Tel Aviv Review

When Malka Marom, a Canadian-Israeli musician and broadcaster, walked into a destitute Toronto night club in 1966, she was swept off her feet. The music, played by Joni Mitchell, mousy-looking and still unknown, was unlike anything she had heard before. Soon thereafter, they became lifelong friends; Marom's book Joni Mitchell in Her Own Words is a compilation of conversations they had over a 40-year period. She is now working on another book, featuring conversations with another great Canadian singer-songwriter: Leonard Cohen. This season 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.

Prof. Roberta Ronsethal Kwall, a legal scholar and the founding director of the DePaul University College of Law, has just authored a new book entitled The Myth of the Cultural Jew – Culture and Law in Jewish Tradition. She explains to host Gilad Halpern why even the most secular Jews have imbibed the halakha, whether they like it or not. This episode originally aired June 5, 2015.

If another war breaks out between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, it could "turn Lebanon into a car park," and take down wholesale targets in Tel Aviv, says longtime journalist and author, the Lebanon expert Nicholas Blanford. He argues that one of the only hopes for avoiding war is that each side is fully aware that a new round could mean mutually assured destruction, or at least severe devastation. Yet it might only take some damned foolish thing in the desert to spark that war. This season 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.

Dr. Caroline Light of the Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Harvard University talks with host Gilad Halpern about her recent book, That Pride of Race and Character: The Roots of Jewish Benevolence in the Jim Crow South. It analyses the circumstances that led to the establishment of a sizable Jewish charity network in the American South in the post-Reconstruction period. This episode originally aired April 18, 2015.

Yohanan Plesner, the president of the Israel Democracy Institute, joins us to discuss the past accomplishments and future challenges of democracy in Israel. Ahead of the 70th Independence Day celebrations, the IDI will launch the Democracy Pavilion along the Independence Trail in Tel Aviv, with a view to celebrating its many achievements and educating local and international visitors about its importance. This episode of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, which works to bolster the values and institutions of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Prof. Carole Fink, a scholar specializing in international European history at Ohio State University in the US, tells host Gilad Halpern about how Europe's Jews fit into the numerous minority protection schemes that emerged on the continent in the interwar period, and about the road to their catastrophic breakdown. This episode originally aired March 27, 2015.

Daniel Boyarin, Professor of Talmudic Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses his forthcoming book "Judaism: The Genealogy of a Modern Notions", in which he argues that Judaism, as a full-blown concept, is a modern creation. This season 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.

Prof. Sander Gilman, who teaches history at Emory University in the United States, is an extremely prolific academic with a vast spectrum of fields of expertise. He discusses his cleverly entitled study, "Aliens vs Predators: Cosmopolitan Jews vs Jewish Nomads." This episode originally aired March 20, 2015.

Why do we believe? After writing books about the god of Islam and Jesus of Nazareth, religion scholar Reza Aslan takes on the biggest question of all: What does "God" mean, anyway? Aslan comes to the surprising answer that God looks a lot like humans. Does this make him a deep believer or an atheist? Is God everywhere or nowhere? Find out in this interview about his latest book, "God: A Human History." This season 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. Find the extra segment for this episode at: patreon.com/telavivreview

Dr. Erica Weiss, Tel Aviv University anthropologist and author of "Conscientious Objectors in Israel: Citizenship, Sacrifice, Trials of Fealty", tackles the concept of conscientious objection in Israel – a democratic society that honors the freedom of conscience while fighting for its survival. This episode originally aired March 15, 2015.

Dr Martina Weisz, a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Vidal Sassoon Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism, discusses the place of the Jews in the Spanish and Portuguese colonial project, which started immediately after the momentous expulsion of the Jews from these countries, in the late 15th century. This season 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.

Dr. Eran Shalev of the Department of General History at the University of Haifa, author of American Zion: The Old Testament as Political Text from the Revolution to the Civil War, traces the theological and ideological origins of the special relationship between Israel and America. This episode originally aired March 7th, 2015.

Prof. Uriya Shavit, the head of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies and of the Religious Studies Program at Tel Aviv University, discusses his new book Scientific and Political Freedom in Islam: A Critical Reading of the Modernist-Apologetic School, which explores Islamic theologians' efforts to harmonize religion, science and modern systems of government. This season 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.

Prof. Laura Schor, a historian at Hunter College in New York and author of The Best School in Jerusalem: Annie Landau's School for Girls 1900-1960, discusses with host Gilad Halpern the extraordinary character of Annie Landau, a British ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman who was a high-profile public figure in Jerusalem during one of its most tumultuous periods. This episode originally aired March 6, 2015.

Prof. Daphna Hacker, an associate professor of law and gender studies at Tel Aviv University, discusses her new book Legalized Families in the Era of Bordered Globalization, which explores a phenomenon that is as understudied as it is widespread. This season 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.

Dr. Sarab Abu Rabia-Queder, a researcher at the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University, specializes in the impact of higher education on Bedouin women. Herself of Bedouin origin and an activist for Bedouin rights, she talks to host Gilad Halpern about the nomadic people who live mainly in the south of Israel, and how they straddle the line between tradition and modernity, and between their Arab identity and the State of Israel. This episode originally aired Feb. 27, 2015.

Dr Michal Kravel Tovi, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at Tel Aviv University, discusses her new book When the State Winks: The Performance of Jewish Conversions in Israel, an ethnographic account of the arduous conversion process female migrants from the former USSR choose to undergo in the hope that it would accelerate their integration into Israeli society. This season 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.

Dr. Danna Piroyansky, author of Ramle Remade: The Israelization of an Arab Town 1948-1967, discusses the very Israeli concept of 'mixed cities' – the result of government-sanctioned mixing of Jewish and Arab populations. How did it come about in Ramle, a town in the south-eastern coastal plain that was 100 percent Arab Palestinian up until the 1948 War of Independence, and was subsequently populated with Jewish immigrants? This episode originally aired Feb. 21, 2015.

Dr. Leon Wiener Dow, a fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, discusses his new book, The Going: A Meditation on Jewish Law, an autobiographical and theological exploration of the relationship between God, law prayer, practice and community in Jewish law. Check out the extra segment for this episode on patreon.com/telavivreview This season 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.

This episode originally aired on Feb. 20, 2015. Dr. Jonathan Rubin, a historian of the Medieval Levant at Tel Aviv University, specializes in the production of knowledge in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th and 13th centuries. He talks to host Gilad Halpern about how the Crusaders' encounters with local societies - beyond the initial indignation - led to theological, economic, and scientific developments.

With a severe humanitarian and economic crisis, another Gaza war could well be on its way. But Gaza is not only the packed, imprisoned and impoverished strip of misery. It is a place where high school students learn Shakespeare, whose residents have been to hell and kept their pride. Why isn't it a Singapore by the sea, and is there any hope or route to improvement? Veteran journalist Donald Macintyre brings years of firsthand reporting to his deeply informative and equally colorful book Gaza: Preparing for Dawn. This season 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.

This episode originally aired Feb. 13, 2015 Dr. Ephraim Chamiel, a lecturer and scholar of Jewish thought in the modern era, explains who were the Jewish philosophers who sought to harmonize modernity and tradition. His book, "The Middle Way: The Emergence of Modern Religious Trends in Nineteenth-Century Judaism," is available in English.

Michael Broyde, professor of law at Emory University and former rabbinical judge, discusses the constitutional, legal and societal implications of track two arbitration in the contemporary United States, which are the topic of his new book Sharia Tribunals, Rabbinical Courts and Christian Panels: Religious Arbitration in America and the West. This episode comes with bonus material for patrons only: www.patreon.com/telavivreview This season 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.

This episode originally aired Feb. 6, 2015 Prof. Anita Shapira, one of Israel's most eminent historians of Zionism, discusses her biography of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding prime minister.

Rise and Kill First reveals Israel's deadliest secrets. The history of targeted assassinations precedes the establishment of the state and continues to the present. Israel has killed terrorists, political figures, nuclear scientists, former Nazis and a UN negotiator; questions still swirl around the death of Arafat. When does Israel strike, and when does it abort a mission? Ronen Bergman's exposé obtains material never before released, and he talks with people who never talk. Here he discusses why and how Israel imposes the death penalty outside of any courtroom, based entirely on its own rules. This season 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.

This episode originally aired on Jan 31, 2015. Dr. Oren Meyers of the Department of Communications at the University of Haifa, co-author, together with Eyal Zandberg and Motti Neiger, of Communicating Awe: Media Memory and Holocaust Commemoration, analyzes with host Gilad Halpern the disproportionate role Holocaust-related imagery plays in the Israeli media debate. This season 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.

Liat Maggid-Alon, a historian of the modern Middle East at Kibbutzim College and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, discusses a paper she recently presented at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, focusing on the newly emerged stratum of upper-middle-class Jews in early-to-mid 20th century Egypt. The Egyptian-Jewish bourgeoisie serves as an ideal case study to explore how modernity, religion, nationalism and minority politics intermingled. Receive extra segments, book discounts, and other patron-only perks by supporting the show on Patreon. Click to find out how a handful of dollars a month can help. This season 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.

This episode originally aired on Dec. 5th, 2014. Bismarck famously said that "politics is not an exact science" - but what if exact sciences were determined by politics? Prof. Ute Deichmann, a historian of science at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, tells host Gilad Halpern about the exchanges between Israeli and German scientists in the early years. The two countries have marked more than 50 years since the full normalization of diplomatic relations between them, and we enquire to what extent scientists paved the way. Receive extra segments, book discounts, and other patron-only perks by supporting the show on Patreon. Click to find out how a handful of dollars a month can help. This season 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.

Mika Almog, journalist, screenwriter and author, discusses her new collection of short stories, Anticipation (ציפייה), compiling poignantly unremarkable characters and vignettes, rooted in the Israeli here and now. Receive extra segments, book discounts, and other patron-only perks by supporting the show on Patreon. Click to find out how a handful of dollars a month can help. This season 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.

Sasha Polakow-Suransky, deputy editor of Foreign Policy magazine, discusses his new book Go Back to Where You Came From: The Backlash Against Immigration and the Fate of Western Democracy. The book explores the confluence of circumstances that led to the rise of authoritarian populism in countries that were until recently believed to be robust liberal democracies. Receive extra segments, book discounts, and other patron-only perks by supporting the show on Patreon. Click to find out how a handful of dollars a month can help. This season 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.

Little to nothing has changed since the 19th century in the way ancient Jewish scriptures are analyzed and understood. Prof. Hindy Najman, professor of scriptural interpretation of the Bible at Oriel College, University of Oxford, is on a mission to eradicate outdated "Protestant" and "parochial" approaches to Bible criticism, and introduce contemporary approaches to the field. Receive extra segments, book discounts, and other patron-only perks by supporting the show on Patreon. Click to find out how a handful of dollars a month can help. This season 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.

No one can forget the horrifying terror attack of 2001 when a suicide bomber killed 21 people, mostly teenage girls, at a Tel Aviv nightclub. But few remember the Palestinian pharmacist murdered in East Jerusalem shortly afterward in a possible revenge attack - whose family donated his heart to save a Jewish Israeli man's life. Rowan Somerville explores the parallel stories in Beat: The True Story of a Bomb and a Heart Transplant. This season 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.

Defining corruption may be complicated, but people know it when they see it. Is there such a thing as a culture of corruption, or do people in some countries need bribes to survive? Ina Kubbe discusses "Corruption and Norms: Why Informal Rules Matter", co-edited with Annika Engelbert, to find out why corruption happens and what can be done about it. Any resemblance to actual persons, events or Israeli politicians is purely coincidental. This season 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.

Sir Geoffrey Nice prosecuted one of the world's most notorious war criminals - Slobodan Milosevic, who escaped justice by dying before his verdict. In his book Justice for All and How to Achieve It , Nice provides a critical exploration of international justice and the courts designed to address the world's worst crimes. Can this system advance peace and deter atrocities, or is it mainly victor's justice? This season 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.

And from that moment on, Linda Grant sets her cast of unlikely characters free - as much as possible in a TB clinic in 1950s London. The Dark Circle is her seventh novel. The protagonists are twin teens bursting with life, though they live in the space between collective death of the recent past and the shadow of death in the future, as patients. Yet Grant makes the period and the people come alive - and tells us how. This season 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.

Ian Black, former Middle East editor of The Guardian newspaper, joins us live to discuss his new book Enemies and Neighbors: Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel 1917-2017, a comprehensive overview of an ongoing clash between two irreconcilable narratives. This season 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.

Dr Kinneret Lahad, a senior lecturer in the Women and Gender Studies program at Tel Aviv University, discusses her book A Table for One: Re-Scheduling Singlehood and Time, proposing a welcome addition to the established feminist scholarship on family structures. This season 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.

Gilead Sher, attorney and former Israel's chief negotiator, the head of the Center for Applied Negotiations at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, discusses his new co-edited book Negotiating in Times of Conflict, which offers a panorama of perspectives on how to overcome obstacles in peace negotiations. This season 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.

Dr Nicholas John, assistant professor of communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discusses his book The Age of Sharing, which traces the origins and analyzes the meanings of one of the principal markers of our contemporary digital culture. This season 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.

Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, associate fellows at the Hebrew University's Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, discuss their book The Soviet-Israeli War 1967-1973: The USSR's Military Intervention in the Egyptian-Israeli Conflict, which lays out a hitherto little known Soviet foreign policy in the Middle East following the humiliating defeat of Moscow's client states in the Six Day War. This season 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.

Steven Nadler, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discusses the new graphic book Heretics! The Wonderous (and Dangerous) Beginnings of Modern Philosophy, which he co-authored with his son. He explains why the 17th century is a major turning point in the history of Western philosophy, and delves into the merits of graphic books. This season 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.

Jonathan Israel, professor emeritus of modern European history at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, discusses his book Expanding Blaze: How the American Revolution Ignited the World, 1775-1848. This season 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.

Dr. David Hirsh, a sociologist at Goldsmith's, University of London, discusses his new book Contemporary Left Antisemitism, analyzing the "mainstreaming" of anti-Jewish bigotry among socialist and so-called progressive circles.

Israeli-American novelist Dalia Rosenfeld discusses her new and critically-acclaimed book The Worlds We Think We Know, a collection of short stories, in many of which Tel Aviv is a silent protagonist. Rosenfeld's stories explore human beings' internal struggles, laying bare the contradictions that lie within us all. This season 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.

Dr. Adel Manna, a historian of modern Palestine and senior fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, discusses his new book, Nakba and Survival: The Story of the Palestinians who Remained in Haifa and the Galilee, 1948-1956. Dr. Manna talks about the circumstances that led Palestinians in parts of the Galilee to remain to a greater degree than elsewhere, why he decided to study and write about a seldom-discussed chapter of history, the story of the Palestinian Arab Communists, and how Palestinians in Israel survived as a marginalized people. This season 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.

Prof. Susan Pedersen, a historian of Britain and Europe at Columbia University, discusses her most recent book The Guardians: The League of Nations and the Crisis of Empire. On the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, it is crucial to explore the British Mandate of Palestine in a broader context. This season 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.

Dr. Raz Zimmt is the encyclopedia of policy analysis of Iran. From poring over social media conversations in Persian to analyzing statements, policy, and action of political leaders, his many papers and articles touch every topic. Today's episode interviews him about Iran's regional goals and foreign policy, the new and changing alliances of the Middle East, sectarian divides, and domestic politics. Find out what the Iranian public is saying about their leaders, why Hamas threw Iran for a loop, and what Iran thinks about Israel, the deal, and the bomb. This season 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.

Dr. Nurit Hashimshony-Yaffe, a political scientist at the Tel Aviv-Yaffo Academic College, tells us about her most recent study, which focuses on how Israel managed to clamp down on a prosperous women trafficking industry. This episode originally aired on Oct 24, 2014.

Professor Alon Tal, the Chair of the Department of Public Policy at Tel Aviv University and the founder of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, discusses his new and acclaimed book, "The Land is Full: Addressing Overpopulation in Israel," a myth-busting plea for a sustainable future for Israel. This season 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.

Dr. Rachel Pear, a teaching assistant at the School of Education at Bar-Ilan University and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Haifa, gives us a breakdown of the great variety of Jewish Orthodox attitudes to Darwin's theory of evolution over the years. (Previously aired on 4/10/2014)