Israel Studies

Israel Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of Israel about their new books.

Eran Ortal, "Battle Before the War: The Inside Story of the IDF's Transformation" (Dado Center, 2023)

October 20, 2024

Battle Before the War

Eran Ortal
Hosted by Yakir Englander

A critical challenge for militaries is preparing for future, not past, wars. History shows that success often depends on accurately interpreting and h…

Hannan Hever, "Hebrew Literature and the 1948 War: Essays on Philology and Responsibility" (Brill, 2019)

September 22, 2024

Hebrew Literature and the 1948 War

Hannan Hever
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Hebrew Literature and the 1948 War: Essays on Philology and Responsibility (Brill, 2019) is the first book-length study that examines the diversity of…

Shane Burley and Ben Lorber, "Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism" (Melville House, 2024)

September 21, 2024

Safety through Solidarity

Shane Burley and Ben Lorber
Hosted by Zalman Newfield

Antisemitism is on the rise today. From synagogue shootings by white nationalists, to right-wing politicians and media figures pushing George Soros co…

Seth J. Frantzman, "The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza" (Wicked Son, 2024)

September 18, 2024

The October 7 War

Seth J. Frantzman
Hosted by Renee Garfinkel

A harrowing account on the frontlines of the war between Israel and Hamas, The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (Wicked Son, 2024) …

Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold, "Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field" (Brandeis UP, 2023)

September 15, 2024

Teaching Israel

Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold
Hosted by Drora Arussy

Today I talked to Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold's their book Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field (Brandeis UP, 2023). In this discuss…

Oren Kroll-Zeldin, "Unsettled: American Jews and the Movement for Justice in Palestine" (NYU Press, 2024)

September 6, 2024

Unsettled

Oren Kroll-Zeldin
Hosted by Roberto Mazza

Unsettled: American Jews and the Movement for Justice in Palestine (NYU Press, 2024) digs into the experiences of young Jewish Americans who engage wi…

Cary Nelson, "Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles" (Academic Studies Press, 2024)

September 4, 2024

Hate Speech and Academic Freedom

Cary Nelson
Hosted by Renee Garfinkel

Completed shortly before Hamas carried out its barbaric October massacre, Cary Nelson's Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on B…

Notes from the Field: A Personal View of the War on Gaza

August 28, 2024

Notes from the Field

Eli Karetny

We start this season of International Horizons with an interview with Dr. Eli Karetny, an American political scientist and administrative director o…

Anders Persson, "EU Diplomacy and the Israeli-Arab Conflict, 1967-2019" (Edinburgh UP, 2020)

August 24, 2024

EU Diplomacy and the Israeli-Arab Conflict, 1967-2019

Anders Persson
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Nearly 50 years since the European Foreign Ministers issued their first declaration on the conflict between Israel and Palestine in 1971, the European…

Shaul Magid, "Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical" (Princeton UP, 2021)

August 15, 2024

Meir Kahane

Shaul Magid
Hosted by Amir Engel

Rabbi Meir Kahane came of age amid the radical politics of the counterculture, becoming a militant voice of protest against Jewish liberalism. Kahane …

Nancy E. Berg and Naomi B. Sokoloff, "Since 1948: Israeli Literature in the Making" (SUNY Press, 2020)

August 12, 2024

Since 1948

Nancy E. Berg and Naomi B. Sokoloff
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Toward the end of the twentieth century, an unprecedented surge of writing altered the Israeli literary scene in profound ways. As fresh creative voic…

Shaul Magid on the Jewish Radicalism of Meir Kahane (JP, Eugene Sheppard)

August 1, 2024

Shaul Magid on the Jewish Radicalism of Meir Kahane

Shaul Magid and Eugene Sheppard

For Kahane, the greatest enemy of the Jews was not the black nationalist, the greatest enemy of the Jews was not the Arabs. The greatest enemy of the …

Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, "The Soviet-Israeli War, 1967-1973: The USSR's Military Intervention in the Egyptian-Israeli Conflict" (Oxford UP, 2017)

July 28, 2024

The Soviet-Israeli War, 1967-1973

Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Russia's forceful re-entry into the Middle Eastern arena, and the accentuated continuity of Soviet policy and methods of the 1960s and '70s, highlight…

Hannan Hever, "Suddenly, the Sight of War: Violence and Nationalism in Hebrew Poetry in the 1940s" (Stanford UP, 2016)

July 23, 2024

Suddenly, the Sight of War

Hannan Hever
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Suddenly, the Sight of War: Violence and Nationalism in Hebrew Poetry in the 1940s (Stanford UP, 2016) is a genealogy of Hebrew poetry written in pre-…

Fida Jiryis, "Stranger in My Own Land: Palestine, Israel and One Family's Story of Home" (Hurst, 2022)

July 18, 2024

Stranger in My Own Land

Fida Jiryis
Hosted by Roberto Mazza

In this very moving and heartwarming interview I had the opportunity to discuss with Fida Jiyris her work, a beautifully written memoir that tells the…

Jonathan Marc Gribetz, "Reading Herzl in Beirut: The PLO Effort to Know the Enemy" (Princeton UP, 2024)

July 15, 2024

Reading Herzl in Beirut

Jonathan Marc Gribetz
Hosted by Mark Klobas

How the Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center informed the PLO's relationship to Zionism and Israel In September 1982, the Israeli milita…

Olga Gershenson, "New Israeli Horror: Local Cinema, Global Genre" (Rutgers UP, 2024)

July 13, 2024

New Israeli Horror

Olga Gershenson
Hosted by Nathan Abrams

Before 2010, there were no Israeli horror films. Then distinctly Israeli serial killers, zombies, vampires, and ghosts invaded local screens. The next…

Maya Wind, "Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom" (Verso, 2024)

July 12, 2024

Towers of Ivory and Steel

Maya Wind
Hosted by Dhouha Djerbi

Israeli universities have long enjoyed a reputation as liberal bastions of freedom and democracy. Drawing on extensive research and making Hebrew sour…

Rachel Z. Feldman, "Messianic Zionism in the Digital Age: Jews, Noahides, and the Third Temple Imaginary" (Rutgers UP, 2024)

July 9, 2024

Messianic Zionism in the Digital Age

Rachel Z. Feldman
Hosted by Zalman Newfield

Judaism in the twenty-first century has seen the rise of the messianic Third Temple movement, as religious activists based in Israel have worked to re…

Jonathan Judaken, "Critical Theories of Anti-Semitism" (Columbia UP, 2024)

July 7, 2024

Critical Theories of Anti-Semitism

Jonathan Judaken
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Despite its persistence and viciousness, anti-Semitism remains undertheorized in comparison with other forms of racism and discrimination. How should …