Tel Aviv Review

Is love of country a blessing or a menace? Can a citizen of the world embrace universal values but also love one’s country, and does it matter if old fashioned patriotism fades into the past? In Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes, Professor Steven B. Smith defends – and rebuilds – American patriotism as an antidote to America’s upheavals. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Michael Sfard, one of Israel’s leading human rights lawyers, chronicles the evolution of the legal pillars of Israel’s military occupation of Palestinians, including deportation, settlements, torture policies and more. But in his book “The Wall and the Gate,” Sfard also tells of the lives and legal struggles of people who fight the policy with its very own tools: in Israeli courts. For each emerging body of law assisting occupation, there is a relentless human rights lawyer campaigning against it, undaunted by lengthy, thankless legal battles, hostile public reactions and scarce victories. This episode of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Why is Israel hacking away at its own democratic institutions and values? The assault on the judiciary, primacy of the majority at the expense of minorities, loyalty as a litmus test, corruption and illiberalism – are these Israel’s destiny? Hebrew University political scientist Gayil Talshir, editor of the book “Governability or Democracy” examines the roots, causes and manifestations of democratic erosion in Israel today. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

The nationalist-populist wave of the 21st century has affected Western liberal democracies, as well as countries from a very different political background. Julius Rogenhofer of the University of Cambridge studies manifestations of populism and democratic erosion in deeply divided societies. Rogenhofer identifies the causes and consequences of populist-driven democratic erosion in Turkey, India and Israel, shaped by each state’s social, ethnic and religious divisions. This episode is made possible by the Israel office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which promotes peace, freedom, and justice through political education.

Rabbi Dr Tal Sessler, the incoming Dean of the Rabbinical School at the Academy of Jewish Religion in California, discusses his forthcoming book, Leibowitz and Levinas: Between Judaism and Universalism, juxtaposing the political and theological thought of two of the most prominent Jewish philosophers in the 20th century.

Dr Arik Rudnitzky, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, analyzes the changing voting patterns in the Arab community ahead of Israel's fourth general election in two years. This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Navigating queerness in the West Bank, Gaza or Israel, in refugee camps or as a Palestinian in the West Bank? It's complicated. Why is the LGBTQ global movement intensely invested in the Palestinian cause, and when does a social movement grow or plateau? Sa'ed Atshan asks and answers these questions in Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique.

When Robert Berman, an American Jewish immigrant to Israel began studying Arabic, he didn't stop until he had written a book full of idioms. Together with language expert Christy Bandak as editor, the linguistic duo wrote Min Taq Taq: A Collection of Arabic Idioms, in which they explain what “his face is good on me” conveys in Arabic, and why they included a whole chapter on fingers.

Ahead of a fourth general election in under two years, Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, joins us to discuss what needs to be done to come out of the ongoing political crisis that has left Israel without a stable government, a state budget for three years on end, and an effective response to the Covid pandemic. This episode is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

In their documentary film King Bibi: The Life and Performances of Benjamin Netanyahu, Dan Shadur and Liran Atzmor get to the bottom of Benjamin Netanyahu’s magic, which has made him the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history and a prominent fixture in Israeli politics for the past four decades, and counting.