The Promised Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The "Angry, Angry Ashkenazim" Edition Mar 26, 2015

Show notes

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

Let the pressure begin?

We discuss Peter Beinart's proposal that it's time for American Jews to lobby the US government to pressure and punish Israel, channeling the Piper Chapman dictum, “Bitches gots to learn.”

"V" for "vanquished" (and you thought it was for "victory"!)

We discuss former defense minister Moshe Arens' assertion that the left’s "anyone-but-Bibi" campaign is what cost them the election, by making Netanyahu seem like an unfairly maligned neophyte.

Angry, angry Ashkenazim

We ask why one white leftist after another expresses crazy rage in crazy ways against the Mizrahi voters who came out to support Netanyahu; why do us privileged folks have so much spleen?

Playlist:

All songs from the hip collection of Mizrahi women artists, “Bat Makom 2”:

Liat Yizhaki – Or Min Ha-MizrachLiron Meyuhas – LailaRakefet Amselem – Yedid NefeshYasmin Levy – La Nave De Olvido

We-the-People have spoken! (What the hell did we say?) Mar 19, 2015

Show notes

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

We-the-People have spoken! (What the hell did we say?)

Allison, Don, and Noah discuss what these elections said, if anything, about the hearts and minds of Israeli voters: Headlines from Tel Aviv to Timbuktu have said that PM Netanyahu won in a landslide, but did he really?

Fear! Uh! What is it good for?

We discuss the fear and fear-mongering at the heart of the election campaigns: Was PM Netanyahu a diabolical genius who played up, played on, and played with our fears, or was he just addressing our deepest concerns?

What the hell do we do now?

We discuss what the left should do now, as it faces several years in the opposition. Elections are like Adam Sandler movies: There's always another coming soon. So what does the left need to do to be ready for the next one?

Playlist:

All songs by the hit art-pop of The Compromises (Ha-Pesharot)

Sea Of Youth Hippo Blues A Day With No You Instrument Tune-up

#IsraElex: The mourning after Bibi's near-death experience Mar 18, 2015

Show notes

Listen to our special election panel with Noah Efron, Debra Kamin, and Gil Troy as they break down the surprising overnight results.

The "Thou Shalt Not be a Dick!" Edition Mar 12, 2015

Show notes

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

Behind the Curtain

We discuss the imminent elections and our expectations. For whom will we be casting our ballots? Why do we support that list? What do we think (or perhaps hope) will be the eventual outcome?

Surprise! No Prize!

Generally considered the country’s highest honor, the Israel Prize is awarded annually on Independence Day. This year the prize will be awarded in only three of its four categories. Why did this occur? Who is to blame?

Thou shall not be a total dick

An NGO called Gesher (or Bridge) recently produced a video which, as part of a “new ten commandments” they’ve formulated, encourages more friendly interactions among politicians. The video includes MKs saying and writing nice things about colleagues across the aisle.

Playlist:

All music by La Vache Qui Rit (הפרה הצוחקת) in honor of their show this week at Ha-Azor:

Opa Cupa (Gypsy Serbia)

Besena Rovena (Gypsy Albania)

Tchavo (Gypsy Manouche)

Disapozhkelekh (Trad. Ukraine)

Death, Tyranny & the Pursuit of Jihad in the US Congress Mar 05, 2015

Show notes

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

Death, Tyranny & the Pursuit of Jihad in the US Congress

We discuss Prime Minister Netanyahu's much-anticipated speech to the combined houses of the United States Congress. Did it accomplish anything with Iran? In the end, did it strengthen or weaken Netanhayu? How about Israel, the country he’s paid to captain?

Shakespeare vs. Shlonski: Does the Anglo vote matter?

Why are English speakers becoming the darlings of the political class? Is there really an “Anglo-Saxon” vote that carries any weight in Israel?

Our forefathers were Adam and Eve, not apes

Haartez asked political party leaders what they think about religion & science. While many supported science, Darwin wasn't as popular as we thought.

Playlist:

All songs by the 1840s

I’ve Always Wanted To

Queen of the Sky

Rainbow

The 'Collecting Jews' Edition Feb 25, 2015

Show notes

Don, Noah, and special guest Judy Maltz (Haaretz reporter and documentary director) discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote each about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Who gives a f*ck about a returned bottle?

We discuss the State Comptroller's report, which details the profound profligacies and petty corruptions of the first family, including spending over 3000 shekels a day on cleaning. While it may be douche-baggery, is such behavior really an election issue?

Collect Jews: Win valuable prizes!

Judy Maltz's riveting essay in this week's Haaretz describes the ingathering to Israel of a small and exotic sect of “lost Jews” in India called the Bnei Menashe. We ask, is it time to stop seeking lost or threatened Jews in the hope of dragging their asses to Israel?

Important breaking news about Bissli

Israeli digital newspapers increasingly mix disguised ads among the legitimate and unpaid content. They are turning to Advertorials, or branded content, as a way of balancing their budgets. We ask, is it time to “stop worrying and learn to love the Advertorial?”

Playlist:

All songs by Marsh Dondurma, in honor of the brassy and joyful sound they produced at Ha-Azor this week:

Scenes from the Class Wars, Culture Wars, and Ideology Wars Feb 19, 2015

Show notes

Allison, Noah, and special guest Ilene Prusher discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote each about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Ideological warfare

We discuss a remarkable new election video posted by the Shomron Settlers’ Council, which finds its place alongside new ads by PM Netanyahu suggesting that Leftists will invite the Islamic State to overrun Jerusalem.

Class warfare

We discuss the election campaign of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which says, among other things, “If you live in Ramat Aviv don’t vote for us, but if you work for those heartless bastards do vote for us.”

Political warfare

We discuss the decision to bar two candidates from running for the Knesset this week: Balad MK Haneen Zoabi and Yachad prospective MK Baruch Marzel. One is an anti-Zionist Hamas-sympathizing Palestinian, the other an ultra-nationalist former Meir Kahana acolyte.

Playlist:

All songs by Indiana, in honor of their show this week with the hippest band in Holon, Ha-Zeevot, at E.P.G.B in Tel Aviv.

WonderlandBlack JackIt's all On UAt Margiah Oti

The "Jumpin' Hegemony" Edition Feb 11, 2015

Show notes

Allison, Don, Miriam Hershlag, and Noah discuss (1) Why Mizrahim shun the Left (hint: It’s the oppression, stupid!), (2) the perhaps growing phenomenon of tourists who come seeking not to see the country’s sites of historic and cultural wonder, but rather, the sites of conflict and oppression: Why is this happening, and is it a good or bad thing?, and (3) As the Ministry of Education spends tens of millions to fund what is essentially a huge nationwide bookclub to read the Bible in an initiative called 929, we ask if it’s money we’ll spent, with some of us enchanted by this projects, and others of us a little repulsed.

All this and hardcore klezmer from Kfar Saba with Ramzailech!!

Songs:Fir ZinShtetleAmzalegAl Titakni Oti

Poking Obama in the eye? Feb 04, 2015

Show notes

Allison, Noah, and special guest Miriam Hershlag discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote each about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Poking Obama in the Eye?

We discuss PM Netanyahu’s decision to address the US Congress two weeks before Israeli elections, which has left President Obama livid, congressional democrats in despair, Israel’s US Ambassador discredited, and domestic political opponents outraged.

To V or not to V?

We discuss the probity of V15, a foreign-funded, get-out-the-vote NGO dedicated to removing PM Netanyahu from office, which has kicked up an election-time storm.

Left behind

We discuss Meretz and its leader Zahava Gal-On, as part of our continuing series of discussions about the parties and individuals at the heart of these elections. Is Meretz spending its advertising shekels wisely?

Playlist:

All songs by Ha-Trempistim, on the occasion of the launch of their 2nd album and the tour that goes with it

Ha-Bu’ah Ke-She Zeh Lo Zeh Chai Ba-Seret Be-Hazara La-Hatchala

The "Hell is Other People" Edition Jan 28, 2015

Show notes

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

Pour encourager les autres

We discuss the decision of the Israeli Steimatzky bookstore chain to cancel a “Charlie Hebdo” event, in which they had planned to sell a shipment of the post-massacre issue. Should offensive cartoons be in our face?

The merger of Israel's Arab parties: An historic unification?

We discuss what the historic unification of three Arab parties and one joint Arab-Jewish party augers for Israeli politics. Can the Balad-Ra’am-Ta’al-Hadash list, which incorporates such opposing ideologies, succeed?

Israeli elections 2015: Hell is other people

We ask what it says about the state of Israeli politics today that this election is shaping up to be about which bastard not to vote for.

Playlist:

All songs by Maureen Nehedar in honor of her tour and remarkable new album, 'Asleep in the Bosom of Childhood.'

Tzur MisheloKhon Ta-khonAshreichem IsraelYesheina be-hek Yaldut

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