Ask Haviv Anything

6h ago

Until October 7, Israel’s politics were consumed by the fight over the government’s judicial reform proposals. The issue drove hundreds of thousands of Israelis to the streets in protest. It triggered all the anxieties of right and left, to sharpen class and ethnic and cultural divides, to raise fears over minority rights and the future of Israeli democracy. But in all those stormy months, there was very little in the way of serious and sober debate about Israeli institutions, checks and balances, judicial overreach and the dangers of an over-powerful executive. The substantive questions seemed to be pushed aside by the culture wars. The judicial reform was to some degree frozen - or at least dramatically slowed - in March 2023 after massive strikes broke out throughout the country. The October 7 massacre and ensuing wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran relegated it to the bottom of the public agenda. But it never actually went away. Fights between the government and the High Court and between the government and the attorney general have only worsened, bills now stand on the Knesset docket that seek to advance in piecemeal fashion different elements of the original reform. To understand what happened - the original proposal, the great explosion of Israeli politics that ensued, and where it might all be headed - we turned to one of the architects of the original reform, Moshe Koppel, a professor emeritus of computer science and founder and chairman of the Kohelet Forum. It was a long conversation, often contentious and deeply interesting. We hope you find it helpful. This episode is sponsored by Iris Engelson and dedicated to the memory of her friend Sharon Kass (z”l) who passed away two years ago at the age of 57 on 29 Kislev, December 19. According to her friends, Sharon was fiercely independent; unpretentious and unflappable; brilliant and deeply curious; at once confident and modest; wickedly funny; and absolutely devoted to her family, to her friends and colleagues, to the many young people she mentored, to the Jewish people, and to the Jewish state. A cause particularly dear to Sharon’s heart was the International Birding and Research Center in Eilat, where she had volunteered. The bird sanctuary there is open to the public every day of the year with free admission. May her memory be a blessing. If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

1d ago

After the massacre at Bondi Beach, anthropologist Adam Louis-Klein returns to the podcast to help us make sense of the new Jew-hatred. Antizionism, Adam argues, may be a form of hatred of Jews, but it's a far cry from the classical antisemitism of the 19th and 20th centuries. It's also not mere criticism of Israeli policies or governments. So what is it? And how do you fight it? Adam Louis-Klein is an anthropologist and writer whose work focuses on Jewish peoplehood, indigeneity, and contemporary anti-Jewish ideologies, especially the rise of antizionism. He is the founder of the Movement Against Antizionism and a postgraduate fellow at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism. Today's episode was sponsored by our friends at the American Technion Society. For more than a century, the Technion has powered Israel. Its graduates built the nation’s roads and bridges, its water systems and electrical grid. Israel’s high-tech industry emerged from the Technion — the very foundation of the Startup Nation. Today, as Israel recovers from the devastation of war, it needs the Technion more than ever. Technion scientists are developing new energy sources, sustainable food and water solutions and breakthrough medical therapies — creating innovations for a better world that will also reboot Israel’s economy. You want to help make Israel safe and strong. By supporting the Technion, you’re investing in the people and ideas that will rebuild Israel for a better future. Because rebuilding isn’t just about restoring what was lost — it’s about creating what comes next. The Technion built Israel. Now, the Technion will rebuild Israel. Join us. Visit ats.org/rebuild If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

4d ago

This Hanukkah began in darkness, in the brutal massacre of Jews in Sydney, Australia. Our hearts are broken, but our light is not dimmed. In this episode, we dive into the meaning of Hanukkah in the Jewish tradition and draw lessons from it for these painful times. This episode is sponsored by Donna Silbert and Kevin Foley and dedicated to the memory of Thomas Irwin Glasser. Tom Glasser was murdered by Islamist terrorists as he worked at his desk in the south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. At the time of his passing the New York Times said Tom's occupation form would have read: "philosophy major-track star-standup comic-restaurant owner-bartender-partner at Sandler O'Neill." A senior partner and head of mortgage-backed securities sales and trading at the Wall Street firm Sandler O'Neill, Tom was brilliantly funny and broadly loved throughout the bond trading community, by clients and competitors alike. A talented and fiercely competitive collegiate athlete, Tom earned a gold medal in track and field representing the United States at the 1981 Maccabiah Games. One of the best athletes ever to attend his beloved collegiate alma mater Haverford College, in Pennsylvania, Haverford honored him by naming its sports hall of fame the "Thomas Glasser '82 Hall of Achievement." The Glasser family established a scholarship at Haverford in Tom's honor. A firm supporter of Israel and Jewish causes, had he lived Tom would have led from the front in the fight against antisemitism at Haverford College. A devoted husband and father, Tom is forever mourned by his wife Meg, sons Dylan and Lukas, parents Anne and Gerry, sisters Laura and Margie, brothers-in-law Joel and Sam, numerous nieces and nephews and hundreds of friends. If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

Dec 5

Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East. Our current question: Do BDS campaigns help Palestinians? If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

Dec 2

The internet has democratized information. Or so we are told. The world's knowledge is now at everyone's fingertips. No government and no power structure can gatekeep what everyone sees and hears. But as our lives increasingly move online, we are all discovering just how many forces are at work trying to control and manipulate the flow of information online. The information that comes our way is driven by algorithms shaped by corporations or foreign governments. And those who know how to game those algorithms now possess unprecedented control over what everyone sees on their phones and computers. Governments, political campaigns, advocacy movements all invest vast resources in shaping these environments to ensure their message dominates and opposing messages are suppressed. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the surprisingly small number of editors who have managed to take control of Wikipedia's articles related to Israel, Israeli history and Zionism, and to skew them into narrow ideological screeds that no Israelis or Jews would recognize as representing them or their story. It's a microcosm of a much larger story about the vulnerability of this new information environment in which we all swim to such manipulation. Wikipedia is a critical reference for hundreds of millions of people. It is often counted among the five most visited websites in the world. But its real influence is far larger: it's a favored result in any Google search and a favorite source for AIs when they answer our questions. So it matters that a tiny group of no more than 40 editors, through careful coordination, can completely dominate all editing and content in a major arena of contested knowledge. Wikipedia, Reddit and our new age of algorithmic information flows are our subject today, and Ashley Rindsberg, an American writer and a senior editor at Pirate Wires, is our guide. This episode is sponsored by Nancy and David Rosen of Guilford, Connecticut, on the fifth anniversary of the passing of Dr. Gerald Rosen of Glendale, Wisconsin. "Jerry was devoted to his family, his profession as a veterinarian of "50+ years," to his Glendale community, and to Judaism. He was a longtime member of Congregation Beth Israel and at some point in the mid-1990s, he likely crossed paths with Haviv, who was then living in Glendale as well. Though Jerry did not live to witness the tragedy of October 7th, 2023, or the momentous joy we experienced this past October 13th—on Simchat Torah—with the return of our people from captivity, he would have deeply appreciated Haviv’s thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the history of Jews and Arabs, and of the ongoing story of Israel and our people." "Last year, we were privileged to help host Haviv as Scholar-in-Residence at our synagogue, Temple Beth Tikvah, in Madison, Connecticut, and we were fortunate to spend three meaningful days studying with and learning from him." "We remember with gratitude our loved ones who came before us, and we dedicate our learning to those who will continue the story. We are profoundly thankful for Haviv and for his unwavering commitment to telling the story of our people in a way we can all understand." Thank you to the Rosens for their sponsorships and this beautiful dedication. If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

Nov 28

Izabella Tabarovsky is a scholar of Soviet antizionism and contemporary antisemitism, a contributor to many books and a senior fellow at the Z3 Institute. Her latest book is “Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide.” It’s available here: https://www.amazon.com/Be-Refusenik-Jewish-Students-Survival/dp/B0G2GKWKCJ/ref=zg_m_bs_g_8975368011_m_sccl_1/142-8265824-8567764?psc=1 Today we are going to dive into the story of Soviet Jewry and the ideological war carried out by Soviet authorities against Jewish religious life and identity that ended up driving so many Soviet Jews to Zionism. And we delve into the vast, well-funded, decades-long Soviet propaganda efforts against the West in the third world and how that campaign’s vocabulary about Israel still drives a great deal of academic and activist discourse on Israel today. The links run deeper than mere vocabulary. Much of what we’re seeing today — the discourse on Israel that goes beyond criticism of the Gaza war to rejecting the very idea that Jews are a nation — had its start in that Cold War context. This episode is sponsored by Ceki Aluf Medina, a longtime listener and member of the Turkish Jewish community who is currently living in the United States. He asked to dedicate the episode to the soldiers of the IDF, the reservists and the regular army, who have sacrificed so much for the safety of the Jewish state. In Ceki’s words: “We in the diaspora recognize our obligation to support you, to vouch for you and take great pride in celebrating your accomplishments.” He also asked to dedicate this episode to the work of Shuva Achim, “brothers return,” a volunteer based grassroots organization that has been there for the IDF soldiers since the early days of the Gaza war, providing at their cafe and way station outside Moshav Shuva on the Gaza border countless hot meals, coffee and amenities to soldiers heading in and out of war. If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

Nov 25

Noam Dworman is the owner of the legendary Comedy Cellar comedy club in New York. He a lifelong New Yorker, a podcaster and an astute observer of his city and his country. What does he make of the incoming mayor and his anti-Israel views? What about the rabid new antisemitism on the Carlson-Owens right? And how does he understand the weak responses to both by American Jews? And finally: Will America weather these challenges, or has American Jewish life become less safe going forward? Today’s episode is sponsored by Ruth Adler and Eric Weinthal and is dedicated to each and every hostage brutally dragged into Gaza on October 7, and their families. In their words: “We rejoice with each hostage family reunited with their loved ones and our hearts break for those whose loved ones were murdered or died in captivity. We would also like to thank the protest groups we marched with that have organized to help amplify our voices for over 700 days, including Run For Their Lives, Bonot Alternativa and many others. We will not stop marching until the last body is returned home." If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

Nov 20

Today's episode is a very special show which was recorded live on November 10, 2025 at the Finchley United Synagogue - Kinloss in London. Haviv had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Jewish Chronicle Editor Daniel Schwammenthal. We had a great discussion about growing antisemitism in England, the war in Gaza, the possibility of upcoming elections in Israel and the many challenges facing Israelis and Jews today. We would like to thank Jonathan and Debra Field, who have been long-time supporters of this podcast, for bringing Haviv to London and sponsoring the event. We would also like to thank Rabbi Dr. Yoni Birnbaum, the Senior Rabbi of Finchley United Synagogue, for welcoming Haviv. If you like what we do here, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join in our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.