The "I Have Been Able to Form a Government" Edition

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Don Futterman and Noah Efron discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week. Listen to the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon   —"I Have Been Able to Form a Government!"— Just before the deadline passes, Israel has maybe the oddest government in the country's history, including a coalition of 8 very different parties, some from the pretty far right, some from the pretty far left, including one an Islamist party. What's it mean and what's it augur? —President & Accounted For— Yitzhak "Bugzhi" Herzog, one-time leader of the labor party, and son of Israel's sixth President, Chaim Herzog, was just overwhelmingly elected by the Knesset this week to serve as Israel's eleventh President. Herzog is a consummate insider, the elite son of an elite son of an elite son, and his opponent was a poor immigrant from Morocco who suffered inspeakably over the course of her life, and rose to be one of the country's most revered figures. Is Herzog the right person at the right time for this job? —Ripping Point?— Why so many young Jewish-American progressives are saying (sadly) they're done suffering for the sins of a Jewish state that makes no sense to them anymore. —"Israel's Problems Are Not Like America's"— For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion, we talk about a new, viral article in the Atlantic by one of our faves, Matti Friedman, called "Israel's Problems are Not Like America's." Do Americans (and especially American Jews) have an Ari Ben-Canaan problem? (And who the hell is Ari Ben-Canaan, anyway?) All that and fun with The White Trash!