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 GordisGiven that 2023 was the worst year in Israel's history, by far, what would Israel's founders have thought of us now?
Between the profound crisis surrounding Israel’s judicial reform—a crisis that some predicted could lead Israel to civil war—and the pogrom of October 7 which…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIf Israel has to choose between the hostages and winning the war; and how liberal American Judaism's most fundamental strategy failed
Today marks a week since the “cease-fire” (a contested term in Israel) began—the first hostages came home last Friday night. At this moment, at least, the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"The Wheat Grows Once More"
The Yom Kippur War, which erupted almost fifty years to the day before this year’s October 7th massacre, led to an outburst of Israeli song-writing. Many of…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Ecstasy and Amnesia in the Gaza Strip" — A conversation with Dr. Shany Mor
I recently had occasion to read Dr. Shany Mor’s fascinating essay in Mosaic Magazine which had a very interesting—and different—take on the current conflict…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"I hadn’t fully understood how much the country had so profoundly changed." BUT FIRST, a Thanksgiving quiz: is that cousin of yours a "Brit" or a "German"?
First your Thanksgiving family “Israel view test”: Does that pesky family member you’re having Thanksgiving with (or not having Thanksgiving with…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Maybe this war will be called the Second War of Independence"
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, IDF International Spokesman, has been seen all over international television in recent weeks, earning kudos for his expert and frank…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"The Book That Saw October 7 Coming From a Mile Away"
Before we get to our main subject for today, we’re sharing this video, making its way around Israeli social media in English (so you may have seen it), which…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"What are the most realistic but pessimistic and optimistic scenarios you can see for the coming year?"
Shortly before Rosh Hashanah, my friend and colleague, Rabbi Danny Schiff, invited me to have a Zoom conversation with him, for the leadership of the Jewish…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisUnlike other Supreme Courts, Israel's highest bench invites foreigners to serve as Clerks
Our daughter, our son and our daughter-in-law all clerked at Israel’s Supreme Court at various times over the past decade. We would hear lots of “court talk”…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisNot long ago, American Jewish communities were inviting Israelis in the US to join them. Now it's the Israeli Americans who are doing the inviting.
When he moved to Palo Alto, Offir Gutelzon did not imagine himself with a bullhorn, wearing a T-shirt that reads “Saving Israeli Democracy.” Nor did he imagine…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"I'm ashamed to be associated with these people"—why what's going on in Israel has led more than a few life-long Orthodox Jews to cease identifying as such
Today we are sharing Part II of our conversation with Professor Ephraim Shoham Professor Ephraim (Effie) Shoham-Steiner is a historian specializing in Medieval…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"The army taught us: 'you never leave the trench. You never lose the battle.'" Could that also mean using force to save democracy?
Professor Ephraim (Effie) Shoham-Steiner is a historian specializing in Medieval Jewish History. He is an associate professor at the Department of Jewish…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIn Memoriam - Dalia Fadila (1973-2023)
Israel tragically lost a brave, creative Israeli-Arab educator on Friday, when Dr. Dalia Fadila drowned off the Herzliya beach. When we ran our podcast with…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisDrinking away our sorrows at this Jerusalem- based distillery
Here is this week’s schedule (subject to changes as the new cycle requires): * Sunday: the music video, “I don’t hate,” which more or less shows how much…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"The best way to take care of Jeremy was to take care of our kids."
Here is what we have planned for this week (subject to changes as the new cycle requires): * Sunday: the music video, “I don’t hate,” which more or less shows…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"There is, indeed, a marginalized Israel. But it is not Mizrahi."
As grave as Israel’s present crisis is, I’m still optimistic—which does not mean certain—that democracy will survive and even remain largely liberal. Yet if we…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Safeguarding Our Shared Home"—How the Jerusalem protests got started
It will surprise no one that there’s an entire network of volunteers behind the protests throughout the country. Many of us who live here get constant…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhat will happen in Israel "is, and should be, of great concern for democracies across the globe"
Judge Barbara M. Lynn has many “firsts” to her credit— she was the first woman member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society at the University of…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisThe World's Largest Collection of Herzl Memorabilia
My wife and I have close friends in Toronto, so (pre-Covid), a combination of Shalem College work and visits to friends used to get me to Canada pretty…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWho is a Jew? And who is eligible for the Law of Return? (*Hint: the answers are not necessarily the same)
Shortly after Israel’s new government was elected, and long before judicial reform took up all the oxygen in the proverbial room, the coalition announced plans…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Israel is in the best position it has ever known. And Israel is at its most dangerous moment ever."
Here’s the question I get asked these days more than any other: Let’s assume that the protest movement succeeds, and Bibi somehow manages to put the proposed…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisHow do you get Israeli tech to spread beyond Tel Aviv?
A long, long time ago, in a land before judicial reform, we used to speak about other things, too. Several months ago, in January, we interviewed Tomer Swisa…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisA life filled with purpose — My conversation with Professor Russ Roberts on EconTalk
EconTalk, a podcast with Russel Roberts, is one of the most popular podcasts out there, and not long ago, Russ invited me to record a conversation with him on…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisHow to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut outside of Israel
With Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) now behind us, Israel will move next week into the second and third of what are commonly called the National…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisFor Yom HaShoah: "From Holocaust to Independence, From Destruction to Rebirth"
This past Sunday, I shared with two congregations in the Northeast some thoughts about the situation in Israel, with today’s commemoration of Yom HaShoah very…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhat happens when not everyone feels that the story of the state is their story, too?
Still to come later this week, as promised when we sent our our last column, “What you just witnessed was one of the greatest weeks in Israel's history” … the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisONE TEAM: Using sports to build bridges between Jewish and Bedouin teenage girls
A few months ago I had the pleasure of speaking with Danny Hakim, a passionate philanthropist who doesn’t just talk the talk, but actually walks the walk…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"If the judicial review passes in this form, couldn't the Knesset, by a vote of 61, close mosques, Reform synagogues?"
This week, we continue our conversation with Professor Moshe Koppel, Chairman of the Kohelet Policy Forum, which has been one of the primary forces shaping the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"At the end of the day, someone has the power—either the Court or the Knesset. Why do you trust the Court more?" (Part I of II)
We have already had the pleasure of hearing Professor Moshe Koppel, the Chairman of the Kohelet Policy Forum, on our podcast about a year and a half ago when…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"It's going to get more physically dangerous"
About a month ago, I had the privilege of speaking with Rabbi Arik Ascherman, a man so devoted to human rights that he’s prepared to put his safety on the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisAcross the street from the Knesset, there's a building going up that has no fences—intentionally
It is difficult, in these turbulent times, to focus on almost anything Israel-related that is not somehow connected to the current explosive political…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhy Israeli kids needs a more robust Jewish education and how the Diaspora, ironically, can help
A couple months ago, I had the privilege to sit with Michal Cotler-Wunsh, a jurist and former member of Knesset. We split our conversation into two parts. Part…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisThe Israel milestone we risk overshadowing
With the political / constitutional / judicial tensions in Israel still running high, we will naturally continue to cover the proposed judicial reform as the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Am I Jewish or Israeli?"—One of Israel's most respected religious authorities believes Israelis increasingly feel they have to choose
The current tumult in Israeli life is largely political, focused to a degree on the coalition that Prime Minister Netanyahu has assembled, and to a much…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"We'd be Hungary, not a liberal democracy"
In the first part of our conversation with Professor Yaniv Roznai, we discussed two of the four components of the proposed Judicial Reform: (1) the selection…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhat's this "Judicial Reform" crisis really all about?
Ordinarily, we try to ensure that Israel from the Inside covers many different dimensions of the mosaic known as Israeli life. We do politics and security, but…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"It's not that we'd have no government; we'd have no country"
Israel is embroiled in a political upheaval, perhaps the most profound in its history (though there have been others that at least came close), a seismic…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIs a "Constitutional Crisis" brewing over Judicial Reform
In our podcast this week, we aim to help everyone understand better what is really at stake in the battle of the judiciary. We speak with the Times of Israel's…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"I believe in the Israeli public very, very deeply"
With Netanyahu’s government finally formed and protestors taking to the streets in Tel Aviv, we turn this week to a conversation I had with Michal…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"The Chief Rabbinate’s policies have no precedent in Jewish law"
According to a report issued this week by the Israeli Democracy Institute, by 2030, the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel will comprise 16% of the population…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis“No one has the privilege to act or talk as if ‘the country is doomed’"
The audio link above is to a brief excerpt of our conversation with Rabbi Seth Farber, a visionary, courageous Orthodox rabbi who has taken on the Chief…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Doomed to live together"- Bedouin and Jews in Negev
In this week’s episode, we speak with Matan Yaffe, the co-founder of Desert Stars. About nine years ago, Matan was ambushed by four young Bedouins while…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisNot bad decisions, but no decisions at all
In several columns since Israel’s election, we’ve pointed to the chaos and lawlessness that has overtaken the Negev and the ways in which that contributed to…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisIn moments like these, are conversations about Israel really possible?
Abi Dauber Sterne is a Jewish educator, organizational leader and the co-author, with Robbie Gringras, of Stories for the Sake of Argument. Their new book is a…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Woke Anti-Semitism" in the US -- should Israel also be worried?
According to the Reut Institute, in addition to all the challenges to Jewish life represented by the radical left (or “woke” world, as some call it), there is…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisMeir Kahane's "love and hate of his fellow Jews"
“I'm listening to the discourse around these elections, and there are those who are saying, like Tom Friedman, ‘the sky is falling in. Israel is finished. The…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisHow Yair Lapid (accidentally) campaigned for Itamar Ben-Gvir
At this writing, Tuesday afternoon on Election Day, Israeli news is not yet allowed to publish exit polls, and what sort of coalition may emerge is anyone’s…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisDark Days of October
One week from tomorrow, Israelis will head to the polls for the fifth time in about two and a half years. Why Israel ends up going to the polls so often, and…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisHas Judaism now become synonymous with Zionism?
That Israel plays a looming role in Jewish life — both among admirers and among critics — is obvious. Still, though, Judaism and Zionism are not the same…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"Let’s get physical"
Many of the columns and podcast episodes in Israel from the Inside have touched on the notion of the “new Jew,” Zionism’s drive not only to create a sovereign…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhy does Iran Really Hate Israel?
With a new “Iran deal” in the works (though whether it will come to be is impossible to say), we turned for this week’s podcast to my colleague at Shalem…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhy so many elections? Because Israelis agree on too much. And why you shouldn't worry about a Kahanist running for Knesset
Dr. Einat Wilf is a leading thinker on Israel, Zionism, foreign policy and education. She was a member of the Israeli Parliament from 2010 to 2013, where she…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"If I had a sermon ...."
Before getting to today’s topic below, a quick word about this Wednesday’s podcast on the subject of Iran, with Colonel Dr. Eran Lerman. With a new “Iran deal”…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"We'll have what they're having" - Israeli parents insist that they, too, want to attend a Mechinah
The Mechinah movement in Israel, which we’ve mentioned several times, has existed for decades, but really took off after the assassination of Prime Minster…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisAre Israeli campuses vulnerable to what has happened at American universities?
Yes, President Biden has visited, and yes, there are elections coming up. Yes, relations with Saudi Arabia may be warming up. Turkey, too. But it’s so far been…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisDo Israelis really want an end to aliyah?
On this week of July 4th, a conversation with an American Jew who, as ambassador, had to give up his American citizenship in order to serve his country. For…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisAbortion Law in Israel ... in light of Roe v Wade
With all eyes in the U.S. focused on the forthcoming Supreme Court decision which might upend Roe v. Wade after fifty years of abortion rights for American…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel GordisWhy was Israel Created?
Now that we’ve celebrated Israel’s 74th anniversary, we’re officially into the 75th year of Israel’s life. Is that young? Old? Truth is, it’s somewhere in the…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"The state will not come on a silver platter"
This Wednesday, late afternoon, thousands of Israelis will take part in a ceremony that’s almost unheard of outside of Israel. It’s called a tekes ma’avar, a…
Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis"The Enemy Within" — A terror attack in the Negev ignites a long simmering issue
This cover from the magazine section of Makor Rishon, an Israeli newspaper, captured a long-brewing sentiment. The headline reads “The Enemy Within.” The…