For Heaven's Sake

In this special episode, Donniel Hartman reflects on the past year of war in Gaza and now in Lebanon; whether Israel has achieved victory in these wars, what Zionists must do to ensure Israel’s moral standing, and how the politicization of the October 7th tragedy has deepened divisions in Israel and among world Jewry.JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEASSponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

Almost one month after Israel began its ground invasion into Lebanon with no clear objective, the path to victory remains uncertain. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi discuss what it would take to declare an end to the war against Hezbollah, how Israel can grow its allyship with its Sunni neighbors, and whether defeat of the Iranian axis of power in the Middle East is even possible. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEASSponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

After a year of grief, pain, and war on multiple fronts, the Israeli psyche has been fundamentally transformed. In this special episode recorded live on October 7, 2024, for members of the Shalom Hartman Institute Giving Society, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi reflect on the fragility of the nation, Netanyahu’s rising poll numbers, and a resurgence of existential crisis not seen in Israel since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Stay tuned after the episode to hear Donniel and Yossi answer questions from the live audience. Learn more about our Giving Society, which recognizes the generosity of individuals and families who annually support the mission and growth of the Shalom Hartman Institute.JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEASSponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

After Nasrallah, where are we now?Following the killing of Hezbollah’s long-time leader, the situation on Israel’s northern border is more uncertain than ever. In this special episode hosted by UJIA and recorded live at JW3, London’s Jewish Community Centre, Yossi Klein Halevi and Donniel Hartman discuss the delicate balance between the deterrence of despair and the arrogance of power. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEASSponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

As the conflict on the northern front escalates, the path to peace seems to be getting longer and more complex. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi unpack the recent surge in action along Israel’s northern border and reflect on the differences between fighting Hezbollah and fighting Hamas. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEASSponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

On Tuesday, September 17, Mossad-planted explosives were detonated in hundreds of beepers carried by Hezbollah operatives, killing at least a dozen and injuring thousands more. While new details come to light, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi debate the efficacy of this surprise attack, the public reaction to it, and whether Israel is ready for another major military operation now that further engagement in the north seems inevitable. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEASSponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

Israeli Knesset members Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have been advancing “total victory,” and they don’t just mean defeating Hamas or returning the hostages. This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi discuss the small but powerful far-right messianic movement in Israel that these MKs represent, and how the current war has emboldened their agenda in the West Bank, on the Temple Mount, and across the region. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEASSponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

On Saturday, August 31, the bodies of six hostages were discovered by the IDF in a tunnel under Rafah. Murdered by Hamas shortly before they were found, they include Hersh Goldberg-Polin z"l, beloved cousin of our Hartman colleague Eliot Goldstein and a friend to many in the Hartman community, as well as Carmel Gat z"l, Ori Danino z"l, Eden Yerushalmi z"l, Alex Lobanov z"l, and Almog Sarusi z"l.   Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi express their grief and rage over this tragedy and assess the choice Israel must make between disabling its enemies and bringing the remaining hostages home when trust in the government has eroded. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEASSponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

This episode originally aired on June 19th, 2024.   Religious Zionists are one of the most multifaceted—and misunderstood­—subsets of Israeli society today.   In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi detail the strengths and weaknesses of this diverse community; champions of Jewish Peoplehood at their best, but a host for fundamentalist ideology at their worst.    ----  JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more. 

Over the course of the 10-month war with Hamas, anti-Zionist sentiment has been brought to the forefront around the world and also closer to home, within the ranks of North American Jewry.In this session recorded at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Rabbinic Torah Seminar in Jerusalem on July 11, Yossi Klein Halevi outlines the connections and distinctions between anti-Zionism and classical antisemitism, and how this war is testing the morality of modernJewish power.For more information about our Rabbinic Torah Seminar, visit shalomhartman.org/rts. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEASSponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.