Over the past week, we have seen headline after headline, indicating that Israel and Hamas appear to be closer than ever to a ceasefire and hostage deal. According to reports, the agreement would take place in phases, and would include a halt in fighting, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in aid to Gaza. The fin…

Was 1929 a harbinger of October 7th, 2023? August 23rd, 1929, nearly 100 years ago, marks the day of what is referred to in history as the 1929 Arab Riots: a wave of pogroms waged against the Jews living in British Mandatory Palestine. These pogroms began in Jerusalem and quickly spread to other cities and towns, including Hebron, Safed, Jaffa, and…

Many would consider the term ‘death factory’ to be associated with another era, one that is long in the past. But reports have emerged from inside Sednaya prison, bringing to light the horrific death camp and torture complex that was operated by the Assad regime until the regime’s collapse, just one week ago. It has been reported that 96,000 people…

Over the past few months, and especially in recent days, we have seen Iran’s decades-old proxy system and strategy collapsing. What are Iran’s options? To help us understand how Iran is dealing with this crisis, our guest is Raz Zimmt, one of Israel’s top experts on Iran. Raz Zimmt is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studi…

HOUSEKEEPING NOTE: Please note that as of our Thursday episode this week, we will be updating Call Me Back’s cover art. This will not be a dramatic change, but as to not miss out on any new episodes due to this change, please keep an eye out. TODAY’S EPISODE: As we witness Iran’s proxy system unravelling, there may be an opportunity for a new hosta…

HOUSEKEEPING NOTE: Please note that as of our Thursday episode this week, we will be updating Call Me Back’s cover art. This will not be a dramatic change, but as to not miss out on any new episodes due to this change, please keep an eye out. TODAY’S EPISODE: A lot has unfolded in the Middle East over the past 48 hours, with the fall of the Assad r…

HOUSEKEEPING NOTE: The Jewish Food Society is a nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and celebrate Jewish culinary heritage in order to deepen connections to Jewish life. As part of their annual fundraising drive, the Jewish Food Society is holding an auction to support their work. To place a bid on any of the items up for auction (including a lu…

HOUSEKEEPING NOTE: The Jewish Food Society is a nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and celebrate Jewish culinary heritage in order to deepen connections to Jewish life. As part of their annual fundraising drive, the Jewish Food Society is holding an auction to support their work. To place a bid on any of the items up for auction (including a lu…

On October 8th, 2023, Hezbollah joined the war against Israel. Now, nearly fifteen months later, a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon may be imminent. As of this evening in Israel, the Israeli security cabinet has officially approved a ceasefire deal with Lebanon. Under the proposal, Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon within 60 days, whil…

This past Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. The warrants were issued on charges of attempting to orchestrate starvation as a method of warfare, and crimes against humanity, of “murder and persecution”, in the IC…

On an almost daily basis, Hezbollah fires hundreds of missiles and rockets into Israel’s North. And yet there seems to be progress being made in negotiations towards a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. If we are approaching a deal, what does it look like? How will it be enforced? What are the political forces shaping the deal - in Jerusalem, …

Well before October 7th 2023, we were already witnessing too many examples of the worst in higher education with a lack of diversity of ideas and debate. Numerous U.S. college campuses had become intellectual and ideological monocultures. Then, immediately following October 7th, we saw something much darker, but perhaps we shouldn’t have been surpr…

In recent weeks, with the IDF focusing most of its attention on the Northern front, the media has been paying less attention to what’s actually happening in Gaza. What would constitute the Gaza War being over? Is there any progress on a Day After Plan for Gaza? What is the status of hostage negotiations and other efforts to free the hostages? What …

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZTiuntsCs8 Regardless of who you voted for in the U.S. presidential election, many of us are continuing to attempt to unpack what happened in this extraordinary election. There has been a lot of analysis of the various demographic shifts. But less attention has been paid to Je…

Last night in Amsterdam, dozens of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans suffered a pogrom in the streets of Amsterdam, following the soccer team’s match against Ajax. According to most accounts, this ambush was planned and coordinated in advance. And according to Israeli authorities, 10 Israelis were injured throughout the night, as mobs of antisemitic rioters am…

Last night in Israel, in what came as a shock to many Israelis, Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. At the same time, there was a Red Wave that swept through U.S. politics. As Israelis and Americans simultaneously process these two 180 degree pivots in their respective political systems, we are joined by two CallMeBack reg…

With two days before the US presidential election, there is increasing (and surprising) speculation from within the Israeli security establishment about whether Iran will attack Israel in the days ahead. In today’s episode, we try to unpack what’s going on with Iran-Israel and also a possible ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah. We also dis…

WATCH THE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/-MGg6Oe5_7A Micah Goodman is on the speed-dial of a number of Israeli political leaders – from Right to Left, but especially on the Center-Left and the Center-Right. And Micah has been synthesizing how Israelis view the war with Iran and the U.S.-Israel relationship. Micah is a polymath, a podcast…

WATCH THE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE HERE: https://youtu.be/U0MWxuQG4fs As we continue to assess the threat FROM Iran and the threat TO Iran, we sat down today with two analysts and former national security officials with different perspectives on what we’ve learned so far and next steps. Richard Fontaine is CEO of the Center for American Security. He…

WATCH THE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE: youtu.be/ERj4GQ82wcw LIVE EVENT ALERT – PITTSBURGH: On Monday October 28th at 6:00 PM, Dan will be speaking at a live event in conversation with Dave McCormick, combat veteran, former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, and candidate for U.S. Senate. A West Point graduate, Dave was deployed to the Middle East during th…

WATCH THE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUOKHUctWMs LIVE EVENT ALERT – PITTSBURGH: On Monday October 28th at 6:00 PM, Dan will be speaking at a live event in conversation with Dave McCormick, combat veteran, former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, and candidate for U.S. Senate. A West Point graduate, Dave was deployed to th…

LIVE EVENT ALERT – PITTSBURGH: On Monday October 28th at 6:00 PM, Dan will be speaking at a live event in conversation with Dave McCormick, combat veteran, former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, and candidate for U.S. Senate. A West Point graduate, Dave was deployed to the Middle East during the first Gulf War with the 82nd Airborne Division. He lat…

LIVE EVENT ALERT – PITTSBURGH: On Monday October 28th at 6:00 PM, Dan will be speaking at a live event in conversation with Dave McCormick, combat veteran, former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, and candidate for U.S. Senate. A West Point graduate, Dave was deployed to the Middle East during the first Gulf War with the 82nd Airborne Division. He lat…

Yahya Sinwar is dead. To help us better understand what happened in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the reaction in Israeli society, and what is likely to happen next in Gaza and in Israel, Nadav Eyal and Haviv Rettig Gur join us for an emergency episode of the podcast. NADAV EYAL is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. …

In recent days, the Biden-Harris administration has announced it would deploy the THAAD system to Israel — THAAD is an advanced missile defense system that can thwart short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, as well as the U.S. military personnel to operate it. At the same time, the Biden-Harris administration has issued a blister…

WATCH THE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/2yK4Ag_Ca2g As we have just passed the grim one-year anniversary of 10/07, we continue our dedicated series in which we take a longer horizon perspective, asking one guest each week to look back at this past year and the year ahead. If you are listening to this episode on a podcast app, please not…

This past Monday marked the grim one-year anniversary of October 7th. Around the world, Jewish communities gathered to memorialize a war still being fought. How did Israeli society experience this grief, and how did Diaspora communities memorialize? What are Israelis going through that we might not be able to see from a distance? And what are Diasp…

WATCH THE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/DfZZbwMuSe0 As we arrive at the grim one-year anniversary of 10/07, we are featuring a dedicated series in which we take a longer horizon perspective, asking one guest each week to look back at this past year and the year ahead. If you are listening to this episode on a podcast app, please note th…

The past couple days have seen some of the most fast-moving and potentially region-altering events since the 10/07 War broke out. To help us better understand what has happened and where events are likely heading, we are joined by: NADAV EYAL — a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern…

Watch the conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRTYMukNiy4 To help us better understand the dramatic developments in Lebanon, Nadav Eyal joined us for an emergency episode of the podcast. NADAV EYAL is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international poli…

UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS: September 24 — Join us for the first major live recording of Call Me Back, held at the Streicker Center, featuring Amir Tibon. To register, please go to: streicker.nyc/events/tibon-senor TODAY'S EPISODE: To help us better understand the escalating war between Israel and Hezbollah, Nadav Eyal joined us for an emergency episode …

WATCH THE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GKPqu3CUtg UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS: September 24 — Join us for the first major live recording of Call Me Back, held at the Streicker Center, featuring Amir Tibon. To register, please go to: https://streicker.nyc/events/tibon-senor SPECIAL SERIES: As we approach the grim one-year anniv…

Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/mwhxcdja UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS: September 24 — Join us for the first major live recording of Call Me Back, held at the Streicker Center, featuring Amir Tibon. To register, please go to: streicker.nyc/events/tibon-senor To help us better understand events in Lebanon over the past 24 hours, Nadav Eyal joined us …

WATCH THE FULL CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNugi2XnhmI UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS: September 24 — Join us for the first major live recording of Call Me Back, held at the Streicker Center, featuring Amir Tibon. To register, please go to: https://streicker.nyc/events/tibon-senor SPECIAL SERIES: As we approach the grim one-year …

Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/5n8kcm5m Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7F7Pq-XI40&t=2914s Visit our website: https://arkmedia.org/ UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS: If you are interested in our upcoming Call Me Back live events, you can find further registration details here: PHILADELPHIA-AREA — September 9 — …

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/yc2pck68 *** In recent days, there has been intensifying debate inside Israel over whether the security concerns raised by Prime Minister Netanyahu (regarding the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border) are legitimate or just sand being thrown in the gears of the hostage negotiations? Are there …

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/39yxftr6 ***Over the past 24 hours we learned the devastating news about Hamas’s slaughtering of 6 hostages. The families of two of these hostages – Hersh Goldberg-Polin and Carmel Gat had been guests on this podcast over the past few months. The news of these executions followed news in Israel last Thurs…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/yc4a9uvh *** Our interests in the Indo-Pacific, Russia-Ukraine, and the Middle East are all interconnected. A regional war in one, could easily trip into a regional war in another — and in some cases actors in one region are already being supported by regional actors from another. Just follow the moves of…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/bdd5bvp8 ***Early this morning, after detecting preparations by Hezbollah to launch a large-scale attack, Israel launched a powerful preemptive strike on southern Lebanon. Hours after these events took place, I was joined by Nadav Eyal and Ronen Bergman to make sense of what has taken place, and to discus…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/p5dfbxxw *** As Israelis continue to brace for a kinetic strike from Iran, or Hezbollah, or both, this long-anticipated attack may have been put on hold by Tehran while Israel and Hamas were negotiating the last details of a hostage and temporary ceasefire deal. Now, as we learn today from our guest Nadav…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/bdze4khv ***Mark Dubowitz reports from Tel Aviv after over a month in Israel discussing Israel’s emerging (and bolder) approach to Iran. Mark is the CEO of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD). In his role, he has advised the Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden administrations and lawmakers on bot…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/4wzexubr ***Israelis are stuck in a tense holding pattern, each day waiting for a response from Iran, or Hezbollah, or both - an attack that was expected to occur last week, then later forecasted to occur over Tisha B’Av. And yet, each day… nothing. What is going on — in Tehran? In Jerusalem? And in Washi…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/2awmrwwr ***Against the backdrop of a possible Iran/Hezbollah attack, as well as international criticism of an IDF operation in Gaza City, there have been new developments in the hostage negotiations. This past Thursday, a multi-party statement was issued by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, declaring that the f…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/56nzhy97 ***HOUSEKEEPING NOTE: I’m pleased to announce a major live recording of Call Me Back in New York City on September 24th. The event will be held at the Streicker Center, co-sponsored by UJA Federation of NY, and my guest will be Amir Tibon on the official launch date of his book The Gates of Gaza:…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/2twexkc9 *** Is the region ready for an Israel-Iran war? Is the U.S. ready? What is the state of readiness of the IDF for such a war? Is Israeli society ready for such a war?Could such a war be avoided? What would de-escalation look like? Most Israelis we have spoken to over the past few days have struck …

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/3x9wjkv9 ***Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the political wing of Hamas, is dead. He was killed in Tehran yesterday, during a visit for the inauguration of Iran’s new president.To help us understand this major development, I am joined by Ronen Bergman and Nadav Eyal for a special emergency episode. Ronen Be…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/43epx79k ***This past weekend we saw a major and brazen escalation against Israel by Hezbollah. This war front is not new, but it will now come into much sharper focus. And with the slaughter of Druze children, we have received a number of questions about Israel’s Druze community in Israel’s North, as wel…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/4xb5bu7r ***Fresh off viewing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address before a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, Nadav Eyal sits down for an analysis as we debate the impact of Netanyahu’s speech in Israel, in the U.S., on the hostage negotiations, and on Israel’s geopolitics.Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Ye…

*** Share episode on X: https://tinyurl.com/3rwv5yzu ***A lot has happened over this past weekend, again. President Biden has dropped out of the presidential race, endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris, who has been systematically locking up endorsements from most of her possible opponents. The ascendancy of V.P. Harris occurs at the exact time th…

*** Share on X: https://tinyurl.com/mr2sejpr ***Prime Minister Netanyahu prepares to arrive in Washington, DC next week for an address to a joint session of Congress (his 4th), a meeting with President Biden (covid-permitting), all against the backdrop of the negotiations over hostages and a temporary (or phased) ceasefire.To help us understand wha…