Tel Aviv Diary Podcast

In today’s edition of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman is joined once again by geopolitical and intelligence analyst Ehud Haik for an in-depth discussion on one of the most uncertain moments of the current war. As conflicting signals emerge from Washington and Tehran, Marc and Ehud examine whether the United States and Iran are moving toward another round of fighting or toward an unstable diplomatic arrangement that neither side fully trusts. They discuss the strange events of the previous night, the ongoing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, and why both the Americans and Iranians appear to be calibrating escalation carefully while still preparing for the possibility of a much larger confrontation.The conversation explores Iran’s internal power structure, the growing role of the Revolutionary Guards, and the belief in Tehran that time may be working in Iran’s favor as President Trump’s political leverage gradually weakens heading toward the American midterm elections. Marc and Ehud analyze whether the Iranian strategy of prolonging negotiations could succeed, how China and the Gulf states fit into the broader picture, and why the United States may ultimately feel it cannot allow Iran to dominate the Strait of Hormuz or continue advancing toward a nuclear capability. They also discuss the dangerous reality that neither side appears to be observing a true ceasefire, creating the constant risk that a limited exchange could spiral into a much larger war.The second half of the podcast turns inward toward Israel itself and the growing debate over the country’s long-term strategic direction. Marc and Ehud argue that Israel may now be in a worse strategic position than before the latest round of fighting, particularly in Lebanon. They discuss Hezbollah’s recovery, missed diplomatic opportunities with Lebanon and Syria, and what they describe as an increasingly dangerous belief inside the Israeli government that military force alone can solve every strategic challenge. Ehud warns that Israel is drifting toward what he calls a “Sparta model” — a society permanently mobilized for endless war — and explains why he believes that vision is economically, socially, and politically unsustainable.The discussion also addresses the deeper crisis inside Israeli society: the erosion of democratic norms, growing political violence, tensions surrounding the judiciary and security services, and the widening divide between competing visions of Israel’s future. Marc and Ehud examine how the trauma of October 7 reshaped Israeli politics, why many former political rivals are now finding common ground, and whether a future election could produce a broad coalition focused less on left versus right and more on preserving democratic institutions, restoring competence, and preventing further fragmentation of Israeli society.A wide-ranging and candid conversation on war, strategy, diplomacy, and the future direction of Israel and the Middle East. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this joint episode of Tel Aviv Diary and In This Moment: A Rabbi’s Notebook, Marc Schulman sits down with Rabbi Joshua Hammerman for a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation on the state of Israel, American Jewry, and the fragile relationship between them.Broadcast during Schulman’s visit to the United States, the discussion captures a moment of profound anxiety and uncertainty. Both men reflect on the growing sense of fear among American Jews—driven by rising antisemitism, campus hostility, and political polarization—alongside a striking shift in public opinion, where Israel is no longer broadly supported across the American political spectrum. At the same time, they explore the Israeli experience of the past several years: a society shaped by war, repeated missile attacks, mass reserve duty, and an ongoing struggle over the country’s democratic institutions.The conversation moves between the political and the personal. They examine the impact of leadership—both in Israel and the United States—including the roles of Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, and the consequences of increasingly centralized decision-making. They revisit critical turning points, from the Iran nuclear deal to October 7, and debate whether different choices might have altered the trajectory of events—or whether deeper forces were always at work.A central theme is the growing disconnect between Israeli and American Jewish realities. Schulman describes the daily pressures of life under fire in Tel Aviv, while Hammerman outlines the social and political pressures facing Jews in America, including the erosion of church-state boundaries and the reemergence of both traditional and new forms of antisemitism. Each challenges the other’s assumptions, underscoring how differently these communities now experience the same conflict.The discussion also turns to the battle over narrative—how Israel has struggled to communicate its story in a world dominated by visual media—and the long-term implications of losing the “public relations war.” They explore generational divides, the influence of social media, and the decline of unified Jewish leadership in the United States.Despite the gravity of the issues, the episode ultimately looks toward the future. Drawing on history—from the Holocaust to the peace with Egypt—they ask whether transformative leadership is still possible. Could a figure like Anwar Sadat emerge again? Is there a path to restoring trust between Israel and American Jewry? And can both societies find a way to move beyond trauma toward a renewed sense of purpose?This is a candid, unscripted conversation between two longtime colleagues and friends—one rooted in Tel Aviv, the other in American Jewish life—grappling with some of the most urgent questions facing the Jewish people today, and ending, deliberately, with a search for hope. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

On the eve of Yom HaZikaron, Marc Schulman is joined once again by Yitzhak Sokoloff for a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation about memory, sacrifice, war, and the uncertainty hanging over Israel’s future. As Israel comes to a standstill for Memorial Day, they reflect on the singular weight of Yom HaZikaron in Israeli life, the rising number of fallen soldiers, and the emotional burden carried not only by bereaved families, but by an entire country still living through war.From there, the discussion turns to the larger national picture: the unresolved campaigns against Hezbollah and Iran, the gap between military reality and political rhetoric, and the growing danger Israel faces in the information war abroad. Along the way, they confront painful questions about leadership, morality, deterrence, Jewish identity, and what it means for Israel to defend itself while also trying to remain true to its deepest values. It is a sobering, thoughtful episode about grief, strategy, and the struggle to preserve both security and soul in one of the most difficult periods in Israel’s modern history. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this Friday afternoon episode of the Tel Aviv Diary Podcast, recorded on April 17 in Tel Aviv, Marc Schulman opens with what he sees as one of the clearest signs yet that the war is winding down: the return of Knaf Tzion, the Israeli government plane, from Berlin to Israel. From there, Marc examines the newly imposed ceasefire in Lebanon, President Trump’s decisive role in shaping Israeli policy, and the widening gap between what the Israeli government promised and what it can actually achieve. At the heart of the episode is a blunt argument: Israel’s leaders continue to promise outcomes they cannot deliver, from eliminating Hezbollah to fundamentally transforming the strategic landscape, and ordinary Israelis, especially those in the North, are once again left disappointed.Marc then turns to the deeper structural problem exposed by nearly three years of war: Israel does not have the military manpower to sustain the ambitions of its government. He lays out, in stark terms, the growing burden on reservists, the overextension of Israeli ground forces across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and multiple borders, and the basic reality that air power alone cannot achieve the political goals being sold to the public. He also looks ahead to what may come next with Iran, arguing that the most likely endgame is some version of a renewed nuclear agreement rather than the sweeping victory once promised. Along the way, he reflects on missed diplomatic opportunities, especially in Lebanon, and asks whether any path to stability remains open.The episode closes with a warning about Israel’s eroding support in the United States, especially among Democrats, following the Senate vote in which 40 Democratic senators opposed funding arms to Israel. Marc argues that Israel’s crisis in American public opinion is not simply a hasbara problem but the result of years of strategic neglect, poor diplomacy, and a failure to understand the cost of certain tactical decisions. He also offers a brief look at the U.S. midterms, shares his latest thoughts on the astonishing speed of AI development, and explains why tools like Claude and other large language models are already transforming business and creative work. A wide-ranging episode on war, diplomacy, American politics, and the future, all from Tel Aviv at what may be the start of a new phase. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Tel Aviv Diary Podcast, Marc Schulman is joined by Joel Rubin, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Obama administration, former congressional staffer, former executive director of the American Jewish Congress, founding political director of J Street, and a longtime figure in Democratic and Jewish public life in Washington. Speaking from the American capital while Marc records from Tel Aviv, Rubin brings a distinctly Washington-based perspective to a conversation centered on where Israel stands after more than two and a half years of continuous war, how the Middle East map has shifted, and why Israel may be in a stronger strategic position regionally than much of the American media is willing to acknowledge.The discussion then turns to the increasingly troubled state of American politics on Israel. Marc and Rubin examine the growing hostility toward Israel inside parts of the Democratic Party, the rise of anti-Israel and at times openly antisemitic rhetoric in both political camps, and the profound role social media algorithms are playing in shaping public opinion. Rubin argues that the old assumptions Israelis often make about unconditional Republican support and complicated but dependable Democratic backing no longer hold. They discuss Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, J Street, AIPAC, the 2028 political horizon, the tensions between Jewish and Arab Americans after October 7, and the broader question of whether the American Jewish community is entering a period of political and communal fragmentation.The episode also asks what Israel can actually do to improve its position in the United States, beyond slogans about hasbara. Marc presses Rubin on how a future Israeli government might reconnect with Democrats, younger Americans, and Jewish communities that no longer view Israel through the same lens as previous generations. Rubin argues that Israel must lean into its real strengths, democracy, diversity, technology, and openness, while also learning to engage critics rather than speaking only to supporters. The conversation closes with a sober but important look at the future of the American Jewish community and with Rubin discussing his forthcoming book, Saving Democratic Foreign Policy, which argues that Democrats must rebuild public trust if they hope to lead the United States on the world stage again. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

Two days into the ceasefire with Iran, Marc Schulman reports from Tel Aviv on a night that began with hope and ended in a rush to the shelter as missiles from Lebanon shattered the quiet. In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, he examines the fragile reality of the current moment: why Israel may be nearing a diplomatic opening with Lebanon, why military force alone cannot bring lasting quiet in the north, and why the coming negotiations with Iran may determine whether this war ends in strategic gain or long-term failure.Marc also reflects on deeper moral and political questions raised by the war: the human cost of Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the challenge of confronting religiously driven movements such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Iranian regime, and the growing danger of Israel’s eroding support in the United States. He closes with a look at a major AI development from Anthropic and what it may signal about the speed, power, and risks of the next technological era. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In today’s Tel Aviv Diary podcast, Marc Schulman is joined by Yair Zivan, Israeli-born communications strategist, former adviser and spokesperson to Shimon Peres and Yair Lapid, and one of the sharper centrist voices in Israeli public life. Their conversation unfolds in real time under fire, with sirens interrupting the interview and sending Marc to shelter before they resume. That interruption becomes part of the story itself: a reminder that for Israelis, the war is not an abstraction, but a daily reality measured in seconds to shelter, shattered apartments, canceled flights, and the constant strain of uncertainty.The discussion begins with the war against Iran and the question hanging over Israel’s military success: can tactical victories be turned into lasting strategic gains? Zivan argues that the war’s stated goals are justified — ending the nuclear threat, reducing the ballistic missile danger, and weakening the regime enough to create an opening for the Iranian people — but warns that military action alone is never enough. Again and again, he says, this government has shown that it knows how to launch operations but not how to build a diplomatic and strategic framework that secures a durable outcome. From Gaza to Lebanon and now Iran, the same pattern repeats itself: battlefield achievements without a coherent political endgame.Marc presses him on the failures of leadership at home, and the two speak candidly about what they see as a deep crisis at the top of the Israeli government. They discuss the lack of planning for the home front, the economy, education, and civilian life, despite the clear expectation that a broader war was coming. They also examine the widening gap between Israel’s extraordinary military performance and the government’s inability to translate that into either diplomatic success abroad or stability at home. The result, they argue, is a country showing tremendous resilience from below while being let down from above.A major part of the episode focuses on the United States and the dangerous erosion of bipartisan support for Israel. Zivan argues that one of the biggest myths about Benjamin Netanyahu is that he is a master diplomat when it comes to America. In reality, he says, Israel has lost ground not only with Democrats but increasingly among parts of the Republican right as well. Marc adds his own perspective from years of American media appearances, describing how even longtime pro-Israel voices now question Netanyahu’s judgment and political alignments. Together they explore the consequences of this failure of diplomacy and advocacy at a time when Israel’s case, in their view, should be far easier to explain to the world.The conversation then widens into politics and political philosophy. Zivan discusses his book, The Center Must Hold, which makes the argument that centrism — moderation, complexity, compromise, and liberal democracy — is the necessary antidote to polarization and extremism. Marc challenges him on whether centrism can still thrive in a political age shaped by social media bubbles, ideological tribes, and base-driven politics. Zivan responds that centrists must stop complaining and learn to communicate with more conviction and passion, insisting that moderation is not weakness and compromise is not betrayal. It is one of the most thoughtful sections of the interview, moving beyond immediate headlines into the deeper question of how democracies can govern themselves effectively in fractured times.The final section turns back to Israel’s political future. Marc and Zivan discuss the coming elections, the shape of the opposition bloc, the failures of the current coalition, and the importance of rebuilding state institutions — above all the education system, which Zivan calls central to Israel’s economic strength, national security, and long-term survival. The episode closes on a broader and more hopeful note, as Marc asks where Zivan wants to see Israel in twenty years. His answer is striking: an Israel fully integrated into the Middle East, grounded once more in the values of the Declaration of Independence, and secure enough that daily life is no longer dominated by sirens, shelters, and the fear of the next round.This is a serious and wide-ranging conversation recorded in the middle of war, but it is also a conversation about what comes after war: what kind of country Israel wants to be, what kind of leadership it needs, and whether it can still recover the strategic and moral clarity that so many Israelis feel has been lost. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this Erev Chag edition of the Tel Aviv Diary Podcast, Marc Schulman reports from Tel Aviv after a harrowing morning of repeated missile attacks on central Israel, the south, and the north. He describes a city moving toward the holiday in an atmosphere of exhaustion and unease, with normally crowded pre-Chag streets and markets noticeably subdued after four back-to-back attacks shook the center of the country. The episode also reflects on the tragic death of a 10-year-old girl in Bnei Brak, where inadequate access to shelters once again exposed the deadly consequences of Israel’s uneven civilian protection.From there, Marc turns to the larger strategic picture: uncertainty over President Trump’s expected address, unanswered questions about Israel’s goals in Iran and Lebanon, and deep skepticism about what “victory” now means. He argues that military force alone cannot define Israel’s future, warns of missed diplomatic opportunities with Syria, and raises concerns about reports of a possible American withdrawal from NATO. Personal, political, and deeply reflective, this episode captures a country entering Passover not with celebration, but with fatigue, worry, and growing questions about how this war ends—and what kind of future may follow. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, recorded on Friday, March 27 in Tel Aviv, Marc Schulman reflects on a war entering its fourth week with no clear end in sight. He examines the growing strain on Israelis living under daily missile and rocket fire, especially in the north, where residents are being told to remain in towns that still lack adequate protection. Marc argues that the government has failed both strategically and morally: it launched a multi-front war without a realistic plan for victory, while leaving civilians, small businesses, and entire communities to absorb the consequences.The episode also takes a hard look at the assumptions driving the war itself. Marc questions the belief that air power alone can deliver victory, drawing on historical lessons from World War II to Hamas and now Iran. Killing top commanders, he argues, does not destroy systems, regimes, or ideologies. If the hope was that pressure from the air would bring regime change in Tehran, that outcome now appears increasingly unlikely. Meanwhile, Israel is paying a mounting price at home, with exhausted citizens, a battered economy, and a north once again trapped in a dangerous cycle that military force alone cannot solve.In the final part of the episode, Marc widens the lens to two larger issues. First, he considers the political dimension in both Israel and the United States, including Donald Trump’s role in shaping the course of the war and the risk of a rapid end that would amount to strategic failure dressed up as victory. Then he turns to a very different existential threat: artificial intelligence. Reflecting on a recent interview with Tristan Harris, Marc warns that while AI is already proving extraordinarily useful, it is advancing far faster than governments are prepared to regulate. The result is a striking and unsettling episode that moves from the immediate dangers of war to the longer-term dangers of a world changing faster than its leaders can understand. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, I begin with a grim update from Tel Aviv after a night that was anything but quiet. Repeated missile warnings sent us to the shelters at 1:00 a.m., again at 4:30, and then once more at 7:20 in the morning, when a missile with multiple warheads struck in Tel Aviv, landing uncomfortably close to home. It was a stark reminder that for those of us living here, this war is not an abstraction but a constant, physical presence.The main conversation, recorded the night before, features former intelligence officer and security consultant Ehud Haik. Together we try to make sense of a war whose opening phase has brought undeniable military successes, but whose strategic endgame remains deeply uncertain. Ehud argues that President Trump’s push toward negotiations may be the only realistic path forward if the alternative is a prolonged air war with no political resolution. We discuss whether regimes can truly be toppled from the air, what history teaches from Japan to Serbia, and why Iran’s size, resilience, and internal dynamics make this a far more complicated conflict than many imagined at the outset.We also turn to the broader failures of strategy closer to home: Israel’s reliance on force without diplomacy, the repeated lessons of Lebanon and Gaza, and the danger of tactical victories turning into long-term political defeats. Along the way, we examine the role of the United States, the possibility of a regional nuclear chain reaction, and the troubling sense that while missiles may be intercepted, no one yet seems able to articulate a coherent political destination. It is a sobering, candid conversation recorded in real time, in the middle of a war whose outcome remains painfully unresolved. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this March 20 episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman speaks from Tel Aviv after the first full night of sleep in days, a brief pause in a war that has now reached the three-week mark. With Iranian missile fire shifting toward Jerusalem, Ashdod, Haifa, and the north, Marc steps back from the daily alerts and asks the larger question: What exactly has Israel accomplished, what were the real goals of this war, and how does it end?This episode examines the military success Israel has achieved in Iran—eliminating senior leaders, destroying missile launchers, factories, and key parts of the regime’s military infrastructure—while also confronting the far more difficult political and strategic questions that remain unresolved. Marc discusses the uncertainty over regime change, the unresolved issue of Iran’s enriched uranium, the critical role of U.S. support, and the growing risk that Israel could emerge from the war having won tactically while losing ground strategically and diplomatically.He also turns to the home front: the exhaustion of Israeli civilians, the government’s failure to prepare the country properly, the lack of shelters in the north, the plight of small business owners, and the growing strain on a society that has now lived under tension, war, and political crisis for years. This is a wide-ranging and deeply personal episode about war, resilience, American politics, Hezbollah, Trump, Netanyahu, and the fear that success may prove far harder to define than anyone imagined. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this hybrid episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman begins not with theory or politics from afar, but with the immediate reality of life in wartime Tel Aviv. Just before recording, missile alarms once again sent him, his dog, and his laptop down to the shelter, part of a now-familiar routine as Iran continues its attacks on the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Marc reflects on the exhausting rhythm of interrupted nights, repeated alerts, and the emotional swings that come with living through a war that still has no clear end. He weighs the latest developments, including Israeli strikes on senior Iranian regime figures and the possibility, however uncertain, that sustained pressure on the regime could produce a larger political unraveling inside Iran. At the same time, he is candid about the ambiguity of the moment: the fear of a long war of attrition, the strain on Israeli society, the question of whether the Iranian regime can truly be shaken, and the uneasy sense that everything may depend on decisions being made far above the heads of ordinary people trying simply to get through the day.From that raw and current opening, the episode shifts to a previously recorded interview with Yuval David—actor, journalist, commentator, activist, and fellow of the Middle East Forum—for a wide-ranging discussion about the battle over public opinion, Jewish identity, and the future of Israel and the diaspora. Yuval speaks about his work in strategic communications, his efforts to counter antisemitism and anti-Israel disinformation, and the challenge of operating in a world where social media, propaganda, and emotional sloganeering often overwhelm facts. Together, Marc and Yuval explore the changing nature of antisemitism in America, the erosion of the political center, the failures of pro-Israel advocacy over many decades, and the need not only to fight hatred but also to strengthen Jewish education, Jewish confidence, and Jewish public presence. The conversation is frank, sober, and often deeply personal, grappling with whether optimism is still justified in such a bleak moment.What emerges is an episode that captures both the immediacy of war and the longer struggle over meaning, identity, and endurance. Marc brings the perspective of someone speaking from a city under missile threat, while Yuval offers the voice of an advocate trying to shape the broader information war in the United States and beyond. The result is a conversation about resilience in two senses: physical resilience under fire, and moral and communal resilience in an age of disinformation, polarization, and rising hostility toward Jews and Israel. This is an episode about fatigue, uncertainty, argument, and persistence—and about the stubborn insistence that even in dark times, one keeps speaking, keeps fighting, and keeps hoping. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In today’s Tel Aviv Diary podcast, recorded on Friday, March 13, Marc Schulman reports from a subdued and uneasy Tel Aviv on the 14th day of the Israel-U.S. war against Iran, as fighting with Hezbollah continues in the north. The streets of Tel Aviv are unusually empty for a beautiful Friday afternoon, a visible sign of a public mood that has shifted from early resolve to growing exhaustion and doubt. Marc reflects on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s first press conference of the war, his uninspiring message to the public, and the deepening sense among many Israelis that this conflict—unlike the war forced on Israel after October 7—was a war of choice, and one whose outcome remains dangerously uncertain.This episode moves from the personal to the strategic. Marc describes the rhythms of life under missile alerts in Tel Aviv, the strain of living never more than a few minutes from shelter, and the contrast between the relative quiet in the center and the relentless attacks on northern communities such as Metula. He examines the central gamble at the heart of the war: the hope that the Iranian people will eventually rise up against the regime. It is, he argues, too early to declare that possibility dead—but if it does not happen, Israel may be left facing the worst possible outcome: a still-hostile Iranian regime, enough enriched uranium for multiple bombs, and a world furious over the economic consequences of war in the Gulf.Marc also turns to the Lebanon front, where Israel now faces renewed questions about Hezbollah’s surviving capabilities, its restored command-and-control systems, and the prospect of yet another war of attrition in the north. Alongside this, he reflects on the troubling absence of serious planning and disciplined decision-making at the top, both in Jerusalem and Washington, and on the wider consequences of this war for Israel’s diplomacy, the global economy, and American politics. The episode closes on one welcome note of optimism: the effort by Israeli high-tech figures led by Asaf Rappaport to rescue Channel 13, preserving one of the country’s major independent and liberal media voices at a moment when those voices matter more than ever. This is a candid, weary, and deeply human dispatch from a country still functioning, still enduring, but increasingly unsure where this war is leading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

Title:Tel Aviv Diary: War, Iran, and the Long View — A Conversation With Yitzhak SokoloffLong Description:In this special episode of the Tel Aviv Diary Podcast, Marc Schulman is joined by his longtime friend Yitzhak Sokoloff for a wide-ranging and deeply reflective conversation on the war with Iran, the goals of the current military campaign, and the uncertainty surrounding what comes next. Speaking not only as observers but as historians, Zionists, and old friends who have been discussing these issues for decades, Marc and Yitzhak examine the central question now facing Israel and the United States: even after important military successes, can enough be achieved to truly change the strategic reality? They discuss the limits of air power, the hope that the Iranian people might eventually rise up against the regime, the role of the Revolutionary Guards, and the danger of assuming that the fall of a dictatorship is either inevitable or easy.The conversation also turns to the American dimension of the war, including President Trump’s shifting rhetoric, the meaning of U.S. military intervention, and the broader message this conflict sends to Russia, China, and the wider world. Marc and Yitzhak reflect on how much damage has already been done to Iran’s capabilities, while also wrestling with the possibility that the war could stop short of its maximum objective. From there, the discussion broadens into an equally urgent subject: Israel’s collapsing position in American public opinion, the failures of Israeli public diplomacy over decades, the influence of Qatar and other actors on American universities and media, and the growing estrangement of young American Jews from Israel. This is not a superficial exchange of talking points, but an honest and often sobering examination of how Israel fights not only on the battlefield, but also in the information sphere and in the moral arena.In the final part of the episode, the discussion becomes personal and philosophical. Marc and Yitzhak, who first met more than fifty years ago as students at Columbia, reflect on the Israel they imagined in their youth and the Israel they live in today. They speak candidly about war, morality, religious extremism, historical memory, and the unfinished nature of the Zionist project. Despite the pain, the uncertainty, and the many failures they identify, the conversation ends on a note of stubborn hope: that Israel remains strong, that history is still being written, and that one day the dream of a different Middle East—including perhaps even a democratic Tehran—may yet become reality. This is an episode about strategy, history, and endurance, but above all it is about keeping faith with reality while still holding on to hope. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this Friday edition of the Tel Aviv Diary Podcast, I describe Tel Aviv on the seventh day of the war between Israel, the United States, and Iran. I begin with the reality on the ground here: the Iranian missile barrages have steadily declined in size, but the disruption to daily life remains constant. Even when only one or two missiles are fired, everyone still heads for shelter, because debris from interceptions can be deadly and, as we have seen, even a single missile getting through can cause terrible loss of life. I describe what life has looked like in Tel Aviv this past week—the partial reopening of stores, the routine of running downstairs with only minutes to spare, the unusual number of attacks on Jerusalem, and the emotional strain of living hour by hour under constant alerts.I then turn to the broader military and political picture. Hezbollah has now fully entered the fight, launching rockets and drones from Lebanon, including attacks toward the Tel Aviv area, while Israel has expanded its operations against Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs and elsewhere in Lebanon. I discuss Iran’s widening attacks on Gulf states, why that strategy appears to be backfiring, and the growing question at the center of this war: how does it end? Can the Iranian regime be weakened enough for the people to rise up? Will Trump declare victory and stop? Or will Israel and the United States continue dismantling Iran’s military and industrial infrastructure piece by piece until little remains? I also examine the strange logic behind some of Iran’s decisions, including attacks that have only widened international support for the campaign against it.In the final section, I touch on another subject that has been very much on my mind: the intersection of AI, politics, and war. I discuss the dispute between Anthropic, OpenAI, and the U.S. Defense Department over military AI use, why Anthropic’s insistence on rejecting mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous lethal decision-making matters, and why I believe those limits are not “woke” but essential safeguards. This episode is part war diary, part political analysis, and part reflection on the broader forces shaping the world around us—from the bomb shelter in Tel Aviv to the future of artificial intelligence and military power. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Tel Aviv Diary Podcast, I’m joined once again by Dan Perry—former editor in chief of AP for Europe Africa and Middle East ; and a longtime observer of Israel and the region. We talk in real time as the latest war unfolds: why Dan says the conflict was “telegraphed,” what still surprised him, and why the visible, concurrent U.S.–Israel military partnership feels historically unprecedented—and strategically consequential.We also dig into the contrast that hangs over everything: the stunning operational success against Iran versus the catastrophic failure of October 7. Dan and I debate what the next phase could look like—whether this ends with a pause and coercive diplomacy, a push for regime change, or a pivot north toward Hezbollah—and why each option carries risks that could shape the region for years. Recorded Monday night, March 2, and released Tuesday morning, March 3, with a brief update on another mostly quiet night in Tel Aviv. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Tel Aviv Diary podcast, I sit down with Batya Kalish, director of the Social Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society (SVF), and Bashar Iraqi, a Palestinian Arab citizen of Israel from Tira who is active in efforts to combat crime inside Arab society and is involved with the community initiative Qulnuna. Together, we try to understand what is driving the relentless wave of murders in Arab Israeli towns and mixed cities—and what can realistically be done to stop it.We begin with a wide-angle look at Arab society in Israel: real progress in education and higher education, an emerging middle class, and striking gains for Arab women in academia—alongside severe gaps in municipal services, chronic discrimination, and a growing vacuum of state capacity. Bashar traces the longer arc from 1948 through martial law and the ruptures of recent decades, arguing that crime did not explode “out of nowhere,” but accelerated as illegal weapons spread, trust collapsed, and enforcement became inconsistent. Batya adds a structural layer: financial exclusion, predatory loan-sharking, and the recruitment pool created by tens of thousands of young people who are not in employment, education, or training—conditions that allow organized crime to function like a parallel authority.The conversation turns blunt. Bashar describes a reality where bullets are heard at night “as if living in Gaza,” where victims are often uninvolved family members or bystanders, and where the state’s ability to act is clear—when it chooses to act. We debate policing, discrimination within the system, and the political context, including the impact of governments that briefly prioritized the issue—and those that did not. We end with a hard question: can anything change soon? Bashar argues that participation, civic power, and equal enforcement are essential, and that both societies will ultimately have to build not just coexistence, but a better way of living together. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

Recorded in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, February 21, I try to capture the mood that’s settled over the city—an anxious, pervasive uncertainty as Israelis brace for the possibility of another confrontation with Iran. A month after President Trump publicly encouraged Iranians to take to the streets, Tel Aviv feels tense in a way that’s different even from the Gaza war: people remember last June’s 12-day exchange, the shelters, the missiles that slipped through, and the sense that the next round could again put the center of the country in the crosshairs. You can see it in the streets, in the early-closing cafés, and in the questions everyone is asking—about flights, business, travel, and whether daily life can suddenly freeze for days at a time.I also look at Israel’s pre-emptive actions in Lebanon, including reported strikes in the Bekaa Valley targeting Hezbollah’s long-range missile infrastructure, amid concerns Hezbollah could join any escalation with Iran. From there I revisit the Trump “Council of Peace,” the unresolved endgame in Gaza, and the way Israeli politics is sliding into an election campaign where “left” has become a catch-all accusation—despite the fact that much of the opposition is led by figures with deep security credentials and broadly similar positions on the long-term need for a two-state outcome, just “not now.”Finally, I pivot to Washington: the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Trump’s tariff powers, the president’s escalating announcements anyway, and what that kind of whiplash does to business planning and global trade. I close with a personal reflection on AI—how tools like Claude Code are reshaping what a single developer can do in hours instead of months, and why I think Wall Street may be misreading what that means for big SaaS platforms. As always, thanks for listening—please subscribe, and if you can, consider becoming a paid subscriber to support Tel Aviv Diary. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, I’m joined by Marina Rosenberg, Senior Vice President for International Affairs at the ADL (Anti-Defamation League)—a former Israeli diplomat whose life and career bridge continents and identities. Born in Buenos Aires and raised on Kibbutz Yechiam in the Galilee, Rosenberg spent more than 16 years in Israel’s Foreign Ministry, serving in multiple postings and ultimately becoming Israel’s ambassador to Chile. She describes what it was like to serve as the first female Israeli ambassador to Chile, and how being a young woman in diplomacy—whether in Latin America or in early, behind-the-scenes engagement with Gulf states years before the Abraham Accords—often proved less of a barrier than outsiders assumed.We then turn to the ADL’s mission and the moment we are living through. Rosenberg explains how the ADL—founded in 1913—works not only in the United States, where it operates through a network of 25 offices, but also internationally across Israel, Europe, and Latin America. She details the organization’s three-pronged approach: security and monitoring, policy advocacy, and education—including programs aimed at empowering Jewish students on campuses and new curricula designed for non-Jewish schools, adapted to local cultures and languages. She also describes the ADL’s emphasis on measurable evidence: data collection, global surveys, and comparative tracking across major Jewish communities through initiatives like the J7 task force.A central theme of our conversation is the transformation of modern antisemitism—especially in the post–October 7 environment—and how online platforms have accelerated radicalization across borders and languages. Rosenberg discusses ADL research on hate online, the limits of regulation, and the alarming vulnerabilities emerging in large language models and other AI tools—alongside the ADL’s work pushing for accountability from tech platforms and for stronger public policy outside the constraints of America’s First Amendment framework. We also explore her argument that the international picture is uneven: while the United States has seen dramatic growth in incidents over the past decade, other countries experienced different trajectories, with sharp escalations in some places only after October 7.The discussion widens to state-linked propaganda and geopolitics. Rosenberg lays out ADL’s view of Iran as a leading exporter not only of terrorism but also antisemitism, including the spread of Spanish-language messaging targeting audiences in Latin America and beyond. She reflects personally on the long shadow of the 1992 Israeli embassy bombing in Buenos Aires and the 1994 AMIA attack, and the continuing demand for accountability decades later. We close on a hard-won note of realism—and hope: the necessity of building coalitions beyond the Jewish community, insisting on moral clarity from political leaders, and asking allies to speak up rather than waiting in silence. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this week’s Tel Aviv Diary podcast, I’m speaking from Tel Aviv at a moment when the most important details for our immediate future are also the most elusive. Prime Minister Netanyahu is back from a fast, unusually secretive meeting with President Trump — no press conference, no statement, and almost no leaks — leaving Israelis to fill the vacuum with guesses, fears, and competing theories about where the Iran crisis is headed. Under the surface of daily life, the tension is unmistakable: sudden GPS disruptions hint at jamming, suppliers don’t know what to order, and the psychological strain of “waiting for something to happen” is becoming its own kind of trauma.I break down why the nuclear issue remains, in my view, the central existential danger, and why the missile debate often obscures the real strategic question: can there be a deal that truly ends Iran’s path to a bomb — and if so, what price would the region pay for it? From there, I turn to Gaza and the sobering reality of outcomes that are likely to be less than anyone hoped for, alongside the long-term costs Israelis are only beginning to confront, including widespread PTSD after a prolonged war. I also address the political battle over memory itself — including the attempt to soften or rewrite the language around October 7 — and what it says about the country as we edge toward elections. Finally, I take a detour into the accelerating world of AI and what the recent leap forward means for work, productivity, and the future — before closing with a look ahead to next week’s guest from the ADL. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, I’m joined by Noa Asher, newly elected chair of the Israel–Japan Chamber of Commerce and a veteran of Israel’s economic-diplomacy world. Noa takes us through her personal and professional journey—from Jerusalem to Harvard’s Kennedy School, from startup-era law to an 18-year career in Israel’s Foreign Trade Administration—before landing in two posts that shaped her view of global business: commercial work in Chicago across the U.S. Midwest, and then six pivotal years in Tokyo (2014–2020).Noa argues that 2014 marked a turning point in Israel–Japan economic relations, describing how Japanese companies began to view Israel not as a political risk, but as an innovation engine—spurred by events like the Keidanren delegation, Rakuten’s acquisition of Viber, and the wave of new bilateral frameworks in R&D, cyber, health, and investment promotion. She also explains what changed after the war, why Japan’s risk-averse business culture matters, and why Israel’s brand in Japan may have slid back toward the familiar headlines of conflict.We also dive into her current work at NTT Innovation Laboratories Israel, where she describes the machinery of cross-border dealmaking: identifying real corporate needs, finding Israeli solutions, and navigating the cultural gap between startups and Japanese conglomerates. From cybersecurity and digital health to AI and the promise of zero-latency networks, Noa makes the case that Israeli tech can still deliver—even under pressure—and lays out what it will take to bring Japanese momentum back. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s Tel Aviv Diary opens with the uncertain aftermath of the Friday negotiations in Oman—talks that produced not a breakthrough, but what sounds like a framework for more talks. Iran, as Marc argues, has mastered the art of stretching diplomacy into an endless process, and the early signs suggest exactly that: no agreement to halt enrichment, remove stockpiles, or tackle missiles and other demands. Marc examines why President Trump, despite his pre-meeting rhetoric, appears reluctant to send bombers—especially under pressure from Gulf allies wary of regional disruption, market instability, and the unpredictable consequences of war. For Israelis, it remains a strange moment: the temptation to “solve” Iran versus the exhaustion of a country still trying to recover, with air defenses improving but the unknowns still looming.Then the political drama shifts to Washington. As Marc was preparing to upload the episode, news broke that Prime Minister Netanyahu is making an emergency visit to the U.S. this Wednesday to meet President Trump—officially to discuss Iran, but in reality, Marc suggests, also to prevent an American deal that focuses only on the nuclear file while leaving missiles and regional behavior aside. Marc weighs the political logic of an in-person meeting with Trump, the optics surrounding Netanyahu’s schedule, and what the sudden urgency may reveal about Jerusalem’s fears of a narrower American agreement.From there, the diary becomes literal. Marc takes listeners on a Friday trip to Israel’s far north—Metula, the Dado lookout, the view of Lebanon close on three sides, and Mount Hermon capped with snow. There are on-the-ground impressions: how quickly the highways now shrink the country, the quiet that feels peaceful and deceptive, the partial return of residents, and Kiryat Shmona’s stubborn stillness—beautiful, struggling, and in many ways unchanged since the 1970s. The episode closes with two wider lenses: American politics (ICE, immigration, and the unsettling breadth of the Epstein revelations) and the accelerating AI revolution—from multi-agent experiments that feel like science fiction to tools like Claude that can compress hours of work into minutes, raising both productivity and dread about what comes next. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman welcomes Swiss Ambassador Simon Geissbühler for a conversation that moves from personal history to the mechanics of diplomacy in a region at war. Geisbühler begins with his own unlikely route into foreign service: raised outside Bern, trained in history and political science at the University of Bern, and drawn to the United States in 1994 for a year at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as a competitive diver—a “Deep South” education, he argues, that later helped him better understand America beyond Washington and the coasts. From there he traces a career built more on curiosity than ambition: completing doctoral research rooted in large opinion-poll data, then taking Switzerland’s highly competitive diplomatic exams and entering service in 2000.From the early biography the discussion opens into a broader portrait of Israel as seen by a new ambassador who arrived on August 7, 2024, ten months after October 7. Geisbühler describes three first impressions: the intensity of Israel’s internal tensions and social cleavages, the country’s relentless pace—where “signals” are hard to separate from “noise”—and the diversity of landscapes, communities, and political outlooks that is often missed abroad. He also speaks candidly about his prior connection to Israel through Holocaust scholarship and research work at Yad Vashem, and about why he believes Israel’s diversity can be a form of soft power rather than merely a source of friction.A major portion of the episode serves as a clear, practical primer on Switzerland’s political system: a federal structure modeled in part on the U.S. bicameral legislature, a deliberately weak executive with a rotating presidency, and—above all—direct democracy through frequent referenda and popular initiatives. Geissbühler explains how the system shapes public engagement, the media ecosystem, and the incentives citizens have to stay informed—while also acknowledging modern vulnerabilities to disinformation. The conversation then turns to Swiss–Israeli relations, emphasizing the large Swiss community in Israel, the embassy’s focus on science, culture, and especially innovation links between two countries that are both highly inventive but in different ways.The final third moves into diplomacy in the shadow of the Gaza war: the strain on bilateral relations, Switzerland’s effort to “consolidate” ties amid backlash, and a detailed look at Swiss participation in the CMCC in Kiryat Gat, where Switzerland sent experts including on humanitarian aid and international humanitarian law—after endorsing a Gaza-related plan. Geissbühler also unpacks what “neutrality” means in law versus policy, why Switzerland debates its boundaries, and how global geopolitical shifts are pushing neutrality back into Switzerland’s domestic politics. The episode closes with Switzerland’s quiet roles in mediation and back-channel communication most notably as the protecting power for U.S. interests in Iran since 1980 and Geissbühler’s argument for humility: in an overcrowded diplomatic arena, Switzerland can matter most when it finds the niche where it can do what larger powers cannot. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman is joined by Miriam Herschlag, the Opinion and Blogs Editor at The Times of Israel, for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from the deeply personal to the sharply contemporary. Marc and Miriam go back decades — to Jerusalem in the early years of their lives here, and even earlier through Young Judea ties that connect Miriam with Marc’s wife, Amy. The tone is warm and wry, but the moment is heavy: the conversation opens on the day Israel learned that the remains of Ran Gvili, the last hostage still held in Gaza, had been recovered and returned for burial — a development that closes a 14-year chapter in which Israelis, living or dead, were held in Gaza. The episode captures the bittersweet relief of “bringing everyone home,” while grappling with what that closure does — and does not — resolve.Miriam then traces her own journey: from New York to Young Judea leadership, to early experiences in Israel including Yerucham, and ultimately to aliyah in an era when — as she tells it — the Interior Ministry could turn someone Israeli in days, not years. She recounts the formative years in Israeli broadcast journalism, including the early English news broadcasts at the IBA and the surreal acceleration of Israel’s media environment during the Gulf War — when technology, unions, and emergency collided to move the news operation from film into video and a 24-hour footing. Along the way, Miriam reflects on the unromantic mechanics of reporting tragedy, the psychological distance newswork creates, and the moments when that distance collapses. It’s an intimate look at how a journalist becomes Israeli — not as an idea, but as an immersion.From there, the discussion turns outward: what Miriam has learned after more than a decade shaping one of the most influential platforms in Jewish public life. She offers a candid view of the Jewish diaspora after October 7 — from the rise of what she calls “October 8 Judaism,” to political homelessness, fear, and the struggle to rebuild community. She also explains what it means to curate a high-volume opinion and blogs ecosystem — tens of thousands of posts per year — while trying to balance community with diversity of views, and where editorial lines are drawn when rhetoric turns toxic. The episode then confronts the looming challenge of our time: AI, misinformation, and the erosion of trust. Miriam describes AI as “fire” — a force that can both destroy and illuminate — and shares how it is already reshaping writing, editing, elections, and the basic question of what “human” content even means. It’s a conversation about Israel, journalism, and Jewish life — and about the uneasy future arriving faster than anyone feels ready for. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman surveys a familiar Israeli paradox: a country living at the edge of war while trying to pretend—at least some days—that normal life is still possible. Up north, Israel continues striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and along the Lebanese–Syrian border, even as talk resurfaces about pressure on Beirut to explore formal peace negotiations. Marc traces the long arc—from childhood hopes on the border in the 1960s to today’s reality of Hezbollah’s entrenchment—and explains why what many Lebanese may want and what the state can actually deliver remain painfully far apart.The focus then shifts to Iran: the regime’s intensifying crackdown, the persistent rumors of imminent U.S. action, and the strategic question Israel cannot escape—if Washington strikes, does Tehran automatically retaliate against Israel, or does deterrence cut the other way? Marc also looks outward, at the striking imbalance in global attention: the comparative silence surrounding Iranian repression, the media choices that elevate some suffering over others, and the lone high-profile voice at Davos said to have raised the issue publicly—President Zelenskyy.Back in Israel, Marc digs into two domestic stories: a proposed 1.5% tax on “unused” private land that he argues would disproportionately hit Arab towns where planning approvals have long been withheld, and the Supreme Court’s decision that revealed the identity—and mental condition—of a man who infiltrated sensitive wartime meetings, puncturing the political narrative of “treason” pushed by Netanyahu’s allies. He closes with a rapid tour of other pressures shaping the week: calls to quit the WHO, talk of leaving the Paris climate accords, Gaza’s murky short-term path, the tragedy of two infants in an illegal daycare, and the broader question of governance, enforcement, and responsibility in ultra-Orthodox society—before ending, as always, with a quick readout on the accelerating AI race and what it’s doing to daily life. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this wide-ranging and unsparing conversation, Marc Schulman is joined once again by veteran Washington correspondent Laura Rozen, whose reporting on U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East spans two decades. What begins as a discussion about Trump’s latest diplomatic theatrics quickly becomes a deeper examination of how global decision-making now works—or no longer works—when power is concentrated in the hands of a few leaders and stripped of institutional process.Rozen and Schulman dissect the emerging “Gaza Board of Peace,” the strange language surrounding it, and what it reveals about Donald Trump’s worldview: diplomacy as spectacle, permanence, and personal control rather than policy. They explore why Israel benefits from Trump’s leverage—particularly in securing a hostage deal—while being unnerved by his unpredictability and transactional diplomacy. Netanyahu’s position, weakened domestically yet dependent on Trump, runs as a constant undercurrent throughout the discussion.The conversation then widens to Iran, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Europe, probing the absence of coherent U.S. national-security decision-making, the hollowing out of expertise, and the replacement of structured policy with social-media pronouncements. Rozen offers rare insight into how decisions on Iran are being made, who is actually in the room, and why even major military or diplomatic moves appear to lack a “day after” plan.At the same time, the episode does not shy away from Israel’s own crisis of governance: the erosion of foreign-policy institutions, the paralysis of Netanyahu’s government, the slow grind of the judicial process, and the broader sense that both Israel and the United States are being led by aging, embattled leaders governing through grievance rather than strategy.The episode closes on a more reflective note—touching on Israeli television, the role of fiction in making sense of chaos, and the personal toll of covering a world in constant crisis—before Schulman encourages listeners to follow Rozen’s Substack, Diplomatic, for her ongoing reporting.This is an essential episode for listeners trying to understand not just today’s headlines, but the deeper structural breakdown shaping global politics right now. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

On a cool, unusually relaxed Friday morning in Tel Aviv, the city feels like it has exhaled. After two tense days of rumors, alerts, and the sense that a U.S. strike on Iran might be imminent, the immediate danger appears—at least for now—to have receded. But that calm comes with a bitter underside: Iranian demonstrators who were encouraged to take enormous risks are now facing a regime that still kills, while Washington appears to be stepping away. I look at the possible reasons behind Trump’s reversal—logistics, Gulf pressure, internal U.S. politics, and the hard reality of what it would take to sustain a campaign—and what that means for Israel’s missile-defense readiness after last year’s confrontations with Iran.Then we shift back to Israel’s own unresolved fronts: the Trump administration’s announcement that “stage two” of the Gaza plan has begun, the stalled reality of reconstruction and disarmament, and the lingering failure to return the last hostage’s body. Domestically, the countdown to elections tightens as the budget deadline approaches and Netanyahu fights to pass a draft-exemption law for the ultra-Orthodox—using political deals that many Israelis see as corrosive to the state. Finally, I take a tour through the week in AI: Google’s Gemini integrating with everyday services, Apple’s reported pivot, Anthropic’s Claude as a genuine working partner, and OpenAI’s move into medical records—along with a warning about where all of this leads if AI ever gets a body. Shabbat Shalom from Tel Aviv. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman sits down with Ruthie Blum—journalist, and commentator —for a wide-ranging conversation that begins with biography and ends in the fog of history-in-the-making. Schulman and Bloom first met as on-air foils on i24News—“the right-wing woman” and “the left-wing man,” as Bloom puts it—but their discussion quickly shows how much the political map has shifted, and how often today’s arguments scramble old labels. What emerges is not a debate for sport, but a candid conversation between two people who disagree on some fundamentals, yet share a sense that the ground has moved beneath everyone’s feet.Bloom recounts a life shaped by New York’s intellectual world and by her parents, Norman Podhoretz and Midge Decter, figures associated with the original neoconservative turn—liberals who migrated toward conservatism in the late Cold War era. Her own political instincts, she says, were formed early: a suspicion of elite hypocrisy, a preference for merit, and an impatience with fashionable ideology. She describes arriving in Israel in 1977 intending a single year at Hebrew University—and then staying, building a life that took her from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and from “Dear Ruthie” at The Jerusalem Post to editing roles and ultimately to her current work at Jewish News Syndicate, alongside a weekly video podcast with former ambassador Mark Regev (“Israel Undiplomatic”). Along the way, Schulman and Bloom spar and converge on a theme that recurs throughout the episode: equality of opportunity versus equality of outcome—and what happens when a country’s opportunities are shaped by geography, class, and war.From there, the discussion widens to Israel’s immediate strategic uncertainty. With Iran dominating Israeli attention, the episode captures a society living on alert—sandals by the bed, jokes about shelters, and a sense that “unfinished business” hangs in every direction even after the return of most hostages. Schulman and Bloom treat predictions with skepticism, emphasizing how hard it is to understand events while they are still unfolding—and why Israelis, in particular, have learned to live inside contingency. They discuss how Iran’s trajectory could reshape the region’s other arenas—from Hezbollah to Gaza—without claiming certainty about what comes next.The conversation then turns to Qatargate, leaks, and the way foreign money and influence seem to seep through multiple systems—Israeli politics, Western universities, and media ecosystems. Bloom, who worked briefly inside the Prime Minister’s Office before and after October 7, offers dry humor and sharp skepticism, while Schulman presses on accountability and institutional trust. Their disagreement here is real, but so is their shared frustration: Israel’s governance battles, they suggest, are intensified by structural problems—no constitution, unclear boundaries between branches, and power vacuums that politics rushes to fill.Finally, the episode shifts to America, where both hosts express deep concern over the mainstreaming of antisemitism—first on the left and now increasingly on the right. Bloom outlines how figures with large platforms have normalized or echoed antisemitic tropes, and why that matters more than fringe theatrics. Schulman asks the historian’s question—how did this travel from the margins to the semi-mainstream?—and Bloom traces a combustible mix: resentment politics, isolationism, and conspiratorial narratives that now circulate with alarming speed.The episode closes on a rare note of optimism—Bloom recounts her son, a Gaza veteran, telling younger coworkers that despite the exhaustion and trauma, Israel has also achieved outcomes that would have seemed impossible before October 7. It’s a complicated hope, not a cheerful one—but it is the kind Israelis recognize: measured, hard-earned, and spoken without illusion. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

January 9, 2026 finds Israel in a familiar but unsettling posture: waiting. In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman surveys a region caught between ceasefire talk and battlefield reality—Gaza’s “stage two” remains opaque, Hamas appears financially entrenched through control and taxation of incoming goods, and the final unresolved issue of a captive’s remains hangs over the process as a warning from past agonizing precedents.On the northern front, the picture is similarly suspended. Hezbollah has been weakened and partially constrained, yet not decisively disarmed; Israeli strikes continue, but larger decisions are deferred as Jerusalem and its neighbors watch Iran. Marc explores the historical problem of predicting revolutions—how regimes fall (or don’t), what outsiders misunderstand, and why Iran’s trajectory could reshape the entire Middle East, from Hezbollah’s funding to future nuclear diplomacy and the region’s diplomatic alignments.The episode also flags a quiet but potentially consequential development: reports surrounding Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s visit to Somaliland and speculation about an Israeli military foothold near the Bab al-Mandab—an outpost that could matter for Red Sea security and future Houthi contingencies. At home, Israeli politics shifts toward election season, with the ultra-Orthodox draft and workforce participation debate at the center, and party primaries intensifying the country’s internal divisions. Marc then turns outward to U.S. politics—from Venezuela and the expanding reach of presidential power to the broader implications of force, norms, and precedent.January 9, 2026 finds Israel in a familiar but unsettling posture: waiting. In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman surveys a region caught between ceasefire talk and battlefield reality—Gaza’s “stage two” remains opaque, Hamas appears financially entrenched through control and taxation of incoming goods, and the final unresolved issue of a captive’s remains hangs over the process as a warning from past agonizing precedents.On the northern front, the picture is similarly suspended. Hezbollah has been weakened and partially constrained, yet not decisively disarmed; Israeli strikes continue, but larger decisions are deferred as Jerusalem and its neighbors watch Iran. Marc explores the historical problem of predicting revolutions—how regimes fall (or don’t), what outsiders misunderstand, and why Iran’s trajectory could reshape the entire Middle East, from Hezbollah’s funding to future nuclear diplomacy and the region’s diplomatic alignments.The episode also flags a quiet but potentially consequential development: reports surrounding Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s visit to Somaliland and speculation about an Israeli military foothold near the Bab al-Mandab—an outpost that could matter for Red Sea security and future Houthi contingencies. At home, Israeli politics shifts toward election season, with the ultra-Orthodox draft and workforce participation debate at the center, and party primaries intensifying the country’s internal divisions. Marc then turns outward to U.S. politics—from Venezuela and the expanding reach of presidential power to the broader implications of force, norms, and precedent. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc speaks with Russell Robinson, CEO of Jewish National Fund USA, about how descendent of a century-old institution—best known to many for the iconic blue donation box—became a driver of some of Israel’s most ambitious nation-building projects.Robinson recounts his own unlikely path from El Paso, Texas, into Jewish communal leadership, and the pivotal moment Ronald Lauder recruited him to help tackle what he calls Israel’s looming water catastrophe. He walks through the thinking behind the Lauder Water Plan, the hard choices between desalination and large-scale water reuse, and why long-term infrastructure planning—quietly and persistently—can change a country’s trajectory.The conversation then moves from water to geography and demography: the push to develop the Negev through “Blueprint Negev,” the effort to strengthen Israel’s north, and on-the-ground work in places like Kiryat Shmona—from a new regional medical center to housing and education initiatives. Robinson argues that Israel’s future depends not only on projects, but on people—especially teenagers—and makes the case for long-term Israel programs as the most consequential investment American Jewry can make in the next generation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this thought-provoking episode of Tel Aviv Diary, host Marc Schulman sits down with Dr. Chuck Freilich, former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council and current senior fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School and Columbia University, to explore a bold alternative to the seemingly impossible Israeli-Palestinian stalemate.With decades of experience in Israel’s defense establishment and three published books on Israeli national security, Freilich presents an innovative three-part proposal that moves beyond the conventional two-state framework. His plan centers on a confederation between Jordan and the Palestinians, multilateral land swaps involving Egypt to expand Gaza while allowing Israel to incorporate major settlement blocs, and an Israeli civil separation from most of the West Bank while maintaining security control.The conversation tackles the hard questions: Why has the traditional two-state solution effectively died, especially after October 7th? How do you overcome extremists on both sides who have consistently derailed peace efforts? Can legal guarantees for Jordan’s Hashemite kingdom be trusted in today’s volatile Middle East? And perhaps most importantly, how can any agreement succeed without a Palestinian leader willing to truly end the conflict?Beyond the Palestinian issue, Freilich offers his perspective on Israel’s current strategic challenges across four fronts—Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran—and sounds the alarm on what he sees as the greatest existential threat: the deteriorating relationship with the United States. With support eroding on both the Democratic left and troubling signs emerging on the Republican right, he argues that saving the U.S.-Israel relationship must be the next government’s top priority.While acknowledging his proposal faces enormous obstacles and may only have slightly better prospects than the classic two-state solution, Freilich makes a compelling case for why new thinking is essential. As he notes, continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity—and after nearly 60 years of occupation, it’s time to think outside the box. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc is joined again by his friend Ehud Haik retired military officer, to take stock of Israel’s strategic reality—now that the landscape has shifted since Ehud’s last appearance. Last time they spoke it was before the ceasefire, beforehostages began returning, and before it was clear whether the regional balance had changed or merely rearranged itself. This conversation begins where Israelis are living today: Gaza, the uncertainty around what comes next, and the uncomfortable truth that Gaza can no longer be understood as an isolated front.Ehud argues that, tactically, Israel has redrawn the map—enforcing what he calls a new border, the “Yellow Line,” and doing so aggressively. But sustainability, he says, depends less on Israel’s capabilities than on what external forces will permit. From there the discussion expands outward: Iran trying to re-carve its place after setbacks; Turkey pushing to emerge as a regional superpower and attempting to insert itself into Gaza; and Qatar working to preserve its influence and, in Ehud’s view, to help keep Hamas alive in some form. The key variable hovering over all of it is Washington—specifically what Donald Trump will allow, tolerate, or decide, and how much leverage Turkey and Qatar may have in that calculus.The episode then pivots to the larger strategic dangers that may be building beneath the surface: the risk of Turkish “official” involvement in Gaza, the question of whether reconstruction becomes Israel’s primary leverage, and why a future war could arrive faster than people want to admit—especially if Hamas remains armed or if Turkey gains a foothold. From there, Marc and Ehud move into Iran: sanctions, internal regime pressures, executions, the nuclear question, missile production realities, and the widening advantage attackers gain in a cyber age shaped by AI. The conversation closes with Israeli politics and accountability: October 7 as a stain that cannot be erased, Netanyahu’s dependence on PR and delay, the draft crisis, and a warning that Israel may be rebuilding its future force structure without fully confronting what went wrong. Recorded on the eighth night of Hanukkah, the episode ends with a sober but fitting line: hope for the best—prepare for the worst. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this hybrid episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman opens with a fast-moving roundup from overnight: the fallout from a Breslov Hasidim trip toward Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem/Nablus that ended in a hit-and-run of a Palestinian civilian, renewed friction around one of the West Bank’s most persistent flashpoints, and reflections—personal and political—on widening ultra-Orthodox riots in Jerusalem and Ashkelon as the conscription fight escalates.From there, Marc turns to the broader strategic picture: another alleged Iranian espionage arrest, anxieties about what a future “round two” with Iran could look like, and cautious skepticism about claims that another Lebanon war is inevitable. He also breaks down fresh polling signals—tightening numbers, shifting blocs, and what they may (or may not) mean as Israel heads toward an election deadline.The heart of the episode is an interview with Jack Lowenstein, a longtime Tel Aviv Diary subscriber living roughly 500 meters from Bondi Beach. Jack describes Australia’s Jewish community in a week of fear and solidarity—vigils, public Hanukkah lighting, the debate over “being seen” versus keeping a low profile, and sharp criticism of government and security failures. Their conversation widens into diaspora dilemmas: Aliyah as an “insurance policy,” the uneasy balance between safety and belonging, and why events far from Israel increasingly feel tied to Israel’s choices—and Israel’s image—at home. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman sits down with neighbor and new olah David Schlachter, who moved his family from the Bay Area to Tel Aviv in August 2024 after a decade-long plan collided with the realities of October 7 and rising antisemitism in the United States. David describes the family’s debate—stay in California or make the leap during wartime—and what it felt like to land, settle, and place three children into Israeli public schools just days before the school year began.David also shares his unusual sabbatical project: building a “demographic mosaic” of Israel by creating 100 profiles that mirror the country’s population—by age, gender, geography, and background—then interviewing and photographing real people to match each profile. The result is a portrait-driven book, “Hinenu” (“Here we are”), designed to capture Israel at a singular moment: diverse, wounded, resilient, and intensely communal. Along the way, Marc and David talk about Tel Aviv’s transformation since 2010—food, coffee, skyline, and all—and why, in Israel, strangers are often ready to tell their life story if someone simply takes the time to ask.Show notes: Hinenu: Israel at Ten Million is a new photography and oral-history book by David Shlachter that captures Israel through the lives of 100 people at the exact moment the country reached a population of ten million. Created during wartime and deep national uncertainty, the project pairs striking portraits with first-person stories that reflect Israel’s full demographic mosaic—Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, sabras and immigrants, elders and children—mirroring the latest census data.Intentionally apolitical, Hinenu (Hebrew for Here we are) is an act of listening: a human portrait of a society still becoming itself, told in its own voices.Learn more at www.HinenuBook.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this week’s Tel Aviv Diary (December 12), Marc Schulman reflects on newly released IDF-captured Hamas footage of six hostages later executed in the tunnels under Rafah—images of young Israelis lighting Hanukkah candles underground, trying to keep their spirits alive, as the country watches with grief and fury. Marc returns to Hostage Square after the storm, noting what has been dismantled, what still stands, and the clock still counting down—especially for the one last body not yet returned. He asks what comes next in Gaza as talk swirls around a Trump-backed plan, a looming committee, and conditions—Hamas disarmament, Israeli pullbacks, and controversial roles for Turkey, Qatar, and the Palestinian Authority—that collide with political realities in Jerusalem.From there, the episode widens to Israel’s northern front, the uneasy truce lines, and a larger argument about defense: how much of Israel’s future security will be manpower, and how much can be technology—interceptors, lasers, surveillance, and eventually autonomous systems—without repeating the blindness of October 7. Marc then turns to the budget fight and the ultra-Orthodox draft crisis, tracing the issue from Ben-Gurion’s original exemptions through the Tal Law era and Supreme Court rulings to today’s political brinkmanship, committee shakeups, and a bill widely viewed as preserving exemptions rather than producing the soldiers the army says it needs. Finally, he surveys American politics and AI: a Trump national security doctrine that, in Marc’s view, reads like disengagement from the world; big-tech moves that reshape culture and power; and a regulatory retreat that leaves AI accelerating with fewer constraints—ending the week with hard questions, sharp skepticism, and a Shabbat Shalom from Tel Aviv. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc speaks with Alon Ben-Noon, founder and CEO of NeuroSense Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NRSN), about Israel’s bid to change the prognosis for ALS. Ben-Noon traces his path from early years in Nahariya, studies in industrial engineering and an MBA, and work at Perrigo and Teva, to launching his own consultancy and eventually founding NeuroSense. He recounts how meeting ALS patient and activist Shai Rishoni pushed him from advising biotech companies to building one, and how that encounter led to the development of PrimeC, a combination drug designed to target key ALS mechanisms such as neuroinflammation, iron dysregulation, and microRNA imbalance.Ben-Noon explains what PrimeC has shown so far in trials—slowing functional decline by roughly 30–40% and improving survival by about 60% in a phase 2b study—and outlines the company’s next step: an international phase 3 trial in the U.S., Europe, and Israel, now cleared by the FDA. The conversation ranges from the scientific debate over whether ALS is one disease or many, to the realities of running a small public biotech company from Herzliya, raising capital, partnering with big pharma, and keeping focus through war and national trauma after October 7. Ben-Noon shares his cautious optimism about the timeline ahead, his hopes for eventually “beating ALS,” and why he believes Israeli ingenuity and persistence can help turn a devastating diagnosis into a treatable condition. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diaries, Marc Schulman looks back at a fraught week in Israel and beyond. He begins with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s highly controversial request to end his corruption trial and the unprecedented intervention by President Trump, probing what it means for Israel’s judiciary, international standing, and political stability. Marc then turns to the new ultra-Orthodox draft law, explaining why it is seen by many Israelis as a “law of avoidance,” how it could entrench long-term exemptions, and why it is politically risky even within Likud’s own base.From there, the episode shifts to Gaza and Lebanon: the tentative outlines of a second-stage Gaza arrangement involving international forces and reconstruction money, the debate over whether Israel should risk another war with Hezbollah, and the economic toll of prolonged conflict as tourism collapses and missile defense still needs years of rebuilding. Marc also unpacks the renewed tensions between Yad Vashem and the Auschwitz Memorial over Polish complicity in the Holocaust, Europe’s conflicted stance toward Israel—from Eurovision boycotts to buying Israeli missile defense—and the latest slide in President Trump’s popularity as hard-line immigration policies collide with economic realities. He closes with reflections on AI: how he uses it as a research tool for his own history writing, why it threatens to hollow out student learning if misused, and what a serious rethinking of education might look like in an age when machines can draft the paper—but can’t ask the questions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Tel Aviv Diary, we step away from the familiar voices of seasoned officials and veteran diplomats to hear from a very different Israeli generation. Our guest, Adam Penkin, offers a candid and strikingly nuanced look at the country through the eyes of a young man shaped by a global upbringing, elite combat service, and ongoing reserve duty during Israel’s most turbulent years.Born in London, raised in Hong Kong, and brought to Israel as a teenager, Penkin speaks openly about his unexpected path into one of the IDF’s most prestigious combat units, the realities—and moral tensions—of reserve duty from Gaza to the northern border, and how service changes a person’s sense of the country. From his perspective on Palestinians and settlers to the failures of Israeli political culture, the crisis of civil–military trust, and the future of coexistence, Penkin brings honesty, introspection, and intellectual depth rarely heard in public conversations today.This is an episode about a generation caught between war and idealism, identity and responsibility, frustration and hope. It is a conversation that challenges assumptions and widens the lens on Israel in 2025. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this week’s Tel Aviv Diary, host Marc Schulman opens with a sobering look at the latest developments on Israel’s front lines. He reviews the near-final confrontation with the last Hamas operatives emerging from the Rafah tunnel system, and a problematic IDF raid inside Syria that, while achieving its primary objective, left six Israeli soldiers wounded and raised hard questions about planning, risk, and the use of reservists in complex operations. Schulman then turns to the disturbing video of Border Police troops apparently executing two detained Palestinians—revisiting the echoes of the Azaria case and probing what this incident reveals about discipline, hatred, and the erosion of norms in a society under prolonged stress.From there, the podcast pivots to the political battle over the ultra-Orthodox draft. Schulman dissects the new bill before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, explaining why it is widely viewed as a bluff: a measure that restores funding and formalizes exemptions without meaningfully increasing Haredi enlistment. He explores the political calculus behind Prime Minister Netanyahu’s maneuvering—his dependence on ultra-Orthodox parties to pass the budget and avoid early elections—alongside the deep public anger over unequal burdens of service and what that might mean for Israel’s next electoral cycle.The second half of the episode features an in-depth conversation with Adi Vaxman, co-founder of Operation Israel, a volunteer-driven organization that has delivered tens of thousands of pieces of critical equipment to IDF units since October 7. Vaxman describes how a desperate search for ceramic vests for lone soldiers turned into a full-scale logistical operation, powered by tech-savvy volunteers, improvised supply chains, and donors who wanted to see exactly where their money was going. From ceramic plates, medical gear, and drones to specialized training programs and mental-health retreats for reservists, she explains how civilian initiative has repeatedly filled gaps too slow or too cumbersome for the formal system to address.Together, Schulman and Vaxman also examine the broader meaning of this grassroots mobilization—for Israeli resilience, for the relationship between the IDF and civil society, and for Diaspora Jews looking for tangible ways to support Israel beyond writing a generic check. It is an episode that moves between battlefield reality, political fault lines, and the quiet heroism of citizens who refused to stand on the sidelines, offering a grounded, unvarnished snapshot of Israel in a long and difficult war. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this sweeping and intimate episode of Tel Aviv Diary, we sit down with Gershon Baskin—one of the most consequential and least understood figures in the Israeli–Palestinian arena. Baskin traces his path from a politically awakened teenager in 1960s America to a lifelong peacebuilder whose work has spanned Arab villages inside Israel, the first Intifada, the Oslo years, and nearly two decades of clandestine contacts with Hamas. In this rare, uninterrupted narrative, he recounts the early experiences that shaped his worldview, the creation of pioneering coexistence institutions, and his long, complicated role in hostage negotiations—culminating in the behind-the-scenes diplomacy that helped shape the events of 2024–2025.Across the conversation, Baskin offers a historian’s memory, a negotiator’s candor, and an optimist’s resilience. He describes the human relationships that underpinned years of unofficial diplomacy, the turning points in his contact with Hamas, the regional realignments now driving new political possibilities, and why—despite trauma, distrust, and hard realities on both sides—he still believes the two-state solution is the only path forward. The result is a rare window into the mechanics of conflict, the fragility of peacemaking, and the stubborn hope that keeps both alive. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this week’s Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman opens with the tense standoff under Rafah, where a dwindling group of October 7th terrorists remain trapped in the tunnels as Israel methodically seals their exits and prepares for a final confrontation. From there, he shifts to Washington, tracing how the Saudi crown prince walked out of the White House with everything he wanted—F-35s, civilian nuclear understandings, and a headline “trillion-dollar” investment pledge—without offering normalization with Israel, and what that signals about Israel’s eroding political weight in both U.S. parties and in key American cities.Back home, Schulman examines how Likud primaries and coalition politics are driving increasingly extreme legislation, including a mandatory death-penalty bill for terrorists, and how a government-designed commission of inquiry into October 7th appears aimed more at deflecting blame than uncovering truth. He then turns to the United States, where the Epstein tapes, shifting Republican coalitions, and a resurgence of antisemitism on both the far right and far left raise uncomfortable historical echoes. The episode concludes with a look at the breakneck advance of AI—from Google’s latest Gemini release to AI-generated video and the risk of an “AI bubble”—and how these tools are simultaneously empowering creators and destabilizing our sense of what is real. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, host Marc Schulman speaks with Shmuel Rosner, senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) and author of the new book Why Am I a Jew?. Rosner walks us through JPPI’s November 11th survey on Israeli public opinion in the wake of the October 7th war and the Trump ceasefire plan: why a large majority of Israelis back accepting the plan even though most don’t believe it is “good,” why only a tiny minority think Hamas will really disappear from Gaza, and why more than half the country expects the current quiet to last only weeks or months.The conversation ranges from Israelis’ emotional state—anxious, polarized, and still traumatized—to the battle over a commission of inquiry, the ultra-Orthodox draft, and the political cost of keeping the current coalition. Rosner explains his idea of a “thin constitution” to finally clarify powers and checks between Knesset, government, and courts, and reflects on the paradox of how Israelis view Donald Trump: as Israel’s strongest friend in the White House, yet only “somewhat” trusted. The episode closes with a discussion of his book and the big questions of Jewish identity, survival, and peoplehood in the 21st century.To Purchase WHY AM I A Jew https://amzn.to/480TWPN This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this wide-ranging episode of the Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman opens with something rare in Israel these days—rain. From the welcome arrival of the year’s first storm to Israel’s long-term success in desalination and water planning, he traces how the country turned a national vulnerability into a strategic strength. From there, he pivots to a surge of investment in Israeli AI, including NVIDIA’s major new campus in the north and a broader wave of funding flowing into local startups. But the good news soon meets Israel’s turbulent political reality, with updates on the return of hostage bodies, escalating judicial battles, political scandals, and Netanyahu’s increasingly fraught corruption trial.Schulman also reflects on his recent participation in a rare Israeli–Palestinian dialogue session near Jericho, exploring the vast gap in expectations and the deep trauma shaping both societies after two years of war. The episode wraps with a stark warning from the world of artificial intelligence, as leading researchers raise alarms about uncontrolled AI capabilities—and what that means for the future. It’s an episode that moves from weather to war, from water strategy to AI, from politics to personal reflection—capturing a complex moment in Israel’s ongoing story. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this special episode of Tel Aviv Diary, host Marc Schulman sits down with Kerstin Müller, former member of the German Bundestag and ex–Minister of State in the Foreign Office, to discuss her years in Israel, her work fostering dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, and her reflections on rebuilding trust after a year of war and trauma. Speaking candidly, Müller recounts her time heading the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Tel Aviv, her current work at the Center for Liberal Modernity in Berlin, and her recent efforts to organize joint Israeli–Palestinian conferences—even amid political resistance from both sides.The conversation moves from the personal to the political: the challenges of keeping the two-state vision alive, the role of regional actors like Saudi Arabia, the surprising empathy in international diplomacy, and the rise of anti-Semitism across Europe. Recorded in the aftermath of new dialogue initiatives in Israel and the West Bank, this episode offers a rare glimpse into what genuine reconciliation might require—and why, despite deep wounds, both sides still have voices willing to talk. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s Tel Aviv Diary opens with a concise briefing from Tel Aviv on the fast-moving headlines: the latest in the IDF legal-officer saga, Israel’s strikes and messaging to Lebanon amid Hezbollah tensions, and where the UN Security Council effort for an international Gaza force currently stands. Then, we shift to a deeply moving interview with Liz Hirsh Naftali, author of Saving Abigail, whose family was devastated on October 7. Liz explains how a three-year-old child became the face of a global campaign, why bipartisan outreach in Washington mattered, and how personal storytelling helped decision-makers act.Across the conversation, Liz traces the arc from shock to sustained action: early meetings on Capitol Hill, coordination with hostage families of many backgrounds, and the relentless push that brought children like Abigail home—while emphasizing the work still ahead for those who remain. She speaks candidly about resilience, grief, and the responsibility to document October 7 so the facts aren’t erased or softened by time. We also discuss how communities—Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Black, Latino—can stand together around basic human truths, even when politics divides. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this wide-ranging conversation, Marc Schulman sits down with Rabbi Kenneth Brander, President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone (OTS), to trace a remarkable journey from Kew Gardens Hills and Yeshiva University—including formative years living in the Rav’s NY apartment and serving at Lincoln Square Synagogue—to community-building in Boca Raton and, ultimately, Aliyah to lead OTS in Israel. Rabbi Brander outlines how OTS has grown to 32 institutions and 5,000 students, spanning high schools, yeshivot hesder, advanced women’s Torah study, rabbinic training, global shlichut (300 emissaries), and pioneering programs addressing agunot and interfaith civic responsibility.The discussion goes deep on today’s hardest questions: the shared burden of service in wartime; why Torah study and national service are complementary, not competitive; and what this year revealed about the courage and purpose of Israel’s youth. Rabbi Brander speaks candidly about OTS’s fallen alumni and first-degree family losses, and shares moving classroom moments with students rotating back from the front—studying Gemara between missions and taping shiurim for tanks and tents.We also look outward: rising antisemitism in the U.S., shifting Jewish demographics, and why more families are exploring Aliyah. Along the way, Rabbi Brander previews new OTS initiatives—from North and South American post-high school programs to a Lower Galilee school opening—arguing that a confident, engaged Modern Orthodoxy can meet the Jewish people’s most urgent educational, spiritual, and civic challenges. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

Marc opens with show housekeeping: moving to a steadier cadence—guest episodes every Tuesday and solo weekly wrap-ups every Friday—and a reminder that while the podcast remains free for now, paid subscribers help sustain the broader Tel Aviv Diary project (and get full Monday/Wednesday editions). He then dives into the day’s grim headline: two more hostage bodies returned, intelligence estimates on how many additional bodies Hamas could return immediately, and why the group is stalling—from leverage in ceasefire politics to plain, deliberate cruelty.From there, Marc widens the lens: what the latest PCPSR polling says about Palestinian attitudes toward Hamas and war; a candid segment on historical illiteracy (including a Hillary Clinton classroom anecdote from Columbia’s SIA) and how that shapes global discourse; and a sober look at U.S. trends—antisemitism and anti-Zionism on both right and left (Tucker Carlson/Nick Fuentes, Heritage’s response, a Turning Point rally exchange), plus New York’s mayoral race. Back in Israel, he covers the Sde Teiman detainee-abuse leak, the army chief legal officer’s resignation, and what the episode reveals about law, accountability, and “deep state” narratives. He also breaks down the mass Haredi anti-draft rally, the new draft bill’s loopholes (quotas, “toothless” sanctions, restored funding), and the broader economic and social costsof non-service amid an IDF manpower crunch. Finally, a quick world wrap: the U.S. shutdown standoff, Trump’s Asia trip and tariff powers, and the AI market’s Nvidia-led surge—what’s hype, what’s durable, and why it matters.Highlights & Chapters (approx.):* 00:00 — New publishing schedule; subscriber note* 01:35 — Hostage bodies returned; why Hamas is dragging releases* 04:30 — PCPSR poll takeaways; why attitudes aren’t moderating* 06:40 — History literacy gap (Clinton anecdote)* 08:10 — U.S. politics: right/left antisemitism, NYC mayoral race* 12:00 — Israel media blind spots; global standing* 15:50 — Sde Teiman leak; military legal fallout and narratives* 18:45 — Haredi rally; draft bill mechanics, quotas, sanctions, economics* 26:50 — U.S. shutdown, tariffs, courts* 31:20 — AI corner: Nvidia, monopolies, and market reality* 33:50 — Closing & Shabbat Shalom This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of The Tel Aviv Diary, host Marc Schulman speaks with Don Futterman, Executive Director of the Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI), about his life journey from Queens to Kfar Saba and his mission to transform struggling Israeli schools. Futterman shares how ICEI’s literacy-based model is helping close Israel’s deep educational and socioeconomic gaps—especially among Ethiopian-Israeli, Arab, and Bedouin students—by retraining teachers, rebuilding school culture, and reigniting children’s love of reading and learning.The discussion also turns deeply personal as Don reflects on how the war, trauma, and years of disruption have reshaped Israel’s education system and society at large. Together, he and Marc explore what resilience means in today’s Israel, the role of civil society in times of crisis, and their shared hopes for a more equitable and democratic future—one that their grandchildren will be proud to inherit. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s Tel Aviv Diary reflects on a turbulent moment for Israel’s leadership and diplomacy. Host Marc Schulman opens with a deeply personal vignette from Hostage Square — a reminder of families still waiting to bring their loved ones home — before turning to the political missteps that defined the week.Vice President J.D. Vance’s visit, meant to strengthen ties, was overshadowed by a sovereignty bill that managed to offend both Vance and Donald Trump, prompting a rare public rebuke from Washington. Schulman dissects how Israel’s right wing has become detached from reality, how domestic politics continue to dictate foreign policy, and why the government’s lack of strategic planning has left the nation dependent on the U.S.Later in the episode, Schulman explores Marco Rubio’s visit, Israel’s ongoing regional challenges, and the broader shifts in U.S. politics under Trump’s second term — from the White House ballroom to fears of growing authoritarianism. He closes with reflections on AI’s promise and peril, and the uneasy balance between technological progress and human control. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe

In this Tel Aviv Diary episode, Marc speaks with Ari Hoffnung—finance veteran, former NYC Deputy Comptroller, and now a leader at JLens under the ADL—about fighting antisemitism where today’s power concentrates: on platforms and in boardrooms. Hoffnung explains how shareholder activism works in practice (including JLens’ high-profile Meta proposal), why algorithms matter more than one-off takedowns, and how BDS campaigns are targeting dozens of S&P 500 companies from tech to defense. He shares personal snapshots of the post–Oct 7 reality in the U.S.—from armed guards at schools and synagogues to incidents on flights and a British lawyer detained for wearing a Star of David.We also trace Ari’s path from Wall Street and public service to a decade in medical cannabis and, ultimately, to corporate advocacy at JLens (and the TOV ETF). Along the way: the story behind the surname “Hoffnung” (“hope”), the line between free speech and workplace intimidation, and a historian’s look at why economic discrimination against Jews isn’t new—just newly amplified online. Marc closes by asking what Israel can do, post-war, to repair its global image; Ari’s answer: tell the real, diverse, everyday stories of Israelis—Jews, Muslims, and Christians—working side by side in hospitals, universities, and startups. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcschulman.substack.com/subscribe