The Promised Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The "It Never Bahrains, But It Pours!" Edition Sep 17, 2020

Show notes

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

--It Never Bahrains, But It Pours!--

Did this week's historic signing of historic agreements at the historic White house set us upon new historic path?

--An Exceptional Lockdown--

Do praying and protesting trump a lockdown?

--The Jews Gotta Go?--

Should Israel's public TV network use public money and public airwaves to present to the public something that lots of people in one part of the public find profoundly offensive?

--A Poetry Reading to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Death of Yehuda Amichai--

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, to mark the twentieth anniversary of the death of the great poet, Yehuda Amichai, we each read aloud an Amichai poem we love.

All that and songs by Isaac DaBom!

The "Disobedient? Sure. But Is It Civil?" Edition Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Click here to listen to this week's extra-special, special extra patron-only segment

--But What Future?--

What does the Greek-tragic struggle over leadership of the Yesh Atid ("There is a Future") party say about the future of our politics?

--Disobedient, Sure! But Is It Civil?--

A former Israeli Foreign Minister calls for "civil disobedience" against the government's coronavirus rules and regulations. Has he crossed a line?

--Bestirred--

What events and people mattered most in Israel over the Jewish year now drawing to a close?

--The Arrest of Shoshke Englemayer, The Alter Ego of Artist Ze'ev Englemayer--

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we discuss the arrest last week at the Balfour protests of Shoshke Engelmayer, an alter ego of artist Ze'ev Englemayer, who is a an utterly naked, Outré, bevulva-ed, bare-breasted, lipsticked, bespectacled blond. Shoshke was arrested, absurdly, for 'sexual harassment', but we'll try to understand who she is and what, by her very way of being in the world, she says to us and about us.

All that and songs by the happy, hip-hop collective, Shazamat!

The "N, Na, Nah" Edition Sep 03, 2020

Show notes

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and wunderkind critic Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

--And the Bush Was Not Consumed: On the Surprising Longevity of the Balfour Protests--

The protests in front of Prime Minister Netanyahu's home have lasted almost twice as long as "Occupy Wall Street" and the demonstrations at Tiananmen Square. How come?

--Surfing the Waves (of Corona)--

Naftali Bennett may be Israel's next prime minister, threatening Benjamin Netanyahu from the right. Why was he become so popular, during a pandemic?

--N, Na, Nah, Nah-to-Uman--

Israel's coronavirus czar begs Ukraine's president to ban ultra-Orthodox Israelis from visiting the grave of their patron-saint Rabbi on the Jewish New Year, for fear that they'll spread the virus. Is that a step too far?

--Israel is Breaking Records. Infection Records. Should We Worry?--

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we discuss how Israel's infection numbers break records day after day, and yet most of us are pretty ho-hum about it. Why aren't we more freaked out?

All that and the collective genius of Foto Màriana.

The "International" Edition (rerun) Aug 27, 2020

Show notes

Twenty two years ago, a week after Israel celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, a 26 year-old former drag-queen and trans woman won the world's biggest song contest, The Eurovision. She also forever changed the way we Israelis see ourselves.

In this very special edition of The Promised Podcast, Noah tells her story, and explains why he thinks that in this moment of anxiety and dreadful Nation-State laws, Dana International represents the humane and decent Zionism so many of us long for.

The "Good Trouble" Edition Aug 20, 2020

Show notes

Times of Israel Ops & Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag goes to the demonstrations shaking Jerusalem and the country at their foundations, with her daughter as a guide.

Patreon Segment: Skiing the Slopes of the United Arab Emirates

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, Allison, Ohad and Noah ponder the shocking, stunning, amazing breakthrough with the United Arab Emirates and dream about the wages of peace: swoop-swooping down the powdered ski slope of the Mall of the Emirates.

Music

Hadag Nahash – Bomba

The "The Memory & the Blessing" Edition Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

Maybe no one is a better symbol of how Israel is changing (and did more to cause this change) than Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who died this week at 83.

Music

Elohai – Kobi Oz
Hakitzoti – Elitzur Goldsmith

Support the show by becoming a Patron

The "A Song for Peace" Edition Aug 06, 2020

Show notes

From deep in summer doldrums, Noah tells the story of one song that is also, in a way, the story of Israel itself.

Support the show by becoming a Patron

The "My Temple Was Destroyed & All I Got Was This Lousy Podcast" Edition Jul 30, 2020

Show notes

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and Don Futterman discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Listen to this week's Patreon segment

--First and a Half Israel--

Are the people demonstrating each night in front of the Prime Minister's home a new political class, changing all we thought we knew about Israeli politics?

--Ron, Pretender to the Throne?--

Is Israel's next prime minister a dyspeptic 76-year-old named Ron?

--What Is a Museum of the Land of Israel a Museum Of?--

Q: What do you call a museum that has stamps, fire trucks, ancient pottery, and modern art? A: A gorgeous, enchanting mess (or, The Museum of the the Land of Israel).

--Was Israel the Canary in the Coalmine of Cancel Culture?--

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we talk about Matti Friedman's socko new essay in Tablet, "Israel Was Ground Zero for the New Woke Religion: How coverage of the Jewish state became a signifier of the ideological activism that now permeates Western culture." Was Israel the canary in the coalmine of cancel culture?

All that and the garageband wonder of The Genders, in a country that doesn't really have garages.

The "Reflections on the Revolution in Jerusalem" Edition Jul 23, 2020

Show notes

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and wunderkind critic Ohad Zeltzer-Zubida discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

--Reflections on the Revolution in Jerusalem--

Israelis' trust in their leaders has dropped by half in just one month, and each night brings new scenes of police water-cannoning protestors outside PM Netanyahu's house. What happens next?

--Diss Engagement--

Fifteen years ago, Israeli soldiers and police dragged Jewish settlers kicking-and-crying from their homes in Gaza. What was the legacy of this "withdrawal to end all withdrawals"?

--Is It Ethical to Scold People for Not Wearing a Mask?--

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we take on a question sent in this week to Haaretz's moral "Dear Abby": Is It Ethical to Scold People for Not Wearing a Mask on the Street? The old riddle goes, Q: Why do Israelis not have sex in public? A: Because who needs mobs of people crowding in to tell you what you're doing wrong. What's true for coitus is no doubt true for matters pandemical, but should it be?

All that and the keytar genius of Bemet (aka, Hod Moshonov, one of Forbes "30 Under 30")!

The "What Are We Fightin' For?" Edition Jul 16, 2020

Show notes

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

--And It's One, Two, Three, What Are We Fightin' For? (with apologies to both Country Joe and the Fish)--

Huge, angry demonstrations demand that Netanyahu do something about Israel's economic crisis. But what?

--Judging Judges: A Judgmental Judgment--

What's wrong with judging judges?

--And a River Runs Through It--

A kibbutz bars folks from a nearby town from picnicking on the banks of a river that winds through its grounds. Is that o.k.?

--Is There Any Way to Get Away With a Little Getaway?--

For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Summer is here, and we all deserve a vacation. Hotels at the Dead Sea are sold out, and little getaway love-nest cabins up north are getting booked up fast. But is a corona vacation a vacation at all? We share our plans for the summer (concluding that, getaway or no getaway, there's no way to get away).

All that and Avoda Zmanit!

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Promised Podcast

Related Podcasts

1

2

3

4

5

6