State of Tel Aviv, Israel Podcast

Earlier today, I spoke with Ya’akov Katz, former editor of The Jerusalem Post for our regular Sunday morning check in and review of highlights of the previous week. We touch on the possibility of renewed negotiations for the release of the hostages, for whom time is running out. They have been kept in dreadful conditions, received very little food, water and no medical care or hygienic supplies. The hostage plight continues to gut the nation and try the families, unbearably. We then look at the northern front, where Hizballah has been attacking Israel more aggressively in recent days and the possibility of all-out war erupting looms. We wrap with the increasing political tensions which are coming to a boil and even prompted President Isaac Herzog to implore in a television address last Sunday for the politicking to stop. Of course, things just heated up more after his plea, and Ya’akov became involved in one particular skirmish involving former PM Naftali Bennett, who finished off the year with a spectacular own goal. Which Katz called. We look ahead with trepidation but the storied resolve that you just grow here after a while. Like a second skin. Happy New Year from the State of Tel Aviv. See you on the other side in 2024!State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

In this episode, our Christmas Special, State of Tel Aviv brings you a “twofer”; interviews with two of this podcast’s favorite voices. IDF Spokesperson, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus and Ya’akov Katz, former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, security political analyst, share their thoughts on the challenges of urban warfare in the Gaza Strip and the continuing toll that the hostage crisis takes on all of Israel. We also get into the extreme tension and constant hostilities on the northern front with Hizballah. More than 100,000 Israeli civilians have been evacuated from the north and have no idea as to if or when they will be able to return. Since October 7 there has been ongoing fire from Hizballah, which Israel returns. It is a spark away from becoming a raging battle. And Hizballah is much better trained and fighting with a bigger arsenal of significantly more sophisticated and harmful weapons. Katz, in particular, is concerned that the failures of military intelligence and strategy that were so apparent in the south may also be prevalent in the north. We begin with Lt. Col Conricus. The Katz interview starts at 16:28. I wanted to leave you with some brain food for the coming week. We will be slowing down until just after New Year’s Day. A print piece or two may drop. But otherwise we’ll lie low. Thanks again for supporting State of Tel Aviv. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas (it is Christmas Day, after all) if you celebrate. And Happy New Year to all.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

This is the second instalment of our new Sunday feature: a quick, sharp focus on what went down in the past week and what's coming. Now clocking 72 days in captivity, the hostage crisis dominated the national psyche. The inadvertent killing by the IDF of three hostages who had escaped and were waving a white flag sent Israel reeling with intense shock, grief and disbelief. Their capture is why the war started and the nation is united about this and only this: Bring Them Home. NOW. I discuss this development with regular co-host, Ya'akov Katz. Former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, military, security and political expert and engaging raconteur. What happened and where are we going?State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

On Thursday evening, I spoke with Aviva Klompas, an extraordinary Jewish activist, educator and writer who has distinguished herself on social media since October 7. From the moment the horror began to unfold, Aviva posted constantly with information and updates on the incomprehensible evil that befell Israel; the savage Hamas attacks and the grief left in their wake, that we are just beginning to comprehend. An accomplished writer with a keen eye for detail. Aviva crafts vignettes and stories, distiling them to their essence. Each one is important testimony for the future. Aviva  has developed an important historical record, piece by piece, chronicling what we all learned, in real time, focusing always on the hostages and their families. She speaks as powerfully as she writes. I could listen to her all day. The discussion is framed by my observations and thoughts from my multiple visits over the last week to “Hostage Square” in central Tel Aviv, where I went last night for the lighting of the menorah, for the final night.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Aviva Klompas is the co-founder and CEO of Boundless, a non-profit organization focusing on countering online antisemitism, boundlessisrael.org. A Toronto native, she resides in Boston and has deep experience in Israel-related advocacy and served as chief speechwriter for former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Beginning today, State of Tel Aviv brings you a weekly podcast feature: a look at the week past and what may be coming. Each Sunday, host Vivian Bercovici will speak with Ya’akov Katz, fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, former editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post, military and political expert, serial book writer and one of the liveliest story tellers around. Viv and Ya’akov will do their best to make sense of the heightened intensity that has seized Israel since October 7. They bring humor, as appropriate, and deep knowledge not only of Israel but the foreign policy, diplomatic, political and journalistic communities that wield outsized influence in the middle east. Today, they discuss the difficulty of how to “live” in a time of war and psychological agony, reflected in the hostage situation; the death last week of General Gadi Eisenkot’s son in battle in the Gaza Strip; the surrender of thousands of Hamas terrorists and the controversial photographs that hit the front pages of papers around the world; and a look ahead at what the coming days may bring. State of Tel Aviv will continue to publish in-depth podcasts on a regular basis but In these particularly tense times thought that a regular “check-in” would be appreciated by our listeners and supporters. Thanks for listening. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Speaking with journalist and political analyst Haviv Rettig Gur is always a journey. He begins by sharing his family's personal experience with supporting a family in which many members were taken hostage. Some have been released. Some remain. Some were murdered on Oct. 7. Haviv explains the impossible, how this trauma is at once uplifting and devastating. Nothing in life is familiar. But Rettig Gur is a pragmatic optimist. He lauds the way in which the IDF has earned back so much trust from the Israeli population, in spite of its appalling dereliction of duty on October 7. He sees an unwavering resolve among the population that is unprecedented; to destroy Hamas’ military capability and liberate every single hostage. The captives are a double-edged sword, he explains: at once tearing the nation apart and bringing people together in common purpose. And then there’s the government led by PM Netanyahu, which is disgraced and detested. Yet the military must work with and defer to the civilian leadership, a bizarre and challenging situation. Israel can and will withstand international pressure and anything else that is thrown at us, he insists. Hamas’ evil has ensured that we will stay the course. Haviv Rettig Gur's ever eloquent telling of such difficult, painful realities always adds clarity and hope to how we see the present day madness.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

We speak with Ya’akov Katz - military analyst, author and former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post -  for his signature trenchant analysis of the impossible dilemma that the IDF faces in the Gaza Strip. How will It deal with al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City; the largest in the Gaza Strip which also sits atop Hamas’ main subterranean HQ and operational hub? And those humanitarian pauses? Is it an endless game of moving civilians from one place to another in order to flush out the terrorist infrastructure entrenched underground? And. The hostages. Since speaking with Katz yesterday IDF has confirmed that a 19-year-old female hostage, an IDF soldier, was executed. We have also learned that an Israeli woman taken hostage on October 7 has given birth. Which means that we are holding at 240. And always, a torrent of fresh details about the incomprehensible savagery and sadism of HamasISIS. We end with a quick assessment of the low-boil conflict in northern Israel with Hizballah, which could erupt into full-blown war at any moment. As always, Katz brings clarity and deep knowledge to his analysis, which is why we keep inviting him back to the pod!State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

For Eli Beer, October 7 never ends. Eli personifies courage and power and principle and drive. Yet he looks and sounds broken. Listen to his voice; a whisper of what it was a month ago. His NGO, United Hatzalah, is a Jerusalem-based organization with more than 15,000 volunteers including trained medics, of all religions and ethnicities, who value human life. On Saturday, October 7, only United Hatzalah volunteers travelled deep into the heart of darkness, the area in southern Israel where thousands of Hamas terrorists went on a savage spree, torturing, raping, sodomizing, decapitating, dismembering, burning to death – any civilian or soldier who they came upon. This is the story of the heroism of Eli Beer and his civilian volunteers who went into this Hell to save anyone they could. Meeting last week with a group of Republican Jewish leaders in the United States, Eli disclosed for the first time one of the more macabre incidents of October 7 – when his people found the charred body of a baby who had been put in an oven and baked to death. I did not have the heart to ask him to repeat that horror today, but you should know. You should know everything. We all should. It is our duty as civilized beings. We do. Oy have the luxury of looking away. Saying: “I didn’t know.” Because this war on the Jews is just the beginning. Hamas and its allies – Iran, Hizballah, Houthis and more – have the same plans for all infidels. Everywhere. Eli also has some choice words for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has distinguished himself throughout this crisis as a man peculiarly detached from this attack on Israel and Jewish people everywhere, including in Canada. I have seen much and spoken with many. This interview with Eli was among the most difficult I have done. Please listen. It's the least we can do.Below is a link to an article I wrote in March, 2022, for the National Post newspaper in Canada immediately following a United Hatzalah mission in which I participated to support Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. It helps you to understand what exceptional work United Hatzalah does. Not just in Israel and not just for Jews.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

The day began with the release of a Hamas video featuring three female Israeli hostages, calculated to torment the Israeli public. Psychological warfare. Then. As the nation waited for a press conference to be held by the families of hostages, incredible news broke. Live. Of the IDF rescue of a female soldier the night before. A glimmer of light in a very dark time. IDF spokesperson (res) Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus gives us the full report and analysis on that and more. State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Prof. Uzi Rabi, Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University is one of the top global experts on middle east geopolitics and Arab culture, in every sense. Rabi is constantly on international and Israeli TV these days, explaining the phenomenon of “progressives” in the west embracing the savage Hamas terrorist movement and all it stands for. And make no mistake, Hamas is an anti-zionist and deeply anti-semitic movement. It is also anti-western; particularly hostile to the “woke” values and ideas promoted by its western supporters. After Hamas has made swift business of Israel and Jews it will turn its sights on infidels everywhere, but particularly in the west. And first in line will be the “progressives” so ardently championing their murderous cases today. Dr. Rabi explains this tangled mess brilliantly and finally, turns to ask the world: “America sent half its army around the world to find and hunt Osama Bin Laden. Why should Israel not do the same?”Why, he is really asking, is there always a reluctance to allow Jews to defend themselves?State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe