Ask Haviv Anything
- Folgen
- 160
- Erscheint
- mehrmals pro Woche
- Letzte Folge
- 19. Okt. 2026
Über den Podcast
"Ask Haviv Anything" is a podcast about history, a podcast you, dear listener, will help to shape and direct, focusing not just on what I want to talk about but on what you want to learn and discuss. Nothing is off limits. We're going to talk about big and painful things, and also beautiful and fascinating things, wars and identities and painful history. And also more light-hearted things. Humor matters, especially when facing tough subjects. Join me on this journey. A podcast by Haviv Rettig Gur
Folgen 160
155: American and Israeli Jews don’t understand each other, with Ed Rettig
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
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American and Israeli Jews make up nearly 90% of world Jewry, yet when they talk to each other, they more often than not talk past each other. Like ships passing in the night. To unpack why, Haviv is joined by his father, Rabbi Dr. Ed Rettig. Born in the US, Ed moved to Israel at 18, fought on the front lines of the Yom Kippur War just months later, and went on to become a Jerusalem police prosecutor, a rabbi, and a sociologist of the Jewish people.
Together, they break down the six hidden fault lines dividing the world’s two great Jewish civilizations: how radical American Protestantism turned American Judaism into a "religion of choice" while Israel remained a Middle Eastern "religion of fate"; why secular Judaism thrives in Israel but struggles to survive two generations in America; why "separation of church and state" and "separation of religion and state" mean opposite things; how each community understands and wields power after October 7; and how the centrality of sacrifice shapes the way they see the world.
This episode is dedicated by Michael Kapnick in memory of Max Steinberg, z"l, an American kid from Los Angeles who fell as a Golani lone soldier in Gaza in 2014, and whose life and sacrifice embody the bond between our two different worlds.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
154: How Israel broke pan-Arabism, and what that means for Iran, with Dan Schueftan
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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In the 1950s and 60s, Gamal Abdel Nasser promised the Arab world that unity would erase the humiliation of 1948 and ultimately destroy Israel. Instead, it led to the devastation of 1967. Enter Anwar Sadat, who engineered a limited war in 1973 not to conquer Israel militarily, but to deliver a psychological shock that would force American intervention and secure Egypt’s national interests over pan-Arab fantasies. Today, Israel faces a new regional axis led by Iran, fueled by religious redemption rather than secular nationalism. Dan Schueftan joins the podcast to unpack the strategic genius of Sadat, the miscalculations of President Carter, and the historical blueprint Israeli leaders are working from as they seek to break the Iranian ring of fire today.
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This episode is sponsored by David Allouch and dedicated to his friend Jake Marlow, whose Hebrew name was Yaakov Avraham ben Moshe, a talented musician who was murdered on October 7, 2023 while rescuing partygoers at the Nova festival where he had been working security. This episode is also dedicated to Eden Yerushalmi and the five other hostages murdered alongside her in August 2024, and to all the tzaddikim (righteous) who were murdered on October 7. It is also dedicated as “a tribute to the memory of Israel’s fallen soldiers and to the courage of the roaring lions of the IDF and the IAF in their battle against evil.”
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. On Patreon and Substack, you can also ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
153: Where was Netanyahu on 7/10? With Elliot Kaufman
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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On October 7 and in the months that followed, Israel’s leaders were fighting Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran -- and each other. Where was Netanyahu on October 7 and its aftermath? Did Washington’s push for de-escalation prolong the fighting? And why have American Jews struggled to mobilize against the rising antisemitism that followed October 7?
The Wall Street Journal’s Elliot Kaufman joins the podcast to answer these questions and discuss his new book, In the War Room: The Inside Story of Israel's Fight Against Hamas and the Iranian Axis, written with Jerusalem Post military analyst Yonah Jeremy Bob. The book explores the bitter rivalries, catastrophic failures and bold and successful decisions that have shaped the war and reshaped the Middle East.
In the War Room is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/War-Room-Israels-Against-Iranian/dp/B0G2JWY3TG
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This episode is sponsored by the Tikvah’s Millstone Scholars program. A unique program designed for those middle-school years when young people begin deciding what they believe and who they want to become.
For parents and grandparents wondering what comes after the bar or bat mitzvah, Millstone offers substantive, serious learning. This isn’t more Hebrew school; it’s a selective national honors program for seventh- and eighth-graders. Students meet weekly in small cohorts to study Jewish civilization, modern Israel, and the Jewish ideas that inspired America. Through primary sources and guided, seminar discussion, they develop the confidence to become proud Jews, proud Americans, and future leaders.
Millstone offers in-person and online cohorts across thirty cities. Classes begin the week of October 18. You can learn more and apply at https://tikvah.org/haviv.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. On Patreon and Substack, you can also ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
152: Is Israeli society tearing itself apart? With Micah Goodman
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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Most Israelis agree on almost everything that matters. So why does it feel like the country is coming apart?
Two weeks before election day, Dr. Micah Goodman returns with two stories about Israel that contradict each other and are both true.
We look at two Israels: the one held together by sacrifice and solidarity, the one consumed by grievance, fear, and political loyalty – and the millions of Israelis who live in both mental worlds simultaneously. And we ask a harder question: How much of our division is real and how much is cultivated by leaders whose power depends on it?
A conversation about Israel’s hidden consensus, its failing politics, and the peace Israelis need to make with one another.
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This episode is sponsored by the Tikvah’s Millstone Scholars program. A unique program designed for those middle-school years when young people begin deciding what they believe and who they want to become.
For parents and grandparents wondering what comes after the bar or bat mitzvah, Millstone offers substantive, serious learning. This isn’t more Hebrew school; it’s a selective national honors program for seventh- and eighth-graders. Students meet weekly in small cohorts to study Jewish civilization, modern Israel, and the Jewish ideas that inspired America. Through primary sources and guided, seminar discussion, they develop the confidence to become proud Jews, proud Americans, and future leaders.
Millstone offers in-person and online cohorts across thirty cities. Classes begin the week of October 18. You can learn more and apply at https://tikvah.org/haviv.
--
If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. On Patreon and Substack, you can also ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
151: Could the hostages have come home sooner? With Brett McGurk
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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What actually brought hostages home, and why did it take so long? Brett McGurk, who led Biden’s efforts to free the October 7 hostages, joins Haviv to discuss his new book, Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages. From secret Saudi talks to the showdown over Rafah, he describes the decisions, failures and breakthroughs behind the negotiations -- and why he concluded that a deal would remain out of reach while Yahya Sinwar was alive.
You can buy the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/843630/brink-by-brett-mcgurk/
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This episode is sponsored by a friend of the podcast, Professor Robert Hockett, a Rhodes Scholar and professor of law and finance at Cornell University, who wishes regularly to support this podcast and this community, he writes us, which in his words “demonstrate with astonishing frequency that theology and history in the Middle East do not code easily as Western left or right, and that treating these subjects deeply, not facily, actually makes them more comprehensible, not more obscure or intractable.”
Thank you so much to Prof. Hockett for his support.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. On Patreon and Substack, you can also ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
150: The case for Netanyahu, with Gadi Taub
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
We have merch! Find our awesome new mug and hat at https://shop.askhavivanything.com.
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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Gadi Taub, historian, Hebrew University lecturer and one of the most serious defenders of the Israeli right, says October 7 was a wake-up call that half the country slept through. With elections on October 27, he and Haviv argue it out. Was Netanyahu the war's master strategist or the man who presided over the complacency before it? Was the information war lost or never winnable? They also clash over hostage deals, Gaza aid, Ben Gvir and Arab-sector crime, the attorney general, and whether Israel suffers from tyranny of the majority or of the minority.
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This episode is sponsored by the Technion.
Israel became the startup nation by turning talent into strength, ideas into industries. For more than a century, the Technion has trained the engineers, the scientists, the entrepreneurs who transformed Israel into the startup nation and delivered breakthroughs that changed the world.
Now Technion scientists are advancing the next wave of innovation to help power Israel's next chapter.
Israel, engineered by the Technion.
Join us. Visit https://ats.org/rebuild.
Thank you to the Technion for dedicating this episode.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
149: Patriotism is too important to leave to extremists, with Prof. Alex Yakobson
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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Hebrew University historian Prof. Alexander Yakobson returns for a subscriber Q&A: Did the Arabs really “miss an opportunity” in 1947? Can Europe reclaim its national identities without falling into old, dangerous chauvinisms? What happens if Israel’s “modern” class walks away after years of war and a rightward political shift? Do liberal democracies fuel extremism when they abandon patriotism?
From Germany’s struggle with its past to a pointed debate over Israelis leaving their country, we ask what holds a nation together and what happens when those bonds are tested.
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This episode is sponsored by David Allouch and dedicated in honor of his dear friends Ezra and Michele Chammah for their enduring friendship and unconditional support throughout the years, and to the memory of his late father Abraham Ben Haim who passed away on 25 Elul, 2023, and his mother Sarah Simcha who passed away on 6 Adar, 2025.
Thank you, David, for that dedication.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
148: What can you do for Palestinians? Stop supporting Hamas
This episode we are trying something a bit different. First you will hear a three minute video by American journalist Ayman Mohyeldin, and then a 12 minute response by Haviv Rettig Gur. This segment was …
Shownotes
This episode we are trying something a bit different. First you will hear a three minute video by American journalist Ayman Mohyeldin, and then a 12 minute response by Haviv Rettig Gur. This segment was originally published to our YouTube channel and I encourage everyone to watch it there so you can also see the visuals.
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
On Patreon and Substack, you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
147: Are the allegations in NAZA true?
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything ), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/ ), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything ), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/ ), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur ).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/ ) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur ).
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Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews and lectures that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.
In our current episode we ask: Are the allegations in NAZA true?
If you appreciate what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
146: Israel's political system worked. Then we tried to fix it. With Dr. Shany Mor
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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Israel’s democracy wasn't designed in a grand constitutional convention. It was patched together quickly in the middle of a war in 1949. Yet, for nearly 80 years, this chaotic system miraculously prevented civil war and built a powerhouse state. Dr. Shany Mor, lecturer in political thought at Reichman University, joins the podcast ahead of the October elections to explain the hidden brilliance of the Israeli electoral system and how well-intentioned reforms like raising the electoral threshold spectacularly backfired to empower the extremes.
If you’ve ever wondered why Israeli politics looks insane and still somehow works -- or whether it still will as the country’s crises seem to accumulate -- this is the episode for you.
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This episode was sponsored by Congregation Adath Jeshurun of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. “Congregation Adath Jeshurun was founded in 1858 and later became one of the original synagogues of the Conservative Movement. We at AJ, as it is widely known, are deeply appreciative of the historical perspective, political analyses, and theological contexts that Haviv provides. May we go from strength to strength.”
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
145: Waking up from our rage-filled slumber
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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Rosh Hashanah is the only major Jewish holiday that begins in total darkness — no full moon, no light on the road. And it is there, in deepest darkness, that the new year is born, that the new light kindles.
Jewish tradition teaches that this pivot from darkness to light is a time of freedom, when Joseph first came out of Pharaoh’s dungeon, when the Jews first tasted freedom from Egyptian bondage.
This Rosh Hashana, we ask what happens when an entire industry farms our attention for profit. From Proverbs to Rambam to the Ramchal's blind man walking the riverbank, we show that attention -- the world's most profitable commodity -- is also our most precious personal possession. That, at least, is a core principle of Judaism. And if it’s true, then the attention-hording rage-scrolling of social media, which now dominates our culture and claims much of our attention, is a form of slavery.
This Rosh Hashanah, make this moment of darkness and awakenings a pivot in your own life, a moment for reclaiming your mind.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
144: Inside the fight to change Haredi politics, with Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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Israel helped rebuild the Haredi world after the Holocaust. It funds its institutions and sends its children to defend it. Why won’t more Haredim join them?
Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer understands the anger. A Haredi rabbi who enlisted after October 7, he also understands why putting on an Israeli uniform can feel like crossing an existential boundary -- and why that boundary must change.
In this installment of our election series, we explore the struggle inside ultra-Orthodox Israel: the parties and rabbis who hold power, the emerging challengers, and the growing demand for education, work, military service and a political voice. It’s a conversation about gratitude, shared sacrifice, and whether a community built to preserve the Jewish past can take responsibility for its future.
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This episode is sponsored by an anonymous listener who asked us to say: “Thank you to Haviv for this podcast. Things get noisy in the diaspora. We really appreciate your clarity and voice.”
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
143: How to win the Israeli election
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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Israel's first election since October 7 will be held on October 27 -- and the system it runs through is one of the simplest in the free world, which is exactly why the results look insane from outside.
One district: the whole country. One ballot slip. You vote for a party, never a person.
In this primer, Haviv walks through how a slip of paper becomes 120 Knesset seats: the 3.25% threshold that erased Bennett and Shaked's party in 2019 by just 1,380 votes, the Bader-Ofer leftover math that quietly rewards big parties and can decide the election, and the surplus-vote agreements filed by October 16 that could hand a bloc the last two seats -- and the country.
Plus: why the most chaotic Knesset in memory produced the most stable government since 1973, why religiosity predicts an Israeli's vote better than income or ethnicity, the Haredi demographic numbers nobody can wish away, and the most under-covered story of the cycle -- Arab turnout.
By the end you'll know what to watch on election night, and why Israeli broadcasts will be excitedly obsessing about "Bader-Ofer" on election night.
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This episode is sponsored by David Allouch and is dedicated “to the next generation, among whom are my amazing nieces, Tali and Elsa; my equally amazing nephew, Ilan; and the children of my dear friend Binyamina, Shmuel, Freidel Esther and Eliyahu. May they all continue to thrive and bring their intellectual creativity to the world, as their ancestors did before them.”
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
142: Can Gaza ever move on from Hamas? With Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
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Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
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Can Gaza ever be rebuilt while Hamas remains armed? Gazan-American writer Ahmed Fouad Al-Khatib returns to trace Hamas’s rise — from Islamist charities and the slow remaking of Gazan society to authoritarian rule, October 7, and ruinous war. Drawing on his childhood in Gaza and his new book, Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages, Ahmed argues that foreign aid, international NGOs, and Al Jazeera helped Hamas entrench itself while ordinary Gazans paid the price. He and Haviv confront the hardest questions: Can Hamas be separated from Gazan society? Could a movement built around armed “resistance” ever disarm? And is there still a path from permanent war to Palestinian nation-building and coexistence?
Ahmed's new book, Hamas and its Two Million Hostages is available at:
https://www.amazon.com/Hamas-Its-Two-Million-Hostages/dp/1760646156/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WYTUN2AK9KHF&di
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This episode is sponsored by the family of Dr. Chalo Smukler, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, physician, and proud American Jew, on the occasion of his unveiling.
Born in Paraguay and descended from Jews who fled persecution in Eastern Europe, Chalo was a leader from a young age in the Jewish youth movement Hanoar Hatzioni and first moved to Israel at sixteen. There he discovered a free society, a sense of Jewish brotherhood, and a refuge that would remain central to his life.
He lived with humility, kindness, courage, and an extraordinary capacity to make every person feel heard and loved. He believed profoundly in the Jewish people, in Israel, and in tikun olam, the responsibility we share to build a better future for all humanity, Jewish or not.
While he would have been dismayed by what Jews around the world have faced since his passing, he would have taken solace in a truth he deeply believed: that when the Jewish people stand together, there is nothing we cannot overcome.
To all those whose lives he touched, his memory will forever be a blessing.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
141: Why Western ideas crash and burn in the Middle East, with Simon Sebag Montefiore
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Shownotes
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Why does the West misunderstand the Middle East? Best-selling historian Simon Sebag Montefiore returns to the pod to discuss The Cauldron, his sweeping new history of the region, from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of its modern states to oil, Islamism, revolution and the Arab Spring.
The book is a kind of prehistory of present-day Western stumbling in the Middle East. Western powers repeatedly arrive with grand political theories — imperialism, nationalism, socialism, liberal democracy — only to watch them change beyond recognition or collapse on contact with the region’s deeper identities, loyalties and social contracts. It is a conversation about the states that endured, the ones that failed, and why the Middle East remains so intensely debated in the West — and so poorly understood.
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This episode is sponsored by the Technion.
Israel became the Startup Nation by turning talent into strength, ideas into industries.
For more than a century, the Technion has trained the engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who transformed Israel into the Startup Nation and delivered breakthroughs that changed the world.
Now Technion scientists are advancing the next wave of innovation to help power Israel’s next chapter.
Israel. Engineered by the Technion.
Join us. Visit https://ats.org/rebuild .
--
If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
140: Van Jones returns - The hard questions of Black-Jewish relations
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--
Van Jones came on the podcast a few months ago and said some things that lit up our inbox. A lot of praise, a lot of pushback.
So he came back to answer your questions.
Why did progressives spend twenty years building hierarchies of oppression and leave Jews off the list? Why do Black students on campus struggle to see Jewish vulnerability? What do you do with a community that hears "we're like you, we're Jewish," and thinks: do you want to trade spots?
Van doesn't dodge. He also pushes back on how Jews frame the conversation. It's an honest conversation about campuses, Farrakhan and Black antisemitism, the NAACP voting to disarm Israel, and why the Jewish world "feels like David, but looks like Goliath" to outsiders. Van gives ground where he thinks the critics are right and takes it back where he thinks Jews are getting the Black community badly wrong.
It’s a conversation that doesn't happen enough, and which Van is committed to advancing. That's why he founded the EXODUS Leadership Forum that brings together Jewish, Black and Jewish-Black leaders and activists. You can find out more about their work, including the 70 dinners Van discusses on the podcast, here: https://gather.exodusdinner.org .
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Today’s episode is sponsored by SAPIR, the quarterly journal edited by New York Times columnist Bret Stephens. SAPIR’s tagline is, “Ideas for a Thriving Jewish Future,” which is one reason the journal has devoted time and space to the future of Black-Jewish relations, one of the most powerful -- and imperiled -- political alliances in American history. The relationship is important to the thriving of both communities, SAPIR editors believe. I highly recommend Dana White’s article from a couple years ago on the role historically Black colleges and universities once played in building the relationship between Black and Jewish Americans.
SAPIR is, unbelievably, free. Yes, you can receive this beautiful and enriching publication at your door four times a year at no cost. Subscribe today at http://sapirjournal.org/Haviv -- and your subscription will begin with the next issue on the theme of Influence. They won’t even ask you for credit card information. That’s http://sapirjournal.org/Haviv, or click the link in the episode show notes.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
139: Dara Horn’s final solution to the Jewish question
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Dr. Dara Horn didn't want to write this book. She wanted to write more acclaimed novels. But after she published her bestselling essay collection People Love Dead Jews, readers kept cornering her with their own horror stories of antisemitism and one unfair question: can you help? She became the antisemitism Lorax.
So she wrote the answer, and gave it the humdrum, unprovocative title: The Final Solution to the Jewish Question. It’s out September 1.
Dara joins the podcast to talk about why antisemitism isn't a bigotry but a lie told by people who want power ("Jews are destroying what you value the most"); how a 1940s American Jewish strategy to be seen as a religion rather than a people left today's Jews defenseless; why American Holocaust education "eliminates pattern recognition" and outsources everything else people should learn about Jews -- about living Jews, not just dead ones -- to TikTok; and why "Zionism is genocide" is a KGB slogan older than most of the people chanting it.
Plus: Harvard, Durban, data-poisoning the AI, Muslim allies with the Hebrew הנני tattooed on their forearms, and why Dara thinks this is the Jewish people's Queen Esther moment.
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This episode is sponsored by SAPIR, the quarterly journal of ideas for a thriving Jewish future, edited by New York Times columnist Bret Stephens. One of the most astonishing things about SAPIR, beyond the fabulous essays -- more than a few written by guests who’ve come on this podcast, including Reihan Salam and today’s guest Dara Horn -- is that it is free if you live in the United States!
The print publication is beautiful and enriching. Every issue is devoted to a specific theme. If you sign up today your free annual subscription will begin with the forthcoming issue on the timely theme of Influence.
Subscribe today at http://sapirjournal.org/Haviv – completely free of charge; they won’t even ask you for credit card information. That’s http://sapirjournal.org/Haviv, or click the link in the episode show notes.
--
If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
138: Why antisemitism works, with Prof. Ruth Wisse
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Antisemitism is no mere prejudice. It's a potent political technology, perhaps the most effective negative campaign and coalition-builder in modern politics. Prof. Ruth Wisse, professor emerita of Harvard, now a senior fellow at the Tikvah Fund, joins the podcast to help us trace the “politics of the pointing finger” from Wilhelm Marr’s Antisemitenliga to the Arab League, from the Harvard campus’s grievance coalitions after October 7 to the rising figures on the progressive left and the populist right who find Jews the easiest, least costly villain on which to foist their anxieties and fears. Wisse argues that Jews cannot win this fight by trying argue with the charges being leveled at them; that Israel’s creation remains the great modern resurrection of a people; and that Jewish (and American) self-confidence is the only real answer to this challenge.
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This episode is sponsored by Club Z. I spend a lot of time on campuses talking to young Jews who call themselves anti-Zionist without being able to articulate what the word actually means — without knowing the basic history of how Israel came to exist. That's not their fault. Nobody taught them. Club Z is working to close that gap. Since 2011, they've been teaching Jewish teens their own story. They focus on identity and history before advocacy, helping to transform students' understanding of Zionism from a slogan into a real, explicable word that speaks of the survival and thriving of a nation. They run year-round programs in New York, New Jersey, Boston, LA, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and new cohorts are forming right now. You can find more info at http://ClubZ.org.
Here's the thing parents need to hear: You don't control what happens on campus. But you can college-proof your kid before they get there — give them the history, the confidence, the identity, so nobody can talk them out of who they are. That's what Club Z does for your child.
This Labor Day weekend, Club Z is bringing a hundred teens to Central Florida for The Rising, a national leadership gathering featuring speakers including Colonel Richard Kemp and Shabbos Kestenbaum. There are only about 20 spots left, and no teen is turned away for lack of funds.
Visit http://clubz.org/the-rising and use code ASKHAVIV200 for a listener discount.
--
If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
137: What does Qatar want?
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Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything ), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/ ), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur ).And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/ ) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur ).--Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews and lectures that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.In our current episode we ask: What does Qatar want?If you appreciate what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
136: Why not two states from the start?
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And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/ ) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur ).
--
Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews and lectures that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.
In our current episode we ask: Why not two states from the start?
If you appreciate what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
135: Why don’t Israelis trust the UN?
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Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything ), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/ ), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur ).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/ ) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur ).
--
Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews and lectures that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.
In our current episode we ask: Why don’t Israelis trust the UN?
If you appreciate what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
134: Was Gaza still occupied after 2005?
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Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything ), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/ ), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur ).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/ ) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur ).
--
Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews and lectures that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.
In our current episode we ask: Was Gaza still occupied after 2005?
If you appreciate what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
133: Mamdani and America’s new left, with Reihan Salam
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Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
--
The rise of Zohran Mamdani and the DSA are about far more than one politician or radical political moment. Manhattan Institute president Reihan Salam joins us to explain why highly educated, upwardly mobile young Americans are embracing radical socialist and "Third Worldist" politics. We decode explain the cultural and psychological shifts powering America’s new left: the search for identity among young Americans, including a rapidly changing Muslim community, how elite universities have become the "madrasas" of a new political identity, the surprising parallels between early 20th-century Jewish radicals and today's Muslim activists, and why a generation disconnected from traditional family structures is finding meaning in political radicalism.
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This episode is sponsored by our friends at the Technion.
Israel became the Startup Nation by turning talent into strength. Ideas into industries.
For more than a century, the Technion has trained the engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who transformed Israel into the Startup Nation and delivered breakthroughs that changed the world.
Now Technion scientists are advancing the next wave of innovation to help power Israel’s next chapter.
Israel. Engineered by the Technion.
Join us. Visit http://ats.org/rebuild .
--
If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
132: What is happening now in Gaza? With Dr. Shira Efron
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To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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The Gaza war may have stopped, but the struggle over Gaza’s future is only beginning. Hamas is rebuilding, Gazans remain displaced, and the American plan for disarmament, reconstruction and new governance appears stalled. Dr. Shira Efron, Gaza expert and senior fellow at RAND, joins Haviv to explain what is actually happening on the ground -- and why Israel’s failure to offer Gazans an alternative to Hamas may be its greatest strategic mistake of the war.
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This episode is sponsored by Dee Dee Whitman and dedicated to Dr. Gary B. Witman, her late husband and father of their three wonderful adult children. In Dee Dee's words: "To my children, who all chose their respective spouses both wisely and lovingly, and who, not accidentally, are all Jewish. Our purpose in this life is to be who we are and to leave this Earth a little better than we entered it. Just marrying fellow Jews, bringing up Jewish children and being proud of who we are is a win not only for our family but for our religion. Gary and I are lucky parents and grandparents."
--
If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
131: Why Christians are disappearing from the Middle East, with Amb. George Deek
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Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
--
Israel’s first special envoy to the Christian world, Ambassador George Deek, joins Haviv for a sweeping conversation about Christians in Israel, Palestinian Christians, the disappearance of ancient Christian communities across the Middle East, and the strange new alliance targeting Israel from both the far left and far right. Drawing on his own family’s extraordinary journey from Palestinian refugees to full participation in Israeli society, Deek offers a powerful argument for responsibility over victimhood -- and for building a future rather than remaining imprisoned by the past.
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This episode is dedicated by Peter Fine of New York to his family in Israel. In his words: “Originally, my family’s name was Zavodnick. They came from Mezritch in today's northwest Ukraine. My maternal grandfather was the oldest of 5 brothers and came to New York via Canada around WW1. He came for many reasonsl but the one relayed to me the most was the fear of Cossacks and not wanting to subscribe to the ‘death sentence’ for Jewish people serving in the Russian Army.
“After immigration to the US was essentially shut down for East European Jews in the 1920s, my grandfather's four younger brothers emigrated to Palestine in the 1920s and 1930s. Most settled in and around Haifa. Name changes to Bar-Akiva and Zavod followed. They were an incredibly bright, energetic group. They started businesses and kibbutzim while one brother went to Spain in the 30s to fight with the anti-fascists and died in battle.
“I had only a vague awareness of this family growing up in New York as my parents were preoccupied with the daily struggle of making a living, raising kids and caring for indigent relatives stuck in poorer neighborhoods in the city. As a student at NYU in the early 1980s, I met a cousin, Oded, who was a wandering soul and was working in a cafe in the East Village. He opened my eyes to the treasure of my mom’s family in Israel. A backpacking summer in Israel and then Europe in ’83 changed everything. I heard stories of the founding of Israel, relatives who had passed and of course service in various wars. I stayed with family in a kibbutz near the Lebanon border and the Carmel neighborhood of Haifa. We struggled to communicate in broken Hebrew, some English and a bit of Yiddish. I have traveled to Israel many times since and cherish my relationships with cousins there. Their courage, their intelligence and deep belief in the Zionist dream is inspiring. I often wonder how these decent, compassionate souls have been transformed into ‘colonialists’ and ‘imperialists’ by the mob that dominates the media and public discourse in the States. It’s outrageous."
Thank you to Peter for sponsoring the episode and dedicating it to his family and its remarkable story. Many listeners have shared with us their family’s journey through the tumultuous 20th century, helping us all to better understand our collective story.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
130: Here's to the next 250 years
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Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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America’s 250th birthday came and went. Americans celebrated – or fretted about – their past and looked forward to their future.
Now, a week later, recorded on an ordinary Thursday that commemorates no great war or rebellion, Haviv offers belated good wishes for America’s next 250 years.
The real miracle of America, after all, isn’t in epic triumphs of the sort commemorated on July 4, but in the ordinary, messy days between the holidays, in the humble, everyday pragmatism, built-in institutional humility and wild inventiveness that gave the world its first large-scale democracy.
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This episode is sponsored by the adult children of David Altman and Eugene Roberts, two eminent Jewish-American rocket scientists who -- with full US government approval -- contributed vital expertise to Israel’s security. May their memories be a blessing! Am Yisrael Chai!
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
129: Iran is closer to freedom than you think, with Armin Navabi
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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Is the Iranian regime finally on the path toward collapse? In this episode, Iran-born political analyst Armin Navabi (from the YouTube channel Liberty Politics) takes us inside the mind of the Iranian people and the fractured Islamic Republic. We break down the four warring factions within the regime, the controversial strategy behind the Trump MOU (and why it might be doing more harm to the regime than the war itself), and why the Iranian resistance rallied behind Reza Pahlavi. Plus, why arming the Iranian people might achieve what air strikes could not.
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This episode is sponsored by Torie Sepah and Ron Shatzmiller, husband and wife physicians, who run the Pasadena Neuropsychiatry Center in California. They are proud to be one of the few elite providers of Brainsway Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, an Israeli technology used for treatment-resistant depression. Ron was born in Israel and Torie was born in Iran. They would like to dedicate this episode to the memory of the 40,000 peaceful protesters murdered by the Iranian regime.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
128: Iran, Gaza and the new American right, with Sohrab Ahmari
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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In this episode, Haviv sits down with Sohrab Ahmari -- Iranian-born American conservative writer, JD Vance confidant and US editor at Unherd -- to hash out the big questions that now divide Israelis and Americans.
Is the obsessive focus on Gaza and the West Bank legitimate moral scrutiny, or antisemitism wearing a new mask? Can Israel survive its undeterrable enemies -- Hamas, Hezbollah, and an Iranian regime that has spent 47 years treating its destruction as theology -- while its key ally fractures? Does Israel rely too much on "omnibelicosity?" Was Israel once a "moral beacon" of the West? And what benefit is there to such a status when facing a multi-front war against a theological death cult that demands your destruction?
There are no comforting answers here. Only brutal dilemmas that will shape the next decade in the Middle East and in the US-Israel relationship.
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This episode is sponsored by Julie and Frank Cohen and dedicated to the memory of those murdered on October 7, 2023.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
127: Does Islam hate Jews? With Prof. Meir Litvak
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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What’s the real history of antisemitism in the Muslim world?
Haviv sits down with Prof. Meir Litvak of Tel Aviv University, one of Israel’s foremost scholars of modern Shi’a Islam, Iran, Islamism and Islamist antisemitism, to trace the story of Muslim hatred of Jews from Muhammad’s encounter with the Jews of Medina to the dhimmi system that arose in early Islam, from the medieval mix of tolerance and discrimination to the modern-day shock of European power, Zionism and the 1948 war.
The result of this sweeping survey is neither a comforting myth of Muslim-Jewish harmony nor a simplistic story of eternal persecution. It is a harder, more disturbing picture: a long religious tradition of Jewish inferiority transformed in the modern age -- by European conspiracy theories, Muslim political collapse and the humiliation of defeat by Jews -- into one of the world’s most openly genocidal forms of antisemitism.
And the final question is the hardest one: can Muslim societies find a way out?
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This episode was sponsored by an individual who chose to remain anonymous but asked us to share this message: “I was invited to hear a former IDF officer, blinded in a Hamas tunnel, speak about the Israel Guide Dog Center. I wish to highlight this incredible organization. It is far more than a place for adorable puppies -- it’s a lifeline for people across Israel.
“As the country’s only internationally accredited guide dog and service dog organization, it is transforming the lives of Israelis every day by providing guide dogs that restore independence and safety for the blind and visually impaired, PTSD service dogs that bring stability and healing to IDF veterans, and emotional support dogs that offer comfort to children with special needs and families coping with trauma.”
Thank to our sponsor for that dedication. The Israel Guide Dog Center can be found at https://israelguidedog.org.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
126: Will your kid's best friend be a robot? With Dr. Micah Goodman
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee …
Shownotes
To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur).
And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur).
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Haviv sits down with Dr. Micah Goodman, his former Maimonides professor, influential Israeli public intellectual, founder of the educational network Mabua, and co-host of the Hebrew podcast Mifleget Hamakhshavot, to confront what may be the most consequential development in human history.
Micah argues that AI is not another technology. It is technology that creates intelligence, reversing the fundamental pattern of human progress in which human intelligence alone could create technology. We explore the emergence of behaviors no one programmed into these systems, including self-preservation and deception, and why some of the people at the cutting edge of AI assign disturbingly high probabilities to catastrophic outcomes.
But we don't stop at mere doom-saying. We look into the quiet trade-offs already underway in this new world: what happens to our capacity to think, write, and form real human connections when we outsource those functions to machines that do them faster and often better, and with less risk.
Micah argues that in the age of AI, ancient traditions may become more valuable than ever -- not as nostalgia, but as a deliberate compensatory culture to keep our humanity from atrophying.
A calm, upbeat conversation about the end of the world as we knew it, and about fighting to preserve the truly precious things.
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This episode is sponsored by Peter Fine, who asked to dedicate the episode to "my 3 children, Sarah, Robby and Katie, all children of Israel who God-willing will soon beget their own children of Israel. Lovers of family, fun and all things Jewish, they seem to have absorbed the primary lessons of being Jewish: Keep the historical chain of our people going and take joy in being Jewish. I am very proud of the people they have turned out to be.
"I hope they find in the Ask Haviv Anything podcast learning and insight into their history as Jewish people, the history of our cousins in Israel and some insight and language to understand the increasing complexity of living in a world that doesn’t seem to understand us and needs us to explain ourselves in a forthright intelligent way. The podcast helps me and I think will help them in the acquisition of these insights and language."
Thank you, Peter, for that dedication.
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If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected].
Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.
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