Jew Oughta Know

Re-releasing Episode 65 with three unsolved mysteries from the Holocaust: the fate of Raoul Wallenberg, who betrayed Anne Frank, and the wartime actions of Pope Pius XII.

Re-releasing Episode 67 about the Iraqi Jewish Archive, discovered by the U.S. military in 2003. Who should get it: Iraq, the United States, or the Iraqi Jewish community in America?

Re-releasing Episode 68 about the Dead Sea Scrolls, found two thousand years ago in caves near the Dead Sea. Who wrote them? And where is their billion-dollar buried treasure?

Re-releasing Episode 61 about the Golem. Something both living and dead has been hiding up in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue in Prague for the last 500 years. What is it? What happened to it?

Re-releasing Episode 62 about the Lost Menorah -- just in time for Hanukah to begin tonight. The menorah is one of the most sacred symbols in Judaism, and we know that it really existed in the Second Temple. We know who took it, when, and where. What happened after that remains a mystery.

The living hostages are home. An extraordinary cease-fire deal is hopefully bringing this nightmare to a close. What’s next? Who won and who lost? And where do we go from here?

Last week we looked at emerging threats. This week we’re going for pie-in-the-sky optimism. Can new ideas and leaders in Saudi Arabia and Syria bring forth a better future? Will Zionism move from an emphasis on security to a focus on developing a model society? Enjoy this milestone episode — #200 for Jew Oughta Know!

All the dramatic events since October 7 tell us that “it’s a new Middle East.” Countries are realigning their relationships, old threats are giving way to new ones, and new ideologies are rising. Part 1 of 2 examines the threats: Turkey and radical Islam.

Israel launched Operation Lion Rising, a preemptive strike to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Ballistic missiles are raining destruction on Israel in a fight with the Jews’ most committed genocidal enemy. This is a historic, dramatic moment with the potential to upend the world.

Why didn’t Trump visit Israel during his trip to the Middle East last week? On multiple issues Trump has left Netanyahu standing on the sidelines, leaving the prime minister struggling to Make Israel Relevant Again.

Trump attacks antisemitism on the left while encouraging it on the right. Jewish hatred should have consequences. But we shouldn’t use antisemitism as a pretext to erode the rule of law in order to punish political enemies.

What happens to Israel when its most important ally turns away from democracy? When happens when a weakened United States can no longer help Israel defend itself? Where else should Israel turn when the United States allies with autocracies? Is Trump good for Israel — or its biggest long-term threat?

The hostage release “ceremonies” reveal why a solution for Gaza is so elusive. How much of the answer is dependent on the Palestinian’s developing a different national culture?

Three hostages come home. This begins the first phase of a complex cease-fire-for-hostages agreement. Should we be pessimistic or optimistic? Is this a victory for Israel or Hamas? Why did this happen now, and what happens next?

How “social justice”, “racism”, and “genocide” are re-interpreted and re-defined to demonize Israel, Zionism, and Jews.

Re-releasing Episode 29 on the historical story of Hanukah. Where does the story come from? What happened? What’s with the miracle of the eight days of oil?

After 54 years, the Assad dictatorship in Syria has fallen. Iran is humiliated; its theory of power in the Middle East is a failure. And Israel is once again the region’s preeminent power. It’s been a wild few days — here’s what happened and why.

There’s a cease-fire in Lebanon but no path forward in Gaza, and this raises the question of Israel’s strategic direction. How come Israel can end the war with Hezbollah but not with Hamas?

Where do Hezbollah and Hamas get their money? State sponsors, legitimate businesses, donations and humanitarian aid, and criminal activity all pour billions into the terrorists’ banks — which are now prime targets for Israel.

Jews are feeling uneasy about whomever they vote for — Donald Trump or Kamala Harris — because both parties are rife with antisemitism. Whether in the form of conspiracy theories or anti-Zionism, it’s evidence of an ailing society. Can Americans fix this rot in their politics?

Re-releasing an episode from the archives with a major update. Episode 63 from Season 3 Unsolved Jewish Mysteries explored the theory that Christopher Columbus was Jewish. Now there is a major new DNA finding that provides some answers.

Hezbollah attacked Israel on October 8 last year, laying siege to the north of the country that has killed civilians, burned entire towns to the ground, and driven tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes. Israel is now fighting back in an effort to push Hezbollah off the border and stop the attacks. Let’s look at what’s happening and why now.

Hamas executed six hostages. Israelis accuse Prime Minister Netanyahu of abandoning them for his own self-interest. They no longer trust the government to get the hostages back or wage this war effectively. So why isn't there a hostage deal? And how is Netanyahu managing to stay in power?

Prime Minister Benjamin addressed the United States Congress amidst a wild week of politics. We’ll examine a few takeaways regarding his own standing, Kamala Harris, the Left, and the upcoming US election.

Israel’s exceptional hostage rescue operation on June 8 — and how the upside-down world condemned it.

President Biden imposed a temporary arms embargo on Israel. He’s holding back certain types of weapons to try to prevent Israel from invading Rafah in southern Gaza. How should we think about this decision?

Hamas continues to hold 132 hostages. That’s 132 war crimes committed each and every day they are held. The best way to end this round of war is for Hamas to return them immediately. Instead they are subjected to the whims of international politics, diplomatic maneuvering, and demands on Israel to pay an ever-steeper price for their return.

It’s not just Israel and the Palestinians who have to make changes to create a Palestinian state. The U.S., Europe, and the moderate Arab countries will need to work together to run Gaza, ensure Israel’s security, and, most importantly, defend decent civilization from the existential threat of Islamic jihadism.

Israel has to make changes to get to a Palestinian state, but so do the Palestinians. Violent rejectionism, delegitimization of Israel, and the right of return all perpetuate the conflict. To achieve their own state, Palestinians have to give up trying to eliminate Israel.

If a Palestinian state is the ultimate goal, then Israel, the Palestinians, and the international community are all going to have to do things they really don’t want to do. Today we’re looking at this from Israel’s angle, with the focus on security.

Israel has fought two wars in Lebanon — is a third one coming? Today we’re taking a brief look at the history of Israel’s involvement in Lebanon.

Should Israel reoccupy Gaza eighteen years after leaving it? And if not, does the government have a better vision?

There are hopes for a huge deal in one fell swoop: end the war, return the hostages, make peace with Saudi Arabia, and get a Palestinian state. But is this realistic? What are the dilemmas involved?

The International Court of Justice issued a ruling in Israel’s trial on charges of genocide. Was it a defeat or victory for Israel — or a little bit of both? A sign of the sober application of international law, or the hypocrisy of politicized demonization of the Jewish State?

A survey of Palestinian attitudes from December makes for bleak reading: increased popularity for Hamas, more support for armed violence, widespread belief that Hamas will still be in charge in Gaza after the war, and more. Is there any way forward?

South Africa has brought charges of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. What is this case about, and what does it all mean?

Diving into the start of 2024: the ground war in Gaza, escalating conflict with Hezbollah, the Houthis attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea, and a return to Israeli domestic politics with a major ruling from the Supreme Court.

The tragic killing of three Israeli hostages by the IDF raises questions about the military’s conduct during this war. Is Israel adhering to the laws of war?

There are conversations no longer worth having because their answers have no meaningful impact. Is anti-Zionism antisemitism? Who actually hates Jews? Are Jews indigenous to Israel? Let’s stop debating these distractions.

Why is the relationship between Israel and the United Nations so bad? Historical events, the makeup of the UN, and its relentless condemnations of Israel explain why Israel no longer considers the global body a neutral actor.

The West Bank — what many Jews call Judea and Samaria — is another sector of this war that is boiling over with tension and violence. While Israeli forces arrest thousands of Hamas terrorists, fanatical Jewish settlers attack Palestinian civilians. What is going on and how did we get here?

After seven weeks of fighting, Hamas and Israel agreed to a deal to release some of the Israeli hostages, who have started returning home to great joy and relief. How can we understand this deal in context? What should we make of the role of Qatar as mediator? What does it tell us about Hamas? What are the dilemmas facing Israel going forward?

“Never Again” evokes the promise of no more genocide, as the world has learned the lessons of history and the Holocaust. But “Never Again” has a different connotation for the Jewish People — and helps us understand the decisions Israel is making in fighting this war against Hamas.

Hamas’ massacre unleashed a worldwide wave of hatred and vilification against Israel and the Jewish People, summed up in the noxious idea of “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea” — a call for the destruction of Israel. Leftist ideology, classic antisemitism, and Israel demonization all play a role in this stunning display of moral blindness.

Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza is underway. It is difficult, dangerous, and deadly fighting that has already claimed dozens of Israeli soldiers. The goal is to eliminate Hamas. But what about afterwards? Today we’ll look at five options for post-war Gaza.

In the constant struggle to keep up with what’s happening, how can we understand what we’re seeing on the news? The media ecosystem often accepts Hamas’ claims uncritically, while Israel’s are subjected to days of scrutiny and doubt. Skepticism and patience are our best tools to navigate the complexities here.

What does Iran have to do with Israel’s war against Hamas? A lot! We’re zooming out to look at Iran and it’s proxy army, Hezbollah, the terrorist group threatening to start a war along Israel’s northern border.

Day Eleven of the war between Hamas and Israel. For years Israel has brought sick Palestinian children into Israel for lifesaving medical care. Hamas responded by sadistically massacring Israeli children. Today we’re talking about Hamas and its intersection with Gaza’s history, crucial context for understanding how we got to this moment.

Unimaginable savagery in the worst attack on the Jewish People since the Holocaust. It's a declaration of war by Hamas, the genocidal group dedicated to the complete destruction of Israel. What's going on? How did we get here? What's next?

Black September cruelly murders 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The local police are helpless to resist, the rescue operation goes wrong, the world watches on live TV, and Golda Meir sees that, once again, Jews are being killed on European soil.