When news broke that four middle-aged women in Israel had been recruited by an Iranian intelligence agent on social media and dispatched on a series of bizarre missions, many Israeli commentators found the story amusing. 

Haaretz intelligence and security analyst Yossi Melman tells podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer why he believes the episode is no joking matter.

Additionally, he delves into the ongoing controversy over why Princeton University continues to employ Seyed Mousavian, a propagandist for the Iranian regime who gleefully smirked when discussing death threats against a U.S. State Department official. He also asks why top Israeli intelligence officials haven’t been able to keep their mouths shut lately, being so eager to brag about their exploits.  

Also in this episode: Palestinian-Israeli activist Sally Abed explains how tree planting by the Jewish National Fund ignited Bedouin protests in the Negev and why Bedouin youth are so angry. The incident nearly brought down the Israeli government after United Arab List leader Mahmoud Abbas, a key member of the Bennett-Lapid coalition, refused to vote the party line until the forestation stopped.