Tel Aviv Review

Can a country confront its past without putting its founding ideals into question? The renowned and controversial historian of the Holocaust Omer Bartov has spent decades studying genocide, war, and the ways societies understand their own histories. In his new book Israel: What Went Wrong, he turns that expertise—and his own experience growing up in Israel in a Zionist family—to one of the most urgent questions facing the country. Bartov discusses the two faces of Zionism: the promise of refuge for Jews fleeing persecution, and the movement's impact on Palestinians. He reflects on how Israel's understanding of the Holocaust has changed, how the events of October 7 and the war in Gaza transformed his own thinking, and why he believes the country must confront difficult truths about its past. Can a different path still be imagined? Bartov discusses the missed opportunity for a constitution, the possibility of historical reckoning and reconciliation, and the fierce criticism his views have drawn from opposing sides. A challenging conversation about history, identity, and what it means to take responsibility for the past. The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.

What happens when a political philosopher stops asking, "What would the perfect society look like?" and starts asking, "How did we get here?" Dr Raef Zreik takes a close look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of political theory—and argues that one of the most important tasks of philosophy is self-clarification: figuring out exactly what we mean when we disagree, what assumptions we're making, and where our arguments actually lead. As a Palestinian citizen of Israel, Zreik describes himself as a kind of translator, trying to articulate Palestinian demands in language Jewish Israelis can understand—and Jewish fears in ways Palestinians can engage with. The conversation ranges from the meaning of citizenship and Palestinian political agency to organized crime in Palestinian society inside Israel, the relationship between history and political rights, and the devastating events in Gaza. It's a conversation about what happens when philosophy leaves the classroom and confronts a conflict in which both sides have their own history, fears, and claims to justice. The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.

What did South African anti-apartheid activists once think about Israel and Zionism? The answer is more complicated than most seem to think. Dr. Asher Lubotzky, research fellow at the University of Houston's Department of Political Science, takes us through the extraordinary—and often surprising—relationship between the South African anti-apartheid movement and Israel, from the birth of both countries in 1948 through the Cold War, the end of apartheid, and into the present. Lubotzky is the author of Shifting Solidarities: The South African Anti-Apartheid Movement's Perception of Zionism. In the early years, some of the movement's most prominent activists actually supported Israel. Jewish and non-Jewish communists saw the new Jewish state as an anti-fascist, socialist project. African nationalists found parallels between Zionism and their own struggle for national liberation. And Israel itself was actively reaching out to anti-apartheid movements in Africa. So how did that relationship turn into today's association of Israel with apartheid? The answer involves the Six-Day War, Israel's growing military ties with Pretoria, the Cold War, South Africa's Jewish community, and shifting ideas about colonialism and national liberation. It's a fascinating history of how political alliances change—and how today's certainties can look very different when viewed through the lens of the past.

What does soccer have to do with Zionism? More than you might think. Today, competitive sports feel like an obvious part of Israeli culture. But when Zionism was taking shape in the early 20th century, sports were anything but obvious. Many Zionists actually preferred gymnastics, believing it would build a healthier, more disciplined—and more ideal—Jew. So how did competitive sports win out? In this fascinating episode, Dr Ofer Idels, fellow in Israel Studies at the University of Calgary, takes us back to interwar Palestine, when Jews were debating what kind of bodies, citizens, and society they wanted to create. Along the way, we discover how sports became entangled with nationalism, Hebrew culture, masculinity, capitalism, the British Empire—and the very idea of what it meant to be a "new Jew." And here's the intriguing part: Idels argues that even something as seemingly apolitical as sport can reveal the ideology shaping a society. Read more in his book, Embodying the Revolution: The Hebrew Experience and the Globalization of Modern Sports in Interwar Palestine.

What separates an activist who changes the world… from one who simply makes noise? Israeli-American lawyer, philanthropist, and disability rights advocate Jay Ruderman argues that lasting change isn't about shouting the loudest. It's about knowing when to provoke, when to persuade, and how to build unlikely alliances. Drawing on decades of experience—from transforming disability representation in Hollywood to navigating today's deeply polarized political landscape—Ruderman shares why winning hearts and minds is often far more powerful than winning an argument. His book Find Your Fight: Make Your Voice Heard for the Causes that Matter Most. Ruderman builds on his long years as an activist for disability inclusion to offer essential tips for the budding (and the experienced) activist.

Can films reveal what a nation really believes about itself? For decades, Dutch cinema told one story about its Jews. Then, slowly, that story began to change. This week, Dr. Eyal Boers, head of Film and Television at Ariel University, takes us on a fascinating journey through more than a century of Dutch cinema, showing how films have reflected—and shaped—the Netherlands' evolving relationship with its Jewish community, the Holocaust, national identity, and Israel. Why did Jewish characters move from being outsiders to symbols of national guilt? Why does Anne Frank loom so large over Dutch filmmaking? And what does today's portrayal of Israelis reveal about contemporary Europe? It's a conversation about cinema—but even more, it's about memory, identity, and the stories societies tell themselves. Check out Dr. Boers book, The Jew in Dutch Cinema: Images, Stereotypes and National Identity.

Upon the publication of Autocorrect, his latest collection of short stories, Etgar Keret joins us to discuss his favorite literary form, the impact of AI on storytelling and the power of literature post-Oct 7. The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.

The major turning points in Iran's nuclear program were not the JCPOA or the latest wars, but the Shah's defiance of Henry Kissinger and the Iran-Iraq War, says Dr. Sina Azodi, Assistant Professor of Middle East Politics at George Washington University and author of Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran and the Nuclear Question.

How does a Western-educated king survive — and thrive — in the political chaos of the Middle East for more than 25 years? Aaron Magid, a journalist formerly based in Jordan, discusses his book The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan, exploring the fascinating story of Jordan's King Abdullah II: a monarch shaped by American culture, dependent on American support, yet ruling one of the region's most fragile and strategically vital countries. From Georgetown and Star Trek to Gaza, the Arab Spring, ISIS, Trump, Obama, and the future of the Hashemite Kingdom — this conversation dives deep into the balancing act that has kept Jordan stable while the region around it burns. Why does Washington invest billions in Jordan? How "American" is King Abdullah really? Can authoritarian stability survive economic despair? And how has Jordan managed to weather every regional storm? A timely conversation about power, survival, diplomacy, and the quiet importance of Jordan in Middle Eastern politics.

Olga Gershenson, professor of Jewish and Near East Studies and Film Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, explains how a generation raised on VHS, torrents, and global cinema reinvented horror in Israel—turning familiar tropes into sharp, funny, and deeply local cultural critique. From "Hebraizing" zombies to exposing the absurdities of military life, Israeli horror is anything but escapist—it's subversive, original, and long overdue. Why did it take so long for horror to emerge in Israeli cinema—and why did it suddenly explode in the 2010s? Her book, New Israeli Horror: Local Cinema, Global Genre, is available here: https://websites.umass.edu/newisraelihorror