The “Serene & Calm” Edition

Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Days of Repentance, This Time With Bombs— What are we to make of Israel’s weekend attack on Iran? —All We Know— What Wikipedia has to say about Israel and Zionism is changing before our eyes, and not for the better. —Other Peoples' Elections— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Two of every three Israelis polled say they’re pulling for Trump to win. Is this true and, if so, why? All of that and more music of our times.

Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss one topic of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   Making Sense of Sinwar, asking four questions: Now that Yahya Sinwar is dead, should Israel take the win or fight on? In light of the fact that Yahya Sinwar was killed in Rafiah, can we conclude retrospectively that going into Rafiah was a good idea? Is the unremitting and uncompromising focus with which Israel pursued Yahya Sinwar – at the cost of hundreds of Israeli lives and tens of thousands of Palestinian lives – a demonstration of its alpha-and-omega security policy, first set out by Zev Jabotinsky 101 years ago, called “The Iron Wall”?, and What should we think and feel about the very violent death of that very violent man, Yahya Sinwar? —Simchat Tora One Hebrew Calendar Year After Oct. 7th— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: One Hebrew calendar year after Hamas’ attack on Israel, our religious communities have thought long and hard about the appropriate way to celebrate Simchat Tora.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Noah Efron and Tova Cohen discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Best Laid Schemes (Lea’e Us Nought but Grief An’ Pain), With Apologies to Robert Burns (And to Mice)— Bringing down the Azrieli Towers? Conquering Israel top-to-bottom by 2025? Minutes of Hamas meetings sets out the groups grim vision. —What’s So Funny ’Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?— Has “peace” left the building? —Jed Bartlet Is in the Sukkah!— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Who, this year, would be our “Ushpizin” in our (notional or real) Sukkah. All of that and Sukkot suddenly turning up everywhere.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Regional Inferno?— Israel’s war with Gaza may soon become an all-out regional war. How do you say “Yikes!” in Farsi? —Accounting of the Soul— What should we have in mind, this Yom Kippur, when we thump our chests in repentance? —Prayer in the Square?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Our hot take on last night’s Supreme Court ruling regarding the legality of organized gender-separated public prayer in liberal Tel Aviv. All of that and marking a year of the nightmare of October 7. Plus, music that moves us from the memorials.

A New Year and a year since. What are we remembering when we remember October 7?

Elul is here and people all over the country are keeping the before-the-high-holidays tradition of saying Selihot, asking for forgiveness and offering atonement. All this as rockets and planes fly, and bombs fall.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Linda Gradstein and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Major Pager Rager— A stunning attack-by-pager left dozens of Hezbollah militiamen dead and thousands maimed and wounded. What are we to make of a thing like that? —Commemoration Vexation— How do you memorialize October 7, when October 7 hasn’t ended yet? —Testicles in the Twitterverse?— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Hezbollah pagers explode, social media memes erupt, but not all Israelis are laughing. All this and the music from the remarkable new record רוח באה מדרום (Wind Comes from the South).

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Miriam Herschlag and Noah Efron discuss two topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —Not Too Brotherly, Not Much Love— How did the “Philadelphi Corridor” become a matter of life and death? —Errors of Omission and Commission— The government hasn’t investigated itself, so a bunch of citizens took it on itself. Is that a good thing? —Much Ado About a Handful of Sand— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: A 27-year-old Tel Aviv resident was arrested for allegedly tossing wet sand at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Was the minister being purposely provocative for personal political gain? Songs Tuna — Bein ha-Ir LaPardes Pe’er Tasi — Yoni Yarin — Ein Laila  

For 331 days, Rachel Goldberg-Polin went everywhere, spoke to everyone and did everything to save her son, Hersh.

703 IDF soldiers have fallen since October 7th. Each was an entire world. This is a small bit of the story of one of them, Zachariah Haber.