
Tel Aviv Review
Showcasing the latest developments in the realm of academic and professional research and literature, about the Middle East and global affairs. We discuss Israeli, Arab and Palestinian society, the Jewish world, the Middle East and its conflicts, and issues of global and public affairs with scholars, writers and deep-thinkers.
Latest episodes

Mar 17, 2025 • 40min
On Censorship
Adam Shinar, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, at Reichman University, discusses the recent return of Israel's Film and Theatre Review Board from oblivion, to serve the government's political goals. How did Israel's censorship laws evolve over the years?

Mar 3, 2025 • 53min
Chronicles of Destruction
Dr Lee Mordechai, a historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discusses Bearing Witness to the Gaza War, a comprehensive database of facts and figures that he meticulously collected since October 7, 2023. How did a Byzantine historian come to meticulously collect evidence about the atrocities of the current war, still ongoing? The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.

Feb 17, 2025 • 41min
“It Is the Crown Jewel of My Career in Public Service”
Elyakim Rubinstein has had an incredibly prolific career in academia, politics, diplomacy and the judiciary. Among his many accomplishments, he served as cabinet secretary, attorney general, chargé d’affaires in Israel’s embassy in Washington, and deputy chief justice until his retirement in 2017. He is the only living Israeli who has taken part in peace negotiations with all of Israel’s five neighboring countries, in which capacity he led the Israeli delegation to the peace negotiations with Jordan that culminated in an accord that recently marked its 30-year anniversary. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Feb 3, 2025 • 38min
The ‘Big Data’ of Hebrew Literature
Dr. Yael Dekel, a literary scholar at the Open University and Ben Gurion University of the Negev and a lead fellow at Brandeis University's Institute of Advanced Israel Studies, talks about the Literary Laboratory: how can digital methods be used to study the canon of Hebrew literature - and redefine it, along the way? This episode is part of a series in partnership with the Institute of Advanced Israel Studies at Brandeis University.

Jan 20, 2025 • 33min
Where Water Is Scarce and History Is Rich
Prof Nir Arielli, Professor of International History at the University of Leeds (UK), discusses his book The Dead Sea: A 10,000 Year History.

Jan 6, 2025 • 43min
Israel’s Legal Quagmire: An Appraisal
Dr. (Col. res.) Eran Shamir-Borer, Director of the Center for National Security and Democracy at the Israel Democracy Institute and formerly the head of the International Law Department of the IDF’s Military Advocate General, analyzes Israel’s legal standing in relation to the Gaza War and the occupation of the Palestinian Territories. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Dec 23, 2024 • 46min
Elias Khoury: In Memoriam
Yehuda Shenhav Shaharabani, Professor Emeritus of sociology at Tel Aviv University and the editor in chief of Maktoob books, a series of Hebrew translations of Arabic literature, discusses the life and writing of Elias Khoury, the great Lebanese novelist who died in September, aged 76. Shenhav Shaharabani single-handedly translated ten of Khoury’s novels, and was a close personal friend of his. The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.

Dec 9, 2024 • 37min
Whither the Abraham Accords?
Dr Brandon Friedman, a research fellow at Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies specializing in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, discusses the future of Middle Eastern geopolitics in the wake of October 7th and ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Nov 25, 2024 • 33min
Crisis: The Climate and National Security
The climate crisis is a global issue with very concrete strategic consequences: on food security, energy and more. Galit Cohen, Director of the Program on Climate Change at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies and the former Director General of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, discusses the implications of the climate crisis on national security and the importance of policymaking in moving forward. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Nov 18, 2024 • 37min
Keep Antisemitism Off Our Pitches
Daniel Lörcher, the founding director of What Matters, an organization that tackles racism, antisemitism and discrimination on the soccer field and elsewhere, discusses his work on reducing antisemitism among soccer fans and how sports culture can – and does – help create an atmosphere that promotes tolerance and pluralism. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.