Tel Aviv Review

Prof. Deborah Posel, a sociologist at the Institute for Humanities in Africa at the University of Cape Town, analyzes how racial tensions have played out in South Africa since the end of Apartheid in 1994. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Yair Ettinger, a journalist and researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute's "Ultra-Orthodox in Israel" program as well as a fellow at the Hartman Institute in New York, is the co-author, together with Nissim Leon, of the recently published book A Flock With No Shepherd: Shas Leadership The Day After Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. It analyzes the causes of the movement's identity, leadership and popularity woes, some resulting from and others coinciding with the death of its towering founder and spiritual father in 2013. This episode of the Tel Aviv Review was brought to you by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Milton Shain, emeritus professor of history at the University of Cape Town, specializing in the history of Jews and anti-Semitism in South Africa, tells the very different story of a Jewish settlement in the New World. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

What does radical Islam have in common with right wing extremism? Much, it turns out. From the perception of existential, apocalyptic threat to the sense of historic mission as saviors of their people, the two sides have more in common than either want to admit. Julia Ebner's book “The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far Right Extremism” shows why each side exists in a world of obsession with the other; and proposes how to mitigate the pull of extremism that preys on the young. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

In our minds, Saudi Arabia, to this day, has been an ultraconservative, almost medieval society, with a clear hierarchy and a coercive leadership. But it turns out that is not exactly the case. Nachum Shiloh discusses his research that focuses on the history of Saudi elites in the first half of the 20th century. This episode originally aired June 6, 2015.

When Malka Marom, a Canadian-Israeli musician and broadcaster, walked into a destitute Toronto night club in 1966, she was swept off her feet. The music, played by Joni Mitchell, mousy-looking and still unknown, was unlike anything she had heard before. Soon thereafter, they became lifelong friends; Marom's book Joni Mitchell in Her Own Words is a compilation of conversations they had over a 40-year period. She is now working on another book, featuring conversations with another great Canadian singer-songwriter: Leonard Cohen. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Prof. Roberta Ronsethal Kwall, a legal scholar and the founding director of the DePaul University College of Law, has just authored a new book entitled The Myth of the Cultural Jew – Culture and Law in Jewish Tradition. She explains to host Gilad Halpern why even the most secular Jews have imbibed the halakha, whether they like it or not. This episode originally aired June 5, 2015.

If another war breaks out between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, it could "turn Lebanon into a car park," and take down wholesale targets in Tel Aviv, says longtime journalist and author, the Lebanon expert Nicholas Blanford. He argues that one of the only hopes for avoiding war is that each side is fully aware that a new round could mean mutually assured destruction, or at least severe devastation. Yet it might only take some damned foolish thing in the desert to spark that war. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Dr. Caroline Light of the Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Harvard University talks with host Gilad Halpern about her recent book, That Pride of Race and Character: The Roots of Jewish Benevolence in the Jim Crow South. It analyses the circumstances that led to the establishment of a sizable Jewish charity network in the American South in the post-Reconstruction period. This episode originally aired April 18, 2015.

Yohanan Plesner, the president of the Israel Democracy Institute, joins us to discuss the past accomplishments and future challenges of democracy in Israel. Ahead of the 70th Independence Day celebrations, the IDI will launch the Democracy Pavilion along the Independence Trail in Tel Aviv, with a view to celebrating its many achievements and educating local and international visitors about its importance. This episode of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by the Israel Democracy Institute, which works to bolster the values and institutions of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Prof. Carole Fink, a scholar specializing in international European history at Ohio State University in the US, tells host Gilad Halpern about how Europe's Jews fit into the numerous minority protection schemes that emerged on the continent in the interwar period, and about the road to their catastrophic breakdown. This episode originally aired March 27, 2015.

Daniel Boyarin, Professor of Talmudic Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses his forthcoming book “Judaism: The Genealogy of a Modern Notions”, in which he argues that Judaism, as a full-blown concept, is a modern creation. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.  

Prof. Sander Gilman, who teaches history at Emory University in the United States, is an extremely prolific academic with a vast spectrum of fields of expertise. He discusses his cleverly entitled study, “Aliens vs Predators: Cosmopolitan Jews vs Jewish Nomads.” This episode originally aired March 20, 2015.

Why do we believe? After writing books about the god of Islam and Jesus of Nazareth, religion scholar Reza Aslan takes on the biggest question of all: What does “God” mean, anyway? Aslan comes to the surprising answer that God looks a lot like humans. Does this make him a deep believer or an atheist? Is God everywhere or nowhere? Find out in this interview about his latest book, “God: A Human History.” This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel. Find the extra segment for this episode at: patreon.com/telavivreview

Dr. Erica Weiss, Tel Aviv University anthropologist and author of “Conscientious Objectors in Israel: Citizenship, Sacrifice, Trials of Fealty”, tackles the concept of conscientious objection in Israel – a democratic society that honors the freedom of conscience while fighting for its survival. This episode originally aired March 15, 2015.

Dr Martina Weisz, a research fellow at the Hebrew University's Vidal Sassoon Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism, discusses the place of the Jews in the Spanish and Portuguese colonial project, which started immediately after the momentous expulsion of the Jews from these countries, in the late 15th century.   This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Dr. Eran Shalev of the Department of General History at the University of Haifa, author of American Zion: The Old Testament as Political Text from the Revolution to the Civil War, traces the theological and ideological origins of the special relationship between Israel and America. This episode originally aired March 7th, 2015.

Prof. Uriya Shavit, the head of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies and of the Religious Studies Program at Tel Aviv University, discusses his new book Scientific and Political Freedom in Islam: A Critical Reading of the Modernist-Apologetic School, which explores Islamic theologians' efforts to harmonize religion, science and modern systems of government. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Prof. Laura Schor, a historian at Hunter College in New York and author of The Best School in Jerusalem: Annie Landau’s School for Girls 1900-1960, discusses with host Gilad Halpern the extraordinary character of Annie Landau, a British ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman who was a high-profile public figure in Jerusalem during one of its most tumultuous periods. This episode originally aired March 6, 2015.

Prof. Daphna Hacker, an associate professor of law and gender studies at Tel Aviv University, discusses her new book Legalized Families in the Era of Bordered Globalization, which explores a phenomenon that is as understudied as it is widespread. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.