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I spoke last night with our frequent guest, former IDF spokesperson, Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus, to focus on what many outside Israel find to be a very confusing state of chaos. There is a government that has made clear that a red line – an inviolable boundary in its negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas – is that it will not abandon the Philadelphi Corridor. Shortly after this position was made public in a leaked recording from an Israeli security cabinet meeting, the bodies of six hostages were found in the Gaza tunnels. They had been murdered by Hamas a short time before. And their deaths enraged the nation. Were their murders avoidable? Was PM Benjamin Netanyahu being callous to their plight in sticking to this position? Or was he steeling and doing what is necessary for the future of Israel? Listen to our discussion in which we explore this horrible dilemma.
Below, just received before publishing this podcast episode, is the transcript of PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks to the international press at 8pm (Israel time) today, Wednesday, Sept. 4. His very full statement stands as a robust response to many parts of our podcast. I suggest reading the statement in full.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Remarks at his Press Conference for the Foreign Media
Following are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks, this evening (Wednesday, 4 September 2024), at the GPO in Jerusalem:
"Israel is experiencing days of horror, sorrow and rage. A week ago, we experienced such horror.
Yesterday, I visited in Ashkelon the family of one of the hostages murdered in cold blood. A day earlier, I spoke to several of the families of these murdered hostages. It tears your heart out. I said to them that I'm sorry. I apologized that we, we didn't get them out. We worked so hard to get them. We were close. But we didn't. And they changed the torment of families worried about their loved ones to families grieving for their fallen beloved. That sentiment I know because I belong to that family. But it's a horror.
We also lost brave policemen and brave soldiers who were fighting in the Gaza front and I embraced their families as well. All our people do.
On October 7th, we experienced the worst savagery in this century. On October 7th, we experienced the worst savagery meted on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. These savages massacred our people. 1,200 civilians. They beheaded our men. They raped our women and then murdered them. They burnt babies alive. They took 255 of our people hostages to their underground dungeons. That's a horror that the world saw and responded to initially.
It's important that we remember it. But we were given a reminder. A terrible reminder. Last week, when these savages murdered six of our hostages in cold blood. They riddled them with bullets. Then they shot each of them in the head. Some of them several times.
And these are the savages, these are the terrorists that Iran implanted next to our border as elsewhere. And we're committed to defeating them, to extirpating this evil from our midst. I want to talk to you today about some of the things that we must do to achieve that goal, including the questions of the Philadelphi Corridor.
But before I do that, I want to give your readers and viewers some context because often you see maps of Israel. You think it's a Goliath.
Well, I'd like to give you first an overview of where Israel is. (Click here for a PDF file.)
This is the Middle East, and this is the entire Arab world, and this is Israel. It's one of the world's tiniest countries. I give it the, you know, the thumb test. This is a big one, so you need a bigger thumb. But it's a tiny country. It's one of the tiniest countries on the planet. It's, I think one tenth of one percent of the territory of the Arab world, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's two tenths of one percent.
It goes from the river. The river is right here. That's the Jordan River. To the sea, the Mediterranean Sea. So, when Hamas is talking about liberating Palestine from the river to the sea, basically, what they're saying is destroying Israel.
And the entire width of this, it's probably around the width of the Washington Beltway, it's all together in its widest point is about 50 miles. Right here. Tiny.
And here's Gaza there. This is the red thing that you see here. That's Gaza. Now I want to zoom in. When I zoom in, remember how tiny this is. Remember the distances here.
Now, take a look. Here it is enlarged. This is Israel. This is the Mediterranean Sea. The Jordan River is right here.
This is Egypt and the Sinai desert. Now, look at Gaza. Where is Gaza? Gaza is implanted in this tiny country 30 miles from Tel Aviv, 40 miles from our capital Jerusalem, 30 miles from Beer-Sheva. These are three of Israel's largest cities. Gaza is within spitting distance to them.
Israel, up to the disengagement agreement of 2005, Israel controlled this border under an agreement with Egypt after the Camp David Peace Accords. We controlled this part, which is called the Philadelphi Corridor, I'll talk about that in a minute, right down to Eilat in the Red Sea. This was our border. And while there was, I would say a minimal amount of terrorism, that wasn't, we didn’t really face a big problem.
Let's zoom in on that a bit more. Here's Gaza Strip enlarged. Again, this is the situation in Gaza before the disengagement of 2005. And the Gaza Strip is firmly under Israeli control. We control the maritime border. You can't smuggle in weapons. They tried but we stopped it. You control the land border. And you control this border between the Sinai desert, Egypt and Gaza. The Gaza Strip, it's controlled. This is the Philadelphi Corridor. This is the Rafah Crossing. Controlled by the IDF.
Now look at the distances from Gaza. It's four miles to another city in Israel called Ashkelon, where I visited that bereaved family yesterday. It's a population of 170,000 people. They are four miles away. But some of our communities like kibbutz Be'eri, which was one of the hardest hit, is one mile away from Gaza. Kfar Aza is less than one mile away. It's literally walking distance. Okay.
And so, as long as we controlled this, these communities, sometimes they were harassed by this rocket or that rocket but it was marginal. We controlled the security situation. But something happened in 2005. Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza. It just went out. It took out everything. It took out the army. It stripped, uprooted communities, took out 10,000 people.
The army left the Philadelphi Corridor. Here's what happened.
This is Gaza after the disengagement. And Hamas now has a weapon smuggling operation nurtured by Iran, financed by Iran, supplied by Iran, delivered by Iran.
And here's what happened. That Philadelphi Corridor became completely porous. The other borders controlled by us. But once this was perforated, even though the policy of Egypt was to prevent it, you know, it didn't necessarily work, it didn't, it didn't succeed. And this border once we left our side of the Philadelphi Corridor, rockets went in, missiles went in, drones went in, ammo went in, weapons manufacturing equipment came in, tunnel drilling equipment came in.
Once we got out, once we left the Philadelphi Corridor, Iran could carry out its plan to turn Gaza into a base, a terrorist enclave that would endanger not only the communities around it but would endanger Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beer-Sheva, the entire country of Israel. It became a huge terrorist base because we left that Corridor.
So, we vowed, or I would say, all this, you have to understand that the centrality, the centrality of the Philadelphi Corridor to the arming of Gaza, to the arming of Hamas and this all led to the October 7th massacre, which Hamas has vowed, proudly vowed to do again and again and again.
We vowed that they won't be able to do it. So we said, as far as Gaza is concerned, three war goals: The first war goal was to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities. The second was to free our hostages. And the third was to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.
And all three of those goals, all three of them go through Israel's control of the Philadelphi Corridor. And it's obvious why. You want to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities – You can't let Hamas rearm. It's obvious. So you have to control the corridor. You can't let them have…by the way, it's not only to prevent them from terrorizing us, attacking us, it's also to prevent Hamas or any other terrorist organization from terrorizing the people of Gaza.
Gaza cannot have a future if Gaza remains porous and you can enable rearmament of terrorists through the Philadelphi Corridor.
The second thing is to release the hostages. First of all, you can't prevent, if you leave this Corridor, you can't prevent Hamas from, not only, not smuggling weapons in, you can't prevent them from not smuggling terrorists, hostages out. It's walking distance, nothing. They can easily smuggle hostages out here to the Sinai desert in Egypt, they disappear. It's crossing distance. The distance is nothing, it's meters, meters away.
They cross the, the barrier above ground. They don't even have to go underground. They disappear in the Sinai and then they end up in Iran or in Yemen. They're gone forever.
And you need something to squeeze them, to prevent them, to put pressure on them to release the remaining hostages. So if you want to release the hostages, you've got to control the Philadelphi Corridor. And the third reason, the third goal of ensuring that we prevent Gaza from being again a threat to Israel. It's clear. Gaza must be demilitarized. And it can only be demilitarized if the Philadelphi Corridor remains under firm control and is not a supply line for armaments and for terror equipment.
I think that's clear to most Israelis, to all Israelis. But a question has arisen: that may be the case, but why don't you leave Gaza for 42 days, you could come back. Well, aside from what I said that they could smuggle the terrorists out. I want to show you what they've got under Gaza. I didn't show you that. So I want to show you that.
This is what they have under the Philadelphi Corridor. Just so you understand the supply lines we're talking about. This is one of the tunnels there. Look at the engineering, look at the investment here, look at what they've got. We've got dozens of such tunnels, dozens of such tunnels, underneath the Philadelphi Corridor. To give you an impression of the size of these things: This is a soldier. This is a tunnel. You could drive a truck through this. Indeed, you could. Here's a truck, or it's a Humvee. This is a huge, huge problem.
Now, you're just going to walk away? It's obvious we have to control it, right? I think, once you see this, you understand that? But then the next question is, okay, you leave and you come back. That's what they tell us. Okay. We'll have complete international legitimacy to come back. Sorry, we've gone down that route. We were down that route when we left Lebanon, and people said you can leave Lebanon and you can come back. The first time they fire a rocket you can come back, the world will support you. It didn't. And we've been out of Lebanon for 24 years.
They said the same thing when we left Gaza in the disengagement. They said, you can leave, and the first rocket. I remember, Prime Minister Sharon said this to me. The first rocket above ground or below ground, we'll be able to go back in. It's been 20 years and we haven't gone back in. Because you all know and understand that the international community, including friendly countries, under enormous domestic pressure because of the propaganda that's leveled against Israel and against them, there'll be enormous, international pressure not to come back. What is their message? End the war. End the war. And so, when we want to come back and resume, we'll pay an exorbitant price in many fields, including in the lives of our men.
To come back? It's not a just a military question. It's a military, political, strategic question. And we make that decision. We're not going to leave. 42 days? We're there. I don't want to leave in order to come back in, when I know that we didn't come back in. And it's not going to take another 24 years to come back in. And God knows what price we'll have? How many more massacres? How many more kidnappings? How many more hostages? How many more rapes? It's not going to happen.
So, people said, yeah, but if you stay, this will kill the deal. And I say, such a deal will kill us. And there won't be a deal that way. This is a false narrative. I'm willing to make a deal. I made one already, one that brought back 150 hostages, 117 alive. And I'm committed to return the remaining 101. I'll do everything I can to get them in.
But leaving Philadelphi does not advance the release of the hostages, because the deal cannot be advanced. They'll give you a minor part if they give anything, and keep the rest. Go and argue. You know when they started giving us hostages? When we went into Philadelphi. When we went into Rafah. When we controlled the Rafah Crossing. That's when they felt the pressure. As long as they didn't feel the pressure, they wouldn't do it. The first batch, the first deal that we got, was a result of our invasion, the military pressure we put in. They gave us the hostages. After that, they thought, well, you know, we'll have the international pressure turn on Israel so we won't have to do, we won't have to make any concessions. But after Rafah, their tune changed, and they began to change. If we leave Rafah, if we leave the Philadelphi Corridor, there won't be any pressure. We won't get the hostages.
I said I'm willing to make a deal. The real obstacle to making a deal is not Israel and it's not me. It Hamas. It's Sinwar. On April 27th, I put forward a proposal by Israel, which Secretary Blinken called extremely generous. On May 31st, having met Blinken again, I said, we agreed to the US-backed proposal, and Hamas refused. On August 16th, the US brought forth what they called the final bridging proposal. Again, we accepted, Hamas refused. On August 19th, Secretary Blinken said, Israel accepted the US proposal, now Hamas has to do the same. On August 28th—that's a week ago—the deputy CIA director said Israel showed seriousness in the negotiations, now Hamas must make the deal. This was last week. So, I ask you, what has changed. What has changed in this week? What's changed is that they murdered six of our hostages in cold blood.
Now, the world will seriously demand that Israel make concessions after this massacre? What message does this send to Hamas? I'll tell you what the message is. Murder more hostages, you'll get more concessions. That's not only illogical, it's not only immoral, it's downright insane. So, it's not going to happen. We have red lines before the murder. They haven't changed. We'll hold to them. But we also had flexibility. And I'll tell you one thing, Hamas will pay for this. That you can be assured. We'll make sure that we extract that price from them. But we are firm on our red lines, including the Philadelphi Corridor, for the reasons I described here. I'm flexible where I can be. I'm firm when I have to be.
I think there is a possibility of getting this deal if we stick to this strategy. I said before, we got 150 hostages out because we combined a firm stance with military pressure. And I said that Hamas after that relied on international pressure, but it had weakened. And then we went into Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor, so it got strengthened, and they were beginning to balk. A condition that they said they'd never accept, a red line, is that we must commit to getting out of Gaza and enabling Hamas basically to take over Gaza again. End the war, get out, let them retake Gaza. That's obviously something we couldn't do.
They said there'll never be a deal. Well, they started caving in there after we took the Philadelphi Corridor. And then they started backing off. You know why they waited? Why they started backing off? Because they waited for Iran to start a general war with Israel. That didn't happen. So then they waited for Hezbollah to start a general war with Israel. That didn't happen either. So now they resort to the final tactic. They're going to sow discord and create international pressure, again using the hostages, even after the murder. And this is something that's not new because they started this a year ago.
You should see this. I mean, this is their tactic. This is Hamas orders for psychological warfare, found in Hamas underground command post on January 29th, that's right after the beginning of the war, 2024. And this is the original document in Arabic. Our soldiers found it.
And here's what it says: Push photos and videos of hostages. Put it out in the media, because that creates enormous psychological pressure. Who's not affected by it? Any human being seeing these souls, these girls, these people, young people from those dungeons, you're affected by. Second: Increase psychological pressure on defense minister. Third: Continue blaming Netanyahu. And fourth: Claim ground operation will not release hostages.
That's Hamas', it's not only their talking points, it's their strategy. And their idea is this will sow internal discord and increase international pressure on Israel. That's what they hope to achieve. And they hope, they think this will happen. Well, it won't happen. I can tell you why it won't happen. I'll tell you why they'll fail. Because overwhelmingly the people of Israel are united. They understand everything that I said here. Overwhelmingly. You should know that. It's important. And the second thing is, we're committed to achieving our goals—all three goals: Destroying Hamas' military and governing capabilities, releasing all our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza does not become a threat to Israel anymore. And all these require standing firm on the things that will ensure the achievement of these goals. And with G-d's help, and with our people's will, and with the courage of our soldiers, we will achieve all goals."
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Within hours of the shock Hamas attack of October 7, video clips and news reports documenting the unspeakable savagery being committed went viral, globally. Equally shocking was that spontaneous street parties broke out all over Europe, the U.K., America, Canada and Australia. People were jubilant, celebrating the massacre even while it was ongoing. They called for the destruction of Israel. And, bizarrely, as they celebrated the carnage they also denied that Muslims would commit such barbaric crimes. But if they did, well, then it was legitimate resistance. Still in the fog and chaos of this massive terror attack, Israel found itself butting up against a wall of denial. Governments, NGOs like the United Nations, and civilians – saying that it never happened. This is where Mattan Harelfisch comes in. An Israeli man reeling in the immediate aftermath, Mattan could not believe that international media referred to crimes – that were documented by Hamas terrorists themselves – as things that “supposedly” occurred. Supposedly. The world was denying the horror. And so, Mattan spoke to IDF Chief Spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, and by mid-October the 47-minute film of the atrocities was produced and screened for 20 international journalists in Tel Aviv. This is part I of the fascinating back-story of how and why the 47-minute film was made; the objectives, the process, the ethics. Part II of this fascinating discussion will drop next week.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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In short, no one is winning. After almost a year of carnage the stakes seem to only get higher, death tolls climb and rhetoric intensifies. But today was, in this miserable context, a relatively good day, when Israel pre-empted a massive rocket and drone assault by Hezballah which likely targeted civilian infrastructure and military sites. Of 3,000 projectiles that were set up to be launched from underground facilities in Lebanon, only 300 were airborne and they did limited damage. But so much damage has already been done and the beleaguered population of Israel is taut. Former IDF Spokesperson and Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus and I expose the very raw condition of Israelis, many of whom feel utterly abandoned by the government and the army. We seem to be like spinning tops… spin, fall, re-spin, fall again. But there is no discernible plan or strategy as to if there is a plan and what that might entail. Even PM Netanyahu’s nerves are frayed. Meeting several days ago with hostage family members, the Prime Minister was sharp with them when they persisted in asking him whether he gave a toss about the hostages. Yes, it was that tense. And Netanyahu chided them, saying that he was fighting to save the state of Israel. As in: I am focused on much bigger issues than your son, or daughter, or husband. Widely reported in the Israeli media, the comment has confirmed the perception many Israelis have of Netanyahu; that he is cold, detached and megalomaniacally focused on his political survival. Power. The moral compass that Israelis felt they had is not being reflected back to them in top leadership. As Conricus so brilliantly distills the crisis: “It’s as if the entire Zionist endeavor relies on 42 days of Israeli control over the Philadelphi corridor.” We unpack it all. Have a listen.
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Ya’akov and I get right into the only issue. The hostage deal. Now that Yahya Sinwar is the leader of Hamas (since the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh almost three weeks ago) he holds the cards. And whether he wants a deal remains somewhat unclear. There are so many contradictory signals. But the deal links everything, it seems. And the U.S. is pushing …
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In this episode, I continue my discussion with British barrister Natasha Hausdorff, who specializes in international law and human rights. We focus today on the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross – which has done little, if anything, to assist the Israeli hostages held by Hamas. We then move on to the complex issue of hospitals and schools, which have a special protected status under international laws of conflict; that is, until they are used as military headquarters and operational bases. This is the classic modus operandi of Hamas, and the world – particularly NGOs like the United Nations and UNRWA – look away. Rather than pounding Hamas and its supporters for such immoral conduct and using civilians as human shields, these institutions and individuals instead pile on Israel. Curiously, they also say nothing – they are silent – in the face of clear and overwhelming evidence of the weaponization of sexual crimes by Hamas. In effect, they applaud Hamas’ barbaric conduct. Which, really, is exactly what these organizations are doing. Silence is not just complicity – it is also encouragement. We discuss the unbearable hypocrisy of this axis of pro-Hamas savagery. #BelieveAllWomen. Unless they are Jewish or Israeli women. We bring this discussion right up to the moment, commenting on the recent Israeli attack on a school in Gaza which was a robust Hamas military base. Why is the global community not criticizing Hamas? We can’t explain the insanity but we do expose the double standard. Another superb chat with the brilliant Natasha Hausdorff.
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Today Ya’akov and I wonder what’s going on with Iran and their much anticipated retaliatory attack on Israel, following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. We speculate on the role of the newly elected Iranian president in possibly restraining the Supreme Leader’s threat to avenge, ongoing hostage negotiations, and the potential ceasefire…
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In this episode, I speak with an extraordinary woman, lawyer and legal advocate for Israel - British barrister Natasha Hausdorff - who specializes in international law and human rights. We explore some of the key issues facing Israel, including its “legitimacy” as a state, the legal validity of recent accusations of genocide, and the doctrine of proportionality in military responses under international law. Hausdorff shares insights from her recent appearance with Douglas Murray at the Munk Debate in Toronto -which went viral globally- and discusses the broader implications of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism worldwide. The episode highlights Hausdorff's role in defending Israel's actions under international law and her efforts to educate and inform on these critical topics. Her deep knowledge, experience and brilliance in explaining complex issues straightforwardly is an opportunity not to be missed.
Podcast Notes
* JNS “The Quad” episode featuring an interview with Natasha Hausdorff, in studio
* Natasha Hausdorff’s online biography
* Munk Debate, DATE, featuring Natasha Hausdorff, Douglas Murray, Mehdi Hassan and Gideon Levy
* UK Lawyers for Israel Charitable Trust
* UKLFI upcoming webinar entitled “Unravelling the ICJ Advisory Opinions” with Natasha Hausdorff and Olivia Flasch on Thursday 22 August at 6 pm (UK), 8 pm (IST) and 1 pm (EST)
* Article by Iran International reporter Negar Mojtahedi exposing Iran’s financing of University of Toronto pro-Hamas encampment
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In this episode, I discuss the heightened tensions in Israel amid fears of an imminent attack from Iran and its regional allies, a situation compounded by the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. With co-host Yaakov Katz on vacation in Europe, I sought out two pundits familiar to State of Tel Aviv listeners: Amir Tibon, diplomatic correspondent for Haaretz and author of the forthcoming book “Gates of Gaza”, and Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Jonathan Conricus. Amir discusses the current threat environment and the influential role of the United States, while Jonathan explores the strategic implications of Israel's potential shift in dealing with Iran. The episode highlights the deep concern within Israel and debates around a potential hostage deal with Hamas, reflecting the complex geopolitical dynamics at play. The Sunday podcast, usually paywalled, is made accessible to all this week due to the critical nature of the situation. It really is existential. We get into everything. Don’t miss it.
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Since we recorded this podcast so much has gone down, and none of it good, sadly. The horrific rocket attack on a soccer pitch on Saturday afternoon in the Druse village of Majdal Shams, in the norther Golan Heights, becomes worse as we learn more. Children. Obliterated by an Iranian missile launched by Hizballah from S. Lebanon. Twelve dead. Many more …
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Tension has spiked again in Israel. The sustained war of attrition in the north is intense and wildly destructive. People are dying and a large swath of the country has been not just rendered uninhabitable but basically, destroyed. Everything. Homes, businesses, infrastructure. As expected, the hostage families are advocating constantly and in full force for the negotiation of an agreement for the release of their loved ones from Hamas captivity. We know so little of their last nine and a half months as Hamas hostages. But we do know that they have been abused and tortured physically, psychologically and, many, sexually. And then there’s the trip Bibi is taking to America to address Congress. The dissonance between his actions and the emotional despair of the people is profound. That he can place a speech ahead of the importance of being present and at least making an effort to appear to care about the exhaustion and depletion of the people – is not going down well in Israel. At such a critical moment in the nation’s history, the Prime Minister should be here. Period. Full Stop.
You may wish to have a look at an op-ed piece I wrote for the National Post newspaper (Canada) on Saturday.
Also, Ya’akov’s Friday column in the Jerusalem Post – which we mention in our conversation – is here. A great read, as always.
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This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe -
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In Israel this morning we awoke to the news of the attempted assassination of President Trump on Saturday. In addition, there was an Israeli operation executed on Saturday as well to assassinate Mohammed Deif, the second-in-command to Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip. Whether Deif was in fact killed remains unclear. He has eluded more than one attempt on …
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Israel is riveted by the possibility – which has been much talked about in the last few days – of a return to the hostage negotiating table to finally bring an end to this interminable crisis. We have no idea how many remain alive. But they must be brought home. In any condition. And Hamas has finally agreed to the Israeli position that it will not agre…
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For the four siblings and parents of 23-year-old Hamas hostage, Romi Gonen, life has been totally upended since October 7, 2023. . Her mother, Meirav Leshem Gonen, older sister Yarden and her father, Eitan, were on the phone with her for four hours that morning. From the very first moments of the Hamas attack she was in near constant contact with one of them. They heard everything. In separate podcasts in January (links are in the notes, below), I interviewed both Meirav and Eitan. They spoke in detail about those surreal hours when no one understood the scope of the attack. But their Romi was in the vortex of the unfolding Hell and thank goodness she had a charged phone so that they could support her. Until, that is, the Hamas monsters pulled her from the car where she was trapped, with a bullet in her arm. (All this is discussed in detail in the January podcasts.) Not until some hostages were released in late November did the family receive confirmation that Romi was alive.
For nine months they have been among the hostage families at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the ongoing savagery of Hamas is not forgotten. They are at the United Nations, meeting with government leaders, groups and individuals visiting Israel, media, anyone and everyone who demonstrates an interest in the desperate plight of the hostages. I have met with Meirav and other family members on numerous occasions. This episode is a special focus on what their lives have become.
When I was in Geneva recently on June 19 (total coincidence), I was invited to watch Meirav Leshem Gonen address the opening plenary session of the UN Human Rights Council, at which Navi Pillay, Chair of the latest Commission of Inquiry into Israel’s conduct since October 7th, presented her “findings”. Not only is the Commission yet another UN farce, but the tenor of the proceedings contrasted so sharply with the dignity of Meirav. Her power saturated the large meeting hall.
Join me on this fascinating journey with the Gonen family, through desperate lows, hope, determination, fury and a relentless focus on doing everything possible to free Romi and all the other hostages in Hamas hell. It is a tour de force because of who and what they are. Their determination and courage are just awesome. You will hear Meirav laugh, cry, tear a strip off the UN Human Rights Commission and more. We get into music, family, power and the responsibility of every person who cherishes freedom to step up and speak up. This is the story of what was probably a quite ordinary family that has come to embody devotion, strength, decency, dignity and ferocious love. They are anything but ordinary. And we discuss that too - how circumstances have thrown them into this insane life situation and how they have risen to the challenge, together.
Podcast Notes:
Remarks of Ms. Navi Pillay at UNHRC, June 19, 2024:
Remarks of Meirav Leshem Gonen at UNHRC, June 19, 2024:
Link to UNHRC proceedings on June 19, 2024
Eden Golan “Hurricane” video on Youtube
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I’m back today with Ya’akov Katz to review the past week and try to make sense of it all. And we spend a lot of time discussing the performance last Thursday of President Joe Biden at the debate with Donald Trump. The way in which America is perceived - the putative leader of the free world - impacts everyone, everywhere. We discuss what the consequence…
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There’s this weird feeling in the air in Israel. A very tense lull in military action. The IDF continues its limited operation in Rafah, with the intention of routing out the last of the Hamas and PIJ weapons caches and fighting forces. Sometimes it feels like it will never end and there are many Israelis who fear that may be the government’s intention.…
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So – our usual schedule got a little wonky this week. I was on a semi-holiday but became totally sick which was the first domino to fall. Anyway, we’re back. I caught up with Ya’kov on Tuesday afternoon in Israel and share the discussion today. We spend significant time on the ultra-orthodox refusal to serve in the IDF which is now a crisis. Israel simp…
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The IDF took a heavy blow on the weekend with 10 soldiers killed and another who passed from severe injuries suffered earlier. With our regular itinerant guest, Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus, we discuss the circumstances in Gaza that caused the deaths of eight IDF soldiers in a single incident. As a former infantryman who was in active service in the area where the tragedy occurred, Conricus infuses the telling with immediacy and deep knowledge. We then touch on increased humanitarian aid to Gaza before moving on to France, briefly. In an unprecedented and very hostile move, President Emmanuel Macron declared recently that all Israeli defence companies will be banned from participating in the biennial Eurosatory Exhibition – the largest such international event for the land, air-land defense and security industry. Ironically, as Conricus tells us, the theme for this year’s Exhibition is counter-terrorism. Israel is banned but China is participating. Mull that. This is a huge blow to Israel. We then pop up to the northern front, where fires burn out of control, residents are coming up to nine months since they were evacuated and there is no resolution in sight. It’s a lot of difficult information to process but…..as always….State of Tel Aviv tells it like it is. No sugar coating. We really do live in interesting times.
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com
The elite commando operation on Saturday that rescued four Israeli hostages who had been held by Hamas for eight months rocked the world…and gave Israelis a jolt of joy that was desperately needed. The country has been pummeled by this long war, tensions in the north and relentless diplomatic attacks. That more than 100 civilians remain in captivity alm…
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com
It has been a very intense week in northern Israel with a deeply concerning escalation of conflict with Hizballah. We spoke yesterday, Thursday, with Sarit Zehavi, Lt. Col. (Res.) who spent 15 years working in Military Intelligence and is among Israel’s foremost experts on security in the north. Founder and president of the Alma Center, which focuses on…
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, ever profound in her agony, stated in recent days that it is “an embarrassment to the human race that we haven’t been able to save” the hostages held by Hamas. Her 23-year-old son, Hersh, is among the 125 people still in Hamas Hell, having survived a grenade attack in which his left arm was blown off and his best friend murdered. …
- Visa fler
