What Matters Now

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Goldberg-Polin, who has become a well-known voice in the Jewish and Israeli world since October 7, 2023, when Hersh was taken captive by Hamas terrorists, speaks about the challenge of being active, present, and even thankful in the aftermath of Hersh's death. She speaks about the public nature of the family's mourning, as she and her husband, Jon Polin, remain active advocates for the remaining hostages, but grapple with their deep mourning in the public eye. Goldberg-Polin shares anecdotes about her life, including her extended Jerusalem community during the high holiday period, and her desperate hope to grow from the challenges she's faced during the last two years. She speaks about the need to help repair herself and the world around her and the need for some relief from the pain and suffering of this time period. And so this week, we ask Rachel Goldberg-Polin, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: People walk next to a mural of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin in central Jerusalem, August 18, 2025. (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Yossi Klein Halevi. This week, we speak with Hartman Institute senior fellow, author and thinker Yossi Klein Halevi from his Jerusalem home overlooking the back of the Mount Herzl National Military Cemetery.  With that backdrop, we delve into a recently published Klein Halevi essay, "Our season of reckoning: Israel’s moral crossroads in Gaza," which he said was the hardest piece he's ever written -- and the one that has received the most response. We learn why Klein Halevi felt it important to chart this moment of ethical dimension, as it is unlike any other the IDF and the nation has faced.   While Klein Halevi may not have the answers to the multitude of questions facing the world's most moral army, he believes the struggle and questioning are imperative for both Israelis and Diaspora Jews. And so this week, we ask Yossi Klein Halevi, what matters now? What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Yossi Klein Halevi (courtesy) / People take part in a protest demanding the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas and calling for the end of the war in the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, September 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Daniel Gordis. Gordis, an author, scholar, rabbi, activist and sometime Times of Israel blogger, is the creator of the popular Substack blog and podcast, "Israel from the Inside." He recounts how he began the blog in 2021 to pull the curtain back on the Jewish state for those living abroad. In this episode, we discuss the evolution Gordis's decision to be a pro-Israel, yet critical voice in a tricky global environment of rising antisemitism and uncertainty. Wearing his rabbi hat, he speaks about how existential loneliness is a part of the experience of this season of High Holy Days and he further describes the loneliness of being Israeli at this time in history. Gordis challenges American Jews to consider that Israelis are fighting for their homeland -- both in Gaza and during the ongoing protests in the streets. And so this week, we ask Daniel Gordis, what matters now? What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Daniel Gordis (courtesy) / A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer detains a protestor while clearing a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel encampment after dispersal orders were given at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, on May 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Haviv Rettig Gur, a senior analyst with deep insights into Israel and Jewish affairs, discusses a controversial airstrike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar. He raises questions about Israel's unpredictable tactics in the region and their potential impact on relationships with allies. The conversation touches on the complexities of military action versus diplomatic engagements, challenges in maintaining U.S.-Qatar relations, and the broader implications for Palestinian statehood amidst ongoing tensions in Gaza.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Australians Tamar Paluch and Deborah Conway, the editor and a contributor to "Ruptured, Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7," a book of essays. Paluch, who edited the book with Lee Kofman, discusses how the idea came from a painful place, after the events of October 7 brought a deluge of antisemitism upon Australia's Jewish community. She talks about putting together a book written and edited by women, as it was the silence of women's organizations regarding the sexual crimes committed by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 terrorist attack that prompted her and her co-editor to launch the project. Conway, one of the contributors and a well-known Australian musician and performing artist, speaks about the antisemitism and hatred she experienced in the wake of October 7, as many of her appearances and performances were canceled and sometimes interrupted by virulent pro-Palestinian protestors. Both women discuss the historical background of Australian Jewry and the sense that the dream of a Jewish paradise has ended, and how they plan on moving forward. And so this week, we ask Tamar Paluch and Deborah Conway what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Palestinian supporters wave flags as they march to the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the Sydney Opera House, which was planned to be illuminated in the colors of the Israeli flag following the weekend Hamas attack on Israel, while police advised the Jewish community to stay away. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with legal expert on genocide Menachem Rosensaft. Rosensaft is an adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School and lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches the law of genocide -- since 2008 at Cornell and since 2011 at Columbia. A dedicated pro-Israel US Jewish leader, Rosensaft is the general counsel emeritus of the World Jewish Congress and has been part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, most notably sitting with PLO leader Yasser Arafat alongside four other American Jewish leaders in 1988, after which Arafat said he recognized the State of Israel's right to exist. Rosensaft discusses the important legal and rhetorical distinction between genocide and crimes against humanity or war crimes, feeling that the definition's precision is being diluted in popular use. We learn about the history and evolution of Raphael Lemkin's definition of genocide and the ripple effect it has caused. He emphasizes that Israel cannot be held out as the sole villain in the ongoing war, and explains how Hamas exhibits genocidal intent and ideology. However, the statements from a handful of far-right Israeli politicians is making South Africa's December 2023 legal case accusing the Jewish state of genocide much harder to win. Finally, he rails against the Israeli government's weaponization of the word "antisemitism" for all dissent against the Jewish state, but doubles down on the need for an ongoing peace process leading to a Palestinian state. And so this week, we ask genocide legal expert Menachem Rosensaft, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Menachem Rosensaft (courtesy) / Palestinians stand on the edge of a crater after Israeli military strikes in a tent camp for displaced people near Al-Aqsa Hospital, in Deir al-Balah, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with former US negotiator, adviser and ambassador Dennis Ross. Today, Ross, an author and the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, also teaches at Georgetown University’s Center for Jewish Civilization. But for over a decade, he was the US point man on the arduous Israeli-Palestinian peace processes in both the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. We close the program by hearing thoughts on the current talks to end the Gaza War from a negotiator who was in the room "when it happened" -- or didn't. However, we begin the episode by asking Ross, who has decades of experience in Soviet and Middle East policy, for his analysis of this week's Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and the subsequent meet-up between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders. We then spin the globe and focus on Israel and the region -- present and past, including the two milestones of the 2005 Disengagement and the 2000 Camp David Summit. And so this week, we ask Ambassador Dennis Ross, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Dennis Ross (Courtesy)/ Demonstrators march during a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas and calling for the Israeli government to reverse its decision to take over Gaza City and other areas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Prof. Dan Turner, the head of a pediatric gastroenterology unit at one of Israel’s most respected hospitals located in Jerusalem and Deputy Dean of the School of Medicine at the Hebrew University. Turner, alongside his work as a physician, educator and researcher, is also an ardent activist in a variety of fields concerning human rights and dignity, inside and outside of medicine. Our podcast conversation was spurred by his response to images of Muhammad al-Mutawaq, a severely emaciated 18-month-old living in Gaza, which were published on the front pages of newspapers around the world, prompting a global outcry about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Following an independent journalist's investigation, it was revealed that al-Mutawaq suffered from severe illnesses, including neurological and muscle disorders. For Turner, al-Mutawaq's underlying medical conditions don't excuse his appearance -- quite the contrary. The malnourished child is emblematic of Israel's inhumane treatment of all Palestinians, from security prisoners handcuffed in hospital beds to babies who require special medical care in Gazan tent cities, he says. In a wide-ranging interview, Turner explains how he was "awoken" to his duty to advocate for Palestinians' basic medical care and treatment with dignity. He shares the blowback he has received -- and why he now sparks conversations about the ongoing war in Gaza by "looking like a caveman." And so this week, we ask Prof. Dan Turner, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: The transfer of Palestinian men arrested during a military raid on Jenin, January 22, 2025. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with ToI's senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur. During the Tisha B'Av fast on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir again made headlines for going up to the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. There were two big differences this time: One, he led a prayer service out loud, and two, he called for the Jewish resettlement of the Gaza Strip. Both aspects of Ben Gvir's trip were highly documented, including his statement on the ongoing war in Gaza. Ben Gvir said, “I am saying, davka [intentionally] from here, from the Temple Mount — the place from which it was proven that it is possible to have sovereign rule —  davka from here, we are relaying a message that from today on, we are conquering the entire Gaza Strip, announcing our sovereignty on the entire Gaza Strip, and taking down every Hamas member and encouraging voluntary emigration. Only in this way will we return the hostages and win the war.” Ben Gvir's semi-messianic vision may come partially true as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears poised to announce an IDF operation aimed at conquering the entire Gaza Strip.  Resettlement of the Palestinian enclave, says Rettig Gur, is a completely different matter. We hear how this latest publicity stunt is a disservice to the Temple Mount movement, which stresses that Jews may have freedom of worship at Judaism's most holy site. And so this week, we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Haviv Rettig Gur (courtesy) / Illustrative: Jews visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, on Jerusalem Day, May 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with author Daniel Taub. Taub is an Israeli diplomat, international lawyer and author born in Britain in 1962. He moved to Israel in 1989, later serving in the IDF as a combat medic and as a reserve officer in the international law division. He started his path in diplomacy in the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1991 where he held many legal and diplomatic posts, including as  Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2015. In his new book, "Beyond Dispute: Rediscovering the Jewish Art of Constructive Disagreement," Taub synthesizes his years spent at negotiating tables as a diplomat with his lifelong learning of Talmud.  Drawing on techniques from both spheres, Taub argues that disagreement can be even more constructive than easy consensus -- and is necessary for treaties to last. We begin the program speaking about the Tisha B'Av holiday marked this weekend and how Israeli society today -- specifically, the painful ongoing debate over universal draft -- is coming close to the senseless hatred that tradition ascribes as a reason for the fall of the Temples.  We then hear how one must pick a ripe time for negotiations, and how Taub's experiences on negotiation teams with Palestinians and Syrians make him think that Israelis, at the very least, are not ready to discuss a practical peace -- yet. And so this week, we ask Daniel Taub, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Author Daniel Taub (courtesy) / Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man pray as they gather for the mourning ritual of Tisha B'Av, in the Old City of Jerusalem, August 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.