Unholy: Two Jews on the News

Seven weeks out from an election that in many ways is a referendum on culpability for October 7th, Benjamin Netanyahu tells Channel 14 that if only they had woken him earlier that fateful day, everything would have been different — and his wife goes considerably further about Yair Golan, a man who drove towards the gunfire that morning and saved lives. Yonit and Jonathan take Mrs Netanyahu’s accusation apart, then turn to the week's most improbable story: Yoav Segalovich, a Jewish former police commander, joining Mansour Abbas's Islamist party - because the crime wave destroying Israel’s Arab communities needs someone with a proven ability to fix it. Plus a Channel 13 poll that should worry the anti-Netanyahu bloc; Britain's expected ban on trade in goods linked to the West Bank - and why Greece and Finland moved in the other direction. Our Chutzpah award goes to a perennial winner with a new map, and the Mensch of the Week award is split three ways between brothers. 00:00:00 a US-Iran war nobody is calling a war 00:03:39 Netanyahu on Channel 14: if only they had woken me up 00:08:03 Yair Golan, October 7th, and a smear the hosts reject 00:14:26 Netanyahu's advisors, the pool party and the Qatar accusations 00:17:50 The Channel 13 poll and the shape of the Israeli right 00:22:54 Yoav Segalovich joins Mansour Abbas and Ra'am 00:30:27 Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Ron Dermer and the hostage families 00:35:39 Britain, the E1 corridor, and why Greece and Finland moved 00:39:09 Chutzpah of the Week and Mensch of the Week 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The former UK Prime Minister and Chancellor joins Yonit and Jonathan for the latest of our Unholy Conversations — on the void populist nationalists have moved into, on the difference between hope and optimism, on the father whose projector slides taught him the kings of Israel before the kings of England, and on the Middle East peace deal he watched come apart in 2009. Chapters: 00:06 Introduction to Gordon Brown and His New Book 05:48 The Connection Between Nationalism and Community Decline 12:46 Personal Responsibility and Moral Leadership 17:23 Addressing Anti-Semitism and Global Issues 22:41 Hope vs. Optimism in Times of Crisis 30:13 Britain's Role in Global Peace Efforts 32:27 Personal Reflections and Motivations of Gordon Brown 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join as Friend of the pod: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Unholypod With sixty days to go until the Israeli elections, the political jockeying enters into overdrive. Yonit and Jonathan break down the high-stakes coalition arithmetic facing both Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot, from the crowded field of small right-wing parties—including the entrance of retired general Ofer Winter—to the battle on the center ground. Meanwhile, alarming footage of settler violence in the West Bank and provocative stunts by far-right lawmakers raise hard questions and trigger fierce international blowback from London to Washington. Plus: an election ad pulled on grounds of chutzpah so extreme, even its own party couldn't defend it, and a Mensch of the Week whose Jewish connection nobody saw coming. 0:00 End-of-Summer Chaos 1:50 Sixty Days to Israel's Election: Eisenkot vs Netanyahu 11:56 Lieberman Scenarios and Ben Gvir's TikTok Rise 16:06 Mansour Abbas and the Two-State Question 20:58 E1 Construction and the Wave of Settler Violence 31:10 The Case for Releasing Marwan Barghouti 35:12 Chutzpah of the Week: Aryeh Deri's Shas Ad 36:36 Mensch of the Week: Dolly Parton 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's the end of summer, and Yonit and Jonathan are taking a break from the news with a nugget of pure Jewish joy. Andy Nyman — the West End actor, writer, director and magician currently starring as Max Bialystock in The Producers, and previously as an acclaimed Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof — joins the show for an Unholy Conversation. Why does Mel Brooks' nearly-60-year-old joke about Hitler still land? What makes Max Bialystock - who could have been Tevye’s grandson - so beloved, even in his desperation? And is the Broadway musical, as a form, secretly a Jewish one? Andy answers the question by giving a rare performance of a musical classic — rendered in Yiddish. You won’t want to miss it. In this episode: The Genius of Mel Brooks: How The Producers transforms satire into an act of healing and an uncompromising "fuck you" to history. From Tevye to Bialystock: Exploring the thread connecting the working-class milkman of Anatevka to the scheming, desperate, yet deeply human Broadway hustler. Art in Times of Darkness: A rare behind-the-scenes look at performing comedic Jewish art—and deciding to keep a daring scene in the show—in the wake of global tragedy. Exclusive Live Performances: Andy delivers three bespoke, stripped-back performances directly in the studio: "We Can Do It" ( The Producers ) "If I Were a Rich Man" ( Fiddler on the Roof ) A haunting, tender Yiddish translation of "Hushabye Mountain" (originally by the Sherman Brothers). 00:06 Introduction to Unholy Conversations 00:09 Introduction to Andy Nyman 01:57 The Enduring Appeal of The Producers 05:50 Mel Brooks and Jewish Healing through Humor 08:29 Defiance in Comedy: Pulling Down Pants 09:59 Exploring Max Bialystok's Character 17:30 Max Bialystok and Tevye: A Generational Connection 18:23 The Complexity of Tevye 22:58 The Essence of Fiddler on the Roof 30:44 The Current Jewish Climate 35:40 The Jewish Influence in Musical Theatre 42:32 A Yiddish Lullaby: Bridging Cultures 44:24 The Importance of Representation 44:25 Personal Connections and Impact 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Send us your questions at: https://www.speakpipe.com/Unholy Visit our website to learn more about Unholy and become a friend of the pod: www.unholy-podcast.com Sixty-eight days from the election, the hardest problems on Benjamin Netanyahu's desk are arriving from Washington. Jared Kushner is meeting Hamas directly, and the Gaza withdrawal deadlines he is carrying — thirty, sixty and ninety days — all land inside the Israeli campaign. Yonit and Jonathan read the timing as an unfriendly act rather than an accident, and ask what Donald Trump wants in return for the endorsement he keeps withholding. Also this week: the anti-Netanyahu bloc still cannot say who leads it, the IDF publishes its decisions in five Gaza cases, and the prime minister calls Britain an Islamic Republic on a podcast. Plus a Chutzpah award for an American broadcaster who has found proof of Israeli hostility to Christians in a mathematical symbol, and a Mensch of the Week who proves that sometimes even the most heartbreaking stories can have a happy ending. 00:00 Intro 04:04 68 days out: blocs, mergers and the electoral threshold 10:03 Eisenkot, Bennett and who leads the anti-Netanyahu bloc 14:32 Kushner meets Hamas and Washington's Gaza deadlines 19:59 The IDF's decisions in five Gaza cases 22:24 Huckabee on settler violence, Iran, and Trump on Oman 27:47 Coming up: Simon Sebag Montefiore on the Middle East 28:33 Netanyahu calls Britain an Islamic Republic 33:33 Central Synagogue and the cost to the diaspora 35:35 Chutzpah of the Week 38:56 Mensch of the Week 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Acclaimed historian Simon Sebag Montefiore returns to Unholy to discuss his sweeping new book, The Cauldron: A History of the Middle East between 1900 and 2026. He tells Yonit and Jonathan that understanding the region today requires starting at the dawn of the 20th century — thanks to the long shadow still cast by the Ottoman Empire and its collapse. They talk of the often underestimated significance of Saudi Arabia, the convulsions that followed the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the extent to which Israel is - unexpectedly - a Middle Eastern state like any other. ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:52 Why the book starts in 1900 02:49 Ibn Saud and the House of Saud 07:31 1979 and the Iranian revolution 09:55 The empire states, none of them Arab 13:13 Israel as a post-Ottoman state 18:22 Ben Gurion, Ataturk, Reza Shah 21:46 Middleness, pipelines and Haifa 26:35 The 1840 Damascus blood libel 30:02 Purity tests and historians' nerve 33:58 The King and Britain's minorities 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Benjamin Netanyahu has said no to Donald Trump's 15-point Gaza plan, and the refusal is flat rather than fudged. In the West Bank, extremist settlers have besieged two Palestinian families in the village of Qusra, apparently hoping to take their homes. The IDF went in but came away with mission very much unaccomplished. With Yonit away, Jonathan is joined by Hadley Freeman, columnist for London’s Sunday Times and author of the acclaimed memoir, House of Glass, for what is an Unholy first: two voices from the Jewish diaspora and no Israeli in the room. They talk through the week's news and reflect on what three years since October 7 has done to Jewish life outside Israel, why Israel-Palestine has become the litmus test of the American left and whether anybody speaks for the diaspora. Plus: a Chutzpah nominee that reached a Belfast stage via Sweden, and a Mensch that arrives from Australia by way of Yiddish. The Bashevis Singers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G531cgjplcM 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Three of the oldest myths about Jews — relating to money, blood and the way they look — were forged in medieval Christian Europe, mostly in places where there were almost no Jews to observe. Miri Rubin, professor of medieval and early modern history at Queen Mary University of London, tells Jonathan how each one of those myths was built — and explains how that medieval way of seeing Jews often remains the lens through which Israel, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is seen. They also discuss the reckoning with Christendom’s past that followed the Holocaust - and how it has seemingly come to a halt in our own time. 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With Yonit away, Jonathan is joined by Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent of the Economist, as they discuss the muted reaction to the announcement made by Donald Trump of what he hoped would be hailed as a breakthrough in Gaza. It turns out that most people in the region are waiting to see if Washington’s hopes turn into anything more concrete. Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu is setting about ensuring his political opponents are deemed too toxic to serve as partners in any coalition that would hope to replace him following the elections on October 27. Plus: a new wine from very old grapes and an Irish plane that may have trouble in stormy weather. 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Just over 400,000 Jews call the country home, a community that lived through what many call a golden age of acceptance before watching it fracture. Jewish Canadians, under 1% of the population, are now the target of the large majority of religiously motivated hate crimes in the country. This week, Heather Reisman — founder and CEO of Indigo, Canada's largest book, toy and lifestyle retailer, and co-founder of the HESEG Foundation — joins Yonit and Jonathan to explain how her stores became a target, why she's turned critical of the current Israeli government, and whether the antisemitic "genie" can ever go back in the bottle. 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ninety days before Israel votes, the campaign is revealing much about both the candidates and the country. The defense minister boasts about applying different detention rules to Jewish and Arab citizens — at a primary event, into a microphone. Two sets of pollsters are predicting completely opposite outcomes, and someone smashed Channel 12's doors and left death threats for the second time in a month. Yonit and Jonathan take stock at the three-month mark — what the divergent polling could be setting up, what three and a half years of judicial overhaul attempts actually achieved, why Bennett and Lapid might not survive to election day as a unit, and what the oddly quiet Netanyahu-Trump summit tells us about the Iran impasse. Plus: a Chutzpah award for a New York mayor with a peculiar blind spot, and a Mensch moment involving Israel's Chief Justice and an unexpected nod to Hollywood. 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Fresh off his tour of Israel and Europe, this week on Unholy Conversations, Yonit and Jonathan speak to Rahm Emanuel—former Chief of Staff, Congressman, Chicago Mayor, Ambassador to Japan and perhaps future presidential nominee. They dive into his recent charged conversation with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, his take on Israel’s current choices, whether he considers himself a Zionist, and if he’s any closer to making a decision on a presidential run. 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A nuclear deal between Washington and Riyadh breaks overnight — and Israel learns the terms from the same press release as everyone else. This week, Yonit and Jonathan dig into what the US–Saudi agreement does and doesn't include, why the normalization clause that was supposed to be attached appeared to be missing - before it was hastily added by Donald Trump, after the event - and what a nuclear-armed Saudi Arabia might mean a generation from now. Iran tensions rise again over Natanz, and Israel's election pregame produces a poll number that should worry Benjamin Netanyahu more than it seems to. Plus: a Likud campaign ad triggers exactly the backlash its makers intended, while this week's Mensch award category hails both a Hungarian chess master and a legendary Israeli anchor. Help shape the future of Unholy: https://forms.gle/7DwqZo2MZYcVioM97 Visit our new website: www.unholy-podcast.com 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, Yonit and Jonathan sit down with three first-time voters — Aviv, Yael and Dror — to talk about the topics that will shape these election - the judicial overhaul, whether Arab parties belong in a coalition, and the draft bill. October 7th moved each of them, but not the same way — one drifted toward the center, another sharply to the right. What they do agree on might be the most interesting part. Plus: what happens to a generation that has only ever known one prime minister. CHAPTERS: [00:00] Intro [00:21] Meet Aviv, Yael and Dror [03:29] Why Aviv says she might not stay [08:09] Yael on voting for the North [12:12] Dror's family, yeshiva, and the draft [17:05] How October 7th moved them in opposite directions [25:24] The fight over Arab parties in a coalition [30:41] The only prime minister they've ever known [34:57] Is there a generational vote? [37:35] Would they stay if they lose? 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The US-Iran war is back on. The ceasefire has collapsed, the naval blockade is reimposed, and Israel is asking if a moment is coming when the missiles turn its way. With Yonit away, Jonathan is joined by New Yorker writer Ruth Margalit to make sense of a dizzying week: a jaw-dropping report that the Mossad cultivated Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — yes, that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — as an asset in a failed plot to topple the Iranian regime, and an election campaign in which Gadi Eisenkot is opening up a real lead over Benjamin Netanyahu. Can Mr. Security survive a race where even Likud voters might be drifting away? Plus: a World Cup dilemma for Jewish football fans, a Chutzpah award for a literary institution that forgot its own motto, and a Mensch that takes us to a Jerusalem cafe that refuses to close on Shabbat. ⏱ CHAPTERS: [00:00] Intro [01:02] England out — a World Cup dilemma for Jewish fans [05:00] The US-Iran war is back on [08:44] Why Netanyahu wants the shadow of war [10:52] Congress votes on cutting aid to Israel [15:24] The Mossad's Ahmadinejad plot [21:30] Election set for October 27 — Eisenkot's rise [29:39] Mansour Abbas gambles on running alone [32:52] The Shin Bet investigates Channel 12 [40:16] Chutzpah & Mensch awards 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As football fans across the globe gear up for the World Cup final on Sunday, Jonathan talks to the author of a new book that uncovers a hidden story: the Jewish players who were once football’s biggest stars. David Bolchover reveals how it was Jewish footballers that dominated some of Europe’s best teams, reinventing much of the way the game is played - until they were brutally murdered in the Holocaust. Their phenomenal achievement has been all but forgotten, to the extent that many imagine “Jewish footballer” to be an oxymoron if not the punchline to a joke. Instead, it sheds light on an era of forgotten Jewish sporting glory - and the world that was extinguished in the Shoah 00:00 Introduction to Jewish Football History 03:08 The Role of Jews in Football Before the Holocaust 05:39 Zygmunt Sztoyanman: A Football Legend's Story 08:15 Josef Braun: The Hebrew Ronaldo 11:07 Political Affiliations of Jewish Football Clubs 13:57 The Evolution of Football Tactics and Jewish Influence 18:05 The Impact of the Holocaust on Jewish Footballers 19:11 Erasure of Jewish Football History 21:07 Legacy of Jewish Football in Modern Israel 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Donald Trump declares the Iran ceasefire dead, while a new poll has alarming news for Benjamin Netanyahu: New York's trenchantly anti-Israel mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is more popular with American Jews than he is. This week, Yonit and Jonathan break down the collapse of the fragile Iran deal and why "amateur hour" US negotiators may have doomed it from the start. They unpack the Knesset's last-minute push to exempt the ultra-Orthodox from military service — as soldiers testify in tears about the price of a three-year war — as well as the less noisy bills eroding Israel’s judicial independence. Plus: Rahm Emanuel's blunt warning about Israel's "content problem," and the wedding of two returned hostages that gave the week its one unambiguously happy ending. 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A new report accuses the world's most trusted human rights organizations of a problem that goes far beyond anti-Israel bias: antisemitism, and a culture that pushes out Jewish staff for naming it. This week, Yonit and Jonathan talk to Danielle Haas, a former senior editor at Human Rights Watch who spent 14 years inside the organization before co-founding EiGHT, a watchdog created to scrutinize the watchdogs. Drawing on interviews with over 70 staffers across nine major NGOs, the report documents internal messages calling for "liberating the world from Zionism," leadership reposting inflammatory rhetoric, and a pattern of employees being sidelined the moment they raised concerns. 00:00 Introduction to the Conversation 01:30 Danielle Haas's Background and Experience 03:43 Insights from the New Report on NGOs 07:58 Striking Findings and Internal Messaging 11:31 Challenges Faced by Jewish Employees 17:19 Lack of Accountability in Human Rights Organizations 21:08 Cultural Shifts and Generational Changes 24:46 Association with Militant Organizations 27:20 The Future of Human Rights Organizations 33:00 Reflections on Personal Experience and Change 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A thousand days after October 7th — and Benjamin Netanyahu wants to talk about unity. This week, as Israel edges closer toward elections, Yonit and Jonathan discuss a prime minister campaigning on togetherness after- say his critics- a long career spent dividing Israelis against each other, and trace the strange alliance between Israel's nationalist right and the ultra-Orthodox parties who for the most part reject Zionism on principle. Zohran Mamdani keeps doubling down on Israel and AIPAC, six months into his mayoralty — and sees no reason to slow down. And as America turns 250, Jonathan asks an uncomfortable question about what happens to a constitution when the people meant to enforce it simply don't. Plus: our Chutzpah award goes to a finance minister taking credit for something he objected to while our Mensch of the week pulls off an unexpected feat of German diplomacy - and language. 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A wave of antisemitic terror swept across Western Europe this spring — and one man appears to have been behind it all. This week, Yonit and Jonathan hear the full, remarkable story as they sit down with Jason Burke, The Guardian's international security correspondent and terrorism expert. He describes how a single Iraqi-Iranian dual national is accused of leveraging both social media and teenage criminals to orchestrate what looked like a series of scattered attacks but was, in fact, a coordinated proxy campaign. And they discuss the broader questions: has the long arm of Iranian terror been constrained at all by US-Israeli military action? Did October 7th represent a strategic break from Iran's usual playbook — or was it a tactical aberration? And as the 50th anniversary of the raid on Entebbe approaches, was that operation a turning point in the long history of global terrorism - and what can be done now to beat back the menace of terror? 00:00 Introduction to Jason Burke and His Work 02:23 Profile of Mohammed Bakr Saad, Al-Sadi 05:13 Al-Sadi's Operations and Recruitment Methods 07:50 The Arrest of Al-Sadi and His Plans in the US 12:42 Impact of Al-Sadi's Arrest on Terror Operations 15:26 October 7th: An Evolution or Aberration in Terrorism? 19:06 The Role of Qatar in Terror Financing 22:55 Countering Terrorism: Challenges and Strategies 26:05 The Significance of the Entebbe Raid 30:03 Convergence of Leftist and Islamist Terrorism 33:01 The Evolution of Terrorism and Its Future 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com 💛 Become a friend of the pod: Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLY YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/ X: https://x.com/unholypod Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTS Yonit Levi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/ X: https://x.com/LeviYonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/ Jonathan Freedland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com 🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.