horribilis? How can we celebrate, now? —School Daze— What should we make of the enraged protests raging on university campuses? Kids these days, am I right? —Al Jazeera on the Chopping Block— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Israel blocks Al Jazeera for 45 days, on the grounds that the network is neither fair nor balanced. Dumb move? Plus, a look back fifty years, a vegetable vending machine, and more music of these troubled times.

To mark Yom Ha-Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Noah describes the decades-long path Israelis followed to come to terms with the Holocaust, culminating in a record in 1988, fully 43 years after the camps were freed. (Out of concern for the environment, this episode is reused and recycled, though not reduced.)

At Passover Seders all around the world, a place setting was laid before a chair left empty for one of the 133 hostages held in Gaza. We look back at the 200 days of anguish, hope, and despair that divide Simchat Torah on October 7 from this week’s holiday.

Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. —Going Too Farsi? (Or, the Persian Incursion)— We — with the help of the US, UK, Jordan and other capable allies — buffly rebuffed the biggest missile and drone attack on Israel ever. But what does it tell us about the past and augur for the future? —Passover, 5784— How is this Passover different from all other Passovers? Plus, a bereaved father on solidarity, flower-girls, fruit bats and more music of our times.

Marking six months since the massacres and the start of the war, Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Us, Here— Whether and how we Israelis have changed, in light of all that has happened. Are we different than we were six months and one week ago? —Us, There— Whether and how we Jews around the world have changed, in light of all that has happened. Are we different than we were six months and one week ago? —Iran’s Promised “Persian Incursion”— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Are we losing sleep over Iran’s promised “Persian Incursion”? Plus, the presence of October 7 around the Seder table. And, more music of our times.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Families 2.0— The organization of the families of the hostages has decided to change strategies, linking its campaign to bring the hostages home to the campaign for “elections now.” Is the fight to get the hostages home entering a new phase? —Sidelocks & Sidearms— A Supreme Court injunction cuts off, cold-turkey, funding for army-aged, ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students who learn instead of serve. Couldn’t they have let the turkey get to room-temperature? —Snap Judgement— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Should a photographer who watched and snapped his shutter while people were being killed, raped and kidnapped get a prize for a picture he took? Plus a farewell to one of the country’s greatest novelists and activists. And, more music of our times.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and newly-minted Doctor of Thinkology Gilad Halpern discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Abstention Dissension— There seems to be a very fast decline in US-Israel relations, after the Americans abstain on a UN Security Council resolution that Israel expected them to veto. Are Israel and America, like Ross and Rachel, on a break? —Standard Deviation— An expert in urban warfare says Israel is more careful to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza than any other army in history. But even if that is true, does it matter? —The Great Rupture in American Jewish Life— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Is Peter Beinart right that there is a “great rupture in American Jewish life”? If he is, should we worry? Plus a farewell to a man who spent decades rebuilding violins that survived the Holocaust, often when the musicians who played them did not. Plus more music of our times.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and ubermensch writer Bradley Burston discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —Despite It All, Peace?— Is all we are sayin’, just give peace a chance? —Amalek— Is it like reverse anti-Semitism? —The End of Israel— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Kafka said, “A book must be an ice-axe for the frozen sea within us.” This one is. Order Bradley Burston’s new book, The End of Israel: Dispatches from a Path to Catastrophe, here! Plus a glimpse into the worlds of ultra-Orthodox parents of kids who grew up ultra-Orthodox and were murdered at the druggy, dancy, free-lovey Nova festival. Plus more music of our times.

Miriam Herschlag, Allison Kaplan Sommer and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon —אַ סוף צו אַ גאָלדען עלטער אין אַ גאלדענע מדינה— This month’s Atlantic cover story argues that the “Golden Age” for American Jews has come to a close and, with it, maybe the “Golden Age” for America and the “Golden Age” for Jews. Is the US putting the “mean” back into “reversion to the mean”? —Retracted— A well-regarded literary journal retracts an essay by an Israeli on account of, well, what exactly? Is it a literary crime to be an Israeli in 2024? —Hurricane— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: This year’s Eurovision is gonna be a sh*tshow. Plus poetry on the moon and more songs of these troubled days.