Netanyahu’s coalition lost its majority. His challengers didn’t win one. Where does Israel go from here? Recorded live on election night, 30 minutes after the polls closed, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi react to exit polls that leave Israel deadlocked: Likud still the largest party, Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc ahead but short of 61 seats, […]
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Why is the most fateful election in Israel’s history being met with an unprecedented absence of public passion and ideological fervor in the Israeli public square? In the last episode before the election, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi explore why a moment of profound national anxiety is being preceded by a deceptive, almost eerie […]
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Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi compare how Israelis and diaspora Jews view the election, exploring their differing fears and hopes and asking whether Israel sees world Jewry as essential to its future. *** JBS is a non-profit, Jewish educational television and multimedia channel made possible by VIEWERS LIKE YOU! **** Discover more JBS @ […]
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When does October 7 stop feeling like the present? Three years to the day after the Hamas attack, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi face an uncomfortable truth: for Israelis, October 7 is not a memory but a lens. Starting from last week’s foiled attempt to crash a passenger plane bound for Tel Aviv, they […]
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Why did Israel, one of the most sophisticated military and intelligence powers in the world, repeatedly ignore explicit, urgent warnings about an impending national catastrophe? As the anniversary of October 7 approaches, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi explore the profound institutional failure, psychological denial, and national trauma surrounding the unheeded intelligence warnings before the […]
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Can a society battered by years of political polarization and existential war survive an election cycle where no political faction can achieve instant victory? As critical polling deadlines approach, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi confront the sobering reality of Israel’s impending political stalemate. They discuss the psychological barriers preventing major political blocs from entering […]
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Can a provocative film transform into an unshakeable weapon in the global battle over Israel’s moral legitimacy? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the intense cultural and political fallout surrounding “Naza,” the award-winning Venice Film Festival documentary that accuses Israel of systematically embracing disproportionate civilian deaths in Gaza. From the surreal […]
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Why does Israeli political life appear hopelessly frozen at the top even as tectonic shifts stir beneath the surface? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine the looming Israeli elections, the persistent mathematical stalemate between major political blocs, and the tired defensive tactics driving Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign. They investigate the fragmentation of […]
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Can the Jewish people hold on to moral tradition in the era of Jewish power? In this special episode—recorded live in the courtyard of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Jerusalem campus on July 14, 2026, at the Institute’s Wellspring Summit for Educators—Yossi Klein Halevi joins Sara Labaton, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Shalom Hartman […]
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As New Yorkers head to the polls to elect their next mayor, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi ask what the possible election of Zohran Mamdani means for Jewish identity, Diaspora-Israel relations and the boundaries of Jewish community.
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