Ilana Dayan on Israel's Most Crucial Choice

As Israel heads into what may be the most consequential election of its history, the country is still arguing less about where it's going than about how it got here. This week, Yonit and Jonathan sit down with a titan of Israeli broadcasting — Ilana Dayan, anchor of the investigative program Uvda for three decades — who returns to Unholy to make sense of it all. She traces how Netnayahu survived a moment that should have ended his political career, makes the case for what actually sets challenger Gadi Eisenkot apart, and confronts head-on whether Israelis see the last three years as a win or a wound still open. Plus: her read on the West Bank sanctions rattling even Netanyahu's own coalition — and why, despite everything, she still finds a reason for optimism. Chapters:0:00 – Ilana Dan returns to Unholy0:27 – Is this really Israel's most crucial election ever?4:33 – How did Netanyahu survive October 7th?9:33 – Why do Israelis still buy his message?14:51 – Enter the challenger: who is Gadi Eisenkot?18:01 – The interview that revealed Eisenkot's character22:25 – Can a candidate who pauses beat Netanyahu's charisma?27:41 – Israel's deepest rift — and how it got here32:22 – The "wins" since October 7th, and the West Bank sanctions39:13 – Was Israel's war in Gaza fought right?52:47 – Her hopes going into the new year 🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.com💛 Become a friend of the pod:Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon 📺 FOLLOW UNHOLYYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/X: https://x.com/unholypodBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLYApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTSYonit LeviInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/X: https://x.com/LeviYonitLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/Jonathan FreedlandInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: [email protected]🔗 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.