Two Nice Jewish Boys

This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel, check them out at https://Masaisrael.org *** On August 6, 1984, Corporal Moshe Tamam, who was 19 years old, took a bus ride from the northern city of Tiberia to Tel Aviv. Moshe was on vacation from his military service, where he served as an instructor of heavy-duty vehicle drivers. He was accompanying his girlfriend to her home in Tiberia that day, but on his way back, he was kidnapped and brutally murdered by 4 arab-israeli terrorists. A year and a half later, the 4 terrorists were captured, tried, and put in jail. But this was not the end of the story, it was only the beginning. In Israeli jail, the terrorists enjoyed a high standard of living, which includes relative autonomy inside the jail, use of cell phones, the ability to study a degree, and more. A few months ago, one of the murderers, Rushdi Abu-Moch, was set free after the 35 years sentence ended. He was accepted with celebrations in the Israeli-Arab town of Baka-Al Garabia. Moshe Tamam’s family was outraged. Today, we are honored to have Moshe Tamam’s niece, Dr. Ortal Tamam. Ortal is a medical doctor, and towards the end of her PHD, researching genetics of preterm birth. She is a Gates Award Laureate, and a prominent spokesperson of the families of terror victims in Israel, who are constantly fighting against the lack of justice against the murderers of their loved ones. (Photo: Eran Gilvarg)

This episode is sponsored by the Podcast “Thirty Six” With Justin Hayet! Listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zlLptB6swtpqPjkTe8ovV?si=6d00d84bc66448c9&nd=1 *** We are also sponsored by Masa Israel, check them out at http://Masaisrael.org *** Naor and Eytan talk about Covid, new anti-democratic laws, Eytan's upcoming trip to the States, and Naor's trip to Italy!

This episode is sponsored by the Podcast “Thirty Six” With Justin Hayet! Listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zlLptB6swtpqPjkTe8ovV?si=6d00d84bc66448c9 *** We are also sponsored by Masa Israel, check them out at https://Masaisrael.org *** It is feared and revered throughout the world. Its operations have been igniting the imagination of generations. Its capabilities seem endless - from wreaking havoc in a far Iranian nuclear facility, to assassinating a high-profile Hamas agent in his hotel room at the heart of Dubai (all according to foreign publications, of course). It is far reaching, it is bold, it is legendary. It is the Israeli Mossad. Today, for the first time on the Two Nice Jewish Boys Podcast, we are going to talk to a person who was a Mossad agent. Not just an agent - he was one of the top commanders of Cesaria unit, the special ops branch of the Mossad. In another lifetime, Mishka Ben David was a regular guy, like you and me. Born in 1952, his story is Israel’s story. He fought in Yom Kippur war and the War of Attrition, he studied literature at the University of Wisconsin - where he served as the delegate of the Zionist Histadrut. He was even working at the Matnas Company, which manages local culture centers in Israeli cities and villages. But all that changed in 1987, when he was recruited to the Mossad. After retiring in 1999, Mishka became a writer, his novels depict thrilling spy stories that might - or might not - be based on true events. We are super excited to have Mishka Ben David on the show today to talk about his amazing life, books and service in the Mossad. (Photo by Daniel Chechik)

This episode is sponsored by the Podcast "Thirty Six" With Justin Hayet! Listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/0zlLptB6swtpqPjkTe8ovV?si=6d00d84bc66448c9 *** We are also sponsored by Masa Israel, check them out at https://Masaisrael.org *** Israel is still licking its wounds from what happened here last May, as thousands of Israeli-Palestinians stormed the street in violent protests, lynches and vandalism. With very few people arrested and persecuted, it seems like the repercussions of what happened will continue to resonate in the near future, and nobody truly knows when the next time a match will ignite the explosive barrel on which we’re sitting. In the meantime, Iran is growing stronger by the day and getting closer and closer to the bomb, while America’s influence in the Middle East is weakening, and Israel seeks new alliances with unexpected partners like the UAE and Bahrain. To talk about all that, and much more, we invited one of Israel’s top experts on the Arab world - near and far. Dr. Mordechai Kedar. Dr. Kedar has proposed ‘The Palestinian Emirates Plan’ plan, which he claims to be the only viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dr. Kedar holds a Ph.D from Bar Ilan University, where he’s a lecturer and a scholar at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He is an expert for Arab media, as he’s fluent in Arabic and frequently appears in Arabic-speaking TV channels, such as al-Jazeera. We’re honored to have Dr. Kedar on the show today.

Check out Masa Israel here: https://Masaisrael.org *** Back in May, everything lay in the balance. Israel had just concluded its 4th elections in 2 years and it seemed as if it was in yet another stalemate - on the way to another round of elections. But then, at the last minute, we witnessed one of the craziest political twists this country has ever experienced. Naftali Bennett, leader of the 7-seat Yamina party, agreed to form a government with a coalition of center, left-wing and Arab parties… on one condition: that he serve as Prime Minister. The entire country was astounded. Yamina, which means Right (as in right-wing), ran on a traditionally conservative platform and on the explicit promise to not form a government with his rivals, Lapid and the Arab parties. Many, if not most, of his voters felt betrayed. But all of the elected MKs in Bennett’s party went along with his political coup d’etat. All but one. Amichai Chikli is a Jerusalem-born ex-Israel Navy officer and the founder of the Tavor Academy for Social Leadership. He has quite the resume but what took Chikli to the national stage was his decision to stand up to the leader of his party, today’s Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett. Chikli is still a member of Yamina but he sits on the opposition. We are honored and thrilled to have MK Amichai Chikli on the podcast today.

Check out Masa Israel here: https://Masaisrael.org *** When you think about the history of the Land of Israel, you probably think about King David, The Romans, Bar Kochva or the Ottoman Empire. But the fact of the matter is, that all of those powerful rulers and leaders roamed this land pretty recently. After all, what is 1000, 2000 or even 3000 thousand years in the history of mankind? In recent centuries archeologists have been working hard to reveal the many secrets buried in layers upon layers of earth, here in Israel. All of us have heard about the various findings regarding Jewish ancient history. But long before any records of Monotheism, ancient men lived here. Israel’s strategic location, right on the border between Asia and Africa, made it an important crossroads for humanity - for tens of thousands of years. Nowadays, it is the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) who’s responsible for digging up and revealing the secrets of ancient times. Today we’re thrilled to be joined by Archeologist Emily Bischoff Bruintjes, who works and digs for the IAA. Emily is a Prehistoric Archaeologist who currently digs in southern Israel. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota and a Masters from Tel Aviv University. She is originally from Minnesota but now she lives in Israel. We’re super excited to talk to Emily today about her work and Israel’s prehistoric history!

Buy our mugs here: https://2njb.com/merch/ *** A month ago 300 Israelis striped naked and posed in the middle of the desert. This demonstration was part of an art installation photographed by world renowned photographer Spencer Tunick. And this wasn’t the first time. Back in 2011, there were 1,200 subjects, all naked, photographed by Tunick. But all this wasn’t done to simply photograph a bunch of nudists in the desert. There was a bigger motivation. Ari Leon Fruchter, the man who staged this whole thing, hopes these images will raise awareness and ignite a wave of activism that may help slow or even stop the disappearance of the Dead Sea. We are thrilled today to be joined by Ari Leon Fruchter to talk nudism, environmentalism and activism. So many isms. https://www.thedeadseamuseum.com

Check out our merch store! 2njb.com/merch *** Naor and Eytan discuss everything that happened in Israel and the world recently. INCLUDING: -Eytan's green pass debacle -Why climate summit in Glasgow is a sham -Can Elon Musk solve world hunger? -Fan mail/ hate mail/ death threats And much more!

Check out our merch store! 2njb.com/merch *** At the age of 12, he ran away from home - a settlement in the West Bank. It was then he was drawn to a life of right-wing nationalist extremism. He joined the hilltop youth, an informal group of settlers responsible for incessant attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. Soon enough, he found himself indicted for incitement. His crime - dancing with a picture of the murdered Dawabsha baby as another hilltop youth stabbed the photo. But this is all in his past. Today, Dov is an activist for Palestinian equality, for Feminism and for freedom of religion. Is this just another form of extremism or is Dov a changed man? Today, we’re joined by Dov Morell to talk about his life as a hilltop youth, his journey and his drastic change of perspective.

Naor and Eytan talk about everything that went down in Israel this past month. *** Check out our merch store! https://2njb.com/merch/