Israel Update

Mike thinks the achievements of this war are important enough to declare it a victory, though by no means a knock out. Mike and Gadi discuss the pros and cons of the ceasefire, the feasibility of an agreement, and the not unlikely return to military operations two weeks from now. Also in this episode: What are the reactions in Israel, what effects will the ceasefire have on the ongoing war in Lebanon, and what is “gleeful defeatism?” – All this and more on the new episode of Israel Update.

The orchestrated campaign to create alarm about “Settler Violence” magnifies a very marginal phenomena as part of a well thought out long game. Mike and Gadi explain how it works, and what its purpose is. We also have a guest on this show: Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili. She’s an academic, but she won’t bow down to the lies about the war. Read her op-ed in the Washington Post here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/03/27/israel-iran-war-propaganda-disinformation/

What’s at stake is the American-led international order. If the regime in Iran remains standing, it will have shown that the US can no longer guarantee that order. The good news, Mike and Gadi think, is that Trump fully understands this. This is not to say, however, that all the challenges can easily be overcome. Plus, Israel’s deep-state is reaching new level of legal surrealism.

Will Trump go all the way with Iran? And if not, what are his options? There are many tools, apart from direct military assault, that the US can us to continue to weaken Iran, and prevent China from regaining its Middle East assets. Also in this episode: Israel’s coming ground incursion into Lebanon, and an update on Sde Teiman: the indictments against the Force 100 soldiers, alleging abuse of a Palestinian prisoner, have been withdrawn. Gadi explains what this means.

What is the Iranian game plan, and is it working? What does the choice of Mojtaba Khamenei to be the heir to his father’s role as Supreme Leader say about the regime and its ability to sustain itself? Gadi and Mike discuss. Plus, the reignited war with Hezbollah offers a chance, Gadi says, to rid ourselves of the idea that all of Israel’s military success can be reversed. It's time to make South Lebanon into North Israel.

Are the American and Israeli war aims the same? Regime change may turn out to be an ambiguous definition. Mike and Gadi assess the different scenarios which may fall under that phrase, and consider which ones events – and Trump – may end up imposing.

The world is holding its breath while the US is gathering its forces in the region. Mike and Gadi are convinced Trump means business. What will emerge in Iran after a strike is, however, far from clear. Also in this episode: the Gaza board and the latest moves by Israel’s wild Supreme Court bent on toppling Netanyahu’s coalition. We call it legal surrealism. But most importantly: what did Mike’s mother ask the dentist about?

Mike sees three possible scenarios in which this can unfold. In all three there will be massive consequences for Israel, the US and the world order. Also on this episode: who is trying to break Trump’s faith-based coalition from within, and why? And finally: Gadi’s hilarious twitter feud with NYT’s Ronen Bergman.

On this episode: the Bondi Beach shooting, the rising tide of antisemitism, and the recent conference at the Hudson Institute, about how the hatred of Jews is weaponized to undermine American national security. Also - Israel's Deep State is thrashing around in an attempt to cover up the crimes of the IDF Advocate General. Will it succeed? And this is the Icelandic comedian Gadi mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DOebgY8jXx-/

It is not clear how the theory of the Trump plan will be implemented in practice - and above all it is still unclear how Hamas will be disarmed. Has the UN Security Council Resolution made things any clearer? Are Israel's friends in Baku, Azerbaijan going to help solve this conundrum, and finally, have Israel Update's listeners managed to explain to Mike and Gadi what a conundrum is? And here are the links we promised: Zineb Riboua's piece on why the right get Mamdani wrong: https://www.hudson.org/politics-government/what-right-gets-wrong-about-zohran-mamdani-zineb-riboua And here's Mike's conversation with Caroline Glick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6y1cJqp9JM

The plot thickens! The tale of the rape that never was, and now the suicide attempt that Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi seems to have faked, opens a window into everything that has been convulsing Israel in recent years.

The scandal over the doctored tape of the rape-that-never-was in Sde Teiman is the eye of a huge storm that has to do with everything that convulsed the country in recent years. Major General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi the head of the IDF prosecution resigned in disgrace over the affair – and was reported missing while we were recording this session. It turned out that she is alive, and just “lost” her phone in the sea while attempting suicide (or staging such an attempt).

Tommy Robinson, the outspoken activist against the importation of Jihad into the UK, visited Israel. His support for Israel's war won many hearts in the country. Mike was skeptical but Gadi insisted on having him on the show (in this Mikeless joint episode of Gadi's Hebrew language podcast Gatekeeper, and Israel Update).

The Trump plan – what’s in it? What are the implications of the Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity issued at Sharm El Sheikh? And what should we make of his Knesset speech? Plus, why did Israelis boo Netanyahu at Hostages Square? Mike and Gadi discuss.

Netanyahu gave a show at the UN, rebuking the weakness of Western leaders and defending Israel’s conduct of the war with facts. Gadi and Mike analyze the speech in detail. Meanwhile antisemitism is rearing its ugly head on the right, led by the ubiquitous Tucker Carlson. How widespread is it?

The debate about Charlie Kirk's legacy is actually a struggle over the future of the Republican Party - and not least over US-Israeli relations. Video:https://youtu.be/LZ8xduB0hPo

It is highly unlikely that the Israeli strike in Qatar was not coordinated with the White House. Are the Americans and Israelis employing a good cop / bad cop strategy? What does the Israeli operation mean for the balance of power in the region? Mike and Gadi discuss the implications of the strike. And they are by no means small.

Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara is the de facto domestic ruler in Israel’s crazy system of government. And she is undermining both democracy and the rule of law, as a case of arson outside the Prime Minister’s residence has shown.

The Trump Administration has Israel's back. What is most notable about its day-after plan for Gaza is that the Palestinian Authority is not a part of it. Meanwhile, the administration also refuses to grant visas to the US to the PA leadership, so long as the PA maintains its pay-for-slay program, which grants financial aid to terrorists and their families. The message to leaders around the world who threaten to recognize a Palestinian state could not be clearer. Mike and Gadi discuss.

Yes, we will update you on Gaza, but we too are getting tired of it. So we turn our attention to the distorted mirror that passes for news-media in Israel and outside it. Haaretz, the NYT, mainstream anti-Israeli propaganda, etc. Also: who gets Pulitzers and for what? Link to the Haaretz podcast with Gen. Yaakov Amidror (interview begins 33:20):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6vBwE61dYQ&t=2012s https://youtu.be/GqV9Xamrisc

Mike and Gadi lift the lid on the libelous narrative about the deliberate starving of Gazans.

The Israeli press is leading the “famine” campaign. Mike and Gadi discuss its reasons for lying. Also, on this episode – the crisis with the Druze population on both sides of the Israeli-Syrian border opens a window to the shifts in regional geopolitics. Mike reminds Israel not to act rashly, lest it ends up helping Iran return to Syria.

Mike and Gadi assess the strong message that the intimacy between Netanyahu and Trump sends to the world and to the region, as well as to domestic friends and rivals, in both Israel and the States. Then there's the deal, and the war that's dragging on in Gaza. Also in this episode: Gadi's essay on Tablet about the myth of "settler violence."

Israel’s domestic politics may have reached a turning point. But that may soon be overshadowed by even bigger geopolitical changes which may unfold during Netanyahu’s visit to the White House early next week. Mike and Gadi speculate, unburdened by what has been.

Mike and Gadi think they ought to congratulate themselves for getting it right. Or mostly right. The question now is, is this the dawn of a new regional order, or is this just an improvement of the old?

Mike and Gadi try to read the tea leaves and ask whether a showdown with Iran is now inevitable. Plus: Israel is paying for its juristocracy with the lives of IDF soldiers.