Tel Aviv Review

Prof. Daniel Statman, head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Haifa and a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, where he is the director of the Human Rights and Judaism program, discusses his new co-authored book State and Religion is Israel, a joint legal and philosophical attempt to conceptualize the role of religion in democratic regimes. This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

In Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America, Eyal Press takes a tough look at the people squeezed in the middle of America's moral pyramid. Neither dishwashers nor bond traders, these are the prison guards, drone operators and poultry packers doing jobs we would all prefer to forget.

Although he came to prominence in Israel, as the undisputed emblem of the far-right, Rabbi Meir Kahane was a quintessential American Jew, claims Prof. Shaul Magid in a new book, Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish radical.

After reporting on the cruelest wars of the late 20th century, journalist and cultural critic David Rieff concluded that remembering history was no defense against repeating it, and could even be a culprit. His book, In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies, explains why.

Dr Yair Wallach, Senior Lecturer in Israel Studies at SOAS, University of London, discusses his new book A City in Fragments: Urban Texts in Modern Jerusalem, which focuses on the changing nature and meaning of text – from stone inscriptions to street names to business cards – in Jerusalem of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Timothy Brennan, Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota, has published a new biography of Edward Said, the feted Palestinian-American scholar and public intellectual, and his former PhD advisor at Columbia University. Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said explores the different aspects of a quintessential 20th-century intellectual.

Dan Rabinowitz, Professor of Sociology at Tel Aviv University, discusses his new book The Power of Deserts: Climate Change, the Middle East and the Promise of a Post-Oil Era, analyzing the role of the Middle East as both a major generator and a primary victim of climate change, the dashed and renewed hopes for a coherent climate policy, and the role of social science in policy-making.

Amichai Cohen, Professor of Law at Ono Academic College and Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute discusses his new book The Constitutional Revolution and Counter-Revolution, and explains the changing role of the High Court of Justice in maintaining the checks and balances of Israeli democracy. This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Edna Harel-Fischer, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute's Center for Religion, Nation and State and the Center for Democratic values, unpacks the recent controversy around governance/governability in Israel: How did it become a partisan issue? And what is the role of the public service in safeguarding the will of the people? This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

The Tel Aviv Review takes a detour to follow the path of American nudists (intellectually). From the late 19th century to the prudish post-war years, through to the let-loose sexual revolution, historian Sarah Schrank of California State University, Long Beach reveals all, in her book Free and Natural: Nudity and the American Cult of the Body.

The putative omnipotence of Vladimir Putin has led many to view Russia as a uniquely autocratic country. In Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin's Russia, Columbia University's Timothy M. Frye argues that Russia is neither completely unique, nor primordially prone to strongman leadership – the explanations are far more complex. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

A historian's hunch led Nancy MacLean to the archives of James McGill Buchanan, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who also incidentally became the patron saint of the Koch brothers, modern libertarian thinking, and the far-right plan to rig the system beyond recognizable democracy. Her book Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America, sparked a controversy as deep as her subjects. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Prof. Jan Grabowski, a Polish-Canadian historian, discusses Jewish-Polish relations during the Nazi occupation, as well as the politics of memory in contemporary Poland and how he has been personally affected by it. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

David N Myers and Benjamin Ravid, professors of Jewish history at UCLA and Brandeis University, respectively, discuss the life and work of Simon Rawidowicz, a seminal, albeit somewhat forgotten, 20th-century Jewish intellectual, upon the publication of an edited volume of his selected writings.

Why would citizens vote freely for political leaders plotting or even promising to attack their democracy? Why do certain policies, parties or people take priority over democratic norms at the ballot box? And can democracy count on voters to save it? Professor Milan Svolik of Yale University addresses these questions through rigorous research, but no easy solutions. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Since when do xenophobic nationalist political actors in Europe devote themselves to gender equality, protection of women and human rights? Véronique Mottier of Jesus College, University of Cambridge, shows how populist parties in Switzerland, France, Italy and the Netherlands join the struggle to protect women's rights – when it advances their aim of excluding non-white migrants from the nation. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Facebook may not be the source of all evils – but at least many of them. In his book Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy, Siva Vaidhyanathan argues that while Facebook has some charms, it holds special responsibility for major social and political ills today. Alongside Will Hitchcock, Siva hosts the podcast Democracy in Danger, where together, they, along with leading thinkers from around the world, put illiberal trends in context and explore ways to turn them around. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Prof. Daniella Talmon-Heller of the Department of Middle East Studies at Ben Gurion University, discusses her new book Sacred Place and Sacred Time in the Medieval Islamic Middle East: A Historical Perspective. How and why did practices of pilgrimage and temporal rituals evolve in the first few centuries of Islam's existence?

How did America's political culture move from civil disagreement to visceral rage? In American Affective Polarization in Comparative Perspective, Noam Gidron, James Adams and Will Horne argue that intense, emotional partisanship is distinct from routine ideological differences, and possibly more dangerous. And America isn't the only country torn apart by politics. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Is love of country a blessing or a menace? Can a citizen of the world embrace universal values but also love one's country, and does it matter if old fashioned patriotism fades into the past? In Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes, Professor Steven B. Smith defends – and rebuilds – American patriotism as an antidote to America's upheavals. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Michael Sfard, one of Israel's leading human rights lawyers, chronicles the evolution of the legal pillars of Israel's military occupation of Palestinians, including deportation, settlements, torture policies and more. But in his book "The Wall and the Gate," Sfard also tells of the lives and legal struggles of people who fight the policy with its very own tools: in Israeli courts. For each emerging body of law assisting occupation, there is a relentless human rights lawyer campaigning against it, undaunted by lengthy, thankless legal battles, hostile public reactions and scarce victories. This episode of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Why is Israel hacking away at its own democratic institutions and values? The assault on the judiciary, primacy of the majority at the expense of minorities, loyalty as a litmus test, corruption and illiberalism – are these Israel's destiny? Hebrew University political scientist Gayil Talshir, editor of the book "Governability or Democracy" examines the roots, causes and manifestations of democratic erosion in Israel today. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

The nationalist-populist wave of the 21st century has affected Western liberal democracies, as well as countries from a very different political background. Julius Rogenhofer of the University of Cambridge studies manifestations of populism and democratic erosion in deeply divided societies. Rogenhofer identifies the causes and consequences of populist-driven democratic erosion in Turkey, India and Israel, shaped by each state's social, ethnic and religious divisions. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Rabbi Dr Tal Sessler, the incoming Dean of the Rabbinical School at the Academy of Jewish Religion in California, discusses his forthcoming book, Leibowitz and Levinas: Between Judaism and Universalism, juxtaposing the political and theological thought of two of the most prominent Jewish philosophers in the 20th century.

Dr Arik Rudnitzky, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, analyzes the changing voting patterns in the Arab community ahead of Israel's fourth general election in two years. This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Navigating queerness in the West Bank, Gaza or Israel, in refugee camps or as a Palestinian in the West Bank? It's complicated. Why is the LGBTQ global movement intensely invested in the Palestinian cause, and when does a social movement grow or plateau? Sa'ed Atshan asks and answers these questions in Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique.

When Robert Berman, an American Jewish immigrant to Israel began studying Arabic, he didn't stop until he had written a book full of idioms. Together with language expert Christy Bandak as editor, the linguistic duo wrote Min Taq Taq: A Collection of Arabic Idioms, in which they explain what "his face is good on me" conveys in Arabic, and why they included a whole chapter on fingers.

Ahead of a fourth general election in under two years, Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, joins us to discuss what needs to be done to come out of the ongoing political crisis that has left Israel without a stable government, a state budget for three years on end, and an effective response to the Covid pandemic. This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

In their documentary film King Bibi: The Life and Performances of Benjamin Netanyahu, Dan Shadur and Liran Atzmor get to the bottom of Benjamin Netanyahu's magic, which has made him the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israel's history and a prominent fixture in Israeli politics for the past four decades, and counting.

It took the world's most advanced digital pioneers, when the computer as we know it was barely born, to stave off Nazi conquest of the Middle East. And it took Gershom Gorenberg to write the true history of the "War of Shadows: Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East" – as if it was a novel. This episode is part of a series made possible by the German Government which examines Israel's relationship with the EU and European countries.

At times reminiscent of European Jewry in the 19th century, at others of American Jewry in the 20th, the modern history of Iran's Jews varies radically from contemporary Jewish histories in the Middle East. The new book Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran by Lior Sternfeld, assistant professor of history and Jewish Studies at Pennsylvania State University, focuses on the unique case of Iranian Jewry.

Musa Hadid is an all-around nice guy; he's determined to fix up the old town, re-brand his city, and have a Christmas celebration for everyone. But being the Mayor of Ramallah is no ordinary job and a new documentary, Mayor, is no ordinary film about Palestine. David Osit, the director, explains why. This episode is part of a series made possible by the German Government which examines Israel's relationship with the EU and European countries.

If a former White House coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf, who served as special assistant to President Obama concludes that you shouldn't undertake regime change in the Middle East, you probably shouldn't. But nothing is ever quite that simple. In Losing the Long Game, The False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East, Philip Gordon examines what went wrong. This episode is part of a series made possible by the German Government which examines Israel's relationship with the EU and European countries.

Prof. Karnit Flug, Vice President of the Israel Democracy Institute and former Chancellor of the Bank of Israel, assesses the effects of the COVID pandemic on the Israeli economy. Does the fact that Israel is a small and centralized economy work in its benefit? To what extent was the relative robustness of the Israeli economy squandered by the mishandling of the pandemic response by decision makers? How quickly will it bounce back? This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

In her bestselling Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, acclaimed journalist and historian Anne Applebaum examines how a wave of nationalist populism swept through the western world – and tore apart her own circle of friends. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

German-Jewish poet, political scientist and sometimes-provocateur Max Czollek examines the complex dance between modern Germany and German Jews, Holocaust memory, minority identity, radical diversity, art and politics. His book "De-integrate Yourselves" has launched a thousand conversations. This episode is part of a series made possible by the German Government which examines Israel's relationship with the EU and European countries.

Dr. Gilad Malach, Director of the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program at the Israel Democracy Institute, discusses how the Covid pandemic has affected internal dynamics within the Haredi community in Israel, as well as their relationship with their political leadership and the state. This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Yuval Feldman, professor of law at Bar-Ilan University and a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, utilizes behavioral analysis of regulation, enforcement and compliance to discuss how trust in the state has affected the response to the Covid pandemic, in Israel and beyond. This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Social media has corrupted the truth, spawned fake news and contributed to the collapse of polite political norms – right or wrong? A systematic, in-depth study of American news media before and after Trump takes a deeper plunge into the right-wing ecosystem at large, with surprising findings. Yochai Benkler of Harvard University, co-author of Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics explains. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Dr. Moran Zaga was studying the Persian Gulf countries long before it became fashionable for Israel to make peace with them. She explains the historic and political background to a series of unlikely diplomatic deals between Israel and certain Arab states, what's in it for them, and why the United Arab Emirates seeks to position itself as the moderate actor between competing extremist forces throughout the Middle East. This episode is part of a series made possible by the German Government which examines Israel's relationship with the EU and European countries.

Ksenia Svetlova's story is gripping: she moved to Israel as a teen, grew up to become a journalist, and eventually served as a Member of Knesset. In her book: "Reporting the Middle East on High Heels," Ksenia brings her story to her beat, giving readers an over-her-shoulder view of the Middle East from Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, to the Palestinians areas much closer to home. This episode is part of a series made possible by the German Government which examines Israel's relationship with the EU and European countries.

In The Management of Hate: Nation, Affect, and the Governance of Right-Wing Extremism in Germany, Dr. Nitzan Shoshan travels with the marginalized, outcasts and left-behind members of German society today to find out what drives some to the far-right – and how the state tries to contain them. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education

Prof. Havi Dreifuss of the Department of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University and the International Institute of Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem, discusses her book Relations Between Jews and Poles during the Holocaust: The Jewish Perspective, laying out the myriad views and feelings Polish Jews harbored for their country and their non-Jewish compatriots. This episode is made possible by Tel Aviv University's Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism.

Dr. Scott Ury, the outgoing director of Tel Aviv University's Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, and Guy Meron, Prof. of Jewish History at the Open University of Israel, discuss their collected issue entitled Antisemitism: Historical Concept, Public Discourse. This episode is made possible by Tel Aviv University's Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism.

Prof. Bashir Bashir of the Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication at the Open University of Israel, and Prof. Amos Goldberg of the Department of Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discuss their edited volume The Holocaust and the Nakba: A New Grammar of Trauma and History. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

The Israeli Palestinian conflict is among the most prominent and complex foreign policy challenges for the European Union. Anders Persson looks at the evolution of EU policy towards the conflict through the EU's own documentation, from 1967 to the present. This episode is part of a series made possible by the German Government which examines Israel's relationship with the EU and European countries. This season is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

In The Sword is Not Enough: Arabs, Israelis, and the Limits of Military Force Jeremy Pressman challenges the notion that violence is the best way to win concessions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or in the Israeli-Arab context more broadly. His research shows that diplomacy, negotiations, and shared interests are no less important for making genuine progress towards peace – and often more. This season is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Michal Ben Naftali's novel The Teacher examines memories of those who can never forget. People die, but their collective trauma lives on. This episode is part of a series made possible by the German Government which examines Israel's relationship with the EU and European countries. This season is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Prof. Amir Teicher, a historian at Tel Aviv University, discusses his book Social Mendelism: Genetics and the Politics of Race in Germany, 1900-1948, exploring the cooptation of a seminal, 19th-century genetic theory by a climate of racial categorization several decades on. This episode is supported by The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism. This season is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Prof. Amos Morris-Reich, the incoming director of the Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, discusses his book Race and Photography: Racial Photography as Scientific Evidence 1876-1980, exploring the meeting point between culture and science against the backdrop of racism. This season is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.