The Role of Judaism in the State of Israel

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I do not accept the racist concept of Judaism that is brought to us by Rabbi Kahanah and by Smotrich and by Benjil. So again, I have to be an advocate for people who are not deep in the Israeli discourse. Jewish are better and they deserve more rights, more civil rights, than any other citizen of Israel who is not a Jew. And this is why when you asked me to start with a current situation in Israel, we should have to go back at least to 1948,.

Ami Ayalon is the former head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal intelligence agency, and former commander of the Israeli navy. After his retirement from the Shin Bet, Ayalon served as a member of the Knesset and co-founded the grassroots peace initiative The People’s Voice with Palestinian philosopher Sari Nusseibeh. He is the author, with Anthony David, of Friendly Fire: How Israel Became Its Own Worst Enemy and the Hope for Its Future.

On the 75th anniversary of Israel’s founding, Yascha Mounk and Ami Ayalon discuss the roots of today’s democratic crisis in the country; lessons from Ayalon’s lifelong career in Israel’s defense and intelligence communities; and why Palestinian hope is an Israeli security asset.

Editor’s Note: This conversation was recorded in April, before the most recent round of violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

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Podcast production by John Taylor Williams, and Brendan Ruberry

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