Shows / Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis
Israel from the Inside is for people who want to understand Israel with nuance, who believe that Israel is neither hopelessly flawed and illegitimate, nor beyond critique. If thoughtful analysis of Israel and its people interests you, welcome!
danielgordis.substack.com
Episodes
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisYemen 101: Who are the Houthis, where did they come from, and what should we expect?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com Look at the map of the Middle East, zoomed way, way out. Yemen (bottom…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"I prayed for a hug"
The boos started almost immediately in Basel (the same city, ironically, where Herzl held the First Zionist Congress in 1897). As Yuval Raphael stepped onto…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhen the collapse of old dreams leads to the flowering of new ones
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com I noticed this week, at the Shabbat table in two different homes, and…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisHow badly has Israel lost the American public? Is there anything at all we can do?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com It’s hard to quantify (though I suppose that there are ways that…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Change" or "Tradition"? The JTS Graduates opposed to President Herzog speaking at Graduation have some history on their side.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com As The Forward (and others) reported over the last couple of weeks…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhat if Bibi doesn't run?
The little clip above, about “If the USA and Iran were people,” is cute. Not hilarious, but still cute. And what it reflects is a deep-seated frustration that…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisDoes the West hate Israel because Israelis believe in themselves?
Jimmy Bitton, a Canadian professor whose podcast is called “Echoes of Jewish History”(available on Spotify here) invited me to join him on his podcast, and…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisRabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin has built a museum to teach about the past, but is worried about Israel's future
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com When I reached out to Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin, asking him if he might…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisAre American Jews Really Traitors?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com Just before Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, Israel Independence Day, Hagai Segal, a…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Captivity was nothing. Without them, I am in hell now."
There were days, days that almost of all of us remember, when photos like these were ubiquitous. On hostage posters on the news, on the internet. Everywhere…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisThe kippah that roared (after it was assaulted)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com Almost as soon as Alex Sinclair posted on LinkedIn the story of how the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisFar from the international headlines, Israel is mired in a frustrating war we don't know how to win.
Imagine that someone asked you right now, “What would you guess are the main stories on the front pages of Israel’s papers?” What would you list? The elections…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisA Haredi public intellectual arguing that (some) Haredim should not be able to vote?
The war will end, sooner or later, likely sooner. Israelis will limp out of the war — a war with many accomplishments, but also a war that is likely to fizzle…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhy are Israel's police resorting to more violence against protesters? Is it about the protests, or something deeper?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com The protests against Israel’s present war have not been nearly as…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisNo, you can't ease our pain. But yes, you should care about us more than you care about them.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"If only we could be like Hungary"
As we were cooking for Shabbat today, we were blaring one of those American music streaming services on all the speakers, playing the music we grew up with…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisRogue Justice: The Rise of Judicial Supremacy in Israel
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 2023, it brought to a sudden…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisYom Ha-Shoah feels different — because now, the Jewish story does, too.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com Today is Yom Ha-Shoah, the first of the three “National Days,” which…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"What a relief," and "what a disaster"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com It’s the strangest thing, this mood in Israel now. On the one hand…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Hope you get to eat your meal while it's still hot"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com With the Seder just hours away, some thoughts about the mood in this…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Irwin is exactly right. But he makes a big mistake." Do Israel's sins invalidate the whole project? (Part II of II)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"I think Israelis would have a hard time recognizing the Zionism that Alana Newhouse describes." Part I of II.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com As I’ve mentioned several times over the past week or two, I’ve been…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"We have a family. Our family has a story. We've been telling that story for thousands of years."
This coming week, we will share an extended conversation with Rabbi Mishael Zion, whom I asked to reflect on the “discussion” between Alana Newhouse and Rabbi…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIsraeli Judaism is far from a monolith, and that's largely thanks to American immigrants ...
When my family and I came to Israel in 1998, our daughter (who’s now closing in on forty) was just about to have her Bat Mitzvah. It was important to us that…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhen even saying "have a Happy Passover" elicits a chuckle, you know people are starting to crack
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com Remember those opening days? Two hundred Israeli jets, in the largest…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisThey escaped the Holocaust and then volunteered to parachute back in... thus creating one of Israel's most enduring founding myths
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com In the Atlantic, the Free Press and in numerous other publications…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisAs war become routine, slices of what Israeli life has become ...
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com For today, I’ve gathered some thoughts that have been brewing for the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIsraelis and American Jews both lost the myths that had sustained us for generations. Which has the capacity to rebuild?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com A funny thing happened in the bomb shelter today. Seriously. We were…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Now I know what it feels like to be a Jew"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com We’ve had Ariel Beery on our podcast in the past. Ariel Beery is the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisPulling no punches: "On October 7, Diaspora Jews discovered that they had no purpose."
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com Let’s talk about Zionism …. In the past few days, Israel’s political…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIs it time for Zionists to drop the word "Zionism"?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com Let’s talk about Zionism …. It might sound strange that Israel from the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Echoes of Egypt" — This year, do something entirely different at your Seder.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com Let me begin with a personal suggestion—at this year’s Seder, don’t…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisMichael Oren: "The devil we don't know is better than the devil we did know."
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com As Michael Oren and I quipped during this conversation, the book that…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisOne third of young American Jews are either anti-Zionist or non-Zionist. Should we banish them or reach out to them?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com This clip of Haviv Rettig Gur, who is one of this era’s most compelling…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhat's really at stake in which type of commission of inquiry Israel establishes?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com One day, this war that we’re about to have (?) will be over. Or it…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisThe PM insists that there was no massacre on October 7. But will that stop Diaspora audiences from wildly applauding him?
As you have likely gathered from the video above, one of the latest brouhahas in Israel (slowly beginning to pale next to what many people think is the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisHow much fight do the Jews have left in them, if this goes on? History sheds some light ...
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com Jewish anti-Zionists aren’t going away—how should Jewish communities…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhen the police and the army have to flee the Haredim inside Israel, few red lines remain
If you blinked during the first few seconds of the video above, which was posted by YNet on its Facebook Reels, you missed the important part. So watch it…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIs a break between Israeli Jews and Jews of the Diaspora inevitable? GESHER believes it's not, and is working hard to build real bridges
A couple of months ago, I happened to be in New York over a Shabbat, and along with my brother and his family, got invited to a Friday evening dinner which was…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisDid the Ayatollahs hasten their own demise by destroying the water system Israel built for them?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com With Iran and Israel very much back in the news, a different look at…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIsraelis living in America who want their kids to feel Israeli face a challenge. Scouts has a solution.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com The Ayatollahs have been in control for so long, and Iran’s leadership…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Ema, stop it with all your bullsh*t about innocent Gazans. They don't exist." A polite (I hope) but brutally honest discussion with J-Street's leaders.
Jeremy Ben-Ami and I have been friendly for many years. We don’t agree about very much when it come to Israel’s foreign policy or its conduct of the conflict…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisThe last hostage is found and brought home; a nation sighs in relief, but with abiding sadness
The Israeli Hebrew press carried the news concerning the search for Ran Gvili in detail. In the non-Hebrew press, it could be challenging to get a sense of the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhat happens when post-army Israelis take their proverbial trip to India, but then have a PTSD crisis far from home?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com “Our greatest generation,” Israelis are calling this generation of…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhat's "patrimonialism"? It's what you end up with when democracy withers—and what we already have, to some degree.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com This week, as we mentioned on Monday, we’re looking at democracy from…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIs Democracy in Israel in Retreat? Two leading Israeli jurists explain why they believe it is.
This week, we’re going to look at democracy from two different perspectives, through the eyes of two different scholars. One is an Israeli, while one is an…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisThe US may not renew the MOU guaranteeing Israel's $3.8B / year military support. But does Israel even need it anymore?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com In the pages of Sapir, to my mind one of the finest Jewish journals now…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"What I do now as a commander is to make sure that the soldiers don't kill themselves."
Someone wrote me from the States yesterday and asked me, “What’s the mood?” Truth is, there is no mood. Gaza might erupt as Trump pushes to Phase II, but then…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"The sages of the Talmud ended the death penalty when the number of murderers increased."
In early December, YNet reported (in an article Google-translated below) on a meeting of the National Security Committee to which Itamar Ben Gvir and the other…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisItamar Ben Gvir wants the death penalty for terrorists. Suleiman Maswadeh is opposed.
Before we get to today’s introduction to tomorrow’s podcast, one of those “only in Israel” moments. This one probably merits the “Toto, I've a feeling we're…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"With Extraordinary Courage": The full interview
It would be difficult to exaggerate the influence of the Israeli TV program, Uvdah (which in Hebrew means “fact”). Uvdah (which is sometimes compared to “60…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisCan young Jews embrace Judaism if, at its core, we're a tribe?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com I don’t know how many people noticed the story that JTA carried on…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisS Novim Godom (С Новым Годом) from Israel—or from some parts of Israel, at least
The video above is part of a much larger social and cultural issue in Israel—the efforts of an immigrant group to explain its traditions to an Israeli society…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisPeace in the Middle East? The first thing that needs to happen is the destruction of the ideology at the heart of Palestinian identity.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com When Arthur Hertzberg first published his magnus opus, The Zionist…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Bury your warrior son with his family, or with his fallen comrades across the ocean?" 40% of the families of fallen GI's chose the latter
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com In the conversation that we’re posting today, as we wrap up four…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisFighting to preserve Jewish religious freedom—in the State of Israel
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com A headline on yesterday’s Times of Israel might have made you blink. In…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"You can win, and still weep": Israeli college students just back from war read the war-suffused Greek classics very differently
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com When I was a freshman at Columbia, a long time ago, we read—as Columbia…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Your Dvir is sending a big hug through our Dvir."
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com I was first in touch with Dalia Emanuelof, the mother of Dvir Emanuelof…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Political paradigms have an expiration date." Is that what happened to Zionism?
Whenever people ask me whether the elections we’re scheduled to have in 2026 will be the ones that “finally turn the tide” and create change, I tell them I…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIt's not just reporting the news, but sometimes shaping it, too. Reflections of an Israeli US correspondent from behind the scenes.
What does an Israeli journalist in the United States, who’s responsible for covering the White House, actually do? Cover the White House and beyond, obviously…