The Promised Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The 'Where are the Women?' Edition Jan 21, 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.

Of Labor glossed

We discuss the Labor Party primaries, which produced a list of candidates that is youngish, Ashkenazi-ish, female-ish, and socially-aware-ish. But has the party made a mistake by combining two agendas: Distributive justice and territorial compromise?

Women in Israel: The seen and the unseen

We discuss whether or not an ultra-Orthodox paper photoshopping Angela Merkel out of a picture of the heads-of-state at the Paris solidarity march says something important about the status of women in Israel.

Which side are you on?

We discuss a new Foreign Ministry propaganda video that says, basically, “Give us a break, you know that Israel is the good guy and Islam is the enemy.” Does it highlight a basic truth that often gets lost in the debate, or is it self-serving claptrap?

Playlist:

All songs by Gevolt, the pioneers of Yiddish Metal Music!

Der AlefbeysBay Mir Bistu SheynDer Rebe ElimelekhZog Nit Keyn Mol

Gimme that ol' time arrogance Jan 14, 2015

Show notes

Gimme that ol’ time arrogance

We discuss the crass response of Israel's leaders to the Paris terror attacks, a kind of double-pronged 'I told you so' - to Europe's leaders regarding the threat of radical Islam and to diaspora Jews about the lures of the Holy Land in an anti-semitic world.

Spotlight on Moshe Kahlon

We ask: What makes the leader of the new 'Kulanu' party tick? He's tacking to the center, but will that be where he stays after the elections? He promises to break monopolies and make the country safe for the consumer - a kind of 'Marx of the mall.'

Thinking about thinking about same-sex marriage

Does Naftali Bennett's religious party suffer from 'Jewish Home-ophobia'? Why did the party release a video of its candidates giving their opinions on same-sex marriage? None of them supported it, of course, but civil union was mentioned by some.

Playlist:

All songs by Lior Shoov, in honor of her brilliant show at the OzenBar this week, and her sell-out show at Ha-Azor.

Caress my skin Or (cover of a Neomi Shemer song)A Song to Mama Walking the Night

The "losing faith" edition Jan 07, 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.

Tax and shend

We discuss the decision of the Israeli government to withhold half a billion shekels of Palestinian tax money. Is this just one of a bunch of clever strategies Israel can employ at will, or does it show that in international diplomacy we are plum out of ideas?

Losing faith

The Israel Democracy Institute's annual report shows that Israelis are losing faith in all their institutions, save the army. Why should this be? Why do Arab Israelis trust the police more than any other institution except the Supreme Court?

Primary education

The recent Likud primary produced a list of candidates some have hailed as a great improvement. We ask whether the parties that pick their Knesset candidates through democratic primaries produce better results than the parties run by autocrats.

Playlist:

All songs by The Betty Bears, in honor of their kick-ass show ringing in the New Year at the Pasáž!

After You’re Gone If You’re A Viper Jack, I’m Mellow When I Get Low

The "Crucial, last-chance, decisive watershed" edition Dec 31, 2014

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.

Israel's 'crucial, last-chance, decisive watershed'

We discuss the weird notion, asserted by politicians, pundits, and intellectuals, that these elections are “the most important” in Israel’s history and will determine our fate forever. Could this rhetoric be setting us up for a huge disappointment?

Spotlight on Naftali Bennett

What makes the Jewish Home leader tick? We discuss the power of his 'No More Apologies' message, which is at the heart of his election campaign. Is this also at the heart of his appeal to so many voters?

The Promised Podcast’s Person, Place or Thing of the Year

Allison, Don, and Noah each present candidates for 'Israeli person, place or thing of the year' for each of two categories: (1) Politics/Diplomacy, and (2) Culture & Society. Then they try to pick an overall winner...

Playlist:

All songs by Gal De Paz, or Goldie, in honor of her return to the country and her show at the OzenBar this week

My Misery Better Indian Summer The Change

The "give peace a deadline" edition Dec 24, 2014

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.

Give peace a deadlineThe recent Palestinian proposal to the UN Security Council mandates peace negotiations that must, within a year, produce an agreement ending the occupation and establishing a state in Palestine. A deadline on peace? Where will it lead?

Ha’am (is seriously) Itanu?Eli Yishai, the natty ex-Shas leader has just started his own competing party, Ha’am Itanu (The Nation is with Us). This makes us wonder, can Eli Yishai remake Mizrahi politics in Israel?

Shabbat Sha-shut-upWhy did a campaign promoting Shabbat observance have everyone grousing and grumbling? We ask, what’s all the fuss about?

PlaylistAll songs by Nowadays:Song 14Cold and NewAdvertisementRain

The "e pluribus screw 'em" edition Dec 17, 2014

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.

#Israelex: Picking teams

We discuss the the Labor Party’s efforts to bring all the center-left parties, save one, under its wing. Can the Livni-Herzog rotation really work? How long can the center-left stay on the good side of the ultra-Orthodox?

Spotlight on the leaders who impact our world: Moshe Feiglin

Moshe Feiglin, the man challenging Netanyahu for leadership of the Likud, wants to annex the territories but make marijuana freely available to us all - an odd amalgam of views. We ask: What makes Moshe Feiglin tick?

Privatizing BDS

20 great American scholars, leftist Zionists all, want to sanction individual politicians (like Naftali Bennett) who sustain the occupation. We ask: Are 'personal sanctions' are a good idea. Do desperate times call for desperate measures?

Playlist:

All songs by the sultry Keren Ann:

Lay Your Head DownStephanie SaysFor You & I

Woman of valor, who will elect? Dec 10, 2014

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.

Woman of valor, who will elect?

We discuss the campaign to get ultra-Orthodox women on the ballot for the upcoming elections, which encourages people not to vote for religious parties that don’t allow women to run. Does it reflect tectonic changes among the ultra-Orthodox?

Give peace a policy

At this week’s Saban Forum at Brookings, former Ambassador to the US Michael Oren challenged Labor leader Isaac Herzog on his policy towards the Palestinians and the peace process. What exactly does the mainstream Left plan to do to advance peace?

Will the elections make any difference at all?

We try to answer the (slightly annoying) questions asked in this NYT piece: Does the prospect of a purely rightist government show how much Israel has changed? Could the coming elections transform Israel’s future, it’s place in the world, and chances for peace?

Playlist:

All songs by Ha-Zeevot, in honor of their show at Levontin 7 this week:

Yoredet ve-OlahBack HomeOmeret LoAdamot Yeveshot

The "Pal of the Poll" Edition Dec 03, 2014

Show notes

The pall of the poll

Israel’s last elections were in January 2013, and now, it seems, the smoke-filled rooms have spoken: We’ll be heading to the polls again very soon. Why do we need elections? Won’t they be all about style over substance? Think about the 2 billion shekel price tag!

Equality enshrined?

This week, Secretary General of the Labor Party Hilik Bar submitted a bill that would enshrine the language of equality in Israel’s Declaration of Independence as a Basic Law. Is this a sufficient political response to the controversial ‘Nation State’ bill?

This is how women wage peace

The Women Wage Pea ce group held its official inaugural event last week, a remarkable train-caravan of 700 women to the embattled southern town of Sderot. How could such a movement impact Israeli politics? Can women do it better?

Playlist:

All songs by Electric Desert:

TfilaMagrebPeshte RomanesteEl Mishkan Beiti

Much a-Jew about nothing Nov 26, 2014

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.

Much a-Jew about nothing

Although apparently about nothing, the 'Jewish State' bill could still become a tsunami that, if nothing else, wrecks the coalition. Could the law help reaffirm the principle of national self-determination, or could it turn Israel into a discriminatory ethnocracy?

A 'Likud' for the Left?

Is it really possible for the entire center-left to join together into a single 'super-party,' as the center-right did in 1973 with the formation of 'Likud' (meaning 'unification')? We discuss the potential costs and benefits of the left hanging together.

Dodging 'the second assault'

Miriam Shler, the director of the TA Sexual Assault Crisis Center, joins the Promised Podcast team to discuss the disturbing case of the judge who refused to press charges against her rapist, avoiding what feminists have for years called 'the second assault.'

Playlist:

All songs by Saz (Sameh Zakout), to remind ourselves that Israel may be a Jewish state, but it’s not just a Jewish state:

The Only PlaceYou’re the LoveI Love YouStory

Squirmin' on the Mount Nov 19, 2014

Show notes

In the shadow of the horrifying murders in a Jerusalem synagogue, Allison, Noah, and Times of Israel Ops & Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag discuss:

Squirmin’ on the Mount

The question of whether Jews should be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount has reentered public discourse since the shooting of Rabbi Yehuda Glick. With this and other tragic recent events, we ask whether we're heading for a full-blown religious war.

Henry Kissinger's "peace later"

In his acceptance speech for the World Jewish Congress' Theodor Herzl Award, Henry Kissinger remarked that Jews and Palestinians can’t settle their problems while the Middle East is in disarray. Is there something to this rejection of the "peace now" meme?

Coalition crises and stinking maneuvrers

We all know the love is gone between Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition partners. But should Bibi's detractors be getting excited about the chance to unseat him? How likely is a Herzog-Lapid coalition? How is it that Bibi is at once so weak and so strong?

Playlist:

All songs by Dikla, in honor of the release of her new record, Ve-Eem Preidah:

Here Comes The Rain Again (Radio Version)

Besameh

Boheret Lehiyot

Kmo Tzemach Bar