Unholy: Two Jews on the News

Bombs and F-bombs: Trump, Netanyahu and ceasefire talks

The fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government is overshadowed by an already notorious phone call where Donald Trump reportedly dropped multiple F-bombs on Benjamin Netanyahu for threatening Israeli strikes on Beirut. Yonit and Jonathan dissect the increasing strain in the US-Israel relationship - and a new equation set by Iran that will alarm all Israelis. Meanwhile, two warning signs this week for the state of Israeli democracy, as Netanyahu appoints his personal lawyer as State Comptroller, with members of the Knesset pressured to reveal their secret ballot - and a mob vandalizes the home of a Supreme Court justice in a bid to intimidate the judiciary over demands to exempt the ultra-Orthodox from mandatory military service. Also - an inquiry into antisemitism in UK’s cherished NHS, while Canada’s PM admits the country failed its Jews, prompting a new advisory council with a questionable membership. And finally (and thankfully), it’s a crowded field for our mensch of the week award.   00:00 Introduction and Overview of Current Events 02:47 The Impact of Smartphones on Society 05:38 Ceasefire Agreements and Regional Tensions 09:22 US-Israel Relations and Political Dynamics 13:13 Political Appointments and Democratic Erosion in Israel 18:50 Judicial Intimidation and the Rule of Law 23:02 Global Anti-Semitism and Responses 29:35 Celebrating Women in Film: Helen Mirren and Emma Thompson 35:17 A Culinary Milestone: Mutra's Michelin Star   💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.lovable.app/ 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social   🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W   🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social   📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Amos Harel on the Anatomy of a Failure - how October 7 happened

This week, Yonit and Jonathan sit down with acclaimed military and intelligence analyst Amos Harel to discuss his new book 6:29  -Anatomy of a Failure — a devastating, meticulously reported account of October 7th and the collapse that preceded it. Drawing on internal investigations, intelligence materials, battlefield testimony and conversations with senior officials, Harel reconstructs how Israel failed at every level: intelligence, operations  - and strategy. They discuss the “Walls of Jericho” Hamas attack plan that Israeli intelligence possessed years in advance; the SIM card warnings and the signs missed in the final hours before the massacre; the operational chaos that left communities abandoned for hours; and why Harel believes October 7th could likely have been prevented. The conversation also examines Benjamin Netanyahu’s role in the years leading up to the attack: the Qatar cash pipeline to Hamas, the belief that the Palestinian conflict could be indefinitely “managed,” the judicial overhaul crisis, and the refusal — still now — to establish a state commission of inquiry. Plus: why Hezbollah’s hesitation on October 7th may have prevented an even greater catastrophe, whether Israel has actually learned the lessons of that day, and why Harel believes the battle over the public memory of October 7th may define Israel’s coming elections. NOTE: Amos Harel's Book, 6:29 - Anatomy of a Failure, will be published in English Later this year. ⏱ CHAPTERS: [00:00] 6:29 — anatomy of a failure [06:55] The Intelligence Failures Leading to October 7th [21:05] “Where Was the Army?” — The Operational Collapse [32:10] Netanyahu, Qatar, and the Strategic Failure Before the War [41:40] Hezbollah, Iran, and the Attack That Could Have Been Bigger [45:25] Can Israel Prevent Another October 7th? 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.lovable.app/ 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social   🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W   🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social   📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ceasefire talk, hostage politics and Logan Roy

A US-Iran deal appears to be taking shape — and Israel isn't in the room. As diplomatic back-channels buzz and American strikes on Iran continue under a ceasefire that apparently requires bombing to maintain, Netanyahu finds himself watching from the outside: no seat at the table, no answers on the nuclear file, no movement on proxies. Meanwhile, two hostage parents — whose sons were held in Gaza at the same time — are entering Israeli politics from opposite ends of the spectrum, a story that says more about where the country is heading than any poll. Plus: the Caroline Glick appointment, the Israel Solidarity Parade in New York, antisemitism in London's British Museum, and a Chutzpah award for a congressman whose concession speech managed to be both funny and deeply troubling. This week's Mensch of the Week will leave you wanting to move to Tel Aviv. Note: The name of the Republican congressman challenged by Dan Bilzerian in Florida is, in fact, Randy Fine. Watch us on Youtube: https://youtu.be/HB5rkBNCeEY 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.lovable.app/ 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social   🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W   🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social   📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Franklin Foer on why fatalism isn't a strategy for American Jews

Franklin Foer is the man who declared that the golden age of American Jewry is over - or at least ending. Two years on — in the aftermath of October 7th and the Gaza war, collapsing bipartisan support for Israel, a wave of antisemitism from both left and right, and a military misadventure in Iran — he thinks he underestimated the problem. This week, Yonit and Jonathan sit down with Foer, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the landmark piece that became required reading in Jewish communities across America. They discuss whether the anti-AIPAC pledge that has become a feature of Democratic primaries is classical antisemitism in new clothing; how a forgotten Jewish genius from Odessa might explain what American Jews are supposed to do now; and why Foer refuses — loudly — to bow to fatalism. Also: Bob Dylan's existential crisis, Abraham Joshua Heschel's ode to the Sabbath, and how soccer helps explain at least one aspect of modern Jewish life. Guest: Franklin Foer, staff writer, The Atlantic ⏱ CHAPTERS: [00:00] Intro — Franklin Foer joins Unholy, The golden age Jewish Americans, what it was, why it's ending [04:46] The Impact of October 7th on American Jews [11:25] The Connection Between Israel and American Jewish Identity [22:32] Fatalism vs. persuasion — the Cold War argument  [28:35] How do you persuade non-Jews that antisemitism is bad for them? [32:56] Top 3 Jewish Americans: Pichelis, Dylan, Heschel 🎙️ Unholy — honest conversations with people who have something real to say Watch us on YouTube: Follow Unholy and learn more about the pod: https://unholy-podcast.lovable.app/ Join our Patreon community to get access to bonus episodes, discounts on merch and more: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.lovable.app/ 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social   🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W   🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social   📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Flotilla Disgrace, Election Fever and Football Joy

This week Jonathan is in celebratory mode—and no, it's not only because it’s the festival of Shavuot, but because his beloved Arsenal finally won the Premier League, sparking a spontaneous tribal gathering of ‘marauding revellers’ in North London. Meanwhile, Yonit and Jonathan unpack the volatile situation with Iran, and ask where President Trump’s vague threats of a renewed strike are heading. Then, it's wall-to-wall condemnation for National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose grotesque 56-second video taunting Gaza flotilla detainees was a nightmare for Israel’s defenders especially. And Jonathan describes his visit to the Nova exhibition in London, which offers a powerful, heart-rending glimpse of the human faces of the October 7th massacre and the shocking refusal of much of the world to look directly at what happened on that day. Plus: a musical mensch for the ages. Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRENGUF2AAI   ⏱ CHAPTERS: [00:00] Shavuot: Celebrating the Unsung Holiday  [09:20] Iran's Threats and Trump's Unpredictability [17:00] Israeli Politics: Elections and Coalition Dynamics [23:12] Ben-Gvir's Controversial Video: A PR Nightmare for Israel  [29:15] The Political Landscape in Israel [39:02] The Impact of the Nova Exhibition [45:30] Chutzpah and Mench   💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.lovable.app/ 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social   🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W   🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social   📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.