Think Twice with Jonathan Tobin

Facing immense national tragedy and a world that is more outraged by Israel's response to Oct. 7 than the slaughter itself, how can Israel survive? Does Israel have the national DNA that will allow it to unify and persevere?JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin is joined by Dan Senor, co-author of the best-selling book Start-Up Nation and the just released "The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World."

What is Israel up against in the war against Hamas? Even if Israel is winning on the battlefield, are we losing the information war? In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin is joined by Tal Heinrich, spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They discuss the war goals of Iron Swords the information battle happening on the airwaves and on the streets of America Israel's hope and unity in destroying Hamas and winning the war.

Is Israel violating international law in Gaza? Is Israel responsible for the Gazan people? Does Israel have an obligation to rescue the hostages?On this week's Top Story, Jonathan Tobin is joined by Eugene Kontorovich, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Middle East and International Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University,

Is Western 'peacemaking' in the Middle East perpetuating the Arab-Israeli conflict? Has the refusal by the West to see the evil of Hamas backfired? This week, Jonathan is joined by author and journalist Melanie Phillips.Listen Now to the full story!

Hamas attacked Israel last week almost 50 years to the day of the Yom Kippur War. Are there parallels between the two attacks? Has Israel made the same mistakes? Should Israel's response be similar?On this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin talks with Uri Kaufman, author of the new book "Eighteen Days in October: The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East".

Will Hezbollah join the war against Israel? Has US foreign policy led to the emboldening of terrorists in the region? Is the most brutal attack on Jews since the Holocaust a simple outgrowth of Palestinian culture and education?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin is joined by Hezbollah expert Tony Badran.

Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman talks about his new movie "Route 60: The Biblical Highway" and the sacrifice that Israel should NOT make for the sake of peace.

Did Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer tell the truth about the nuclear scientist? Also, Is the communist ideology alive and well in today's politics?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with historian Harvey Klehr about the movie “Oppenheimer” and the legacy of American Communism.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin conducts a wide-ranging special interview with former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.They discuss If US elections are actually fair Domestic and foreign threats facing the United States His controversial comments on the Holocaust and how America should have "one religion" The US/Israel relationship under Biden and much more in this unedited raw interview.

At a time of such division, it has never been more timely to look back at the roots and history of Zionism. JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin is joined by author Rick Richman who discusses his new book, And None Shall Make Them Afraid: Eight Stories of the Modern State of Israel.They discuss how two compatible ideologies, Zionism and Americanism, helped create a free and democratic state of Israel. our misunderstanding of key figures like Theodor Herzl, Ze'ev Jabitinisky and others. why this history is so important for today.

Is Israel ignoring its existential problems? Has Israel swept its problems under the rug for the political needs of the here and now?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the problems facing Israel as it heads towards its 100th birthday with historian and former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. He is the author of the new book 2048: The Rejuvenated State, a manifesto about how the Jewish state can deal with a long list of existential challenges including those brought to the fore by the divisions over judicial reform.

What is true Jewish leadership? Have we been thinking about our Jewish heroes all wrong?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the essence of Jewish leadership with Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, the author of Providence and Power: 10 Portraits in Jewish Statesmanship.An insightful, fundamental and big-picture discussion that you won't want to miss!

Is the Israeli left by refusing to serve in the military holding the country hostage? Have we seen this before?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the battle over judicial reform with Dr. Iddo Netanyahu, the physician and playwright who is the younger brother of the prime minister and the hero of Entebbe, Yoni Netanyahu.They discuss the real issues underlying the battle for judicial reform the United States and American Jewry and what their place is, if any, in the current crisis the history of the left in Israel and how it impacts today Iddo's personal history in being a part of one of Israel's most illustrious and controversial families. You won't want to miss this episode!

Has any President ever failed so thoroughly domestically and internationally as Joe Biden?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin talks with the Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel, author of the new book, "The Biden Malaise: How America bounces back from Joe Biden’s Dismal Repeat of the Jimmy Carter Years".They discuss Comparing and contrasting the circumstances and policies of the Carter and Biden administrations How culture wars are NOT the way to win the presidency and were not why people loved Donald Trump Could another Ronald Reagan exist again and would he even win?

Four toxic elements are coming together to create a rising tide of antisemitism.In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the factors fueling a rising tide of antisemitism around the globe with scholar Richard Landes, author of the book "Can The Whole World Be Wrong? Lethal Journalism, Antisemitism and Global Jihad."They discuss: - The intertwining of far-left ideology and Islamist worldview - How the media has paved the way for lies and propaganda to enter the mainstream

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discussed the debate over judicial reform in Israel as well as the way American intervention in the controversy – both from the Biden administration and from U.S. Jews — Aylana Meisel, the founder of Tikvah Fund Israel’s Law and Liberty Forum.

Why have liberal Jewish groups protested the Supreme Court decisions that favor religious freedom and meritocracy?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discussed the hypocrisy of liberals who support the independence of Israel’s out-of-control Supreme Court but want to impeach the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. He also spoke with law professor and LegalInsurrection.com founder William Jacobson about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions on affirmative action, free speech and curbing the power of the executive to cancel student loans.

Has this crucial aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict been left out of the discussion?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin spoke with Farley Weiss and Leonard Grunstein, the authors of a new book about the battle to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Because It’s Just Right: The Untold Backstory of the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Why is the US Jewish Establishment focused on causes that have so little to do with Jews? Has the Jewish leadership betrayed the Jewish community?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin spoke with Charles Jacobs and Avi Goldwasser, editors of a new collection of essays titled Betrayal: the Failure of American Jewish Leadership to discuss these issues.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin spoke with Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz who argues that the battle over Israeli judicial reform is an “existential crisis” and not just a political dispute about Netanyahu or the Supreme Court. Is Israel to be a Jewish state or a state for the Jews? They also discuss a recent article penned by Leibovitz in which he described the rise of woke ideology about race and especially sex and gender as a new form of “paganism.”Find out more now!

Are the policies of equity, diversity quotas and defunding the police really helping Black people?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discussed the new secular religion of anti-racism and the woke catechism of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) with Heather Mac Donald, author of the new book, "When Race Trumps Merit: How The Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty and Threatens Lives".

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin talks with columnist Stella Morabito about her new book “The Weaponization of Loneliness: How Tyrants Stoke Our Fear of Isolation to Silence, Divide and Conquer”.Morabito outlines how the pandemic highlighted the way isolation could induce Americans to abandon their belief in individual rights. Was this an isolated incident? Are there other examples where ideologues have used isolation and the fear of being canceled to get society to conform? Is there a pattern that is repeating itself?

President Joe Biden may have come into office as a purported foreign policy expert but according to JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin he’s maintained his streak of being wrong on every issue for the last half-century.Tobin is joined by Hudson Institute scholar Michael Doran to talk about the far-reaching consequences of Biden's weakness.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discussed the coronation of Britain’s King Charles and its significance for the larger struggle for Western civilization with British journalist and JNS columnist Melanie Phillips.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discussed the partisan divide over Israel with former Senator Norm Coleman, who is currently national chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition. They discuss Polling suggesting how Democrats have stopped supporting Israel How and why this has happened? The dire state of campuses for Jews and Pro-Zionists. Coleman's journey from progressive to Republican

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the way American Jewish groups are recklessly intervening in Israel’s political battle over judicial reform. He also speaks with journalist Heather Robinson on What is the role of American Jews vis-a-vis Israeli government policy? Can the struggle for judicial reform and the opposition in Israel be compared to the American political landscape? Tucker Carlson’s firing at Fox News The shift in American culture to reliance on government

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin is joined by scholar and host of Young Heretics podcast Spencer Klavan, author of the new book "How to Save the West, Ancient Wisdom for Five Modern Crises".Klavan posits that at a time when free speech and basic principles of equality and liberty are under attack from woke progressives, the best answer to the crisis may not be so much political as it is educational and spiritual.They discuss science, politics and woke ideology replacing G-d in society the relevance and importance of ancient philosophy and faith to contemporary problems. the riches of Western civilization must be embraced rather than tossed aside.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Kohelet Policy Forum founding chairman Moshe Koppel about the group’s efforts to promote judicial reform in Israel. What’s next for the Kohelet foundation? Will judicial reform ever happen?Find out on this week's episode!

The ADL’s attempt to inject the question of antisemitism into the debate over a potential indictment of the former president undermines the real battle against Jew-hatred.Listen to the full story now!

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with JNS columnist Ruthie Blum about the ongoing fight over judicial reform in Israel. Blum says the point of the pushback against the reforms isn’t just to topple Netanyahu. They’re also attacking his voters. She characterized the battle over the issue as one that wasn’t solely one about religion but also about class and income and to ensure that Israel’s working class and religious voters are shut out of power indefinitely.Find out what really is going on

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Breitbart News senior editor-at-large Joel Pollak who discussed the famous insight of the publication’s founder Andrew Breitbart about “politics being downstream of culture.” In this far-reaching interview, they discuss Why do liberal Jewish institutions only see antisemitism on one side? How the ADL has made common cause with hate groups and exaggerated antisemitism statistics to justify its existence Addressing accusations against Breitbart of antisemitism and being part of the alt-right. Pollak’s view on the current protests against legal reform in Israel. “Top Story” also airs on JBS-TV. Listen/Subscribe to weekly episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Watch new episodes every week by subscribing to the JNS YouTube Channel.

Do Jews have a role to play in saving Western civilization? Can Jewish values pave the way to repairing today’s society?In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Tikvah Fund executive director Eric Cohen who argues that “the West and Israel are under assault.” Part of the answer must be a revival of classical Jewish education that will allow Jews, "to contribute to the renewal and strengthening of American culture at a moment when it needs Hebraic remedies for some of our woke disorders”. Listen now to the full episode!

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with historian Oren Kessler, the author of the new book, Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict. While Tobin puts the recent surge of Palestinian terror and Jewish debate about how best to respond to it in the context of the history of the conflict, Kessler explains that the events of the 1930s should help inform our understanding of the recent history of the conflict.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with authors Bethany Mandel and Karol Markowicz about their new book, Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation. The two, who are both journalists and mothers, discussed how the coronavirus pandemic weaponized the woke left’s efforts to use tactics to silence dissent.Both point out that the easiest victims for those seeking to impose essential racist ideas like those of critical race theory and other leftist doctrines on the country are its children who are being discouraged from the independent thinking that is essential for a healthy democracy. They each say that developing a will to resist this assault on Western values and a culture of conformity is essential. As Markowicz says, “We all need to put up a fight and we need to start now.”Check out their new book: https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Youth-Progressives-Replacing-Radicalism/dp/1956007083

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with law professor and author David Bernstein about his new book, Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America.According to Berstein, the hope that America might transcend its past history of racial division is being prevented by the efforts of critical race theorists and the vast number of people who benefit from efforts to make racial divisions permanent.They discuss The racist roots of US race classifications The need to separate government from race The permission slip race ideology gives to anti-Semitism Check out Prof. Bernstein’s book - Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America https://www.amazon.com/Classified-Untold-Racial-Classification-America/dp/1637581734

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with journalist Tom Gross about the biased coverage of Israel as well as the debate about the Netanyahu government’s proposals for judicial reform.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Middle East Forum President Daniel Pipes who believes that the failure of Israel and its supporters to insist that the Palestinians concede defeat in their efforts to destroy the Jewish is the reason why the conflict continues. Pipes also argues that the main challenge to Israel is not Palestinian terrorism, terrible though it may be. Palestinian ability to generate “toxic hostility among leftists who accept the “Palestinian narrative at the UN and other international forums that have as their goal making it a pariah state,” is a much greater strategic threat.The acceptance of the “Palestinian narrative” among left-wing elites and those who wish to do harm to the Jewish state is a problem to which Israelis are not paying enough attention.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with entrepreneur and philanthropist Bernie Marcus, the founder of the Home Depot chain of stores, to his new book, Kick Up Some Dust: Lessons on Thinking Big, Giving Back, and Doing It Yourself. Marcus believes that Americans need to rediscover capitalism and hard work and reject woke socialist myths.He’s just as angry about what he considers self-destructive behavior on the part of American Jews, who continue to support institutions and universities that promote woke antisemitism. “Jews are not the brightest people in the world,” asserts Marcus. Just as dangerous is the fact that groups that are supposed to be defending Jewish interests, like the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, are, he says, “not pulling their weight,” when it comes to fighting antisemitism. He is equally outraged by anti-Israel organizations like J Street. Jews, he said, need to wake up and begin to defend their interests just as Americans need to reject the left’s toxic ideas.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with legal expert Jerome Marcus about the controversy over plans to reform Israel’s judiciary. The two take a deep dive into the almost unlimited power that the Israeli Supreme Court has seized.They also talk about the need for legislation that would restore some checks and balances to a system where the justices have given themselves the right to interfere in virtually every aspect of Israeli life on the basis of nothing more than their own idea about what is “reasonable.”In Marcus’ view the impetus for this judicial power grab is the belief by secular liberal elites that they have the right to impose their supposedly more “enlightened” beliefs on the country’s right-wing and religious majority. “The secular left thinks Israel is illegitimate if they’re not running things,” says Marcus.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with historian Gil Troy about the legacy of Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement and critiques how understanding his journey can help inform our view of Israel today.Tobin and Troy discuss Herzl’s relevance to contemporary Jewish life as well as the way it should influence our view of Jewish nationalism, which is not only justified but a positive force in the world. Troy also dismisses the “chicken little” hysteria from some of the new Israeli government’s critics who are wrongly claiming that the sky is falling on Israeli democracy, a stand that isn’t justified by the facts.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, about the uproar over Israel’s new government and the surge in antisemitism. Tobin argues that there are three reasons why the predictions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition will cause permanent damage to the U.S.-Israel alliance and the relationship between the Jewish state and American Jewry are overblown.Hoenlein points out that successful efforts to achieve Jewish unity shouldn’t be underestimated. He also pointed out that a lot of the rhetoric about antisemitism is misplaced, declaring, “I’m tired of memorials for dead Jews. I'm tired of how good the world is at expressing regret. I want it to stand up for living Jews and living Jewish state.”Check out the full story: jns.org/im-tired-of-memorials-for-dead-jews/

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with author and JNS columnist Fiamma Nirenstein about antisemitism in Europe. Nirenstein says that accusations about new Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni being an antisemite or fascist are untrue. She argues that the left now constitutes a greater threat to Jews than the right. In her view, the United Nations is a factory for antisemitism and the so-called “human rights” organizations are spewing lies about Israel and the Palestinians. The writer says the future of Jews in Europe is problematic. “I’m always pessimistic about the future of Jews outside of Israel.” Nirenstein also believes that the left’s control of popular culture outlets as well as much of the media accounts for the growth of anti-Zionism among the general populations in Europe as well as undermining Jewish support for Israel.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Commentary magazine executive editor Abe Greenwald about the future of conservatism. They discuss the need for Republicans to get to the post-Trump era as soon as possible while holding on to his populist spirit and not reverting to the policies of the failed establishment the former president displaced. Both think that Trump was the only person who could re-elect Biden in 2024.Going into the Trump-Kanye West controversy, Greenwald says he was particularly troubled by Dave Chapelle’s Saturday Night Live monologue on the subject in part because of the way it ignored African-American violence against Jews. But more than that, Chapelle said Jews shouldn’t blame blacks for their problems. That was, Greenwald says, “preposterous,” because it was West who blamed the Jews for his problems.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer about the war in Ukraine. While both condemn Russia’s illegal and brutal aggression, they note the widespread acceptance of the notion that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a defender of democracy and freedom even though his government is actually engaging in repression of dissent and religious freedom.The two break down the way politics and the Russia collusion hoax have worked to influence American opinion about the need for America to fund the war rather than seeking to stop it. Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s dubious comments about the Holocaust and pressure campaign to force Israel to join the war are also discussed They then turn to the rise in antisemitism in the United States and the tragic failure of the Anti-Defamation League.

In this week’s episode of “Top Story,” JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with former Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Tevi Troy about the failures of the public health bureaucracy during the Covid pandemic as well as the damage done to children by school closures that were supported and extended by teachers’ unions. Troy also notes that states where people valued “liberty” and had a “lighter touch” on lockdowns generally fared better during the pandemic than those states that had a heavy-handed approach.The two then discuss the growing problem of antisemitism. Troy notes it has four sources: Anti-Israel hysteria from the left, white nationalists on the far right, Muslim antisemitism that is rooted in hate for Israel and the one that “liberals really don’t want to talk about: African-American antisemitism.” Troy also points out that the Anti-Defamation League has “fallen down on the job” in dealing with this problem because it is only focused on hate on the right.

Few still oppose gay marriage. But if the state can force even creative artists to celebrate it, no one’s rights to religious liberty are safe.Listen to full story here!

In this week’s episode of “Top Story,” JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with legal expert and author Thane Rosenbaum about how best to defend free speech while also pushing back against the mainstreaming of antisemites. Tobin and Rosenbaum talk about the need to rein in Big Tech Internet companies and social media platforms to prevent them from using their unprecedented monopoly power to skew debates and even elections as happened with the suppression of Biden family corruption stories in 2020.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with critic, historian and novelist Michael Walsh, the editor of the new book “Against the Great Reset: 8 Theses Contra The New World Order.” It discusses the efforts of the World Economic Forum and the Davos set that attends the group’s influential annual conference to reshape society to conform to the dictates of woke ideology, radical environmentalism and socialism.

In this week’s episode of “Top Story,” JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with columnist Ruthie Blum about the fallout from both the Israeli election and the American midterm elections. Blum says Israel is ready for a shift in policy on dealing with terrorism and crime as well as judicial reform from a new government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.The two argue that a main challenge for Netanyahu will be dealing with the Biden administration’s commitment to a policy of appeasing Iran, even though the regime there is tottering. They also discuss former President Donald Trump’s prospects in the 2024 presidential race agreeing that his ego-driven attacks on fellow Republicans have undermined his case for leadership of the GOP.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with journalist Heather Robinson to break down the midterm election results with particular emphasis on races in New York and Pennsylvania that she covered for JNS. The two analyze the failure of the GOP to do as well as expected in the midterms. Robinson discusses how the abortion issue may have influenced the votes of Jewish women as well as other factors that allowed Democrats to hold on in the Northeast. Tobin and Robinson also break down the impact of the results on the 2024 presidential race and how Republican Jews will be faced with a choice as to whether to support former President Donald Trump because of his pro-Israel record or to embrace Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.